Level 22
Level 22 was recently released on January 28 on the European and North American Wii U eShops. The game takes 244MB of free space.
Here’s an overview of what Level 22 is all about:
This “retro-pixel” looking undercover game will immerse you in a colorful, dynamic and humorous universe!
In this stealth game you are Gary, an office worker who overslept after a drunken night out in town. But it gets tricky, because it isn’t Gary’s first time being late for work. And he could get fired if anyone spots him arriving at his desk after everyone else yet again. So he’ll have to prove his smartness and slyness to make his way up the 22 floors standing between him and his office without being caught.
You can find some footage of the game below:
FreezeME
Rainy Night Creations has recently confirmed via its Facebook page that FreezeME is arriving on the North American Wii U eShop on February 4.
If you purchase FreezeME during its launch week, you can do so for a reduced price of $9.99. It’ll go up to the usual $13.99 price after this period ends.
FreezeME will be coming to Europe as well, after the ratings for different PAL territories are sorted out.
Shutshimi
Choice Provisions recently announced a final release date for Shutshimi on Wii U. The title will be distributed as an eShop game on February 4.
Shutshimi will support off-TV play and include 4-player local co-op.
You can find a trailer for the game below:
Peg Solitaire and Tap Tap Arcade
RCMADIAX recently announced that Peg Solitaire will be hitting the Wii U eShop on February 4, with pricing set at $1.49.
You can find some screenshots from the title in question in the gallery below:
Additionally, the studio also confirmed that Tap Tap Arcade will be available on February 18 for $1.99.
You can also find some screenshots for that title in the gallery below:
Dual Core
Gray Fin Studios’ twin-stick shooter “Dual Core” should be arriving on the Wii U eShop soon. Development on the title is now complete, and it will be submitted to Nintendo for review soon. We should be getting the game between February or March.
Gray Fin Studios shared the following information about Dual Core:
Dual Core is a vibrant, futuristic, “twin-stick” style, shooter, with a strong focus on local co-op multiplayer (up to 4 players). Lots of robots, lots of lasers, lots of aliens, lots of explosions! The numerous retro arcade influences are front and center, but spiced up with a colorful modern style, a generous helping of sci-fi intrigue, and a dash of RPG ELEMENTS! This isn’t an arena shooter (though there is an arena-style arcade mode); there’s a full story mode with a ton of handcrafted levels to explore, and battle through.
Dual Core has been in development for several years now, and originally was conceived as a mobile/tablet game – however, somewhere along the line, I realized that very few of my favorite games were actually on mobile devices, *most* of them were in fact, on the Wii U, and usually because of the local multiplayer. So I decided to trust my instincts and that became the focus – our goal is to get players having a blast, working together, laughing, and (occasionally) yelling at the each other! One of my fondest gaming memories was playing co-op Gauntlet as a kid, and that’s still a strong influence today.
But it’s not just multiplayer – even in single player, you don’t play alone; your robot buddy “Corby” sticks with you, and battles by your side through the whole game. So in a way, it’s co-op multiplayer, even when it’s not.
You can also find a trailer for it below:
Gunscape
Gunscape, Blowfish Studios’ new shooter for Wii U, was dated for March 2 on pretty much every platform, however it won’t be available on the eShop until sometime in Q2 2016.
Blowfish didn’t explain the Wii U delay, but confirmed that the title will support up to 5 players in split-screen multiplayer and up to 20 players in online multiplayer. Cross-platform level sharing is also featured, meaning creations can be shared between Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and other platforms.
While you wait for more news, take a look at the latest trailer for the game below.
Musicverse Electronic Keyboard
Last month, Abylight introduced us to its new music creation app for the 3DS eShop called Musicverse Electronic Keyboard. The company has since shared additional information about the title.
Here’s an overview of its main features and specifications:
– Video tutorials included in the application.
– Automatic accompaniment with 14 music styles and 4 variations.
– Eight programmable chords and 12 chord types to choose.
– Availability of 32 instruments from retro to modern style.
