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

PixelKnight

PixelKnight

Observing the process
Pronouns
He/Him
There are thousands of games on Switch, and this thread is to highlight some of the range of games that just release and then sink immediately from the discussion, due to the sheer amount of releases.

In particular, hopefully this thread can list a range of titles particularly from genres that are less well represented in both marketing and the more visable, bigger releases.

I’ll add a template for recommendation posts below so people can see how it works, please add a little more than just a name to help people find what they are looking for. Just ‘try this if you liked…’ and a link to a piece of media or some impressions (or both!) would be cool. I’ll add some samples too (not the deepest cuts I’ll admit, but both worth recommending regardless!). Adding yeahs to your favourites should eventually give an idea of Fami word of mouth on everything in the directory too, and the directory will link to the recommendation posts made by the community.

Please control-f to see if your favourite has already been mentioned (and maybe give it a yeah!). Also if you want to expand the ‘if you like x try y’ notes on any given game in the directory, drop a post in and we can update the directory entry.

If you’ve written up some impressions of a game you loved elsewhere on the site that doesn’t have an active thread or community, feel free to link to them in this thread in a recommendations post too.

Template-

Game Name (TTIYL: games it’s a bit like)
Genre
Impressions
Media link (including link to your own impressions elsewhere on Fami!)
 
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The Hidden Gems Directory
This is a list of games recommended in the thread, arranged by genre (we may have to be pretty loose about genre given how varied games can be, but hopefully the ‘try x if you liked y’ element may help). Can’t see your favourites? Make a recommendation post!
Looking for a game type that isn’t listed or for more options? Ask in the thread and we’ll try to help!
All games link to their recommendation post in the thread.

‘TTIYL:’= ‘try this if you liked:’

FPS
Dusk (TTIYL: Doom, Quake)

2D action games
Cyber Shadow (TTIYL: Ninja Gaiden, Batman: Return of the Joker)
Aggelos (TTIYL: Wonderboy/Zelda II)

2D platformer
Cham the Cat Adventure (TTIYL: Super Mario Land, Castlevania)

2D run-and-gun
Huntdown (TTIYL: Contra, Metal Slug)
Gunlord X (TTIYL: Contra, Turrican, Arcade games)
Mechstermination Force (TTIYL: Contra, Cuphead)

JRPG/RPG
The Alliance Alive (TTIYL: Bravely Default, SaGa)
Battle Chasers: Nightwar (TTIYL: elements of Bravely Default, Octopath, Thronebreaker)
Wolfstride (TTIYL: Turn based rpgs, Cowboy Bebop)
Indivisible (TTIYL: Valkyrie Profile)

CRPG
Atom RPG (TTIYL: Wasteland 2, Pillars of Eternity, Baldur's Gate, Fallout 1/2, Divinity 2.)

SRPG
Dark Deity (TTIYL: Fire Emblem, Shining Force)

DRPG
Dungeon encounters (Very light on graphics but with good depth)
Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi
(TTIYL: Etrian Odyssey)

Character action
Lucah: Born of a Dream (TTIYL: Bayonetta, the Moonside area in EarthBound, surprises)

Tycoon
Parkasaurus (TTIYL: Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, Project High-rise, Two Point Hospital, JP Evolution

Physics
Part Time UFO (TTIYL: Jenga, claw games / UFO catchers, stacking stuff, physics, local co-op)
Bonito Days (TTIYL: the Monkey Target mini game in Super Monkey Ball)

Puzzle
Filament (TTIYL: The Witness)
Gum+ (TTIYL: Baba is You)
A Monster's Expedition (Through Puzzling Exhibitions) (TTIYL: Baba is You)
Bonfire Peaks (TTIYL: A Monster’s Expedition, Baba is You)

Puzzle-Platformer
Cursed to Golf (TTIYL: Golf Story)
Gabbucci (TTIYL: Boxboy)
Bomb Chicken (TTIYL: Toki Tori, Elechead)

Roguelike/Roguelite
Iris and the Giant (TTIYL: deckbuilding, Slay the Spire)
Sparklite (TTIYL: 2D Zelda, Roguelites, Moonlighter)

Adventure/visual novel
Paratopic (TTIYL: horror, Chilla Art games, Death Mark)
Toem (TTIYL: Camera games, Earthbound, A Short Hike, Animal Crossing, Katamari Damacy

