Hakoniwa Explorer Plus, One Of Steam's Best Hidden Gems, Is Coming To Switch On June 18

Publisher Playism (most known for Bright Memory and Assault Android Cactus) and developer suxamethonium have just announced that their underappreciated voxel art role-playing action title Hakoniwa Explorer Plus will soon be making its way to the Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo eShop on June 18. It has been confirmed that it will provide language support in English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese.

Originally released in June of 2018 for the PC via Steam, Hakoniwa Explorer Plus is an action role-playing title employing voxel aesthetics. Promising an “unprecedented level of freedom”, players start off as an unnamed drifter who players can assign genders to. Afterwards, they can wander and gather information on the dungeons that litter the realm from the local villagers that they encounter. Once they’re prepared, players can then begin exploring and conquering them. Along their journey, players will also meet Sukumizu, the game’s main guide with interesting interactions that players can discover for themselves (spoilers: players will be berated for being a pervert and incur 1 damage if they go through with this interaction). The game’s monsters are made up of “mostly soft, cute, sadistic girls”.

As for the gameplay, players have a plethora of weapons at their disposal such as claws, clubs, swords, axes, and bows. These all have different special status effects, different attack numbers, and ranges that can fit any playstyle. Hakoniwa Explorer Plus also offers a variety of gear for defensive purposes such as shields, armor, helmets, and shoes that can also have special traits that provide buffs. There are also consumable items that provide buffs, such as increased HP regeneration, level increase, weapon and armor buffs, increased attack range, and more. Some of these are the imaginatively named Blanched Crab, Pervy Liquid, and Big-Ass Grenade.

The developer stated the trajectory of the game from its beginnings up to its current status today as a hidden gem, saying, ”Originally, this was never intended to be made into a game, but as I went along adding all sorts of new elements and stuff, at some point it kinda became the kind of game that lots of people could enjoy. Then I somehow got a publisher attached, and now it seems the game has actually managed to make it out to market, which is unbelievable.”

Hakoniwa Explorer Plus will launch for the Nintendo Switch on June 18 and will retail for $11.99. It is currently available for PC via Steam for $9.99.