With Christmas and holiday break just around the corner, you probably thought this week you weren’t gonna get any more game announcements for the year – well think again. In the lead-up to the holidays, Nintendo has announced it’s putting on it’s ‘Inside the House of Indies: Holiday Event’ which is basically a daily mini indie world showcase that is set to share updates, announcements, and more from Nintendo’s indie partners each day from December 19th (today) until December 23rd.
All the daily announcements won’t be live-streamed like other direct presentations but instead will be uploaded as a short video (no longer than 5 or 6 minutes) posted on Nintendo’s YouTube channel. You could check out the full Day from all five days but we’ve already got a rundown of all the daily announcements (including some shadow drops) from today and later days as well, so check it out down below!
Day 1
Floppy Knights (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: December 19th (Available Now!)
Starting out the short presentation is that Floppy Knights is not just coming to Nintendo Switch but it’s available… right now on the eShop. This release comes with the version 2.0 update (available on PC and Xbox platforms) and all DLC side quests with 24 new levels and 50+ new cards. If you’re looking to save some money well Floppy Knights is currently 20 percent off with the sale ending on New Year’s day.
“Meet the Floppy Knights: tangible projections summoned from floppy disks! Tactics fuse with card game mechanics as Phoebe and Carlton, a brilliant young inventor & her robot-arm bestie, square off in turn-based battles. Select your Knights, hone your deck, and execute your strategy for victory,” the game’s description on the Nintendo eShop says.
Roman Sands RE:Build (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: Summer 2023
Up next is the first official reveal of Roman Sands RE:Build, which heading to Nintendo switch (as well as Steam) in Early 2023. Players will find themselves “washed up on the shores of a timeless luxury retreat” as they find themselves “acquainted with its unhinged inhabitants.” Later they learn that there is more than meets the eye while trying a way to escape. Check out the game to learn more on Roman Sands RE:Build‘s Nintendo eShop page.
Pupperazzi (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: Early 2023
If you’re a dog person then Pupperazzi is for you as you can just not just the doggies but take pictures of them in a growing catalogue of dog photos when the game launches on Nintendo Switch early next year. In Pupperazzi, you build your career as a dog photographer while upgrading your camera and finding new dogs to photograph.
Along the way, you can choose where your career will take you whether you just want to show friends your cute photo or be taken more seriously, but it won’t be easy either way as you dodge people/obstacles plus double jump across building to get the perfect photo (even in mid-air at times) of your beloved doggies. Check out the game to learn more on Pupperazzi‘s Nintendo eShop page.
Mortal Shell: Complete Edition (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: December 19th (Available Now!)
Last and certainly not least is Mortal Shell: Complete Edition which is our second and last shadow drop release of the day as the game is available starting today. Switch owners are getting the full package in one purchase as the complete edition comes with the base game and the Virtuous Cycle expansion.
Plus players on the Nintendo hybrid console will also get the Rotten Autumn content update, which includes unique Shell shades, a new mini-quest, photo mode, and an alternative boss fight soundtrack from black metal band Rotting Christ. Check out the game to learn more on Mortal Shell: Complete Edition‘s Nintendo eShop page.
Day 2
The Gecko Gods (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: TBA 2023
In The Gecko Gods, you’ll explore a mysterious island in an immersive, relaxing exploration-adventure game where you play as the game’s titular gecko. From the short trailer that was showcased, the game has all The Legend of Zelda: WIndo Waker energy to it in both art style (in down tone levels) and gameplay too as your little gecko climbs up walls to solve puzzles and travelling across the water by boat to explore hidden temples. The Gecko Gods for me has easily climbed up my list of games I’m looking forward to in 2023, this game looks super interesting.
The Captain (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: December 20th (Available Now!)
After that is The Captain which is a retro-inspired adventure game where players will be inserted into the shoes of Captain Thomas Welmu, a Spacefleet science officer who finds himself lost on the other side of the galaxy and must race back home. Along the way, players will run into new enemies while either saving or destroying civilizations.
At the end of the day, it’s all your decision on what route you end up taking whether it’s a short one or you choose to take the long journey back home in a game with multiple endings but be warned dark forces are en route to Earth and destroy your home so don’t get distracted too long. The Captain is available now on the Nintendo eShop.
Risk of Rain Returns (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: TBA 2023
Risk of Rain is making a comeback in a self-described “enhanced, expanded, and remastered” version of the original game which is set to launch on Nintendo Switch in 2023. The game is set to feature unique loot combinations, entirely new Survivors, overhauled multiplayer, and more.
