This adorably spooky take on Pokemon Snap launches on Switch this week

If you're a fan of Pokemon Snap but need some frights to counterbalance the occasionally nauseating cuteness, this new indie launching on Switch this week might be just what the doctor ordered.

Penko Park is an adorably spooky indie where you explore an abandoned wildlife park and snap photos of its Ghibli-esque inhabitants. If that sounds like exactly your jam, as it does mine, you'll be pleased to know Penko Park launches on Switch in just a few days, on September 27. That gives you a full month and change to soak in all of the cute sights and frights during the Halloween season. Of course, there's never a bad time for cute scary games, but this sort of stuff just hits different this time of year.

In an interview with Nintendo Life celebrating the game's Switch launch, game designer Konstantin Kopka said the spooky-cute indie was directly inspired by the developers' childhood memories playing Pokemon Snap. The main difference, of course, is that the creatures are a little creepier and the story - tasking you with discovering the dark secrets behind the downfall of the village - is quite a bit darker.

"It's all about environmental storytelling and exploration," said Kopka. "Penko Park tells the story of an abandoned wildlife park and lets players find out the reason for its downfall. It can be played in different ways: players can just have fun and relax, shooting nice snapshots of weird creatures, or they can focus more on all those details and explore the park’s many (sometimes darker) secrets."

Penko Park has been out on PC for a while, and it's actually ranked  as #12 out of 250 in Steam's official list of 'hidden gems', but this is the first time it's launching on a console.

Looking for something to keep you busy this weekend? Here are the best Switch indie games to play right now.