– Integrated sequencer with independent chord and melody tracks.
– Independent mutes for drum, bass and chorus parts.
– Six octave keyboard (2 visible).
– Chord scale visualization.
– Key zoom function.
– Real-time quantization.
– Pitch bend function.
– Metronome.
– Left-handed mode.
– Store up to 128 creations.
– Share your music through Miiverse, Facebook and Twitter.
– Import other user’s music from Miiverse or QR Code patterns.
– Export your songs in AAC format to the SD Card.
Musicverse Electronic Keyboard doesn’t have a release date yet, but we know it’ll cost $7.99 / €7.99.
Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty
With the fast approaching release of Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty on he Wii U eShop, the developers of the game have shared a few new screenshots on the official Twitter account. Check them out in the galler below:
Typoman
Headup Games recently released an update for Typoman. After applying the patch, players should notice several improvements.
Here’s a list of what is included in the update:
– Player character movement and jump range have been enhanced;jump & run sections now feel more comfortable.
– Improved tutorials for the Wordscrambler feature.
– The Wordscrambler button indicator now appears next to the player’s character.
– Animation stuttering removed at crumbling platforms.
– Overall tweaks for performance, graphics and memory management.
The team also announced that a Typoman demo is coming out on February 4.
Discovery
Noowanda is currently planning an update for Discovery, the studio’s block building game for the Wii U eShop. This version 2.2 should include off-TV play in single-player and a third-person view, among other things. Other potential features are being considered, such as managing materials on the GamePad, block coloring and adding more animals.
Players can share feedback about what they want to see in Discovery on the Miiverse post linked below. Noowanda should be looking at all comments.
You can also take a look at the upcoming update in the video below:
Shadow Puppeteer
If you happen to have picked up Shadow Puppeteer on the Wii U eShop, you might have noticed that the game’s performance is drastically impacted if it’s being read from an external hard drive. The game’s developers intend to patch the game in the near future, but until then, definitely be aware of the potential issues you may encounter while playing. It is recommended you play it directly from the Wii U.
“We have found that playing the game from an external hard drive will make the game run slower because the read/write rate of the hard drive. Of course we want everyone to be able to play the game, from external hard drives too, so we will make sure to address this in our patches. Until then we recommend that the game is played directly from the Wii U.”
Swap Fire
Midnight Status is currently wrapping up development on its debut project “Swap Fire”, a new first-person shooter for the Wii U.
Here’s an overview:
“Shooting your opponent opens up a wormhole which swaps your positions. Oust him off the edge in Drop Zone or dominate the map in Control Point. Sharpen your skills in Story Mode or go for gold in Soccer. Whatever your goal, be ever mindful of your spacetime…”
Swap Fire’s controls are unique in that the game only uses a Wii Remote, with players holding it horizontally, like this:
Here’s what Midnight Status had to say on the controls:
“Wait a second. An FPS with just a Wii remote? That’s CRAZY.
Here’s the thing: our main goal is to create an awesome/fun couch multiplayer. By now, the Wii U has about a thousand different types of controllers.
We wanted to keep it simple and FAIR with the one type of controller that everybody has, the Wii remote.
While we understand that these controls seem crazy for an FPS, we are confident that they’re fun and easy to use after just a minute of playing.”
Currently, the team hopes to have Swap Fire ready sometime by summer. In the meanwhile, you can take a sneak peak at some alpha footage they shared on You Tube below.
Kick & Fennick and Devil’s Dare
Abstraction Games, the developer behind Whispering Willows on Wii U, is currently working on bringing two more titles to Nintendo’s console. The studio plans to release Kick & Fennick and Devil’s Dare on the Wii U eShop.
Here’s an overview and trailer for both games:
“Kick & Fennick is a brand new platform adventure about a little boy with a very big gun.
Soon after waking up in a desolate but colorful world, Kick meets a small flying robot named Fennick. When Fennick saves Kick from a menacing guard robot, they find out Fennick’s battery is broken. Together, they embark on an adventure to the Core Tower to find Fennick a new energy core.
