Talking Point: Which Indie Game Should Be "99"ed Next?

Tetris 99. Pac-Man 99. Super Mario Bros. 35 99. Flake 99. Oh, no, sorry, that last one’s a delicious summertime treat, not a video game. But you get the point: we’re seeing a new trend emerge, even though it’s based on an old new trend: the Battle Royale.

The premise behind the 99 series of games is simple: 99 (or 35) people enter the ring, play the same game, and keep going as they’re slowly eliminated until one rules victorious over the 98 (or 34) losers. Rinse and repeat. It’s as easy to learn as the alphabet, and as addictive as Haribo Tangfastics (who did not sponsor this post, by the way, I’m just hungry. Although, hi, Haribo, if you’re reading this. Call me).

We’ve given our thoughts for potential new Nintendo Battle Royales in the past, but those were largely first-party games, and Battle Royales should be for everyone – that is, until they become uncool again.

So, which indie games should Nintendo set their sights on for the next 99-themed game? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Celeste 99 (or 35)

One of the best platformers of the decade could easily take the place left in the wake of Super Mario Bros. 35, and though none of us at Nintendo Life are good enough game designers to know exactly what a Celeste Battle Royale would look like (or how it would work), we’re confident that the people who made it would have some good ideas.

And, since it was made by the same people – how about a Towerfall 99, too? The archery party game already suits Battle Royale mechanics so well that there’s a fan-made Hunger Games set of rules, which we used to play all the time between the CVG and ONM teams. The base game supports up to six people on Switch, so just make the arenas bigger and drop in a few more players… easy, right?

Stardew Valley 99

Battle Royale matches that are over in a matter of minutes are for cowards. Pit us against 99 similarly-determined farmers, and make the stakes higher than that of Tetris or Pac-Man: who can raise the most money from farming in one year?

Hm, maybe this one doesn’t quite work on the grand scale, but we could imagine a Stardew BR where the goal is to, say, catch the most fish, or get the furthest down into the mines. It won’t be us, but it could be fun to watch.

Baba Is You 99 (AKA Baba Is Us)

We’ll be honest: we picked this one for the title. But picture 99 Babas, all attempting to solve the puzzle before every other Baba manages it. There are over 200 levels in Baba Is You, meaning that you could play the Battle Royale version 200 times and not see the same level twice. What’s more, the visuals in the game are simple, which would translate well to a Tetris 99-style interface.