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Discussion Hidden gem recommendations on Switch. ‘Try this if you liked…’ [see format in OP]

Wulverblade
Scrolling fighter, try this if you liked: Streets of Rage, Golden Axe etc
Wulverblade stood out to me due to the setting- it’s about a tribe of Scots fending off the Roman invasion. The usual mix of characters (fast/balanced/heavy) is mixed up by the sheer variety of weapon pickups, including, somewhat gruesomely, enemy heads. It’s a lot of fun and the combat, music and story is a real change of pace from street gangs if you like the genre.
 
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Heron said:
Does Rain World count as a hidden gem? Because it's fairly well known at this point, but lots of people still haven't played it.

Game Name: Rain World
Genre: 2d platformer / open level explorer
TTIYL: Metroid, Subnautica, Hollow Knight (It's not quite like any of these, I'm just trying to capture the extremely immersive vibe)
Impressions:
For me, it might be the single best game I've ever played. I used to default to Ocarina or Metroid Prime as my answer to "what's your favourite game ever" but now I think it's probably Rain World.

It's like a 2D Metroidvania without ANY ability power-ups, dependent solely on player platforming skill and general intelligence / sense of direction. You play as a fragile white ferret thing and explore a strange, ruined world, racing again and again against a variable timer to find food and shelter before a periodic deluge washes away all living things. The world is massive and fascinating. The art is beautiful. It's highly atmospheric.

Death carries a STEEP penalty in this game, in the form of loss of progress and certain doors locking (for a while). Of course, the wildlife pretty much all wants to eat you (think: killer lizards, birds of prey etc). Said wildlife is procedurally animated and completely unpredictable, which makes the game extremely frustrating but equally fascinating. Sometimes you enter a screen and lizard is just chilling there, and snaps you up. Or maybe it doesn't, maybe it's asleep, or more concerned with a territorial dispute with another lizard. Who knows, it's just chance. Other times you get fairly caught by a lizard, only for it to be attacked by a bird on its way back to its burrow, dropping your half-dead self in the water for another chance.

And when that rain starts to fall and you have no idea where shelter is, and you see all other wildlife start to race to their own shelter, and you realize you're 30 seconds or less away from losing 20 minutes or more of progress, the sense of panic is... intense. If you find that shelter, the sense of elation is... euphoric. To call it immersive is a gross understatement. It's heart-pounding stuff.

You genuinely begin to think like prey if you get deep nto this game, becoming so razor focused on avoiding any and all danger to the point that making progress is actually hard. But eventually, you do make progress. And start to learn the secrets of the map. And then you start to wonder: what if that little ferret was able to think like you?

Despite its simplicity, I've put over 60 hours into it on Switch. Half those hours were spent making zero progress and wanting to hurl my Switch a wall. The other half were spent pretty much in awe. It's a masterpiece.

EDIT: And I have one piece of advice. Do like I did, and go in blind, and do not use a guide. If you are the type of person who will immediately turn to a guide if you get lost, this is not the game for you.
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Wow, that's some high praise. I was considering buying it some weeks ago but then saw the game got really bad reviews so didn't get it in the end, it definitely sounds intriguing going by your description though.
 
Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi
Try this if you liked: Etrian Odyssey, Stranger of Sword City
Undernauts is an interesting dungeon crawl in that it adds the setting of a vast labyrinth appearing in the 1970s, leading to adventurers being akin to miners sent in to look for strange new resources to power new technology. Sure, there’s undead and portals and magic and whatnot, but there’s also a nice take on the genre here, as you can tunnel through areas of the map yourself, looking for hidden areas and shortcuts. All in all it finds just enough to stand out amidst the genre.
 
Touhou Luna Nights
Genre: Metroidvania
TTIYL: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Cave Story, any Metroidvania honestly

You take control of Sakuya Izayoi, who has been warped to a mysterious mansion that strongly resembles the mansion of her mistress, Remilia Scarlet. Sakuya must explore the mansion in order to regain her powers that she lost after being warped, as well as figure out the mysterious nature of the mansion.

I consider this game a beginner friendly Metroidvania when it comes to the exploration side of things, and is a game where the challenge primarily comes from the combat. Sakuya is able to use her stopwatch in order freeze her surroundings for a brief moment in order to traverse the mansion and help fight enemies. To be successful, you'll need to learn how to manage your time stopping ability, as well as master the graze system, where you get close to enemy/projectile hitboxes in order to replenish some of your health and magic in the heat of a battle.

