Today sees the release of the “beloved” Neptunia RPG, Megadimension Neptunia VII, on the Nintendo Switch eShop.

To celebrate the occasion, Idea Factory is offering a three-week-long launch discount of 20% off the $29.99/£26.99 standard price – reducing it to $23.99/£21.59 (offer expires on 17/08/2020). If you’d prefer a physical copy, Limited Run Games is also offering a hard copy of the game for $39.99 or your regional equivalent (not including shipping and handling).

This title was originally launched on the PlayStation 4 in 2015. DLC created for other platforms will be available for purchase on the Nintendo Switch as add-on content, minus Million Arthur – which is no longer purchasable. If you take the digital route, the game will require roughly 7GB of free space.

Is this a game you’ll be adding to your Switch HOME Menu? Leave a comment down below.

You see that mountain on the horizon? You can go there! That old gaming chestnut has been around for a long time now, but for old-school gamers who remember the compartmentalised kingdoms of yore, there’s a special magic still to be derived from being able to trek your way to a distant summit. Video games, eh? Marvellous.

In spite of the console’s diminutive size, Nintendo Switch has accrued a selection of vast kingdoms and open worlds to explore and enjoy since launch, and below we’ve collected our picks of the very best open-world games on Switch.

How do we define an ‘open world’? Well, exploration of a large overworld is fundamental, preferably with as little gating as possible. The ability to go anywhere, anytime, is a key part of the titles below – whether you’ve got the chops to survive or not. If you’re after 2D platformers that gradually reveal a large open map to explore, you should check out our guide to the best Switch Metroidvanias.

So, let’s take a look at a selection–in no particular order–of the best open worlds on Switch.

Publisher: CD Projekt Red / Developer: CD Projekt Red

Release Date: 15th Oct 2019 (USA) / 15th Oct 2019 (UK/EU)

We begin with one of the most impressive ports on Switch. The fact that CD Projekt Red’s action-RPG runs on Nintendo’s console at all is a minor miracle, but the experience the studio served up in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt holds up incredibly well thanks to the efforts of Saber Interactive. Geralt of Rivia’s epic adventure is a pleasure to play on a handheld, and cross-saves with the PC version of the game is the icing on a tasty little cake.

Please note that some links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Publisher: Capcom / Developer: Capcom

Release Date: 23rd Apr 2019 (USA) / 23rd Apr 2019 (UK/EU)

What it lacks in epic narrative and lore it makes up for with tight, satisfying combat and the scope of its open world. Dragon’s Dogma might not be perfect, but Capcom’s action-RPG still manages to shine on Switch. This port of the Dark Arisen update won’t convert you if you didn’t get on with the 2012 original, but it still gets a strong recommendation from us.

Publisher: Ubisoft / Developer: Ubisoft

Release Date: 16th Oct 2018 (USA) / 16th Oct 2018 (UK/EU)

Thanks to the inclusion of exclusive Star Fox content, Ubisoft’s multiplatform Starlink: Battle for Atlas is best experienced on Switch and is the closest thing to an open-world Star Fox game out there. Comparisons to No Man’s Sky are valid, and while the game didn’t set the charts alight when it released–arguably thanks to its reliance on bulky toys-to-like accessories at a time when most of us were up to our eyeballs in plastic peripherals already–it’s one of the most enjoyable dogfighting/space exploration games money can buy. You can find it for a pittance these days, and we strongly advise you pick it up next time you see it discounted.

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks / Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Release Date: 17th Nov 2017 (USA) / 17th Nov 2017 (UK/EU)

The game that set the standard for the modern open-world experience with its scope and ambition, the appearance of Skyrim on Switch was a welcome surprise when it popped up in the reveal clip for the console back in October 2016. If you’re after seamless, polished perfection, you’ll find Zelda further down this list; if you’re after an epic adventure filled with guts, glory and not a small amount of jank, this remains one of the very best examples out there.

Publisher: Koch Media / Developer: Volition

Release Date: 27th Mar 2020 (USA) / 27th Mar 2020 (UK/EU)

In the continued absence of the 3D Grand Theft Auto series on Nintendo consoles, Saints Row IV: Re-Elected steps into the frame and delivers a knowingly silly, thoroughly entertaining take on the urban open-world game. It runs far better than its predecessor on Switch, and while its sense of humour won’t gel with everyone, it’s definitely worth investigation if you like open-world games that don’t take themselves too seriously.

