Welcome, welcome. Yes, it really is June already, which means it’s time for another eShop Selects!
But wait, what was that? Other games came out this month? Yep, we know Yes, we know most of you have been playing a certain open-world wonder on Switch for the majority of May. But that’s why this month, eShop Selects is more vital than ever in our eyes.
Even though it’s been a quieter month of the digital storefront, there are still some fantastic titles tucked away that we enjoyed — we all need a post-Zelda game, after all. Since it’s been a quieter month, we’ve included all eShop exclusives that scored 7/10 or above.
With that out of the way, let’s dive in.
Honourable Mentions
This month has been a popular one for late ports, boomer shooters and puzzlers. And we’ve got all of those bases and more covered — even in the honourable mentions:
Publisher: Mode 7 / Developer: Ground Shatter
Fights in Tight Spaces is one of the coolest roguelites on the Switch. Its monochromatic with splashes-of-red visuals are a feast and the deck-building combat is unique and surprisingly deep. it’s like watching an infiltration or a movie fight in slow-motion, and you’re making all of the decisions. It takes a lot to make a roguelite feel truly fresh, but Ground Shatter has proven that there are still plenty of special ideas in the tank for this hugely popular genre. This popular 2021 Steam title has made the jump to Switch quite nicely, earning a well-deserved 8/10 from us.
Publisher: Focus Entertainment / Developer: Auroch Digital
The “boom” of boomer shooters just keeps on giving, and the follow-up to Space Marine — Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun — is another beautiful example of how to make a stylish, bloody, and addictive shooter. Even with some control and level design issues, we kept coming back for the combat. The titular boltgun is the star of the show, but every single weapon feels excellent to use. We also can’t get enough of those crunchy 3D pixels. We awarded this unlikely follow-up with a solid 7/10.
Publisher: Raw Fury / Developer: Bytten Studio
Brighton-based developer Bytten Studio has knocked it out of the park with their monster-collecting tribute to ’80s music, Cassette Beasts. Mixing Pokémon-like creatures with a vast Zelda-inspired overworld, Cassette Beasts feels like the kind of mature Pokémon game long-time fans have been dreaming of. The mix of sprite work, 2D visuals, funky music, and unusual creatures is just the beginning of what makes this a wonderful RPG, and we’ve still got thousands of beasts to mix and fuse together before we reach the end of our adventure. The developer has been working on performance patches, but even with those issues, we scored Cassette Beasts an 8/10.
< Nintendo eShop Selects – April 2023
How we decide our eShop Selects top three: As we reach the end of every month, the Nintendo Life staff vote on their favourite titles from a list of games selected by the editorial team. To qualify for this list, these games must have been released as a digital-only Nintendo Switch eShop title in that particular month, and must have been reviewed on Nintendo Life; we select the qualifying games based on their review scores.
Staff are then asked to vote for three games that they think deserve to sit right at the very top of that list; first choice gets 3 points, second choice gets 2 points, and third choice gets 1 point. These votes are then tallied to create a top-three list, with the overall winner taking that month’s top prize.
Welcome, welcome. Yes, it really is June already, which means it’s time for another eShop Selects!
But wait, what was that? Other games came out this month? Yep, we know Yes, we know most of you have been playing a certain open-world wonder on Switch for the majority of May. But that’s why this month, eShop Selects is more vital than ever in our eyes.
Even though it’s been a quieter month of the digital storefront, there are still some fantastic titles tucked away that we enjoyed — we all need a post-Zelda game, after all. Since it’s been a quieter month, we’ve included all eShop exclusives that scored 7/10 or above.
With that out of the way, let’s dive in.
Honourable Mentions
This month has been a popular one for late ports, boomer shooters and puzzlers. And we’ve got all of those bases and more covered — even in the honourable mentions:
Publisher: Mode 7 / Developer: Ground Shatter
Fights in Tight Spaces is one of the coolest roguelites on the Switch. Its monochromatic with splashes-of-red visuals are a feast and the deck-building combat is unique and surprisingly deep. it’s like watching an infiltration or a movie fight in slow-motion, and you’re making all of the decisions. It takes a lot to make a roguelite feel truly fresh, but Ground Shatter has proven that there are still plenty of special ideas in the tank for this hugely popular genre. This popular 2021 Steam title has made the jump to Switch quite nicely, earning a well-deserved 8/10 from us.
Publisher: Focus Entertainment / Developer: Auroch Digital
The “boom” of boomer shooters just keeps on giving, and the follow-up to Space Marine — Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun — is another beautiful example of how to make a stylish, bloody, and addictive shooter. Even with some control and level design issues, we kept coming back for the combat. The titular boltgun is the star of the show, but every single weapon feels excellent to use. We also can’t get enough of those crunchy 3D pixels. We awarded this unlikely follow-up with a solid 7/10.
Publisher: Raw Fury / Developer: Bytten Studio
Brighton-based developer Bytten Studio has knocked it out of the park with their monster-collecting tribute to ’80s music, Cassette Beasts. Mixing Pokémon-like creatures with a vast Zelda-inspired overworld, Cassette Beasts feels like the kind of mature Pokémon game long-time fans have been dreaming of. The mix of sprite work, 2D visuals, funky music, and unusual creatures is just the beginning of what makes this a wonderful RPG, and we’ve still got thousands of beasts to mix and fuse together before we reach the end of our adventure. The developer has been working on performance patches, but even with those issues, we scored Cassette Beasts an 8/10.
< Nintendo eShop Selects – April 2023
How we decide our eShop Selects top three: As we reach the end of every month, the Nintendo Life staff vote on their favourite titles from a list of games selected by the editorial team. To qualify for this list, these games must have been released as a digital-only Nintendo Switch eShop title in that particular month, and must have been reviewed on Nintendo Life; we select the qualifying games based on their review scores.
Staff are then asked to vote for three games that they think deserve to sit right at the very top of that list; first choice gets 3 points, second choice gets 2 points, and third choice gets 1 point. These votes are then tallied to create a top-three list, with the overall winner taking that month’s top prize.