The sprite artwork is just phenomenal, and the soundtrack slaps. Even if you're not familiar with Touhou's world, characters, or music, you're still very likely to get something positive out of this game, highly recommend!

 
Nice thread, I do have some recommendations

A Robot Named Fight!
Try this if you like: roguelikes, super metroid, metroidvanias
This is an action roguelike based on super metroid, you explore and collect items and power ups in order to finish the run. Just keep in mind the developer tried to emulate Super Metroid physics so it can take a little time to get used to how jumps works. It has a lot of power ups and weapons to make it more interesting.




Gunlord X
Try this if you like: Contra, Turrican, Arcade games
An excellent choice if you want a great action game in the vein of Turrican, but without the eurojank, and the music is awesome. Also a lot of replayability if you want to find all the gems in each level




Touhou Spell Bubble
Try this if you like: Rythm game, Bust a Move, Tohou

This game is literally Bust a Move but with touhou characters, and now you play with music. During the macth if you make long chains you can pop the bubbles following the rythm to punish your oponent. All of the songs are based from Tohou, but even if you don't generally like, still has some great tracks. The only downside is that it's a little pricey because of the music license

 
ermitron2 said:
Nice thread, I do have some recommendations
Gunlord X
Try this if you like: Contra, Turrican, Arcade games
An excellent choice if you want a great action game in the vein of Turrican, but without the eurojank, and the music is awesome. Also a lot of replayability if you want to find all the gems in each level
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I’ll definitely add this to my wishlist, I didn’t even know it existed, which I guess is the purpose of the thread :D
 
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Greak: Memories of Azur

Genre: Metroidvania, 2d adventure platformer

TTIYL: Lost Vikings, Ori, other shorter more story driven metroidvania

Impressions: Picked this up in the recent large eshop sale and absolutely loved it. It's the first project from Mexican developer Navagante, visually focused around a 2d hand drawn animation style that is absolutely gorgeous.

The core gameplay is adventuring in an interconnected world side scroller that's maybe in between the scope and style of a traditional metroivania and something a bit more streamlined like Wonderboy. You start out as Greak, a boy on a quest to find his siblings in a war torn fantasy world and as you collect them, they each act as more abilities to traverse the world, solve puzzles and fight against enemies. Each sibling can either be controlled individually, switching between them with the dpad, or as a unit with a relatively robust set of controls to keep them all paired up and in check (I believe these were improved over time with patches to get to where they are).

The game is a nice length of around 6 hours which means you can set out to beat it in a week comfortably, and the length feels just right for the pacing of the game. New abilities are introduced at a nice rate and each gets it's time shine but doesn't wear out it's novelty. The story isn't super deep but it's imaginative and fun for what it is. Check it out, I was really impressed by this game and it feels like it doesn't come up in discussion very often.

 
Wolfstride
Try this if you like: Turn based rpgs, Cowboy Bebop

An ex-yakuza, a mechanic and a mech pilot team up and try their hand at winning a prestigious mech tournament.

Game has loads of style and humour. Enjoying it a lot.

 
Pixelknight said:
I noticed NintendoLife does a ‘hidden gems recommended by our readers’ article every so often, so I’ll drop it here as it seems relevant :)
www.nintendolife.com

24 Switch Games We Missed, As Recommended By You

Part 5 of our list of hidden gems is our biggest yet
www.nintendolife.com www.nintendolife.com
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The article mentions Bonfire Peaks, which is among my Switch favorites and probably my 2021 game of the year, so let's do this. I've posted quite a few puzzle games here already, but I think this is the last one 😅

Bonfire Peaks
Genre: Puzzle
Try this if you liked: A Monster's Expedition, Baba is You

Bonfire Peaks is a puzzle game where you burn boxes full of your belongings to let go of your past. You do this by pushing and carrying them around, letting them flow down rivers and through other means I won't spoil.

The levels in Bonfire Peaks are small but sometimes devilishly difficult, which must be a part of the metaphor of how hard it sometimes is to forget. Another part, I suppose, is how meditating upon a difficult puzzle for a day or two can make you solve it in a matter of seconds when you return to it. If you just can't make it though, the structure of the game allows you to skip the level. You get a crate for solving each level, and need a specific number of crates to be able to construct a staircase or a bridge to another area of the hub world. Solving more puzzles will reward you with more creates, which may allow you to explore more hidden areas of the worlds in a rewarding way.