Publisher: Abylight Studios / Developer: Heart Machine

Release Date: 6th Sep 2018 (USA) / 6th Sep 2018 (UK/EU)

Hyper Light Drifter: Special Edition is a top-down adventure that wordlessly presents a Legend of Zelda-esque kingdom to explore and puzzle through. It’s an indie classic filled with secrets which performs perfectly on Switch whether you’re playing in handheld or docked mode. If you’ve had this on your ‘to play’ list, we urge you to dive into its gorgeous pixel world as soon as possible.

Publisher: Ubisoft / Developer: Ubisoft

Release Date: 6th Dec 2019 (USA) / 6th Dec 2019 (UK/EU)

Switch owners have a couple of options when it comes to Assassin’s Creed games, but there’s a clear correct answer if someone asks you which they should play. Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection contains both Black Flag (number four in the mainline franchise), plus the series spin-off/interquel Assassin’s Creed: Rogue. A feast for the eyes and ears, sailing around the high seas as Edward Kenway feels not dissimilar to the voyages of a young cel-shaded sailor we enjoyed first back on GameCube, and the beauty of the Caribbean waves and pirate settlements is displayed in fine portable form in this excellent port of one of the series’ high points.

And Rogue’s not bad, either.

Publisher: Klei Entertainment / Developer: Klei Entertainment

Release Date: 12th Apr 2018 (USA) / 12th Apr 2018 (UK/EU)

The procedurally generated open worlds of Don’t Starve give it the feeling of an unforgiving Minecraft, with pleasure coming from confronting and conquering the hardships and challenges of surviving in the wilderness. It might not be for everyone, and it can get a little repetitive, but the Switch version is a great way to experience the game, and once Don’t Starve sinks its teeth in, you’ll find it very difficult to shake.

Publisher: Electronic Arts / Developer: Criterion Games

Release Date: 19th Jun 2020 (USA) / 19th Jun 2020 (UK/EU)

The open-world approach of Burnout Paradise had a profound influence on the driving genre, although Nintendo platforms haven’t been blessed with an abundance of open-world racers. Criterion’s excellent Need for Speed: Most Wanted came to Wii U, but didn’t make the splash it should have thanks to that console’s disappointing sales. Having this precursor on Switch–and any entry in the beloved Burnout franchise–is a treat sullied only by the substantial price tag it carried at launch.

However, it runs at a lovely 60 fps and despite various elements showing their age a little, it’s still a super slick ride that performs well on Switch. We’d recommend keeping an eye out for a sale with this one.

Publisher: Mojang / Developer: Mojang

Release Date: 21st Jun 2018 (USA) / 21st Jun 2018 (UK/EU)

You know Minecraft, right? The open-world sandbox game where you mine and, indeed, craft materials to survive and shape the world to your liking. Not much else to say really. The Switch version is very solid, and portable to boot. All in all, rather good.

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo SPD

Release Date: 3rd Mar 2017 (USA) / 3rd Mar 2017 (UK/EU)

Battling Skyrim for the title of ‘Most Painfully Obvious Inclusion’, if you own a Switch and it’s not simply an Animal Crossing portal, you owe it to yourself to get Breath of the Wild. Its version of Hyrule is one of the most cohesive, polished and watertight open worlds on any platform and we’ve lost literal real-life days exploring its hills and dales, peaks and valleys, nooks and crannies. It’s one of the best games Nintendo has ever made; of course it’s here.

Think we’ve missed something? Don’t agree with the selection above? Let us know below and we may massage the list above to include other open-world games.

This article is one of our Switch Essentials guides which cover a wide variety of genres, including the Best Switch FPS Games, the Best Switch RPGs, the Best Switch Games For Kids, the Best Switch Couch Co-Op Games and the Best Switch Fitness and Exercise Games. We can also help out hunting down the Best Switch Horror Games, the Best Switch Racing Games, the Best Switch Action-RPGs, the Best Nintendo Switch Roguelikes, Roguelites and Run-Based Games , the Best Free Switch Games, and even Games to Play After You’ve Finished Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Whatever your favourite genre, we’ve got you covered: Strategy Games, Metroidvanias, Puzzle Games, Party Games, Online Multiplayer Games, Shmups, Fighting Games, Hidden Gems, 2D Platformers, 3D Platformers, Sports Games, Beat ‘Em Ups, Chill Games, Family Games, Retro-Inspired Games, Short Games, and the Best Switch Exclusives, as well as Every Arcade Archives Game, Every ACA Neo Geo Game and Every SEGA AGES Game On Switch.

