The April Nintendo Indies showcase was packed with release date announcements and new reveals, and no, Hollow Knight Silksong wasn’t one of them. Sequels and expansions were still the theme of the day for this showcase, though, with Cult of the Lamb DLC, Teslagrad 2 and Blasphemous 2, and a release date for Oxenfree 2 among the showcase’s many reveals.
Nintendo highlighted plenty of other upcoming indies as well, including a new project from the West of Loathing developers and, at last, a release date for Mineko’s Night Market.
Minenko's Night Market release date
Mineko’s Night Market from Meowza Games finally has a release date, after years of steady updates and features trailers. The market management game will launch on September 26, 2023, for Nintendo Switch. Minkeo’s Night Market follows a young girl as she revitalizes her village by supplying the night market with goods for sale. There’s mystery, magic, puzzles, secret agents, and even a cat god.
My Time at Sandrock comes to Switch
My Time at Sandrock entered early access on Steam in 2022, and now the life sim is coming to Nintendo Switch. The My Time at Portia devs are behind this one, and while it shares some similarities with the farm game, the focus is firmly on crafting in Sandrock. You move to a desert town desperately in need of a builder and bring new life to the dried lands with your talents. Expect Sandrock to launch on Switch sometime in summer 2023.
Teslagrad 2 and Teslagrad Remastered
The hit indie game Teslagrad is back in more ways than one. Developer Rain Games is releasing Teslagrad 2 and a remastered version of the original game on the Switch, and you can buy both separately or in a bundle now. Teslagrad and its sequel are puzzle platformers where you use electromagnetic power to overcome devious traps and take on vicious foes, and the remastered version of the original game includes 10 new levels.
Plate Up finishes cooking this fall
The popular roguelite management game Plate Up launched on Steam in fall 2022, and The Yogscast is bringing it to Nintendo Switch in October 2023. You manage both halves of a restaurant in Plate Up, filling orders and keeping patrons happy with a range of wacky appliances. Every day’s layout and customer patterns are randomized, but if you make it to closing time, you get some extra cash to spend on new equipment to help keep you going for longer.
There’s even a multiplayer component if you want to hit the kitchen with some friends.
Cult of the Lamb DLC adds new modes
Cult of the Lamb DLC is coming, in the form of the Relics of the Old Faith expansion. This free update launches April 24, 2023, and adds new followers, revamps the four bishops, gives you new building options, and even tacks on a brand-new quest. If that wasn’t enough, you can tinker with the new boss rush and permadeath modes as well.
Quilts and Cats of Calico
Monster Couch is adapting the hit board game Calico for the Nintendo Switch with Quilts and Cats of Calico. Each board piece is part of a quilt, and you earn points based on how you place them, the patterns you choose, and the accessories you sew on. You’ll also attract different cats with your quilt choices, and you can even customize how the cats look. If you’re going to have lil’ furry feet trampling over your quilt, they may as well be cute.
Shadows over Loathing shadow drops
The West of Loathing team is back with another quirky stick-figure RPG: Shadows over Loathing. This new game set in the Loathing universe takes place in the 1920s, as a young person asked to mind their uncle’s antique shop stumbles on a secret that could destroy the world. Shadows of Loathing has flappers, tentacle monsters, and the option to turn off spiders or fill the game with nothing but spiders. Loathing‘s signature weird RPG systems return as well, with customizable classes such as the Cheese Wizard and Jazz Agent.
The digital version is out now, and a physical version will launch in fall 2023.
Blasphemous 2 announcement
The Game Kitchen announced Blasphemous 2 is in the works. The Penitent One returns for another brutal jaunt through a cursed land, and they’ve got new weapons this time. The War Censor is slow, but powerful; the rapier and dagger make quick work of enemies; and the new blade weapon is designed for devastating combo attacks. You can get your hands on these sometime during summer 2023.
Oxenfree 2 release date
Night School Games announced the Oxenfree 2 release date in a new trailer that highlights the adventure game’s time-bending action. Riley returns to their hometown five years after the first Oxenfree to research electromagnetic waves and taps into the town’s mysterious radio signals to communicate with otherworldly beings. It’s a choice-driven adventure, where your decisions shape Riley’s development and relationships and even how the story unfolds, and it launches on July 12, 2203.
Rift of the Necrodancer gets a jammin' new trailer
Rift of the Necrodancer, the rhythm game spinoff of Crypt of the Necrodancer, still doesn’t have a release date, but Brace Yourself Games did release a groovy new trailer. It highlights some of the monsters you’ll face on the beatmap and the devious patterns they try to trip you up with. There’s also a set of mini-games that helps develop each character more thoroughly, including rhythm yoga.
Animal Well announcement
If you’re lost in a dark labyrinth, a cuddly animal companion would surely help, right? Not in Animal Well. This action platformer from Shared Memory follows a lost adventurer in a dangerous maze, where you’re as likely to find a helpful raccoon as you are to get eaten by a hungry dog. You have creativity at your disposal, though, and can use even basic items in unique ways to help survive and baffle your foes. Animal Well will launch sometime in 2024.
A Little to the Left DLC is on the way
Secret Mode announced a DLC expansion for the cozy puzzle-organizer game A Little to the Left called Cups and Cupboards. As the name suggests, the DLC puts you in charge of organizing swathes of small items in even smaller spaces, putting pens and spoons away neatly, finding a home for that little thing over there, and redoing it all when you realize you forgot to make room for the scissors. There’s 25 new puzzles, and extra puzzles nested in these puzzles, based on some of the base game’s most popular stages. Cups and Cupboards launches in June 2023 for Nintendo Switch and PC.
Set your watches for Crime O' Clock
Bad Seed aims to put a new twist in the adventure mystery genre with Crime O’ Clock. You play as a daring rabbit detective who travels through history to uncover the truth behind a series of crimes. Your actions in one era will have unexpected effects later in time and require lateral thinking to properly piece together crime scenes throughout the eras. Crime O’ Clock launches June 30, 2023.
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon DLC
Yacht Club Games announced the free Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon DLC Puzzler’s Pack, set to launch sometime in spring 2023. The Puzzler’s Pack includes two new characters and a suite of difficult new Quandary Challenges to clear as you make your way through Quandary Castle. You can also pick up some new hats in the in-game shop, because why not.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
