Nintendo Switch's 2018 indie roster is looking strong

A year ago, Nintendo followed the launch of the Switch with a bold proclamation: The console would get a new indie game every week. This signaled a new era and approach to welcome third-party games, which previous Nintendo systems had failed to court well. Today, it seems like indie titles are lining up to jump on the Switch -- and the company announced a dozen new and remastered games will be headed to the console this year.

New:

• Fantasy Strike (summer 2018): The fighter from Sterling Games is full of myth and monsters, with ghosts, golems, paint magic and time powers. Aside from its lovely art style, it looks to be the same relaxed fighting gameplay that made Dragonball FighterZ a success.

• Just Shape And Beats (summer 2018): Berzerk Studios' game is a simple bullet hell title that pulses to a musical rhythm, like a side-scrolling Rez.

• Bomb Chicken (summer 2018): Nitrome's side-scrolling platformer looks like someone remade Bomberman with a mad chicken in the lead. Proceed with your poultry destruction.

• Light Fall (spring 2018): Bishop Games' speedy platformer trades Sonic's loops for a summonable block that players can jump off of to keep their flow going.

• Pode (spring 2018): The delightfully cute co-op puzzle game is inspired by Norwegian art and culture.

• The Messenger (summer 2018): This platformer is clearly feeding a nostalgia for Ninja Gaiden's memorably punishing gameplay, but looks to add novel time mechanics (and graphical swapping from 8- to 16-bit).

• Banner Saga 3 (summer 2018): One of the best narrative-driven tactics games is headed to the Switch. The third episode of the acclaimed series launches in a few months, but don't fret if you haven't played the first two -- Banner Saga 1 and 2 are coming soon to the Switch later this year.

Launching first on the Switch:

• Garage (spring 2018): Tiny Build Games' top-down shooter evokes the gritty tones of VHS-era horror films with an underworld adventure fighting off zombies and mutants.

• Pool Panic (late 2018): Adult Swim Games' adventure game stars a pool ball you knock around stages to solve your problems (aka slamming our heroes into enemies until they go away). It also has local multiplayer.

• West of Loathing (spring 2018): This simple-looking stick figure role-playing game by the makers of the online RPG Kingdom of Loathing will come out exclusively for the Switch.

• Bad North (summer 2018): A Norse-inspired rogue-lite real-time strategy game that looks wicked yet simple-to-learn -- perfect for the Switch's screen.

Remastered:

• Mark of the Ninja Remastered (fall 2018): Klei's successful stealth platformer will be a great title to pick up, though it's unclear if it'll come with additional content.

• Lumines Remastered (spring 2018): The incredible musical rhythm-based game was originally a launch title for the PlayStation Portable, and it was compared to Tetris as a title that sold systems.

• Reigns: Kings and Queens (spring 2018): Swipe left or right to rule your kingdom, but be prepared to die in the effort (many, many times). The game also includes the lauded Her Majesty semi-sequel that lets you play as a queen instead.

Update: But wait, there's more! Nintendo revealed after the event that it's also expecting Switch ports of a few GameMaker titles: Hyper Light Drifter, Nidhogg 2 and Crashlands.

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