If you’re looking for the best Switch games regardless of genre, our reader-voted selection of the Best Nintendo Switch Games should help you out, and you can also find the Best Nintendo Switch Games of 2017, 2018, and 2019. And finally, if you’re interested in other Nintendo consoles and retro games, check out the Best Game Boy Games, Best Nintendo DS Games, Best Nintendo 3DS Games, and the Best GameCube Games, as well as Every Nintendo Switch Online NES Game and Every Nintendo Switch Online SNES Game.

Summary: You can accomplish one line exception handling with the exec() workaround by passing the one-linerized try/except block as a string into the function like this: exec('try:print(x)\nexcept:print("Exception!")'). This general method works for all custom, even multi-line, try and except blocks. However, you should avoid this one-liner code due to the bad readability.

Surprisingly, there has been a discussion about one-line exception handling on the official Python mailing list in 2013. However, since then, there has been no new “One-Line Exception Handling” feature in Python. So, we need to stick with the methods shown in this tutorial. But they will be fun—promised!

Let’s dive into the problem:

Problem: How to write the try/except block in a single line of Python code?

Example: Consider the following try/except block.

try: print(x)

except: print('Exception!')

Solution: Before we dive into each of the three methods to solve this problem, let’s have a quick overview in our interactive code shell:

Exercise: Run the code. Why are there only three lines of output? Modify the code such that each of the four methods generate an output!

Method 1: Ternary Operator

The following method to replace a simple try/except statement is based on the ternary operator.

Ternary Operator Background: The most basic ternary operator x if c else y consists of three operands x, c, and y. It is an expression with a return value. The ternary operator returns x if the Boolean expression c evaluates to True. Otherwise, if the expression c evaluates to False, the ternary operator returns the alternative y.

You can use the dir() function to check if the variable name 'x' already has been defined by using the condition 'x' in dir(). If the condition evaluates to True, you run the try block. If it evaluates to False, you run the except block.

# Method 1

print(x) if 'x' in dir() else print('Exception!')

The output of this code snippet as a standalone code is:

Exception!

This is because the variable x is not defined and it doesn’t appear in the variable name directory:

print(dir())

# ['__annotations__', '__builtins__', '__doc__', '__file__', '__loader__', '__name__', '__package__', '__spec__']

For example, if you define variable x beforehand, the code would run through:

x = 2

print(x) if 'x' in dir() else print('Exception!')

A disadvantage of this technique is that you need to know the kinds of exceptions that may occur. Also, it becomes harder to express multi-line try and except blocks. In this case, it’s often better to use the explicit try/except statements in the first place!

Method 2: exec()

The exec() function takes a string and runs the string as if it was a piece of source code. This way, you can compress any algorithm in a single line. You can also compress the try/except statement into a single line of code this way!

# Method 2

exec('try:print(x)\nexcept:print("Exception!")')

If you’d define the variable x beforehand, the result would be different:

exec('x=2\n' + 'try:print(x)\nexcept:print("Exception!")')

# 2

Now, the variable 2 is defined and the try block of the statement runs without exception.

Method 3: Contextlib Suppress + With Statement

If you’re not really interested in the except part and you just need to catch exceptions, this method may be for you:

# Method 3

from contextlib import suppress

with suppress(NameError): print(x)

You use a with block and write it into a single line. The object you pass into the with block must define two functions __enter__() and __exit__(). You use the suppress() method from the contextlib package to create such an object (a so-called context manager) that suppresses the occurrence of the NameError. The beauty of the with block is that it ensures that all errors on the with object are handled and the object is properly closed through the __exit__() method.

The disadvantage or advantage—depending on your preferences—is that there’s no except block.

Thanks for reading this blog tutorial!

Python One-Liners Book

Python programmers will improve their computer science skills with these useful one-liners.

Python One-Liners will teach you how to read and write “one-liners”: concise statements of useful functionality packed into a single line of code. You’ll learn how to systematically unpack and understand any line of Python code, and write eloquent, powerfully compressed Python like an expert.

