What to Look For at A 5th of BitSummit

Last year, I had a great opportunity to attend BitSummit (Read the impressions here)! BitSummit, is an annual event held in Kyoto, Japan where indie developers can show off their newest work. This year, I’ll be attending again with increased coverage! Expect more pictures, videos and interviews, straight from the source. Nintendo and Game Freak are sponsoring the event, so expect a lot of Nindies! You can keep up with game announcements on BitSummit’s Facebook page, or Twitter feed!

#A5thofBitSummit official trailer is here! By @jamesmielke @Jan3d & @HelloDentist! #Gotora #BitMega #indiegames #Kyoto #Beethoven #32bit pic.twitter.com/Hbv8zjZUDx

— BitSummit ➡️ Tokyo! (@BitSummit) May 9, 2017

Not everything that will be at BitSummit has been announced yet. Expect some speakers and special guest appearances by big name developers. Last year featured guest speakers such as Goichi Suda, Tom Happ, Kenichi Nishi and Yoot Saito.

Also, look out for new titles or information to be announced! The Shovel Knight amiibo functionality in Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 was announced last year, as well as Igarashi giving details on Bloodstained.

I wanted to quickly go over some of the particularly interesting titles that have already been announced for A 5th of BitSummit that readers of Source Gaming can look forward to (of course, this isn’t a definitive list). For this list, I included titles that haven’t been released yet! Great titles like Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap (which we reviewed here) and Blaster Master Zero (which we also reviewed!) will be making an appearance as well.

Tasukete Tako-San: Save me Mr. Tako!

Christophe Galati, a young developer from France has been working on this homage to the Gameboy for several years now. I got a chance to play it at last year’s BitSummit, and it has a lot of charm. The story is interesting, and the sound and graphics build that perfect retro atmosphere.

In a nutshell, players will take on a role of a peace-loving octopus who saves a human and is granted some magical powers. It’s still listed as coming out for the Wii U, but I’m personally hoping it comes to the Switch as well, so more people can experience this game. You can follow the game’s development on Christophe’s Twitter.

Görsd

A new title by Springloaded, a company based Singapore. Görsd is a game where 2-4 players fight to try to paint the level in their color (‘a mix of Splatoon, Pac-Man and a shooting game’). Players are given a single bullet, which they can use to activate bombs and kill other players (bullets can be picked up again). The best way to understand this game is to watch the prototype gameplay that is on Springloaded’s YouTube channel.

The game looks like it’ll be a fun party game, and it’ll be available on the Switch. Springloaded will show off multiple games for the Switch at BitSummit, so keep your eye out for more titles.

Battle Sports Mekuru

Briefly shown off in the Nintendo Switch reveal, Project Mekuru is an upcoming title for the Switch, published by Over Fence. Mekuru means ‘flipping’ in Japanese — and that’s exactly the point of this game. The game pits multiple players against each other as they try to butt-stomp their way to victory.

Earth Atlantis

A side-scrolling shooter by Pixel Perfex, releasing on the Switch, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC. A ‘Monster-Hunter’ like game, Earth Atlantis will pit players with finding 15 monsters while navigating the post-apocalyptical, underwater world. The game looks like something drawn out of the old maps and looks like it’ll be a blast to play.

Dusty Raging Fist

Dusty Raging Fist is a 2D beat-em-up brawler by PD Design Studio. The game’s story takes place before Dusty’s Revenge. The game will feature three playable characters, that must fight their way through the game’s levels to take on the ‘crazy boss’ characters. The game is set to release for the Switch, as well as PC and PlayStation 4.