The game has a pretty voxel look, and while the framerate may occasionally dip in the hub world or more complex levels, it runs reasonably well in both docked and portable modes. There is a brilliant ambient soundtrack. If you ever feel stumped by a puzzle, I recommend just sitting down, listening to the music and relaxing for a while.

 
juuso said:
The article mentions Bonfire Peaks, which is among my Switch favorites and probably my 2021 game of the year, so let's do this. I've posted quite a few puzzle games here already, but I think this is the last one 😅

Bonfire Peaks
Genre: Puzzle
Try this if you liked: A Monster's Expedition, Baba is You

Bonfire Peaks is a puzzle game where you burn boxes full of your belongings to let go of your past. You do this by pushing and carrying them around, letting them flow down rivers and through other means I won't spoil.

The levels in Bonfire Peaks are small but sometimes devilishly difficult, which must be a part of the metaphor of how hard it sometimes is to forget. Another part, I suppose, is how meditating upon a difficult puzzle for a day or two can make you solve it in a matter of seconds when you return to it. If you just can't make it though, the structure of the game allows you to skip the level. You get a crate for solving each level, and need a specific number of crates to be able to construct a staircase or a bridge to another area of the hub world. Solving more puzzles will reward you with more creates, which may allow you to explore more hidden areas of the worlds in a rewarding way.

The game has a pretty voxel look, and while the framerate may occasionally dip in the hub world or more complex levels, it runs reasonably well in both docked and portable modes. There is a brilliant ambient soundtrack. If you ever feel stumped by a puzzle, I recommend just sitting down, listening to the music and relaxing for a while.

Click to expand...

Awesome, added to the directory!
 
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juuso said:
The article mentions Bonfire Peaks, which is among my Switch favorites and probably my 2021 game of the year, so let's do this. I've posted quite a few puzzle games here already, but I think this is the last one

Bonfire Peaks
Genre: Puzzle
Try this if you liked: A Monster's Expedition, Baba is You

Bonfire Peaks is a puzzle game where you burn boxes full of your belongings to let go of your past. You do this by pushing and carrying them around, letting them flow down rivers and through other means I won't spoil.

The levels in Bonfire Peaks are small but sometimes devilishly difficult, which must be a part of the metaphor of how hard it sometimes is to forget. Another part, I suppose, is how meditating upon a difficult puzzle for a day or two can make you solve it in a matter of seconds when you return to it. If you just can't make it though, the structure of the game allows you to skip the level. You get a crate for solving each level, and need a specific number of crates to be able to construct a staircase or a bridge to another area of the hub world. Solving more puzzles will reward you with more creates, which may allow you to explore more hidden areas of the worlds in a rewarding way.

The game has a pretty voxel look, and while the framerate may occasionally dip in the hub world or more complex levels, it runs reasonably well in both docked and portable modes. There is a brilliant ambient soundtrack. If you ever feel stumped by a puzzle, I recommend just sitting down, listening to the music and relaxing for a while.

Click to expand...


I remember trying the Bonfire Peaks demo because I am a big fan of Baba is You and puzzle games in general. However, I remember the controls being absurdly obtuse and complicated to perform even the most basic actions. Maybe I will give it a second try...
 
linkwashere said:
I remember trying the Bonfire Peaks demo because I am a big fan of Baba is You and puzzle games in general. However, I remember the controls being absurdly obtuse and complicated to perform even the most basic actions. Maybe I will give it a second try...
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The controls are definitely unconventional and take some time getting used to. If you end up giving the game another go, here are some tips I wrote earlier in another thread based on my experience:

famiboards.com

Nintendo eShop |ST Jul. 2022|

Well Known Games Jul 08 KLONOA Phantasy Reverie Series, Jul 21 Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, Jul 22 LIVE A LIVE, Jul 29 Digimon Survive, Jul 29 Xenoblade Chronicles 3 eShop Highlights Jul 07 - Understand Jul 07 - Apico Jul 12 - Time on Frog Island Jul 12 - F.I.S.T.: Forged In Shadow...
famiboards.com famiboards.com
 
Infernax
Genre- Metroidvania. Try this if you liked: Castlevania 2, Zelda 2.
This is a really fun arcadey sidescroller, in that it’s not about exploring a large map for hours on end, it’s more immediate in its push for you to explore castles, take on sidequests from towns, make key decisions and fight through a small army of undead. Combat is really responsive and the boss fights a lot of fun, and the map is just small enough that you’re not going to get lost. Recommended if you’re looking for a fun Halloween playthrough, you can run through it in a couple of evenings.