The book’s five chapters cover tips and tricks, regular expressions, machine learning, core data science topics, and useful algorithms. Detailed explanations of one-liners introduce key computer science concepts and boost your coding and analytical skills. You’ll learn about advanced Python features such as list comprehension, slicing, lambda functions, regular expressions, map and reduce functions, and slice assignments. You’ll also learn how to:

•  Leverage data structures to solve real-world problems, like using Boolean indexing to find cities with above-average pollution
•  Use NumPy basics such as array, shape, axis, type, broadcasting, advanced indexing, slicing, sorting, searching, aggregating, and statistics
•  Calculate basic statistics of multidimensional data arrays and the K-Means algorithms for unsupervised learning
•  Create more advanced regular expressions using grouping and named groups, negative lookaheads, escaped characters, whitespaces, character sets (and negative characters sets), and greedy/nongreedy operators
•  Understand a wide range of computer science topics, including anagrams, palindromes, supersets, permutations, factorials, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, obfuscation, searching, and algorithmic sorting

By the end of the book, you’ll know how to write Python at its most refined, and create concise, beautiful pieces of “Python art” in merely a single line.

Get your Python One-Liners Now!!

A shadow approaches. The Pyramid ship floating above Io serves as a looming reminder that we are unprepared – that we know not what the future portends. You must search for answers if you hope to face the oncoming storm. You must seek the Nine.

You must hear the prophecy.

And so, you find yourself standing at the doorstep of a new realm. But how did you get here? And what is “here” exactly? To answer that, Andrew Hopps (world lead) and Brendan Thorne (senior designer) – two members of Bungie’s Raid and Dungeon team – take us back to the beginning. Back to when rainbow roads were for Italian speed demons and walking on walls required scrolling green text and leather trench coats.

 

QUESTIONS, ANSWERS, AND ARRIVALS

Both Andrew and Brendan have been at Bungie for over seven years. During that time, they worked together on more than 10 raids and dungeons including King’s Fall and Vault of Glass. When they started on the Prophecy dungeon, the team was searching for something art-driven and different.

“The theme of new perspectives came from some early prototyping,” Andrew recalls. “As soon as we started to experiment with rotating the game space, we knew we wanted to go off the deep end with an abstract style.”

The team started by aligning with the Creative Leadership team to figure out where the dungeon was going to take players. Andrew remembers being excited at the prospect of visiting Nine space. Placing the dungeon there would empower them to experiment with game mechanics and an art style that toyed with a lot of the rules within the Destiny universe. “We’re stepping into this simulacrum,” Brendan said. “The Nine made a little pocket universe for us to explore.”

They went to Robbie Stevens (creative lead) and Tom Farnsworth (design lead) to start discussions on how to integrate the new dungeon into the existing Season of Arrivals story. Players already knew that the Pyramid ships were approaching, and the dungeon was the perfect opportunity to explore the question: What is the Darkness? In spite of all their research, the Drifter and Eris still don’t know. So, when the Season began and the threat became imminent, players had every reason to search of answers – even if they’re cryptic and lying at the end of a neon-fueled abstract playground.

“It’s really exciting,” Brendan said. “The Pyramid ships are here, and we have the sense that something awful is about to happen. What do they call those big cataclysmic events – black swan events. One that reverberates and changes everything. It feels like a sudden surprise in the moment but when you look at it in reverse you can see exactly how it was made possible.”

They wanted players to view Prophecy as foreshadowing. To be able to look back at this dungeon and realize that Bungie had been laying the groundwork for something massive the whole time.

FINDING BALANCE

With narrative direction and an excitement to push the limits of what they could do with the Nine realm, the team turned to the world-spinning prototyping that had captured their imagination initially. “Sometimes it’s a happy accident when something works,” Andrew said. “We definitely prototype really bold ideas and the ones that work well together end up together.”

 
“We start with these happy little accidents,” said Brendan. “Then we find out how to layer them on top of each other for a smooth experience. We start with the core mechanic in a safe learning environment. Then we add some difficulty, a twist or two, and tie it all together. It’s a solid method to make the whole experience feel cohesive.”

The team took all the mechanics they had and then tuned them so that, when combined, they were difficult but still manageable. “We try to find out how many plates we get players to spin at the same time,” said Andrew. “We keep layering, so by the time you get to the final boss you should understand exactly how this fight is going to play out just by stepping into the room and looking around.”

Brendan explained how he, Andrew, Darin Lantzy (senior technical designer), Matt Turner (senior world artist), and Ben Heider (test lead) sat in an office with a giant whiteboard and diagrammed everything they had. “All the mechanics and how do they work together and support each other. It all clicked. After about an hour, we had a design.”