Card game/visual novel
Foretales (TTIYL: Hand of Fates 2, The Lone Wolf, Voice of Cards)

2Dplatformer/exploration/Metroidvania
Rain World (TTIYL: Metroid, Subnautica, Hollow Knight)
The Mummy Demastered
(TTIYL: the Castlevania GBA/DS games, Aliens: Infestation)
Astalon: Tears of the Earth (TTIYL: Maze of Galious, La Mulana, Castlevania)
Xeodrifter (TTIYL: Metroid)
Steamworld Dig 2 (TTIYL: Metroid, Spelunky, Shantae)
Islets (TTIYL: Hollow Knight, Steamworld Dig 2, Bullet Hell Sections)
Touhou Luna Nights (TTIYL: Castlevania: SOTN, Cave Story)
A Robot Named Fight! (TYIYL: roguelikes, super metroid)
Greak: Memories of Azur ;TTIYL: Lost Vikings, Ori, other shorter more story driven metroidvania)
Infernax (TTITL: Zelda 2, Castlevania 2)

Farming sim
Rune Factory 4 Special (TTIYL: Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing)

Survival/Adventure
Endling - Extinction Is Forever (TTIYL: Inside, Limbo, Little Nightmares, Shelter, Journey, Ori, The Last Of Us)

Driving
Crash Drive 3 (TTIYL: Rush 2049 or Midtown Madness)

Scrolling fighter/beat ‘em up
Wulverblade (TTIYL: Streets of Rage, Final Vendetta etc)

Co-op/party games
Clusterpuck 99 (TTIYL: Mario Party mini games)

Miscellaneous
Touhou Spell Bubble (TTIYL: Rhythm games, Bust a Move, Tohou)
Cattails (TTIYL: Stardew Valley, The Sims, Animal Crossing, Breath of the Wild)
 
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Example game 1:
Cyber Shadow
Genre: 2D action game
Try this if you liked: Ninja Gaiden, Batman: Return if the Joker
Impressions: Really tight sidescroller, tough in places but rewarding.
 
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Example game 2
Huntdown
Genre: 2D run-and-gun
Try this if you liked: Contra, Metal Slug
Impressions: great, varied boss fights, and a gameplay loop of 20 levels that are just the right size. The dark humour echoes 80s action movies with all the one-liners.
Media:
 
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The Alliance Alive
Genre: JRPG
Try this if you liked: Bravely Default, SaGa
Impressions: Fun gameplay with some less-common mechanics and ridiculous flexibility. Great character designs, lovely art style, interesting story and fun writing. Firmly an AA title in all the best ways.
Media:
 
Battle Chasers: Nightwar
Try this if you liked: The dynamic combat ordering system reminds me a bit of Octopath, but really a ton of RPGs use something similar. I think if you liked the Bravely Default games and wish your JRPGs had a western feel, this is your game. In addition to the great combat system, there's an overworld map that reminds me of Thronebreaker and tons of secrets in the various dungeons.
Genre: turn-based RPG
Impressions: When I think of my favorite JRPGs on the Switch, I always think about this game even though it's from a western developer. It's a huge shame that there will never be a sequel (I think the IP it's based on has a complicated ownership situation) and Ruined King is basically the spiritual successor.
Media link:
 
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Lucah: Born of a Dream
Genre: character action
Try this if you liked: Bayonetta, the Moonside area in EarthBound, surprises
the most compelling, visually exciting, kinesthetically satisfying action game on the platform
steamcombatgif02.JPG

eShop
trailer
 
Parkasaurus
Genre: Tycoon
Try this if you liked: Rollercoaster Tycoon 3, Project High-rise, Two Point Hospital, JP Evolution
Impressions: Very cutesy spin on the classic Zoo Tycoon series. Doesn't look realistic but it's surprisingly deep and lots of customization options. All your favorite dinos are here too.
 
Atom RPG
Genre: Old-School CRPG
Try this if you liked: Wasteland 2, Pillars of Eternity, Baldur's Gate, Fallout 1/2, Divinity 2.

Impressions: Ukraine made Fallout 1 Clone. Imagine the original Fallout except if it was set in post Soviet Union.
Systems are almost an exact replica of an improved Fallout 2.
Cross-save between all systems (PC/Consoles / Mobile / Switch), It is cheap enough that you can play on your PC and then take it on the road with your switch.
Stay Away: You don`t like reading, Characters are fairly chatty and refence Soviet Union Literature a lot.