Besides shooting down enemy robots, Kick can make huge jumps by using his gun’s powerful recoil. Jump and shoot your way through 45 levels of collapsed skyscrapers, treadmills, bouncypads, magnets, teleporters and that big guard robot who’s never far behind!
Kick & Fennick features colorful 3d graphics, detailed animation, a cinematic camera system and smooth character movement and physics.”
“Devil’s Dare is a 2D zombie beat’em up, supporting up to 4 players to co-op and fight together locally. Being the spritual successor to Bitejacker, Devil’s Dare carries the same theme of parodies, pitting classic game heroes against monsters straight out of 90s horror movies.
Devil’s Dare doesn’t just relies on grinding and leveling up, but instead introduces permadeath to keep players on their toes. With every kill, the player makes some cash, which you can use to purchase upgrades or save it to revive when you’re dead. When you run out of cash completely, you are dead for good and it’s time to start over again. This is a mechanic inspired by the good old arcade days, where every death meant another penny wasted!
Our main influence were some of Capcom’s classics like Alien vs. Predator, Battle Circuit, Final Fight as well as Sega’s Streets of Rage Series. So if you were a fans of those, give it a shot. I’m sure you will find something to love in Devil’s Dare.”
Bplus on a Puzzle Box Setup “successor” and Bit Boy!! series
Bplus is currently working on a “successor” to Puzzle Box Setup, which released on the 3DS a little over a year ago, for Steam. The developer is now looking into bringing that title to the NX as well.
Creator Bernd Geiblinger told one fan on Facebook the following when asked if an update to the 3DS version is planned to bring it closer to the Steam version:
“Not possible, this game is made for NX but modified to be released on Steam earlier, because sadly I’m not able to wait til NX and need to release this game soon.”
Geiblinger added that the Steam version will continue to grow with updates, and it will be possible to create levels that can later be shared with NX players. Also, Bplus intends for the NX version to make use of eight colors instead of Steam’s limit of four thanks to the controls, “which opens possibilities to completely different pictures and modes for NX version.”
Here’s a trailer showcasing the new version of Puzzle Box on Steam:
Finally, Geiblinger teased the following for NX, when talking about Bplus’ other 3DS series Bit Boy!!:
“You will definitely see Kubi traveling back to the old Bit-Eras on NX. Stay tuned. Cannot talk about something specific before Nintendo announces the new platform.”
It’s currently unclear how much Bplus actually knows about the NX or if the indie developer has access to a development kit for the system, so we probably will have to wait for Nintendo’s announcement before learning more about these titles.
SteamWorld Heist
Image & Form has recently shared that thus far, SteamWorld Heaist “is an even bigger success than SteamWorld Dig” in terms of sales, reviews and community feedback.
Image & Form wrote the following message in a new website post:
“Is SteamWorld Heist successful?
Yes, it is! So far SteamWorld Heist is an even bigger success than SteamWorld Dig. Not just in terms of sales: Reviews and community feedback are through the roof!
At the time of writing SteamWorld Heist is tied with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate for the highest rated 3DS game of 2015 (not counting remakes), according to Metacritic. We have no sales figures to share today, but rest assured we’re very pleased with the numbers.
Before our inflated egos won’t fit through the front door anymore we’d like to thank you. Without your support this wouldn’t have been possible!”
Additionally, SteamWorld Heist’s first update, which adds French, Italian, German, Spanish and Russian translations to the game, has been delayed slightly due to time constraints. It should be out “before you know it”, and apparently it’ll come with “new surprises and lots of polish”.
Word Puzzles by POWGI
Lightwood Games has put together another video explaining how amiibo works in Word Puzzles by POWGI. Check it out below:
Nintendo Minute – Let’s Shovel!
In the latest episode of Nintendo Minute, Kit and Krysta give Shovel Knight another look now that the amiibo is available, introducing new functionality in the game. You can find it below: