1 cheap, zany Switch game available now is a perfect quarantine distraction

Nintendo held another Indie World presentation Tuesday, highlighting the latest and greatest titles from independent developers coming to Nintendo Switch in 2020. The rumored full Nintendo Direct for next week might seem more exciting than anything the Indie World had to offer, but the presentation still featured announcements for some cool games like Exit the Gungeon, the zany sequel to Enter the Gungeon that's available today for a small price of $9.99.

It could be just the perfect bit of wacky fun to distract you from the stresses that come with the coronavirus.

What is Exit the Gungeon?

Nintendo closed out the Indie World with perhaps the biggest announcement of all: The surprise-release of Exit the Gungeon.

The game was initially released on Apple Arcade in fall 2019. The bullet-hell sidescrolling platformer tasks players with emerging from the deadly dungeon they immersed themselves in as part of Enter the Gungeon, and they'll do so via a series of rooms and elevators. The game was released March 17 on PC and Nintendo for only $9.99. While it stays pretty true to the first game, it features new weapons, enemies, bosses, rooms, and more.

How much fun is Exit the Gungeon?

Even though Exit the Gungeon takes a sidescrolling perspective as opposed to the top-down one of Enter the Gungeon, it is a very similar game at its core. It cracks jokes and visual gags at the same fast pace and gives players a ton of quirky weapons to use. Your weapon automatically changes frequently as well, which keeps this roguelike game fun, leaving you constantly on your toes and forcing you to account for each different weapon and enemy.

As it began life as a mobile game, the controls had to be modified for consoles and PC. The results take a bit of getting used to as the button to shoot is mapped in a bit of an odd place. Still, that issue goes away after you play for a bit and the transition to the new version. You can barely tell the game originated on phones thanks to all of the new things available in the port.

The transition to a sidescrolling format was a surprisingly smooth one and fans of the original should have just as much fun with Exit the Gungeon as they did with Enter the Gungeon. Even if you haven't played the original, this game is even more appealing thanks to the injection of platforming elements, and you should still like it if you are a fan of action-packed indie games and/or roguelikes.

Like most roguelikes, Exit the Gungeon can be quite challenging. Each of the playable characters has their own special levels after the first, so Exit the Gungeon features a ton of content for interested players to sink their teeth into. If you are looking for a new time-consuming roguelike to play during this period of social distancing due to coronavirus, Exit the Gungeon has dropped at the perfect time and is fun enough to be that game.

What else was shown off during Indie World?

Nintendo began the Indie World showcase with the reveal of Blue Fire, a dark action-platformer that evokes games like IO Interactive's Mini Ninjas that will be released in summer 2020. Next up was Baldo, an RPG with an art style like Ni No Kuni that will release this summer as a timed console exclusive.

Following that, I Am Dead, a new afterlife-based puzzle game from Annapurna Interactive was shown off and will release in 2020. Next came B.ARK, a co-op side-scrolling shooter where players control pets to save the universe that will launch in late 2020. Then, the creator of Cyanide & Happiness revealed that Cyanide & Happiness - Freakpocalypse, a game about the end of the world based on the popular web series, is coming to Nintendo Switch this Summer.

Then, Summer in Mara, an adventure game about a girl taking care and exploring an archipelago of islands Harvest Moon style. It is coming out later this spring and even has a Koopa-inspired backpack. Quantum League is a shooter centered around time mechanics that allow players to blend their actions each round in order to beat other players. It will release in late 2020.

A port of Swery's The Good Life was also announced for Switch with a release window of 2020. The Last Campfire, a game announced at The Game Awards a couple of years back by No Man's Sky developer Hello Games, was the next title to be shown off and has a release window of summer 2020. PixelJunk Eden 2 from Q-Games, card game Faeria, and the Dark Souls-inspired Eldest Souls were all shown off next in quick succession.

Ports of Blair Witch from Bloober Team, Ghost of a Tale, Sky from Journey developer thatgamecompany, Sky Rocket, puzzle game Superliminal, Wingspan, the excellent dice-based roguelike Dicey Dungeons, indie fighting game Bounty Battle, and Moving Out were all shown in a sizzle reel. These were some of the coolest announcements, so it was surprising to see them relegated to a sizzle reel.

Nintendo must have been well-aware that Exit the Gungeon was the highlight in this bunch, which seems like the reason why it was the game that closed out the presentation.

Exit the Gungeon is available now on Apple Arcade, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

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