 
Been wanting to participate all day! Finally have the time!

Part Time UFO
Genre: Physics?
Try This If You Like: Jenga, claw games / UFO catchers, stacking stuff, physics, local co-op

In Part Time UFO you play as a UFO named Jobski who usually needs to gather, stack, and properly balance together piles of stuff. It’s very simple in that there is just movement via a control stick and one button to extend your claw. The objects you work with are usually oddly shaped and if you don’t balance them properly they fall over. There’s a fun variety of main and bonus objectives (stacking boxes, fishing, putting away toys, making a big pancake stack, building a shrine etc.) and some fun extras to round out the experience like a hard/remix mode, infinite tower mode, costumes etc. The game is awesome alone and lovably chaotic in co-op.

 
Cursed to Golf
Genre: 2D sport/platform game
Try this if you liked: Golf Story
Impressions: The balance between the sport (with swings, par to be met, different holes) and platforming (with nice level design) is enriched also by the mix between reality (the wind will affect your shots) and fantasy (too bad that could be caused by a giant flying dragon!)
Switchitalia score: 8/10
 
Aostia82 said:
Cursed to Golf
Genre: 2D sport/platform game
Try this if you liked: Golf Story
Impressions: The balance between the sport (with swings, par to be met, different holes) and platforming (with nice level design) is enriched also by the mix between reality (the wind will affect your shots) and fantasy (too bad that could be caused by a giant flying dragon!)
Switchitalia score: 8/10
Click to expand...

This looks like a lot of fun!
 
Pixelknight said:
This looks like a lot of fun!
Click to expand...


It really is!
There are some difficulty spikes that could have been avoided with better level/game design decisions, but overall: it is pretty fun! And I love the Irish music that plays every time that "tutorial ghost" shows up lol
 
Dungeon encounters
Genre: Dungeon RPG
Very light on graphics but with good depth

Impressions: initially I thought this looked too basic to work but I wanted to give it a try. The dungeons are very basic. You have a top down view and you fill in the map by walking over the tiles. The battles and the way you progress is what makes it a lot of fun. It’s basically a dungeon crawler distilled into its most basic elements yet those elements are pretty wel done in this game. This definitely had me hooked for a week orso.

 
k samedi said:
Dungeon encounters
Genre: Dungeon RPG
Very light on graphics but with good depth

Impressions: initially I thought this looked too basic to work but I wanted to give it a try. The dungeons are very basic. You have a top down view and you fill in the map by walking over the tiles. The battles and the way you progress is what makes it a lot of fun. It’s basically a dungeon crawler distilled into its most basic elements yet those elements are pretty wel done in this game. This definitely had me hooked for a week orso.

Click to expand...

Seconding this, and I also want to say TTIYL: old-school barebones dungeon crawlers, excel spreadsheets. It's all numbers <3
 
Filament

Genre: Puzzle
Try this if you liked: The Witness

Impressions: Filament is a hard but satisfying puzzle game where you are essentially wrapping ropes around poles of various shapes and sizes. This sounds boring on paper, but the geometrical thinking it requires makes every puzzle you solve feel like a real achievement. The quick rewind and fast-forward buttons make experimentation smooth, which is always nice in a puzzle game.

 
Bonito Days
TTIYL the Monkey Target mini game in Super Monkey Ball

This game can be had super cheap when it’s on sale and takes the core concept of Monkey Target and expands on it. Lots of levels to try out and the soundtrack is so chill, great lazy afternoon game when you want something to play for 10 mins on your own but also a great multiplayer experience.

[youtube]
 
Gum+

Genre: Puzzle
Try this if you liked: Baba is You

You're an amorphous blob that sticks to anything it touches. In each puzzle you must reach the stairs by pushing and pulling blocks this way and that way and the game often goes on sale for just a few dollars too. It feels so rewarding when you solve a puzzle, too.



Iris and the Giant

Genre: Deck building roguelite
Try if you like: Slay the Spire

Iris is a girl who's bullied at school and she withdraws into herself and essentially the game is you tackling monsters in Iris's imaginary world and you battle them with cards. The art style is minimalistic and not for everyone but I like it a lot. I enjoy the card battles and progression system, I haven't finished a run yet so the game feels quite challenging.