 
Pixelknight said:
Just because I added The Mummy Demastered to this thread, and it’s coming up on Halloween, I saw that NintendoLife had a good retrospective on it given the five year anniversary today:
https://www.nintendolife.com/featur...as-a-better-game-ever-come-from-a-worse-movie

Also a piece on Infernax having a new playable character, again very Halloween-appropriate!
www.nintendolife.com

Retro Splatterfest 'Infernax' Gets New Character For Halloween

The Stranger arrives on 25th October
www.nintendolife.com www.nintendolife.com
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Lol loved the money and ammo was 666 when the character appears
 
Mechstermination Force
Run N' Gun

Try This If You Liked: Contra, Cuphead

Impressions: You're a soldier plucked out of Contra and you need to take down the giant robots taking over the world. Each level has you fighting a humongous boss, sometimes so big that they ARE the levels themselves! If you're looking for another boss rush run n' gun like Cuphead, then you gotta try out this game.

 
I was linking that up in the directory post, and found it funny that every run-and-gun is essentially ‘try this if you liked contra’.
 
Indivisible
Turn-based JRPG

Try This If You Liked: Valkyrie Profile

Impressions: Basically the people behind Skullgirls decided they wanted to make a game like Valkyrie Profile, so they did. They expand upon VP's battle system in neat ways. Exploring the overworld is also pretty fun, especially when you unlock more tools and the game starts throwing harder platforming challenges at you. There's also surprising number of characters you can recruit, all with their own fun gimmicks. My only big critique is how a lot of the side quests get stuffed in the back end of the game.

 
Cattails (TTIYL: Stardew Valley, The Sims, Animal Crossing, Breath of the Wild)
Sandbox Feral Cat Life Simulator/Action Game

This game has an extremely fun basic loop. But to give a better idea of what the game is, it's a sandbox (a true sandbox, you can go anywhere you want at the beginning) where the loop is to hunt for food, hunt for money, have wars with rival clans.

Oh yeah, let's go into clans. There are clans with their own unique characters. You can join any of them, and eventually, make your own. You're always battling for turf with the rival clans, with control shown on the map with colors. You can woo certain NPCs and eventually have children with them. I was just really surprised at how fun this game was. Sneaking around, hunting animals, juggling your hunger and money, taking territory, all of the basic loops just end up working quite well. It's not a huge long game, I did most of the game in about 20 hours, but it's one of those games you'll sink into, play it a bunch and put it down when you've had your fill. I should mention, this isn't a huge story game. There is a main plot, but it's not some huge story. This is a game where you're making up your own stories in its world. One warning I'll give is that you'll probably be confused by the pounce mechanic at the beginning of the game, but once you get used to it and how it works, it feels great.

 
For a vast Future
Try if you're after a Game Boy styled JRPG with a great chip tune soundtrack, a fun battle system and a decent story.

 
Received my GunLord X Collectors Edition 9 months after its preorder ; NGDEV had to scrap the little figurine and replaced with weird weird 2d stands.
Feels nice to finally have a physical version tho. I hope the developpement of GunLord 2 won't take too long (a 32-bit pixelart Turrican game !!!)

Weirdly, this physical release of GunLord is considered a new game on my Switch, so not only it exists twice but it also means that the saves from the digital versions aren't used by the physical. Oh well.
 
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Koren Lesthe said:
Received my GunLord X Collectors Edition 9 months after its preorder ; NGDEV had to scrap the little figurine and replaced with weird weird 2d stands.
Feels nice to finally have a physical version tho. I hope the developpement of GunLord 2 won't take too long (a 32-bit pixelart Turrican game !!!)

Weirdly, this physical release of GunLord is considered a new game on my Switch, so not only it exists twice but it also means that the saves from the digital versions aren't used by the physical. Oh well.
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The same happened with Blasphemous, the LRG/digital version and the Team17 version are different skus, so It shows twice
 
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