The Punchuin (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: December 20th (Available Now!)
Play as a toque-wearing penguin in boxing gloves in The Punchuin, in the game you are on a quest to explore and solve the mystery of the treasure of Punch Mountain. Throughout your journey, you’ll meet a cast of NPCs who will help you – plus you’ll be able to improve your punching move set by buying new skills/items from the money and diamonds you collect along the way. If you like what you’re seeing, well the best thing about the game… it’s available right now on the eShop.
Day 3
Potion Craft (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: Spring 2023
Potion Craft is an alchemist simulator where players will be tasked to make potions with gameplay that will challenge them to physically use tools and ingredients to brew creations while expanding their list of clients and potion-making businesses. In the game, you will have full control over your shop while inventing new recipes, attracting customers and experimenting to create new potions. Potion Craft is brewing it way to not just Nintendo Switch but PlayStation consoles as well in spring 2023.
Sonority (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: December 21st (Available Now!)
Following its release on Steam last month – the innovative music puzzle adventure, Sonority is now available on Nintendo Switch as House of Indies: Holiday Event’s next shadow drop release. In the game, players will be inserted into the shoes of Esther who discovers and explores a lost world that can only be unlocked through the power of music via the game’s puzzle notes mechanic through correct button prompts that need to be arranged in a certain order to move forward. At the beginning of the trailer, developer Hanging Gardens Interactive emphasizes that the game is very accessible to players with no musical background.
Tin Hearts (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: April 20th, 2023
https://twitter.com/WiredP/status/1605617516868505600?s=20&t=LBWWF-7cBs9rvQtJPjIBTg
After that, we got a better idea of when Tin Hearts is coming out in 2023 as the game is set to launch on Nintendo switch on April 20th. In the upcoming game, players will follow a story behind a genius inventor and his creations in a gripping narrative about love and compromise set in an alternative history in Victorian times.
“Guide a troop of mischievous tin soldiers through a magical toy-filled world using a variety of whimsical and inventive contraptions to bounce, shoot and glide them to their goal. March through 40+ levels of time-bending, soldier-routing riddles, forge new paths for your toys to follow, and solve increasingly elaborate puzzles to unravel the emotional, thought-provoking story, of Albert J. Butterworth, a genius inventor of Victorian times,” the game’s description says.
Sail Forth (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: December 21st (Available Now!)
Adventure on the high seas is calling in Sail Forth which is our last shadow drop release of the day for not just players on Nintendo Switch but on Steam as well. In the game, players will find themselves on the vast ocean-spanning dozens of eccentric regions as they try and find the ancient depths yet to be discovered with a fleet of customizable ships at the player’s command. Along the way, make friends with fish folk to expand your crew, take up pirates, and find your way into deep waters on the ocean floor.
Day 4
Melatonin (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: December 22nd (Available Now!)
In our next batch of games first is Melatonin which is a rhythm game about dreams that merges with the reality of this game’s world. In the game, players will explore the relationship between the dreams we have when we’re asleep and the experiences we go through when we’re awake in a variety of unique dream-like and at times challenging puzzles in a hand-drawn art style that comes with a vibrant beat in the game’s soundtrack. To learn more, check out the game on the Nintendo eShop and maybe even pick it up as the game is currently available.
Afterimage (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: April 25th, 2023
AFTER that is another next year release confirmation for April, that game is Afterimage, a hand-drawn 2D action-adventure platformer with gameplay that is focused on “fast-paced combat with diversified character builds, non-linear levels, and a gripping storyline set in the ruins of a fantasy world.” The narrative where players are dropped into follows years after a cataclysm simply known as “The Razing” which almost brought the end of humanity – players are inserted into the shoes of Renee, an amnesiac girl who wakes up in the ruins of the city’s capital.
Renee’s goal on her journey is to recover her lost memories and rescue her mentor which will “inexplicably set into motion a series of events that will determine the fate of the new world.” Throughout the journey, players will run into over 50 different NPCs, 170 varieties of enemies including 30 bosses, and over 200 pieces of different equipment to collect (in 6 classes of main weapons), while listening to over 40 original orchestral tracks composed by the Aurogon Sound Team. Afterimage is not just launching on Nintendo Switch this April but also on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Smile for Me (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: Spring 2023
Up next is the unconventional point-and-click adventure game, Smile For Me which puts the player into the center of an abstract world, The Habitat as you discover your way in this new world. You will meet, chat and maybe bond with up to 23 “unique” characters, as you get to know them you learn the quirks of who you meet along the way and hopefully cure them of their blues through “tricky” puzzle mechanics. Smile for me is set to land on the Nintendo eShop and PlayStation storefront both digitally and as a limited physical edition this Spring.