 
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Gabbuchi

Genre: puzzle platformer

Try this is you liked: Boxboy series on 3DS and Switch

This is a really underrated minimalist puzzle platformer with a graphical style reminiscent of Boxboy, and infectiously cheerful chiptune music. The gameplay is simple but very well balanced, rewarding and addictive. There's also a level designer, which my 8 year old son has put many hours into (he likes it more than Super Mario Maker). All in all, it's a really quirky, fun, hidden gem, which I highly recommend!

 
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Paratopic

Genre: It's akin to an adventure / visual novel horror thing.

Try if you like: those Chilla Art games, or the Death Mark saga.

Do you like weird shit? This has it in spades. With a cool PS1 aesthetic.

 
0
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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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.
Click to expand...
Awesome write up, thanks for that!
 
Great thread @Pixelknight! Already loving what I’m seeing here. Still wondering if I should rec the Rune Factory games, not sure if they count as hidden gems, or maybe rec some other stuff first. I’ll think about it.

bixente said:
Gum+
Try this if you liked: Baba is You
Click to expand...
Say no more, fam. Say no more.

Koyota said:
Atom RPG
Genre: Old-School CRPG
Click to expand...
This is the kind of stuff I like to see; Switch actually has quite a few decent CRPGs/WRPGs and I’d love for them to get spotlights. Definitely adding Atom RPG to my wishlist, Fallout 1/2 are still my fave games in the series.

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.
Click to expand...
Simultaneously sounds awesome and daunting. Will probably pick up when things aren’t so hectic for me.
 
Dusk
Genre: FPS
Try this if you liked: Doom, Quake
Impressions: A love letter to the FPS games of the 1990s that plays as smooth as silk and thoroughly understands what made those classic games so fun.
It's lean and mean, fast and furious, a runaway rollercoaster bursting at the seams with nitroglyclerin bite.

 
meatbag said:
Great thread @Pixelknight! Already loving what I’m seeing here.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Yeah looking at the directory there’s some real variety of genres in the entries already which is great and exactly what I was aiming for as a resource for the forum! Already adding loads to my wishlist.
 
Rune Factory 4 Special
Genre: Farming Sim

Try this if you liked: Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing

Impressions: Currently what I consider the pinnacle of the subgenre. Everything you do feeds into something else you can do, and this results in an addicting, freeform juggle of gameplay loops. For example, just walking around will level up your “Walking” skill which gives you more health and stamina for taking on the various dungeons. The dungeons have monsters you can tame and bring back to your farm, and then the eggs they lay can be used to cook omelettes, which you can gift to an attractive bachelorette… and you get the idea. You can optimize your daily routine or just do whatever you want. Also have to give my praise for the socialization system— there are TONS of dialogue in the game, which helps make the townsfolk all the more charming.

 
A Monster's Expedition (Through Puzzling Exhibitions)
Genre: Puzzle
Try this if you liked: Baba is You

Impressions: I have raved about A Monster's Expedition on this forum before, and will continue to do so every chance I get. I think this is one of the best games on Switch, and I think it's worth checking out even if you haven't played a lot of or any block pushing puzzle games before.

The levels in A Monster's Expedition are small islands and your task is to push down trees and move the logs around to create paths to new islands around you. The game does a very good job teaching you the mechanics through easier levels and building up from there. There are branching paths, surprising mechanics and an adventure that really feels like one, to an extent that I almost put Breath of the Wild in the TTIYL field.

 
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.
Click to expand...

Yeah it's at the very least my favorite game of the past generation. The tension is crazy, at some point I remember being literally scared to turn it on.
 
ITSMILNER said:
Bonito Days
TTIYL the Monkey Target mini game in Super Monkey Ball

This game can be had super cheap when it’s on sale and takes the core concept of Monkey Target and expands on it. Lots of levels to try out and the soundtrack is so chill, great lazy afternoon game when you want something to play for 10 mins on your own but also a great multiplayer experience.

[youtube]
Click to expand...

This looks like a lot of fun. I really dig the art style!
 
