Nicalis revealed four upcoming console games during the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The announcements are sure to please fans of recent Nicalis neo-classics like The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ and Cave Story+.
The company’s 2017 line-up includes Tiny Barbarian DX (Nintendo Switch), Ittle Dew 2+ (Nintendo Switch), Blade Strangers (Switch and PlayStation 4) and The End Is Nigh (Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4).
• Inspired by heroic fantasy fiction, Tiny Barbarian DX is the action-packed adventure of one Barbarian’s quest for vengeance. Developer StarQuail Games has combined engaging 2D platform action and combo-based hack-and-slash combat with retro-style pixel art and a pulse-pounding chiptune soundtrack for Nintendo Switch. The game offers two-player cooperative action, unlockable game modes and multiple homages to classic 8- and 16-bit games in each of its four lengthy episodes.
• Sassy adventurer Ittle and her reluctant flying friend Tippsie return in Ittle Dew 2+, an upgraded and expanded Nintendo Switch version of the action/adventure puzzle game from developer Ludosity. Stranded on a mysterious island and armed with a few weapons as well as a magical map, our heroine explores the three-dimensional landscape in search of valuable loot and the eight scattered pieces of a raft that could be her ticket home.
• From veteran Japanese developer Studio Saizensen comes Blade Strangers, a hardcore old-school fighting game with online multiplayer battles for the Switch and PS4. Its refined four-button control scheme makes it easy for beginners to jump right in, but tournament-caliber players will relish the intricate combos, counters and specials. The fighter roster includes characters from previous Studio Saizensen games (like Code of Princess and Sayonara Umihara Kawase), Nicalis games (like Cave Story+) and other surprise entrants.
• The brand-new game from The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel, The End Is Nigh is a sprawling adventure/platformer. Players control Ash, a little black glob trying to make a friend out of the body parts he finds scattered throughout a post-apocalyptic world. As Ash leaps his way through a never-ending onslaught of decaying, mutant creatures, he can collect assorted tumors and hidden video-game cartridges that unlock fully playable mini-games.
All four games are planned for release in 2017, with Tiny Barbarian DX, Ittle Dew 2+ and The End Is Nigh scheduled for Q3 and Blade Strangers appearing in Q4.