Some mechanics, like rotating the world, were things that Andrew had wanted to do previously but didn’t make sense contextually. “Whenever we prototype different experiences, we end up with cool ideas that don’t always fit the theme – so I’ll just save them for later. When Prophecy started, and we decided we were going to the Nine realm, I was like ‘Oh hey, I’ve got this in my back pocket. ’”

NOW DO A BARREL ROLL

“Dungeons are not typically super mechanically complex because we want players to easily understand what’s happening around them,” said Brendan. “So, what Andrew did was super clever. He built a cube that players can activate to get teleported. Then the entire world turns, and the cube drops them into a new version of the world. So, players are now on what used to be a wall or the ceiling.”

The team went to Darin Lantzy and told him that he was empowered to do whatever he wanted to make the room spin feel cool. “He was super involved in prototyping,” Andrew said. “He kept adding these effects to really sell the rotation of the world as you drop in and out of the teleporter.”

The mechanics were simplified to a single activation, but the gameplay that arose out of it was new and exciting. Brendan explained how suddenly the layout of every surface became relevant. “It creates these interesting combat encounters. It becomes more about how well you use the geometry and play in the moment rather than having the perfect build or perfect strategy.”

 
Geometry as gameplay is a central tenet of Destiny 2. Where players move and what weapons to use – building encounters where spatial orientation and player position are central to the experience means the team was able to leverage the best part of Destiny’s sandbox.

 

ILLUMINATING

Another prototype that excited the team involved fighting with actual light and shadow. “I don’t think we’ve ever used light as a game mechanic like this,” Brendan said. “Like actual volumetric lights or anything like that as a mechanic.”

The core concept was thematic and straightforward: players use the light and shadow in the game to succeed. “We wanted it to be a simple concept to explain,” said Brendan. “You could see someone doing this fight and you would know how to do it in 30 seconds.”

Players would kill an enemy and depending on where the combatant was standing, they would drop a different type of mote. Enemies dropped dark motes while standing in the dark and light motes while standing in the light. Even though the mechanic sounds simple on paper, it was visually confusing and somewhat frustrating since players can’t really reposition enemies.

While testing, Ben Heider suggested making the dropped mote type rely on the position of the player instead of the enemy. Even though it was subtle change, the whole encounter shifted. “Suddenly the player had more agency,” Brendan said. “We made that simple change, played it the next day, and wow – it was a million times more understandable.”

Those kinds of pleasant surprises come about a lot during the process. It isn’t unusual for a team to come up with a cool idea that seems impossible, only to have an embedded tester come back with a solution. Bungie’s testers are integral to the process and bring with them invaluable insight in determining the kinds of challenges a design will face, both in production and in the hands of players.

But even when something ultimately doesn’t end up working, Andrew’s prepared to take the idea and put it in his back pocket for later.

GALLERY OF THE NINE

In addition to unique game mechanics, there was clearly a distinctive art direction that the team leaned into for Prophecy. Madison Parker (senior lighting artist) made reference to an artist named James Turrell that the team looks to for inspiration. His work explores the interplay of light, color, and architecture and his focus on bold color, shape, and really simple forms that match well with the Nine’s aesthetic.

Knowing that the theme lent itself to the abstract, they wanted a progression of shape and color that would transition as players traveled through the dungeon. “When you start, everything looks soft and then progressively get very angular,” Andrew said. “Round shapes sunset and become spheres with lines in them and then become a flat line that a monolithic square rises from, that then collapses into a triangle. If you look at the shape language from one encounter to the next, you will see this progression from soft to hard to angular shapes as you traverse the Dungeon.”

There were so many fantastic artists that contributed to the look and feel of the dungeon. Brendan recalls thinking of Andrew as a production designer on a movie – organizing pages and pages of brutalist architecture, moods, screenshots, and lighting concepts. “Andrew had this vision and this plan for Prophecy. I just watched in awe as him and Matt Turner (senior artist) built these shapes – it was so cool to see them come together.”

What resulted is very much an art-driven dungeon that doubles down on the Destiny 2 brand of geometry space as gameplay.

TIME TO PLAY

The whole team is incredibly proud of how Prophecy turned out. At the time of this article, the dungeon has been live for a few weeks and players seem to be having a blast. Prior to the quarantine, it was a tradition for everyone to gather in the Bungie theater, order queso, drinks, and pizza, and watch players dive in for the first time.