Dark Deity
SRPG
Try this if you liked: Fire Emblem, Shining Force
A really fun take on the 2D GBA Fire Emblem games. Story isn’t anything special for the genre- recruit disparate allies, promote them to new classes and defeat the dark magic at the centre of events- but there’s a few fun ideas here. Scenario design offers a range of objectives and terrain. Losing a character in battle means a minor stat loss for them, which may or may not matter in the long run- who cares if your fighter loses a couple points of their magic attack skill, but it’ll hurt your mages. However, the economy is well balanced in that you can buy just enough stat boost items to offset injuries, upgrade others and also upgrade skills. The classes start off as a pretty standard selection of knights, healers, archers and mages, but promote through a far greater variety of options for each base class too. All in all I really enjoyed it, I’ve certainly paid a lot more for SRPGs that were only half as good.

 
Pixelknight said:
Dark Deity
SRPG
Try this if you liked: Fire Emblem, Shining Force
A really fun take on the 2D GBA Fire Emblem games. Story isn’t anything special for the genre- recruit disparate allies, promote them to new classes and defeat the dark magic at the centre of events- but there’s a few fun ideas here. Scenario design offers a range of objectives and terrain. Losing a character in battle means a minor stat loss for them, which may or may not matter in the long run- who cares if your fighter loses a couple points of their magic attack skill, but it’ll hurt your mages. However, the economy is well balanced in that you can buy just enough stat boost items to offset injuries, upgrade others and also upgrade skills. The classes start off as a pretty standard selection of knights, healers, archers and mages, but promote through a far greater variety of options for each base class too. All in all I really enjoyed it, I’ve certainly paid a lot more for SRPGs that were only half as good.

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I played this on Switch earlier this year, it's heavily inspired by GBA Fire Emblem. The only gripe I had is that the combat isn't quite balanced for all the classes. You can basically level up a few characters and use them to cruise through the entire game while ignoring the rest of your squad.
 
Crash Drive 3. Yea it sounds like dumb shovel ware but it’s actually a really fun and silly open area driving game. You pick your car and boost around at dumb speeds doing tricks off ramps. Every level has objectives and it’s all online, random online events will start all the time.

It doesn’t reinvent the wheel or have a ton of depth but really reminded me of the fun I had in games like Rush 2049 or Midtown Madness way back when.

 
Endling - Extinction Is Forever
Genre: Survival/Adventure
TTIYL: Inside, Limbo, Little Nightmares, Shelter, Journey, Ori, The Last Of Us

As the last mother fox on Earth, your cubs need all your care to survive in a merciless world that slowly destroys itself. You have to help them, teach them and save them. And you should never forget that extinction is forever.

A 3D side scrolling survival adventure game dealing with real world environmental issues, it's an emotional journey of a mother and her cubs trying to survive in the harsh world humanity has created for them. Beautiful art style like Ori, it will make you cry and think like Journey/Inside/Limbo - the gameplay is similar in a way to games like Inside, Limbo, or Little Nightmares. You might even enjoy it if you loved The Last Of Us on a very basic level of a journey of survival against all odds to protect your loved ones. You will probably cry.

 
aus89 said:
Endling - Extinction Is Forever
Genre: Survival/Adventure
TTIYL: Inside, Limbo, Little Nightmares, Shelter, Journey, Ori, The Last Of Us

As the last mother fox on Earth, your cubs need all your care to survive in a merciless world that slowly destroys itself. You have to help them, teach them and save them. And you should never forget that extinction is forever.

A 3D side scrolling survival adventure game dealing with real world environmental issues, it's an emotional journey of a mother and her cubs trying to survive in the harsh world humanity has created for them. Beautiful art style like Ori, it will make you cry and think like Journey/Inside/Limbo - the gameplay is similar in a way to games like Inside, Limbo, or Little Nightmares. You might even enjoy it if you loved The Last Of Us on a very basic level of a journey of survival against all odds to protect your loved ones. You will probably cry.

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I keep meaning to play this, it looks great!
 
0
The Mummy Demastered
Metroidvania
Try this if you liked: the Castlevania GBA/DS games, Aliens: Infestation
While it’s technically a tie-in to the cinematic attempt to launch a ‘dark universe’, it’s got almost nothing to do with Cruise’s character, instead using the monsters and set pieces of the film to make a fun Metroidvania that your generic trooper has to fight their way through. Mostly you’re relying on a gun rather than melee weapons, and there’s a Dark Souls style ‘go get your stuff when you die’ mechanic, but it’s framed as ‘your former character died and is now risen as undead, your new faceless soldier has to go deal with them’. Like a lot of indies it’s had a couple patches since launch, I played it again recently and it’s a much better game these days.
 
