These Games Were Missing From Nintendo's Indie World Showcase

Let's get this one out of the way. Team Cherry has been tight-lipped on what it has in store for Hollow Knight: Silksong and we are waiting with bated breath to know more. The sequel to 2017's creepy, cutesy action game was originally supposed to be a DLC for Hollow Knight featuring prominent figure and boss, Hornet, as a playable character. The project eventually ballooned and was announced as a separate title entirely in 2019, and outside of our own Matt Miller's hands-on preview with the opening levels of the game a few months later, we've heard less than a peep on the project. Team Cherry claims it's still coming, so we'll just have to be patient until the studio decides to break the internet and give a substantial update.

Whether you're looking to swing a baseball bat, a tennis racket, or a golf club, Sports Story has more recreation and humor than you can shake a penalty flag at. Veering from the links that occupied the focus of Sidebar Games' spectacular Golf Story, Sports Story will still include golf but venture into other sports as well, sometimes mixing them in fun ways. It doesn't feel like it, but hardly any new information on this anticipated sequel has been revealed since its announcement almost three years ago!

Well, there was the screenshot above, shared by Sidebar on Twitter and this update posted shortly after saying, "Some parts of the game unexpectedly grew quite large. The tennis part now has a full career that spans multiple zones. We decided we had no choice but to see it through, and look forward to sharing the results of our struggles. We think it was worth it." We hope it is worth it and doesn't keep us off the course/court/pitch/field for too much longer.

This quirky RPG applies a neon pastel color palette into an Earthbound-like adventure, and while that's enough to catch our eye, there's so much more. She Dreams Elsewhere delves into the dreams of Thalia, the game's protagonist, who is not only stricken with severe anxiety but is also in a coma. Getting inside her head should take players to some weird and interesting places as she fighters her nightmares to regain consciousness.

Unlike many games on this list, She Dreams Elsewheres' developer Studio Zevere posts regular updates on the project's progress on its website, and we're happy that it's progressing nicely. Still, we'd love to see it pop up at an event like the Indie World showcase and drop jaws with its stunning art style and classic JRPG motifs.

If She Dreams Elsewhere is not on your radar yet, it should be. Go on. Write that name down.

Dordogne is easily one of the most beautiful-looking games on the horizon, both artistically and narratively. Every scene in this time-hopping adventure game is hand-painted, creating a storybook backdrop for Mimi, a woman rediscovering her cherished memories of summers she spent with her grandmother in the Dordogne region of France. Mimi's journey plays out as an adult whose 10-year-old self solves puzzles, affecting the present-day areas she'll explore when she's older. Dordogne lets players add to and create the contents of Mimi's journal, which will end up being a unique catalog of her exploits on each playthrough.

This collaboration between developer Un je ne sais quoi and animation studio Umanimation was announced for a 2022 release under the Focus Home Entertainment banner for Switch and PC. It was recently playable at PAX East in April, but we'd like to see it shown off on the grand digital stage like a Nintendo showcase. We'd also like to get our hands on it in the coming months as a consolation instead. 

This Indie World could have used more Zelda flavor in its 30-minute runtime, and the sequel to 2017's A Link to the Past-inspired game Blossom Tales would have been a perfect choice to slot in for some airtime. It's not like Blossom Tales 2: The Minotaur Prince isn't on Nintendo's radar, as the game appeared on its Indie World Twitter account in March.

Blossom Tales 2 continues the story of series lead, Lily, as she hacks and slashes her way through a top-down adventure to the tune of Link's greatest 8 and 16-bit hits. The whole adventure is narrated by a grandpa as he recites the fantastical tale to his grandkids. This time, Lily has the power of alchemy to mix up powerful concoctions to help her through the dangerous dungeons and overworld. Castle Pixel's latest is set to arrive on Switch and PC this year.

Making a splash at last August's Indie World Showcase, we learned Team Reptile is bringing that sweet cel-shaded graffiti tagging action of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk to Nintendo Switch alongside its PC version. Although it had a rad trailer showing off its trick-saturated gameplay in January, we need more ASAP. 

Taking up the torch of Sega's stylish Jet Set/Grind Radio series, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk amps up the funk with more ways to roll through its colorful levels and spray up the city with your preferred art. BMX bikes and skateboards join rollerblades as options to (jet) grind and trick around landmarks, all of which are kicked up to another level by boosters attached to your back, injecting some exhilarating speed and adrenaline into your smooth moves.