Earlier this month, invitations to join a mysterious online play test were posted on the Nintendo website. It was a limited user affair, and one that was heavily shrouded in secrecy too.
As a result, fan speculation went wild about what could be included. Was it GameCube on Switch Online, like some had predicted? Some sort of streaming service, perhaps one tied to said GameCube games? A Miiverse esque social media platform?
Well, as it turns out, the answer is none of those things. Instead, it’s a Minecraft like MMO experience, with players “developing” a massive planet by utilising creativity and farmed resources. Here’s the original tweet about it from Twitter user Ethan:
hope nintendo doesn't kill me for this pic.twitter.com/dgVHQFCaXX
— Ethan :3 (@Ethan_ThisGuy) October 21, 2024
The screenshots from said message:
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- Info about the dev core in this mystery game
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- Info about the beacon system from the game
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- Info about the mystery game’s purpose/goal
Plus, a video of the whole site from Twitter user asm:
Here’s a recording of the full switch online play test site pic.twitter.com/NFhdfbjF6s
— asm (@Aro75615955) October 21, 2024
It’s a very interesting project to say the least, and one which we weren’t expecting from Nintendo in the slightest. After all, a heavily online focused MMO experience from the company that seems to fear the internet? That’s certainly a new one, that’s for sure.
But it definitely sounds like a very different take on the genre. The idea of the beacons purifying the land (and their effectiveness depending on where they’re placed) is very Tears of the Kingdom like to us, with a lot of elements similar to the Lightroots in said game’s backstory. In fact, you could almost say it’s like a create your own open world experience, with the beacons being manually placed shrines and towers and the goal being to fix the map rather than merely uncover it.
So, we’re excited to see how it goes for sure. There’s potential here, even in a genre Nintendo has no real experience with.
And it seems that won’t be very far off either. Indeed, with the leaks coming from the site and download opening up, and the actual experience going live later this month, we’re sure to see some gameplay in the near future as well. Nintendo probably won’t like it, but it’ll happen for sure.
Still, what do you think about the game? Are you participating in the play test? Or is this something you’re not really interested in at all?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below, on social media, or on our Discord server today!
Source:
As Expected, Nintendo Is Struggling To Contain Switch Online Playtest Leaks (Nintendo Life)