Nintendo Direct: Top Indies

Earlier this morning, while wrapped in blankets and still wearing their pajamas, a group of our Raven Reviewers gathered to watch Nintendo Direct’s 40-minute live stream. Amid countless farming sims and remakes, our Ravens chose their top favorite indies that are coming to the Nintendo Switch.

Sarah’s Pick: Fae farm

Fae Farm is a charming farming sim by Phoenix Labs that made me audibly gasp when I realized what the concept of the game actually was. Coming in spring of 2023, Fae Farm was the perfect edition to a Nintendo Direct filled with classic, big-name farming simulation games like Story of Seasons, Rune Factory, and the upcoming Harvestella. Seeing a fairytale world and a magical touch in the playable characters—especially as a sucker for anything with wings—was a welcome addition to games where the player’s companions are usually the only magical ones. In addition, this is one of the few farming sims with multiplayer compatibility (move over, Stardew Valley!). This bright mix of Story of Seasons and Fantasy Life, two of my favorite games ever, will be exclusively available on Nintendo Switch, and I am very excited to pour my heart and soul into a game where I can farm and be a faerie at the same time.

Sarah’s Pick: Factorio

A factory simulation game with multiplayer? Yes, please! Build the factory of your dreams (or nightmares?) with Factorio, a construction and management simulation game that looks overwhelming in the best way. Wube Software was able to bring us Factorio, officially coming to Switch on October 28th, 2022, from Indiegogo crowdfunding, and has been available on other platforms and demos for some time now. While I personally don’t play management sims too often, my husband is a huge fan of the genre, and the added multiplayer capabilities caught my eye as something we could play together. Plus, as a team of only 18 individuals, I am always amazed at what small studios can create—and having a game this jam-packed full of features with only a small team is an incredible feat that they should be proud of. To help support the game, you can grab the Steam version now and keep an eye out for the expansion packs that are in development, too.

I’m also really, really excited for Crisis Core, Harvestella, and all the awesome Square Enix games coming out for Nintendo Switch… but those aren’t indie, so I will just leave the Sephiroth simpage to my personal page…

Puppet’s Pick: TUNIC

I fell in love with TUNIC when I saw @Darkisle stream this game on our Twitch channel when it was first released for PC. As a Nintendo Switch fanatic, I am so excited to see this game finally come to the Switch. TUNIC is reminiscent of the Zelda RPGs I grew up playing. The game’s protagonist is an adorably courageous fox who is thrown into an adventure full of legends, ancient powers, and ferocious monsters. On the journey, the player helps this tiny fox reconstruct the game’s instruction manual—page by page—to reveal maps, tips, special techniques, and deep secrets. This adorable action-adventure RPG also features a gorgeous original soundtrack by Lifeformed (Terence Lee and Janice Kwan). I just can’t wait to explore all of TUNIC’s mysteries! This enchanting adventure is already available on PC, macOS, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. It will be released on the Nintendo Switch, PS4 & PS5 on September 27th, 2022.

Puppet’s Pick: Ib

If you know anything about me, you know I love psychological indie horror games made with RPG Maker. When this game was announced during this morning’s Nintendo Direct, I was immediately reminded of one my favorite horror games, The Witch’s House MV. Ib is a haunted 2D exploration game that was originally developed by kouri for PC in 2012 using RPG Maker 2000. Although this was the first time I was introduced to this beautifully creepy adorror (adorable horror) indie, Ib already has a substantial cult following. While visiting an art gallery with her parents, Ib suddenly realizes that she is utterly alone amidst countless works of strange art. The environment quickly changes and the young girl finds herself searching for an escape from the creepy art gallery. This game hits every mark for me—with captivating artwork, disarming traps, mind-bending puzzles, and a mysteriously unsettling story—I am especially excited for Ib to finally come to the Nintendo Switch in the spring of 2023.

Taz’s Pick: Sifu

Sifu is an action roguelike beat ‘em up game from Sloclap that is already out, but will be coming soon to Switch. Set in modern-day China, players control the child of a martial arts school’s sifu who seeks revenge on those responsible for their father’s death. Seeing that this kung fu game would be coming to Switch was awesome news for myself and all those handheld-gaming lovers. It will be exciting to see how the gameplay translates from Playstation to the Switch, but judging by the trailer, it looks like the same hardcore energy will be found. Sifu will be released on November 8th, 2022 on the Nintendo Switch, but if you just can’t wait, it’s currently available on the Epic Games store, PS4, and PS5. Some exclusive bundles will also be available, so keep an eye out for those, as the Switch version is already available to preorder.

Honorable Mentions…

Lego Bricktales

We were so excited to see that Thunderful was behind this fun LEGO puzzle game! Catch the Nintendo Switch release on October 12th, 2022.

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code

All you Danganronpa fans will be excited about this one as it’s from the same studio! Spike Chunsoft is bringing another dark fantasy detective game to the Nintendo universe in 2023.