Foretales
Genre: card game/visual novel
Try this if you liked: Hand of Fates 2, The Lone Wolf, Voice of Cards
Impressions: this game really is a little gem, with an original loop that perfectly balance narrative and cards, player's choices and luck; artistically inspired by the classical Disney cartoon, such as Robin Hood, will present you a fresh way of managing a story-based experience, where your way of taking decisions and directions will actually change the narrative, through an interesting deck of interactive-contextual cards
Switchitalia: 8/10
 
Most of my Switch library is filled with these, but I’ll do the first three off the top of my head.

Aggelos (TTIYL: Wonderboy/Zelda II)
Action-Adventure
If you like the Wonderboy games, absolutely play this. It may not look like much, but it plays well and is honestly a lot of fun!



Astalon: Tears of the Earth (TTIYL: Maze of Galious, La Mulana, Castlevania (metroidvanias))
Action-Adventure Platformer
It can be a bit difficult at first, but once you start building up your character(s) abilities and unlock the elevator, the game becomes more manageable. Even if you’re not a fan of difficult games, this one shouldn’t be too bad.



Cham the Cat Adventure (TTIYL: Super Mario Land, Castlevania)
Platformer
It’s literally like someone went ‘What if I made a Gameboy game just like Super Mario Land, gave the main character a whip like in Castlevania, and the main character was a cat?!’—and it works. A bit too on the nose maybe for some, if you need that SML itch scratched, this might do the trick.



Honorable Mentions Lightening Round:
Bomb Chicken:



Dumpy & Bumpy:



Demons of Asteborg:
 
Shroomy said:
Most of my Switch library is filled with these, but I’ll do the first three off the top of my head.

Aggelos (TTIYL: Wonderboy/Zelda II)
Action-Adventure
If you like the Wonderboy games, absolutely play this. It may not look like much, but it plays well and is honestly a lot of fun!



Astalon: Tears of the Earth (TTIYL: Maze of Galious, La Mulana, Castlevania (metroidvanias))
Action-Adventure Platformer
It can be a bit difficult at first, but once you start building up your character(s) abilities and unlock the elevator, the game becomes more manageable. Even if you’re not a fan of difficult games, this one shouldn’t be too bad.



Cham the Cat Adventure (TTIYL: Super Mario Land, Castlevania)
Platformer
It’s literally like someone went ‘What if I made a Gameboy game just like Super Mario Land, gave the main character a whip like in Castlevania, and the main character was a cat?!’—and it works. A bit too on the nose maybe for some, if you need that SML itch scratched, this might do the trick.



Honorable Mentions Lightening Round:
Bomb Chicken:



Dumpy & Bumpy:



Demons of Asteborg:
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Added the top 3 to the directory, I’ve finished Aggelos and Astalon and would also heartily recommend both.

Bomb Chicken I also really enjoyed, and found really funny. It’s a good one to look at to see what Nitrome got up to before Shovel Knight Dig.

Demons of Asteborg looks right up my alley, I’ll defo check that out!
 
0
Bomb Chicken
Puzzle-Platformer
Try this if you liked: Toki Tori, Elechead

I also think Bomb Chicken is great, so let this be an official addition!

It's one of those games that have just one central mechanic that's used for multiple things. Even on a really basic level: you cannot jump, but have to lay some (bomb) eggs to get higher and then move from there. You'll also be using the same exact eggs to kill enemies and blow up obstacles, all placed to make up a solid, fun puzzle-platformer.

 
juuso said:
Bomb Chicken
Puzzle-Platformer
Try this if you liked: Toki Tori, Elechead

I also think Bomb Chicken is great, so let this be an official addition!

It's one of those games that have just one central mechanic that's used for multiple things. Even on a really basic level: you cannot jump, but have to lay some (bomb) eggs to get higher and then move from there. You'll also be using the same exact eggs to kill enemies and blow up obstacles, all placed to make up a solid, fun puzzle-platformer.

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The chicken is just so adorable too!