“The World’s First race is obviously a big deal,” said Andrew. “So, our whole team and a bunch of partners get together in the theater and root on the teams.” For Last Wish, there were still people in the studio at 5:30 a.m. Dungeons are a little faster, but everyone still gets together in the theater to watch players experience it for the first time.

Despite having to work from home, the team was still watching, “A bunch of us got together in a video conference call to watch the launch,” said Andrew. For a team intimately familiar with every aspect of the dungeon, there’s a special joy that comes from knowing when players are about to experience something special for the first time. “We’re on the edge of our seats, ready to cheer,” he said.

It’s akin to griefing the new player with content you’ve played already – a spoiler-free twist to share with friends. The Raid and Dungeon team knows that this is something of a tradition in gaming. Shared moments that build memories that endure long after the final boss learns the error of their ways.

True to form, Brendan shares a gaming experience that many can relate to, “You know the Sparrow run in Scourge of the Past?” he asks. “Where two people have to hit the buttons together? I was always the raid-dad making sure everyone was ready. Coordinating everything and not really paying attention to Andrew on his Sparrow – aiming at me. As soon as I say ‘go’ he just charges right at me and kills me every single time.”

Halfway through the story, a smile that can only be conjured from fond memories forms on Andrew’s face. He quickly composes himself before responding, “That’s not true. I’m hyper-focused and never goofing off at all.”

The Prophecy dungeon is live in Destiny 2 and free for all players. Jump in today, take in the sights, and drive carefully.

© Playmaji

After what feels like a lifetime of waiting, the Polymega console is finally a solid reality, and we were lucky enough to be sent a unit as part of the company’s ongoing beta testing phase.

The system formerly known as RetroBlox has come under fire over the past few years following a series of design changes and delays, but we can indeed confirm that this retro wonder-console is indeed a real thing – and we’re currently putting it through its paces ahead of posting our hands-on impressions.

Given the high amount of interest surrounding the system, we wanted to ask you – our dear readers – if you had any pressing questions we can address in our review. Is there any element of the system you’re unsure of? Is there a particular feature you’d like to know more about, or a game you’d like us to test (assuming we have access to it)?

The key thing to note at this stage is that we’ve only been sent the base unit, which means we can only test (and give our opinion on) the performance of CD-based games. That means PlayStation, Saturn, Mega CD, Neo Geo CD and PC Engine CD (that’s right – not a single Nintendo format! Egads!). We’ve been told that the cartridge modules are on the way and we’ll hopefully be able to include our impressions of those at a later date.

So there you have it – the floor is open to you. Ask away!

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community.
The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

[Hi, I’m ‘how people find your game’ expert Simon Carless, and you’re reading the Game Discoverability Now! newsletter, which you can subscribe to now, a regular look at how people discover and buy video games in the 2020s.]

Welcome to the latest ‘GameDiscoverabilityLand’ round-up, where-in I have a few hundred words to recap everything that happened this week. And I inevitably fail, at least on the brevity side of things.

Before we get started, thanks for the amazing response on the Steam reviews/sales ratio survey. You’ve still got ‘til Friday if you want to submit. But we have 220 (!!) responses so far, so it’s going to be a really robust data set. Anyhow… onward!

Xbox Summer Demo Fest – in full effect!

The Summer Games Fest Demo Event is now live on Xbox One! From July 21 to July 27, play more than 70 exciting demos of upcoming games. Details here: https://t.co/Dve2t4LFxg

— Xbox Wire (@XboxWire) July 21, 2020

So the Xbox One’s pre-release demo event is currently running, and hopefully some of you have checked it out. There’s around 60 demos available right now (almost all from indie devs or smaller publishers, with exceptions like Destroy All Humans!)

Thought I’d document where it’s being showcased on the console, starting with the Store tab on the Xbox dashboard (even before you open the Store!)

When you go into the Store app itself, you’ll see it has an entire category to itself, which is decent billing:

Finally, here’s what the Game Fest ‘show all page’ looks like – it actually runs alphabetically, with about 12 leftover ‘second set of alphabetical’ games at the bottom of the page, haha:

Since you can look at how many reviews (in the U.S. Xbox store) each game has, I thought I’d briefly document and link to the Top 5 demos:

1. 9 Monkeys Of Shaolin (is alphabetically first, so that may help downloads.)
2. Skatebird
3. Destroy All Humans!
4. Cris Tales (this game is visually gorgeous!)
5. Haven

If you go by reviews, it looks like the most-played demos have around 10x the plays of the least-played ones so far. So plenty of range in there, for sure. There’s also this chart across all game demos on the Microsoft Store, which has different results, so YMMV.

