Welcome to the latest edition of the SwitchArcade Roundup! We’re covering a few new releases today, some news and upcoming Switch titles, and running down some more sales. I apologize in advance for all the terrible puns you’re about to see in one sale post. Or do I? Regardless, there’s a lot of puns. And a lot of sales, so I must respond in kind.
News
Rocket League Tournaments Update
The Tournaments Update is now available for Rocket League on the Switch! This adds in a new Tournaments mode where you can arrange competitions against other players online, complete with easy tracking of results. Additionally, this update improves performance on the Switch, and adds in full-resolution modes if you prefer that the game look better in exchange for a locked 30 frames per second. I’m glad that Rocket League is seeing performance improvements on the Switch. It’s running on an older version of the Unreal Engine, and modern versions might deliver better performance, but it’s a sign of optimism for the Switch long-term if developers are still finding ways to squeeze out improved performance from the Switch’s current hardware. I doubt the Switch will last as long as a viable system as Nintendo hopes, but there’s still a lot of capability here.
13AM Games announces Double Cross
The developers of Runbow revealed Double Cross, a platformer with the ability to grapple and launch yourself from midair launch points, along with other abilities of much lesser importance. 13AM promises investigation elements along the lines of adventure games, which should make for an interesting combo with the action-platformer gameplay here! Expect this one this summer on Switch and PC!
Mighty Moth announces Above
This is a game where you explore a massive flooded world in your plane, helping your villagers, while fending off the evil seabeasts, and all sorts of ne’er-do-wells trying to make their way by crook in this watery universe. The game looks fascinating, but I’m mostly amused that we have a game called Above, and there’s also Below from Capy Games of Sworcery fame. Mighty Moth says this one is coming to “consoles" in 2019, without mentioning which systems, but I see no reason why this can’t be on the Switch. I hope we get both Above and Below on Switch.
What’s new in Dark Souls: Remastered?
IGN obtained a full list of what’s new and changed in Dark Souls Remastered, not just in the Switch version but all platforms. The Switch version will run at full resolution in handheld or docked mode (720p and 1080p respectively) but at 30 frames per second. Online play now supports six people at once, and uses dedicated servers. Check out the full list of changes here and prepare for the game on May 28th.
New Releases
Penny-Punching Princess
Do you like beat ’em ups, and bribery? Well, Penny-Punching Princess is the game for you, as you control the eponymous princess. You can beat up enemies, sure, but you can also shake them down for cash. Or you can bribe them to do your bidding. You can also bribe objects to use them against enemies, hopefully netting you enough financial value to be worth a profit, or to at least get what you want done at an efficient rate. Bribers don’t get anywhere going broke with their bribes, c’mon! I never thought beat ’em ups and calculators would mix, and yet…here we are.
The Adventure Pals
This platformer promises versatile giraffe action. Your giraffe buddy can slip into your backpack, or you can ride him. Or, you can use his tongue as a helicopter. This is impressive, considering that Tails needs two tails in order to fly, and this giraffe has only one tongue. The whole game claims inspiration from cartoons, and the visuals look like your modern, Adventure Time-style cartoon with added video game effects. This one looks pretty intriguing.
Games on Sale
36 Fragments of Midnight ($2.39 from $2.99 until April 15th)
Say what you will about the App Store, but at least they require that developers knock off at least a dollar off of prices. I fear that this sort of situation is to use the “Games on Sale" section more for promotion rather than sales, because is there anyone for whom that 60 cents was the dealbreaker? Anyway, in this spinoff to Midnight Deluxe, you have to make your way through procedurally-generated platforming levels, trying to collect all 36 fragments to help Midnight’s friends. Looks interesting enough, and I guess putting the game on sale for 60 cents off worked to get it more attention!
Super Ping Pong Trick Shot ($2.99 from $4.99 until April 12th)
The more I see this game, the more I find myself enjoying the aesthetic. It’s inexcusably an artificial, computer program aesthetic. It’s not trying to resemble something else, it’s artificial. And I kind of like that. If you dig it, the game’s on sale for a decent discount right now. Also, since I’m on the topic today, this is a totally reasonable sale. It’s a discount that’s enough to feel significant, but not harmfully excessive. And it’s saving the buyer two dollars, which isn’t a lot but enough to perhaps to tip their hand toward buying this!
Black The Fall ($8.99 from $14.99 until April 6th)
This sci-fi adventure game has you trying to escape a dystopian communist state with the help of a robot comrade. The game has a 68 on Metacritic, which aren’t some very impressive Marx. However, the art shows a high level of visual Fidel-ity on the Switch. It’s also one point away from being nice. If you don’t buy it, then Soviet, you don’t want it. But if you do want it at a discount, you need to quit Stalin. If you can’t afford it, perhaps you can find someone who is Lenin money? Are these puns making you sickle? Are you tired of me hammering them in? I’m a real proletariat at them. This game seems like a Kapital idea if you like side-scrolling narrative platformers!
Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Gate of Doom ($7.19 from $7.99 until April 5th)
Think about this kind of sale as Johnny Turbo paying $0.80 per install. The game got prime featuring in the “Games on Sale" category, earned it for a couple of weeks, and the cost to the publisher for the additional sales is minimal. Ask a mobile developer if they could pay $0.80 per install and they’d probably kill for it. Literally. Anyway, this is a Data East arcade action-RPG from 1990. Johnny Turbo is producing these emulation wrapper titles in the similar manner as HAMSTER, though we are all just waiting on Nintendo to reveal an actual Virtual Console once and for all. Until then, here you go!
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!
