In and among a raft of remaster announcements, new game features, existing title updates and Nindie news, the highly anticipated Nintendo Direct January 2018 also served up the addition of Luigi to Super Mario Odyssey. Up until now, the only thing we had was the Super Mario Odyssey Luigi costume, but when the update arrives in February he’ll be taking his bow more officially.
The downer is that he’ll be a non player character, so you won’t be able to play as him and run around the epic Kingdoms that make up the game. Instead, he’ll be heading up the new online activity, Luigi’s Balloon World, which you’ll be able to play once you’ve downloaded the free update in February, so long as you’ve completed the main story. If you haven’t completed the main campaign yet, you can follow along with our walkthrough, hopefully just in time for the update to arrive.
The online game brings in two modes where you either hunt or hide balloons on a 30-second timer challenge in a bid to increase your worldwide rankings. The update will also bring new costumes and filters for the camera, which is a nice touch for a freebie. You can check out Luigi’s Balloon World in the full January 2018 Nintendo Direct Mini presentation below.
Nintendo Direct Mini presentation, January 2018:
More game updates
In addition to the excitement about Luigi’s arrival in Super Mario Odyssey, the presentation also included details for a number of other updates for existing games.
The first was for Pokken Tournament DX, which brings Aegislash, Blastoise and Mew in a paid DLC Battle Pack, along with new avatar items. It’ll arrive in two waves with the first coming on January 31st and the second wave being launched on the 23rd March 2018, just in time for the Easter hols.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle will also be getting its first batch of downloadable content with an update that will bring Donkey Kong to the game. He’ll be getting his own story arc, so we’re expecting a heap of new battles and maybe even a few new Rabbids and bosses to take on when it arrives in Spring as part of a new paid DLC pack.
New games news
Kirby Star Allies showed off a series of new copy abilities with the 2D side-scrolling platform game due to arrive on Nintendo Switch on March 16th. It’s Nintendo’s big release ahead of Easter 2018, so there’s a lot riding on it.
Mario Tennis Aces also had a big section, serving up an intro to the new additions to the move set and announcing the story mode, which looks pretty cool. Is should work well with the portable multiplayer attributes of the Nintendo Switch when it arrives in Spring.
The Jan Nintendo Direct Mini also introduced Ys VIII: Lacrimosa Of DANA, an action RPG with similarities to Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It’ll be coming to the Switch in the summer.
SNK HEROINES Tag Team Frenzy brings the all-girl fighting game to the Nintendo Switch in the summer. It looks like an old school 2D fighter, but with a lot of customisation and some epic dream finish moves.
Nintendo Switch remasters
Classic Nintendo DS action RPG The World Ends With You -Final Remix- will be getting a reboot for the Nintendo Switch later this year.
Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition is being ported over from the Wii U to the Switch with all of the previous DLC thrown in for good measure, along with The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild costumes for Link and Zelda. It’ll be smashing down with split screen multiplayer in Spring 2018.
Payday 2 had a short video sequence introducing a Nintendo Switch exclusive LED mask for Joy when it arrives on February 27th.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is also getting a port on the Switch adding to the ranks of games that are being brought over to the console from their Wii U origins. Sadly, it’s not the 3D wonder that we’ve been holding out hope for, but it does at least bring the Kong to the Switch, introducing a brand new simple mode featuring Funky Kong and his seemingly indestructible surf board on the 4th May.
Finally, Dark Souls Remastered will also be coming to the Nintendo Switch and while we only have a teaser spot to go on, a gameplay demo is surely just around the corner. It’ll be out on the 25th May 2018, although, it’ll also be available on Xbox ONE and PS4.
Nifty Nindies
Celeste looks set to be 2018’s tough 2D action platformer with some incredibly harsh terrain to make it through with the character’s unique move set. It’ll be launching on the Switch on January 25th, when it will also be available on PC and PS4.
Fe will bring a unique visual style of platform action to the Switch on the 16th February 2018, but this is another multi-platform release.