Hyper Gunsport (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: December 22nd (Available Now!)
Hyper Gunsport is NOW AVAILABLE! pic.twitter.com/MJuBsVWSFs
— necrosoftgames (@necrosoftgames) December 22, 2022
Finally, Day 4’s last announcement is Hyper Gunsport which can only be described as a cyberpunk arcade volleyball game with guns that can be played in either 1v1 or 2v2 which is now available on the eShop. The cyberpunk game will feature 2v2 gameplay, a solo campaign, local co-op/versus, a unique cast of seven teams/stages to choose from, and more. The game also features accessibility options too so that Hyper Gunsport can be played by anyone and a sleuth of unlockable including an AI mode. A unique feature of the Nintendo Switch version, you can play with four individual Joy-Con on one screen.
Day 5
Dust & Neon (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: Early 2023
Starting off the final day of Nintendo’s Inside the House of Indies: Holiday Event is the announcement of twin-stick roguelite shooter, Dust & Neon is coming to Nintendo Switch early next year. In the game, you will play as a mysterious Gunslinger who goes on a journey where he will run into many gunfights with killer robots with players making sure he survives from a top-down perspective with a Borderlands-like art style. Death can’t be avoided in this medium so try again while unlocking dozens of unlockable abilities, thousands of unique weapons, and game-changing performance boosts.
UNDYING (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: Spring 2023
Up next is the zombie apocalypse game, UNDYING set to release on Nintendo Switch next year. The game follows Anling and her son, Cody who fight to survive but the mother might not last too long after being bitten by a zombie. In her final days, she must protect her son while teaching him valuable skills and how to survive as she prepares him for her final days. Definitely sounds like the final stretch of Telltale’s The Walking Dead Season 1 stretched into its own game, so if your parent or someone who has lost a parent then this might hit a little too close to home when it launches on Nintendo’s hybrid console this Spring.
Sea of Stars (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: Summer 2023
After that, we got another look at the upcoming follow-up to the Messenger, Sea of Stars which tells the story of two Children of the Solstice who combine the powers of the sun and moon to perform Eclipse Magic, the only force capable of fighting off the monstrous creations of an evil alchemist known as The Fleshmancer. The is set to come out this Summer and will feature engaging turn-based combat, unshackled traversal (swim, climb, jump, and more), a story-rich adventure, and a world worth exploring. Sea of Stars is set to launch on Nintendo Switch this summer.
Sports Story (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: December 23rd (Available Now!)
Prove your athletic prowess in sports of all sorts – Sports Story is out now on #NintendoSwitch!
Let the training commence: https://t.co/h3WT1gkAYT pic.twitter.com/vrKje3no0l
— Nintendo of Europe (@NintendoEurope) December 23, 2022
Going into this multi-day event and knowing that Sports Story was still slated to release this month, I had an inkling that we’d get a shadow-drop release of the hotly anticipated indie RPG title and thankfully that ended up being the case as you can play Sports Story right now by picking it up on eShop. If this is the first time hearing about the game, Sports Story is the followup to Sidebar Games’ indie hit, GoldF story and is a sports RPG adventure game that features a huge variety of sports for players to dive into as well as characters who will either be friend or foe.
Throughout your playthrough, players will be able to “play and master 8 unique golf courses, rise through the ranks of the tennis world tour, start your own soccer team, and much more. The sports at your fingertips include BMX, mini-golf, cricket, volleyball, fishing and more which can be unlocked by raising your sports ranking. It’s not just about sports as players can also explore dungeons, abandoned ruins and the wildlands by travelling by train, helicopter or boat. In the game, you can also hang out at the mall and check out what it has to offer which includes daily attractions, specialty sports stores and mini-games.
As the closing to the event, Nintendo announced that it is hosting an Indie Holiday Sale on the eShop which is set to end on January 1st, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Some notable games on sale include Golf Story, Shovel Knight Dig, Neon White, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, Cuphead, Cris Tales, Cozy Groove, Bugsnax, Nobody Saves the World. Spelunky, and many more.