Added to the directory, I really want to replay it now
 
Xeodrifter
Try this if you liked, er, Metroid

What I like about Xeodrifter isn’t so much the lovely pixel art, it’s more the pacing. It’s not a huge game to get lost in, it’s action packed and fairly short. You can run through it in a handful of hours, and to me that has a quality all of its own.
 
Steamworld Dig 2
Genre: 2D Platformer Metroidvania
Try this if you liked: Metroid, Spelunky, Shantae, Roguelike lite games, 2D Platformers
Impressions: Constant Progression, Many Collectables, Skill based platforming, Many skills, Secrets abound, Tight controls

Maybe not a hidden gem because it it fairly known, but 3 people I have recommended it earlier didn't know it and absolutely loved it

 
Islets
TTIYL: Hollow Knight, Steamworld Dig 2
Metroidvania, Bullet Hell Sections

Islets is a beautiful and semi-laid-back metroidvania with several fun, challenging, and engaging boss fights. Your goal as protagonist Iko, a modest mouse with dreams of heroism, is to reunite the fractured islets by jump-starting their long-abandoned magnetic cores.

This means you’ll be taking to the air in your tiny little boat and fighting air pirates — sometimes with nothing more than their own weapons!

As you restart the cores, the islets stick back together — opening new paths to seemingly inaccessible places.

I was initially put off by the seemingly asynchronous enemy designs in the starting area and their minimal animations, but that feeling did not last long. Designs almost immediately got more interesting, and it all felt more cohesive the further I went.

Everything balances being funny with also having gentle weight. A huge part of that is the beautiful, beautiful soundtrack — bright yet a touch somber, playful yet not silly, and melodically atmospheric.

The small cast of characters really grew on me. Standouts include a suspicious frog doing tomb tours, a gleeful intern, and a big laid-back pal who just enjoys being places.

I really recommend it and I’m not seeing much about it — give it a try!

 
Suswave said:
Islets
TTIYL: Hollow Knight, Steamworld Dig 2
Metroidvania, Bullet Hell Sections

Islets is a beautiful and semi-laid-back metroidvania with several fun, challenging, and engaging boss fights. Your goal as protagonist Iko, a modest mouse with dreams of heroism, is to reunite the fractured islets by jump-starting their long-abandoned magnetic cores.

This means you’ll be taking to the air in your tiny little boat and fighting air pirates — sometimes with nothing more than their own weapons!

As you restart the cores, the islets stick back together — opening new paths to seemingly inaccessible places.

I was initially put off by the seemingly asynchronous enemy designs in the starting area and their minimal animations, but that feeling did not last long. Designs almost immediately got more interesting, and it all felt more cohesive the further I went.

Everything balances being funny with also having gentle weight. A huge part of that is the beautiful, beautiful soundtrack — bright yet a touch somber, playful yet not silly, and melodically atmospheric.

The small cast of characters really grew on me. Standouts include a suspicious frog doing tomb tours, a gleeful intern, and a big laid-back pal who just enjoys being places.

I really recommend it and I’m not seeing much about it — give it a try!

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That looks really sweet, love the music!
 
0
Toem

Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Try this if you liked: Camera games, Earthbound, A Short Hike, Animal Crossing, Katamari Damacy

You're an adorable little mountain dweller tasked with leaving the house (you big goof) and exploring the world, camera in-hand, off to find a mystery.


toem-something-we-made.gif



This gif is the game- characters task you with taking pictures of objects and beings and locations your camera recognizes and catalogs, and quests/life journeys unfold from there. Super cozy, visually breathtaking, and just a really wonderfully fun little game, the camera system is fully utilized and developed. Loved it already, and they just released a free update with an entirely new area!





Shroomy said:
Demons of Asteborg:
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200.gif


This looks so wild! I'm having literal flashbacks, feel like I should be swapping carts with a neighbor to borrow this one, cheers.
 
Sparklite
TTIYL: 2D Zelda, Roguelites, Moonlighter
Genre: Roguelite

I don't generally like roguelites, but this one hit the spot enough for me to recommend. Plays sorta like 2D Zeldas including upgrades to access new areas, but is a roguelite with all the usual stuff of having to do multiple runs but you're able to upgrade stuff in a hub between runs, and you get upgrades to access new areas. Nothing earthshattering, and it eschews the exploration of Zelda games for more simplistic procedural generation, but has a good gameplay loop and was surprisingly fun for as long as it lasted.

 
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