Cognition Dissemination: Not the Most Exciting Indie World Showcase
There was an audience aggrieved at the mere existence of yesterday’s Nintendo Indie World Showcase because of what it wouldn’t be. Nintendo’s too-vocal fans have been anticipating a new Nintendo Direct installment for what feels like ages, to learn more about a Nintendo fall lineup that remains shrouded in mystery — even by Nintendo’s usual secretive standards. Yet it appears those reports about Nintendo Directs being delayed due to the seemingly-perpetual COVID-19 pandemic have proven accurate. Prior to this, all we had was a Nintendo Direct Mini (heavy emphasis on mini) focused on third party games, that was mainly for the Shin Megami Tensei titles. This new Indie World showed how the next Direct will still take a bit longer to arrive, though the name allowed for fans to adjust their expectations.
Even with that, this Indie World installment came up short compared to previous showcases. There was a dearth of “Wow” or “Hey, it’s that game!” announcements outside maybe two. I won’t be an asshole and say this event was inconsequential, because several good indie games were shown with some released right after the show. But it could have used another spark.
Part of the issue was how the biggest announcement was made right at the beginning. Supergiant Games’ Hades is leaving the Early Access stage after two years, and is coming to Switch. This game has more in common with titles that made the developer popular in being an action RPG, and is their most fast-paced effort yet. The style will be a good match for Switch owners given how the character designs reminded some fans of those from Kid Icarus: Uprising. (This is also partially a sign of their need to play more Greek Mythology games on non-Nintendo platforms.) Hades will leave Early Access and release for Switch this fall, with the latter hopefully not having the performance issues shown in a small portion of the trailer.
The rest of the show was mostly stuffed with good-looking titles that were either revealed on previous streams or for other platforms through different sources. Games like Garden Story, the Subnautica titles (already available on other platforms), Torchlight III, Going Under, The Red Lantern, and Gridstone looked great, showing how there are plenty of indie games to look forward to on Switch.
More impressive were the games released shortly after the event, like Spiritfarer, Takeshi and Hiroshi, Raji: An Ancient Epic (likely the closest we’ll get to a new Prince of Persia game for a while, if ever), A Short Hike, and Evergate. This was almost too much to release at once, illuminating the criticism that the Switch’s eShop is so flooded with good indie titles that some titles get buried. But I won’t knock this particular lineup.
There were a couple of new announcements. One was for a relaxing management adventure game known as Bear & Breakfast, due for a release on Switch (and PC) in 2021. The other title announced was Card Shark, a game that takes place in an 18th century French society where the player uses card tricks to rise up through the game’s cardplaying world. It will also release for Switch (and PC) in 2021.
The final announcement was for more Untitled Goose Game content. The free update will add a co-op option where two geese can terrorizing the public, a feature several players were hoping for. (You might think this invalidates those “Untitled Geese Game” jokes about memetic Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters character Geese Howard, but it’s only made them stronger.) It was a great final announcement for the many who’ve played this game, and sales data suggests it has a sizable audience. And this is before the game has released on Steam and Itch.to, platforms it will be available on the same day the new update launches on September 23rd. A physical version will also release on September 29th for Switch (and PS4).
I will not undermine the impact of this announcement, but it wasn’t an equivalent to a big surprise like Axiom Verge 2 (which unfortunately didn’t show) and Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, closing announcements on previous Nintendo indie presentations. But it was still a fine one to close out with. Chances are Nintendo simply didn’t have anything more to promote here, but still wanted to do a presentation to promote the flurry of indie games that either released for Switch just after the stream, or are coming in the near future.
I mentioned the audience unreasonably upset that this wasn’t a Nintendo Direct above, who seemingly went in with the intention of disliking this despite knowing it would be for indie games. That’s one audience, but Nintendo will have to outline what releases they’ll have planned for the fall season one of these days regardless. We’ll see if there’s any truth to rumors about those Mario 30th Anniversary releases and a remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, or if they have anything besides Pikmin 3 Deluxe. Either way, expect the fall to be light for Nintendo thanks to an unprecedented pandemic and them being a Japanese company.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
