Welcome to the latest SwitchArcade Roundup, where we’re discussing a bunch of Nintendo Switch eShop sales! Surprisingly, this is a slow release day for the Switch, with only one new Friday title, the 2D Dark Souls-inspired Castle of Heart, out today. And there isn’t a whole lot of news fit to print. So let’s run down a ton of the sales that are on the eShop now, because you need more Switch games.
Portal Knights ($26.99 from $29.99 until April 5th)
The popularity of Minecraft and its myriad mods has led to a burgeoning series of games with sandbox and creative elements, but also RPG-like elements with a story behind them. Portal Knights is another one of these titles, complete with multiplayer where you can work together to take on The Fracture and save the world, or just mine resources and build cool stuff. Just like real life!
Rocket League ($14.99 from $19.99 until April 5th)
This game keeps shooting up the sales charts whenever it goes on sale on Switch, and for good reason: if you can handle the scaled-down resolution, you get the fun but incredibly hard car soccer game that you can play wherever you darn well feel like doing so, and with cross-platform multiplayer. The game regularly sees new content updates, too, so it’s definitely a smart investment. Warning: you will suck at it at first.
L.A. Noire ($37.49 from $49.99 until April 5th)
This noir adventure game incredibly well-regarded at its release, and seeing second life here on the Switch, is on a pretty nice sale. The game got some tweaks since its original release on consoles to change how users interact with suspects, so it might be a bit different than you remember, but otherwise, if it’s your first time playing this or you’re reliving this narrative-heavy action game, now’s a good time to check it out. Read our SwitchArcade impressions of it for more!
Oceanhorn ($11.24 from $14.99 until April 5th)
Do you like The Legend of Zelda? Well, this game takes definite inspiration from the Zelda franchise, but this FDG-published title brings some fresh elements to the table, its own visual style, and it fills a gap since the only official Zelda game you can buy right now is Breath of the Wild, and that’s quite the leap forward from previous Zelda games. So this helps to fill the gap of homage to the series, and presenting some fresh ideas that perhaps Nintendo wouldn’t pursue.
Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King ($12.74 from $14.99 until April 5th)
Do you like The Legend of Zelda? Well, this game takes definite inspiration from the Zelda franchise, but this FDG-published title brings some fresh elements to the table, its own visual style, and it fills a gap since the only official Zelda game you can buy right now is Breath of the Wild, and that’s quite the leap forward from previous Zelda games. So this helps to fill the gap of homage to the series, and presenting some fresh ideas that perhaps Nintendo wouldn’t pursue.
Hey, wait a second. So these two games won’t win any awards for originality (though I like Castle Pixel’s art style on Blossom Tales), hopefully there’s some other, super-original titles on sale!
Binaries ($6.49 from $12.99 until April 5th)
Do you like games where you control two characters at the same time? Binaries challenges you to make the two sides of your brain work together, as you must find a way to solve tricky challenges while controlling the orange and blue characters on separate sides of the screen simultaneously. Expect tricky challenges and a game with a strong sense of atmosphere.
Semispheres ($6.99 from $9.99 until March 29th)
Do you like games where you control two characters at the same time? Binaries challenges you to make the two sides of your brain work together, as you must find a way to solve tricky challenges while controlling the orange and blue characters on separate sides of the screen simultaneously. Expect tricky challenges and a game with a strong sense of atmosphere.
Oh no it happened again! These games both look interesting, and Binaries and Semispheres are both quite different games, but still, it just goes to show: there’s no such thing as an original idea.
Brawlout ($14.99 from $19.99 until April 11th)
I’m not even going to mess around with you here, this is Super Smash Bros. Angry Mob Games makes some fun titles, but they definitely don’t hide their inspirations, between this and Muffin Knight. At least there’s some cool guest characters: the Guacamelee protagonist, and the Hyper Light Drifter. And there is online play! This might not make a lot of sense when Super Smash Bros. proper comes out on the Switch, so pick it up and enjoy it now while it makes sense!
Brawl ($7.99 from $9.99 until March 25th)
Oh thank God, this actually isn’t a Smash Bros. type game! Instead, it’s Bomberman! With evil bears and clowns! It’s still not as scary as that futuristic Bomberman game from the 360, though!
Gonner ($6.99 from $9.99 until April 5th)
Praise the sun, this is at least a game that’s not like much of anything I’ve ever played. This Raw Fury-published title is a 2D roguelike action-platformer, where you try to survive abstract environments, unlocking new abilities, but exploring procedurally-generated levels. Getting high scores is the goal here, along with discovering more of the story about the protagonist Ikk, Death, and a space whale named Sally. Be warned: this one is brutally hard, and you have to figure a lot of it out yourself.
Implosion: Never Lose Hope ($8.99 from $11.99 until April 5th)
Flyhigh Works publishes one of the best original mobile hack ‘n slash games onto the Switch. Fight using battle suits, and make your way through ever more chaotic desolated environments, with multiple playable characters, and massive bosses. This one’s a ton of fun on mobile, and while the game has controller support on mobile, if you don’t have one, maybe this is your chance to jump in?
Astro Duel Deluxe ($7.49 from $14.99 until April 5th)
Rusty Moyher’s game of battling your friends in space by blowing up their ships, then running over their pilots floating in space is still a ton of fun, and there’s a lot of fun to be had when you connect as many Joy-Cons as possible to your system and get some friends, and blast each other. You can play with up to six people at once, and there are some new modes not in previous releases of the game on mobile.
Thumper ($11.99 from $19.99 until April 5th)
Get ready for some trippy rhythm violence as you fly down the track, shooting and destroying everything in your path to the beat of the music. Seriously, wear headphones or use good speakers for this unique music game.
Keep an eye out every weekday for more SwitchArcade Roundups! We want to hear your feedback on Nintendo Switch coverage on TouchArcade. Comment below or tweet us with your thoughts!
