Among Us gets surprise release on Nintendo Switch today, Spelunky 2 set for 2021

By Giovanni Colantonio December 15, 2020

ot a Breakthrough multiplayer game Among Us just got a surprise Nintendo Switch release. The announcement comes from today’s Nintendo Indie World Direct presentation, which featured several other game reveals.

Among Us initially released in 2018, but saw a massive increase in popularity this year. The game went on to win two awards at this year’s Game Awards, including Best Multiplayer Game and Best Mobile Game. The phenomenon will land on Nintendo Switch later today.

While Among Us was the headliner from the presentation, several other games made an appearance during Nintendo’s 17-minute showcase. The video started with developer Derek Yu announcing that both Spelunky and this year’s Spelunky 2 will release on Nintendo Switch in 2021.

The long-anticipated Super Meat Boy Forever finally got a release date during the show. The platformer will launch on December 23 as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Originally developed as a mobile version of Super Meat Boy, the game is now a full-fledged sequel to the popular 2010 indie title.

Standout Apple Arcade title Grindstone also got a surprise release on the system following the show. The action-puzzle hybrid game is available on the Switch eShop right now, where it’s a console launch exclusive. Grindstone is the latest Apple Arcade launch title to finally make its way off the service, joining games like What The Golf? and Dodo Peak on the Switch.

The showcase featured plenty of other strange and intriguing announcements. Highlights included cat combat game Fisti-Fluffs, a Yacht Club Games samurai title called Cyber-Shadow, and the cozy café management game Calico, which is now available on the system.

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Giovanni Colantonio

Section Editor, Gaming

Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…

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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is getting a surprise Switch release

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It was a good morning for both Mario and RPG fans. Today's Nintendo Direct not only showed more of the new Super Mario RPG remake, but also unveiled a new port of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door that's coming next year to the Nintendo Switch.

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Nintendo Switch’s weirdest launch game is getting a surprise sequel

Key art for Everybody 1-2-Switch!

Nintendo has quietly announced Everybody 1-2-Switch!, a sequel to one of the oddest launch titles for Nintendo Switch.
1-2-Switch! was a Nintendo Switch launch title that served as a tech demo of sorts for the Joy-Con controllers, with players completing minigames based on direction from actors in live-action clips. It's a very quirky and critically divisive Nintendo Switch game, so it's a bit surprising to see a follow-up. According to the eShop listing for Everybody 1-2-Switch!, this game lets players use their Joy-Cons or smartphones to complete a variety of team-based minigames. And that's about all we've seen or know about this $30 game ahead of its June 30 launch alongside some new pastel Joy-Cons.

Everybody 1-2-Switch!'s announcement was quite unorthodox for Nintendo. It simply tweeted about the game's existence and opened up preorders on the eShop. This all happened with no reveal trailer less than a month before the game's launch. It's unknown why Nintendo's taking this approach instead of including the game in a Nintendo Direct or other major showcase, but a 2022 report from Fanbyte may reveal the answer. According to that report, Everybody 1-2-Switch! tested horribly, and Nintendo worried that the game could "damage the company’s reputation as a great software developer."
Almost a year after that report, it seems that the game has improved enough to release, or maybe Nintendo is just willing to take the hit after the impressive launch and critical reception of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Either way, this is a weird sequel to a weird Nintendo Switch launch game that's being mutedly marketed so it doesn't elicit much hype. We'll just have to wait and play it for ourselves if we want to know whether Everybody 1-2-Switch! is an enjoyable game or not.
Everybody 1-2-Switch! will be released physically and digitally for Nintendo Switch on June 30.

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10 years ago, Injustice: Gods Among Us told the definitive ‘evil Superman’ story

Superman fights Solomon Grundy in Injustice: Gods Among Us.

The question of “What if someone with the powers of Superman was evil?” has become something of a cliché in the last decade. From the horror movie Brightburn to Homelander in The Boys, and even DC’s cinematic universe and the upcoming (and recently delayed) game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, many stories have asked that question. It's a video game, though, that perhaps most definitively grapples with the topic. A decade after its release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U, Injustice: Gods Among Us still stands as the definitive evil Superman story.

Injustice: Gods Among Us is a mechanically solid fighting game that’s still enjoyable to play today, but a decade later, its story is what I remember most. It features a believable Superman heel turn, giving us a greater understanding of what makes the caped do-gooder a compelling character while also telling a tragic DC Elseworlds story about how trauma can impact a person.
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NetherRealm Studios’ Injustice: Gods Among Us takes place in a world where The Joker tricks Superman into killing a pregnant Lois Lane with toxic fear gas, which in turn causes a nuclear bomb to destroy Metropolis. This causes Superman to snap, kill The Joker, and become a world-ruling dictator who only becomesmore and more crazed over time. One particularly poignant scene that sticks with me is when Batman tries to empathize with Superman about having lost loved ones too, only for Superman’s response to be: “But you weren’t the gun.”