Anyhow, Xbox Summerfest is a really nice way to dip into games you might otherwise not have heard of. I played (and enjoyed) Dandy Ace, for example, which I didn’t know existed before.

So I can’t believe it’s anything but positive – albeit mildly positive, perhaps – for both players and devs. If you’re in it, tell me what you think of the results. And let’s have it happen once a year for all consoles! *snaps fingers*

Steam Summer Festival – the full results!

So, big shout-out to Chris Zukowski for doing the ultimate write-up of Steam Summer Festival’s results, following my slightly more anecdotal comments on the demo showcase a few roundups ago.

Definitely click through for the full thing, but the topline appears to be, for those demos that participated: “Average number of wishlists [added]: 3218; Median number of wishlists [added]: 500; Most wishlists earned by a single game: 41096 (The Riftbreaker); Fewest wishlists earned by a single game: 40.”

One graph I thought particularly relevant – even beyond the Summer Festival – was Chris’ calculation of median wishlists additions per genre for surveyed games:

This data maps fairly well to the kind of VERY broad game facets that I would recommend people make for Steam – to be commercially successful as a small/medium sized game.

(It’s way more complex than this, of course. And getting deeper into tag comparisons would surface a lot more detail. But it’s a super-useful snapshot of where perceived interest and depth is.)

Other Goodness…

Lawks-a-lordy, we’re most of the way through the newsletter already, and there’s still a hefty chunk of content to talk about. Here’s the best of the rest, in no particular order:

• Would be remiss not to point out the big Xbox/Series X showcase that happened today . Here’s the text round-up, here’s all the trailers, and [email protected] also announced some ‘first to console on Xbox’ indie games which I thought notable for you all. These included titles from Annapurna, Raw Fury, Finji, Curve & more. In general, content & outlook ‘as expected’, though I’ll note Microsoft is pushing Xbox Game Pass hard. (Game Pass Ultimate folks get xCloud cloud gaming bundled in, too, which Stadia may be concerned about.)

• Got an note from Erik Johnson that he’s been tracking the number of free games in Steam’s New & Trending – that’s the graph, linked – and it still seems to be on the upswing. I did get him to clarify from his data, and of the 777 games in those slots in the past few months, 85 of them were free (either just free, or more likely F2P), and 25 of them were ‘prologues’, i.e. demos. Interesting!

• Good to see European Union regulations introduced for app stores (but not PC/console game stores, sadly!) around ranking transparency, justification for removal of apps, and more. Not convinced this one is a major game-changer, but government regulation & ‘walled gardens’ are a thing game devs need to pay attention to.

• Thought it was funny that I was just talking about how good paid DLC is, and then rhythm RPG Cadence Of Hyrule debuted a really robust set of 3 DLC (and ‘season pass’) on Switch. Hey, if even Nintendo (and Brace Yourself Games) can get with the program, maybe we should all be paying some attention?

• The second Summer Game Fest-themed Day Of The Devs showcase – with musical & Keighley prefaces – took place this week (here’s the video). Once again, I thought iam8bit and crew did an amazing job audio-visually and stylistically. But perhaps the announcements were a bit light this time. Petition to have Guerrilla Collective levels of content, but with Day Of The Devs-style curation & presentation for ‘online E3’ next year, please?

• An anecdote from the very top end of the ‘games are platforms too’ camp, My former colleague Piers Harding-Rolls notes on Twitter that ‘third party created in Roblox’ game Adopt Me [pictured] “is now at 50m MAUs up from 30m in March. Around a 3rd of total Roblox MAUs are playing Adopt Me… Adopt Me studio aiming for 80-100 staff by year end.” Gosh.

Finally, let’s end out with this excellent data-filled sales blog about “modest indie hit game Curious Expedition”. The folks at Maschinen-Mensch have gone above and beyond on the transparency side of things.

Something I wanted to highlight was the game’s gross revenue curve, year on year, since its 2014 (!) off-Steam launch:

If you go deep into their postmortem, you’ll see all numbers of reasons for this impressive maintenance of revenue. These include a Chinese translation, being more aggressive with discounts in sales, and intelligent additions to the core game.

So – great work, devs, and a reminder that extending the tail on your game is one of the best ways to fund your next game.