Alwa's Awakening+Cathedral
Image: Evercade

The Evercade is a nifty little machine with a library that is getting more impressive with every new cartridge release, from the slew of retro collections of previously hard-to-find games to fantastic homebrews and indies

So, when we heard Evercade announce a new dual cartridge featuring NES-inspired indies such as Alwa's Awakening and Cathedral, we couldn't help but see it as more welcome additions to its growing library of games.

In the case of Alwa's Awakening, the game will be pretty much the same as the version that is available already on other consoles like PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, with players again taking control of heroine Zoe as she brings peace to the world of Alwa with her magical staff. But, arguably the appeal here is to have it side-by-side in your collection with the rest of your retro fare.

When it comes to Cathedral, on the other hand, there seems to be a lot more going on, with it being the first native port to Evercade — meaning a more optimized performance and bespoke controls. Together the two make a perfect pair, with both calling to mind those classic NES platformers we played in our youth.

Here's what Evercade Marketing Manager Sean Cleaver had to say about the news:

The Evercade Dual Cartridges form an integral part of the Evercade’s indie line-up. With the great success of the Xenocrisis/Tanglewood collection, we’ve made a space where we can celebrate all facets of indie development from grass roots and homebrew all the way to larger scale titles and projects. This collection also marks our first completely native port of a game to Evercade, meaning we are no longer bound by emulation only. The gates are now truly open.

Cathedral’s lead designer, Eric Lavesson, added:

Cathedral is all about making a modern retro experience, and what better platform to release for than the Evercade, which encompasses this very idea. We're proud and excited to have been given this opportunity, and humbled to be the first commercial game running natively on Evercade. We want to thank all those who have supported us through the years, and we hope that everyone will enjoy playing this new version of Cathedral.

Pre-orders for the dual-cartridge start on July 29th, with the two games set to hit Evercade in October 2022. No price point has been announced yet, but it is likely to be around £16.99, if the last dual cartridge is anything to go by.