Nintendo’s Indie Showcase: The Ultimate Triumphs and Total Misses

Hello everyone. Let’s talk about Nintendo’s latest attempt to pry your eyes open before the coffee’s even cooled — another Indie World showcase at the unholy hour of dawn. Fifteen minutes of condensed hype, awkward transitions, and games promising to be your next obsession… or next forgotten eShop tile. And yes, the mythical unicorn known as Hollow Knight: Silksong remains missing in action. But hey, let’s pretend we’re not all here for just that one game, right?

The Headliners

We start with Mina the Hollower from Yacht Club Games — the same sorcerers who gave us Shovel Knight and proved pixel art isn’t dead, just drunk and rowdy. You’ll finally get to play it this Halloween, after a wait so long it probably qualifies as geological time. Early demo out now, because nothing says Halloween spirit like smacking things underground.

Then there’s Well Dweller — an action side-scroller dripping with horror vibes, launching in 2026. Looks frantic, like Castlevania after three cans of Red Bull and a nightmare about centipedes. Could be brilliant or just another exercise in gradually losing all feeling in your thumbs.

Neverway pitches itself as “Stardew Valley but also Zelda with combat,” brought to you by creatives from Celeste, Fez, and Hyper Light Drifter. It’s an ambitious mix. Either it’s going to be beautiful escapism or the gameplay equivalent of overcooked fusion cuisine that nobody asked for. Set for release in 2026, so plenty of time for hype to curdle.

Herdling from Okomotive is here to wash away the dark with a pastoral therapy session — guiding adorable creatures through biomes fraught with environmental danger. Coming August 21. Should be great for players who think “combat” is a four-letter word and just want to herd stuff without existential dread.

Is This Seat Taken? is perhaps the oddest entry — it’s literally a seating chart simulator. Yes, while the rest of us are dodging monsters or building empires, you’ll be arguing over which digital blob sits next to which other digital blob, all to keep them happy. It’s out today if that’s your brand of madness.

Little Kitty, Big City returns with free updates: cat customization, photo mode, new areas. Life’s a sandbox when you’re a cyberpunk feline. It’s basically someone adding more toys to your personal virtual fishbowl.

Content Warning makes its Switch 2 debut in 2026. Coop horror, viral video ambitions, and willingly walking into nightmare dungeons for views — so basically YouTube’s 2024 energy distilled into a co-op game. Bring friends, or enemies. Same result.

Ball x Pit – twin-stick shooter meets bullet hell, except your gun shoots ricocheting balls. Visually chaotic, potentially seizure-inducing — and that’s a compliment to some of you degener— sorry, “enthusiasts.” Switch release October 15, Switch 2 later in fall.

Ultimate Sheep Raccoon sounds like an AI-generated fever dream, but it’s real: 8-player cycling animals doing stunts that should be illegal in 43 countries. Cross-platform play when it lands later this year.

Glaciered, set in Earth’s deep-freeze future, lets you play as a water-dwelling dinosaur descendant with RPG combat. Coming to Switch 2 as a timed exclusive — because apparently penguins and seals weren’t exciting enough as protagonists.

The Montage Cavalry

• Winter Burrow – survival game starring a mouse. Cute until you’re gnawing on bark to stay alive.
• Undusted: Letters from the Past – clean relics, solve puzzles. Essentially “Marie Kondo: The Game.”
• Tiny Bookshop – run a store, avoid bankruptcy. Available now.
• Caves of Qud – tactical roguelike RPG, fresh from Early Access.
• Strange Antiquities – mystery game with occult shop vibes. September 17 release.
• OPUS: Prism Peak – take photos in a magical world full of animal spirits. No filter needed.
• Go-Go Town! – Animal Crossing but caffeinated. Spring 2026.
• UFO 50 – 50 retro-style games in one neat package, available now.

But Where’s Silksong?

And, in true Nintendo fashion, the most anticipated indie of the century was a no-show. A blink-and-miss “no Silksong, bye” moment — though by now it feels like a long-running joke we’re all unwilling participants in.

Final Diagnosis

As your resident gaming physician, my prognosis is as follows: The showcase was an intriguing patient presenting with a mix of strong vitals (Mina, Neverway, Glaciered) and mild symptoms of filler fatigue (seating chart sim, comedy montage bloat). Some games could be indie goldmines, while others might be destined for the dreaded “two hours played, never touched again” Steam-style grave. Plenty to keep your Switch — and maybe your Switch 2 — busy for the next year, assuming you have the patience of a monk waiting for Silksong.

Verdict: Solid, but nothing to set the ward on fire. Potential’s there, but the crown jewel remains missing in action.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.

Article Source: 18 Cool Games We Saw In Nintendo’s Surprise Indie Direct, https://kotaku.com/nintendo-indie-world-direct-recap-mina-silksong-2000616276