Nintendo Direct Round-Up: Free Balatro DLC Out Today, Yakuza Finally Coming To Switch, and a Whole Bunch Of Remasters

By Elijah Gonzalez  |  August 27, 2024 | 12:20pm
Video Games News nintendo
Nintendo Direct Round-Up: Free Balatro DLC Out Today, Yakuza Finally Coming To Switch, and a Whole Bunch Of Remasters

Nintendo is an interesting spot at the moment. It’s basically an open secret that the Nintendo Switch’s successor is on the way, and it’s clear the company is hesitant to commit many more big first-party games to their absurdly successful but aged console/handheld hybrid. Today, Nintendo hosted a double-header showcase, the Indie World Showcase + Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase, where they showed off a bunch of games from smaller teams and third-party publishers intended to tide over players in the interim.

As for the Indie Showcase, we got a few release dates, fresh announcements, and reveals around free DLC. At the Partner Showcase, a handful of new game announcements and many more remasters and remakes were teased. While there weren’t many bombshells, if you’re a fan of old RPGs, the many remasters and sequels on the way likely piqued your interest.

Let’s start this wrap-up with the Indie World Showcase:

Balatro Free DLC Crossover Out Today


Everyone’s favorite card game sensation is getting a free update today that will introduce new crossover cards from an eclectic selection of popular games, including The Witcher 3, Vampire Survivors, Dave the Diver, and Among Us. While it looks like the cards are only cosmetic, this collaboration signals interesting things for the future.

Neva Release Date Revealed

Neva is a gorgeous-looking 2D platformer developed by the studio behind Gris where you play as Alba, a girl raising a wolf. The game has a striking art style, and we got more of a look at its battles with shadowy creatures. Its release date was finally revealed as October 15 of this year.

Coffee Talk Tokyo Announced

The next installment in the barista-based visual novel series Coffee Talk was announced, and this time, it takes place in Tokyo. Set in a modern fantasy world, you chat with patrons about their life problems while preparing a brew in little interactive segments. It’s set for a 2025 release date.

Sea of Stars Throes of the Watchmaker DLC Announced

The RPG Sea of Stars is getting a seemingly substantive free add-on with Throes of the Watchmaker, which will include new classes and a fresh party member as you investigate a Something Wicked This Way Comes-style dark carnival. It’s coming in Spring 2025.

Morsels Announced

Morsels is an upcoming roguelike featuring CRT scanlines and adorable body horror monstrosities as you guide a shapeshifting mouse through top-down shoot ‘em-up action. Published by Annapurna, this one has a distinctive look that combines whimsical and offputting details to great effect, best embodied by the My Neighbor Totoro-spoofing pig bus shown at the end of the trailer. It’s slated for February 2025.

Pizza Tower Out for Switch Today

Pizza Tower is a 2D platformer about a man named Peppino Spaghetti who shoulder charges through a delirious world of sentient Italian cuisine, and the game plays a bit like if you went through the Wario Land games at x10 speed. Thankfully, it’s as fun as that sounds and will be making its console debut on the Switch later today.

Tetris Forever Announced

Kicking off the Nintendo Partner Showcase was Tetris Forever, which seems like it will continue the recent welcome trend of publishers putting out interactive museum videogames. In this case, it happens to be a collection of past Tetris games featuring documentary segments about one of the most important games of all time. This collection/digital museum lets you play a variety of Tetris variants, including the Famicom version, Tetris 2, Tetris Battle Gaiden, and many more. It will be out later this year.

Star Overdrive Announced

Star Overdrive, an open-world sci-fi game where you cruise through the desert on a hoverboard and bash monsters, was revealed today. We got a glimpse of gameplay, which included performing tricks on your board and using abilities, like a kinesis move, to huck foes around. It’s being published by Dear Villagers and is set for a 2025 release.

Capcom Fighting Collection 2 Announced and Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection Gets Release Date

Capcom continues to keep themselves busy releasing collections of their massive fighting games backlog, and they announced their second Capcom Fighting Collection, which will feature Capcom Vs. SNK, Capcom Vs. SNK 2, Power Stone, Plasma Sword, and more. It’s set for 2025.

That collection isn’t to be confused with the other upcoming Capcom collection, Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection, which finally got a release date: September 12. That one includes Marvel Vs. Capcom 1 and 2, two of the most important fighting games ever, among others, and its release has many hopeful that this legendary series may be revived with a new entry.

Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land Announced

The award for the longest game name of the livestream goes to Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land, a new entry in the long-running RPG series from Koei Tecmo. This one features a new lead and some classic world-ending scenarios. It’s set for Early 2025.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Announced

We got another reveal for a fresh entry in a long-running RPG series with Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma which looks like it will further expand on this life-sim/RPG hybrid. The trailer showed off Earth Dancing, a technique that allows you to quickly grow crops and cultivate land, alongside action gameplay that looks like a departure from how these games have traditionally handled combat. Add in some classic life-sim relationship mechanics, big boss fights, and more, and this looks like a meaty, exciting new installment in the series. It’s set for a Spring 2025 release date.

Yakuza Makes Its Debut on Switch With Yakuza Kiwami Re-Release

If you’ve ever felt bad for our Nintendo-bound peers for their inability to enjoy the presence of everyone’s favorite ex-gangster with a heart of gold, Kiryu Kazuma, it seems like their wait is finally over. Yakuza Kiwami is getting a Switch release on October 24, coinciding with the release of the upcoming Amazon Prime Video TV series.

A Whole Bunch More Remasters and Remakes On The Way

We continue to live in the remake/remaster era, and that couldn’t have been more obvious in the spate of upcoming re-releases shown during today’s livestream. Beyond the previously mentioned ones, we got another look at Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, which is coming out on November 14. The previously delayed Suikoden I&II HD Remaster got a new release date of March 6, 2025. Castlevania Dominus Collection, which includes Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclesia, and Haunted Castle, was announced and is coming later today. We also got the reveal of Tales of Graces f Remastered, a re-release of this Wii/PS3 title, which is coming out January 17 of next year. If you like older RPGs, there is a lot to look forward to.

And that’s all. While this showcase didn’t have many huge surprises, the Switch still has a few big first-party games in store for the rest of the year, including The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Mario and Luigi: Brothership. It will be interesting to see if those and the games announced today will be enough to tide us over until the inevitable announcement of Nintendo’s new console.

You can view the full Nintendo Direct below:

 
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