Welcome to the SwitchArcade Roundup for June 5th, where we’re talking about the latest news and releases in Nintendo Switch land. There are four new games today, and I swear, the ride never ends with covering the Switch. I’m still barely recovering and am trying to find time to play some of these games! It’s like the golden age of mobile gaming here. Heck, I have Axiom Verge and Owlboy physical copies sitting around unplayed because of so many other games. Such as Songbringer, which I played on Twitch last night. I’ll have lengthier impressions soon, but it’s a rather fun take on Zelda with some procedurally-generated elements.
Watch Songbringer on Switch with Carter from TouchArcade on www.twitch.tv
News
Fortnite just showed up in the eShop update list data
Fortnite for Switch is officially the worst-kept secret in gaming now, as someone checked an eShop update, and, uh…Fortnite is on there. Yep, after the Korean ratings board revealed the Switch version, E3 leaks pointed out Fortnite, and just plain common sense after finding out the game works on mobile, Fortnite for Switch is imminent.
Tired: Revealing new games during an E3 presentation
Wired: Announcing new games by pushing an update for them to the eShop. pic.twitter.com/Nwzi2v6fWN
— Michael (@SciresM) June 5, 2018
Oh, and check out the eShop icon for the game!
Heh. pic.twitter.com/jcGkcAzBpN
— Michael (@SciresM) June 5, 2018
Freedom Planet might come to Switch
Literally, this is a copy of the Freedom Planet soundtrack on Switch, which has a screenshot of the Freedom Planet title screen on it. Get excited, folks, because Freedom Planet was made by Sonic fans, and this is a fantastic homage. It’s more of an action game than Sonic games are, giving it a different feel from Sonic while still recalling the classics. I love this game, and even though we have Sonic Mania, also from huge Sonic nerds, there is totally room in our hearts for Freedom Planet on Switch. Especially if the sequel winds up on Switch too. And the developer GalaxyTrail is also publishing a cool game called Grapple Force Rena that’s a lot of fun.
Guys, we know it's been a while but I have to ask… are we doing it right yet? pic.twitter.com/YxbEfEVPNf
— GalaxyTrail 🌀 (@galaxytrail) June 5, 2018
Is Nintendo preventing video apps from getting on the Switch?
So, this is an interesting callout from VRV (owned by Crunchyroll, the anime streaming service) saying why they don’t have an app on the Switch, in a now-deleted tweet, saying “@NintendoAmerica knows why" VRV isn’t on Switch. First off, I appreciate the salt. Second, this raises an interesting point about the lack of video apps on the Switch. Hulu is still the only game in town. Why isn’t Netflix, which otherwise tries to run on every device ever, not available on the Switch? Unless there’s something going on between Hulu and Nintendo, or perhaps Nintendo allowed Hulu and decided they didn’t want anyone else on the platform? And unlike Apple with the Steam Link, Nintendo doesn’t want to give approval and then revoke it, especially once an app is on the store.
Slime-san DLC Sheeple’s Sequel hits on July 10th
Good news for fans of Slime-san, the goopy trial platformer: a new DLC pack bringing more slime-ridden levels is coming on July 10th. It looks like it’s gonna have a ton of new tricky challenges to take on, and the new characters should be fun to play with.
Pocket Rumble coming to Switch by July
I remember seeing this title around when it was in development, and was intrigued by the Neo Geo Pocket Color inspired theme. I never owned that handheld, but it had a Sonic game on it and seemed to have a cult audience. Thus, this aesthetic looked like it was retro, yet unique in its own way. However, the game saw delays from its original planned Switch launch, but it’s finally nearing release, with the Switch version pending Nintendo approval, and a July release expected. More fighting games on the Switch!
Sakurai to appear during Nintendo Direct at E3
I suppose this isn’t a surprise since Super Smash Bros. will have a big presence at E3 for Nintendo, but Masahiro Sakurai, one of the most notable developers in the Smash series, will present something during Nintendo Direct.
もちろん、何かご紹介しますよ。こういうの、久しぶり…。 https://t.co/VP0KTdoAjx
— 桜井 政博 (@Sora_Sakurai) June 5, 2018
New Releases
The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker ($12.99)
FMV games are seriously back in style, and this murder mystery has you trying to figure out which one of his former patients killed the eponymous doctor, though Lovecraftian horrors get involved, somehow? What’s intriguing about this one is that the game randomly picks the murderer each time, and you can ask your own questions of suspects, with over 1600 full-motion video responses. This one will eat up almost 10 GB of your storage, but still, I’m quite intrigued by this? Onto the backlog it goes?
Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn ($19.99)
Look, is there anything I can say about this beat ’em up, reviving the comically bad Shaq-Fu license, that this description that compares their game to the Holy Bible of the Christian faith doesn’t say? I’m not joking, this is the description on the eShop.
Maybe you’re visually impaired and need that in text form. Or maybe you think I Photoshopped that. No, this is the real description, on the real eShop. I even archived the page because I need you to believe that this actually happened.
A vessel floating down a river contains an orphaned baby boy. He is found and adopted. As he grows, he learns of his true identity and destiny of greatness. Thus is the premise of two of the greatest stories of our time, but that is where the similarities end. Now we’re not saying that “Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn" is better than the Good Book; that would be blasphemy. But please consider the following questions:
• Does the Bible feature BASKETBALL LEGEND SHAQUILLE O’NEAL AS AN ASS-KICKING WU XING MASTER?
• Can the Holy Writ boast A DOPE RAP FEATURING THE BIG ARISTOTLE HIMSELF?
• Does the Book of Books provide the EXCITEMENT AND HILARITY OF BATTLING BOSSES WHO ARE PARODIES OF FAMOUS DOUCHEBAGS?
• Do any of the conflicts depicted in The Sacred Testimony qualify as EPIC BOSS BATTLES THAT YOU WON’T BELIEVE WE ACTUALLY PUT INTO A GAME?
“Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn" DOES contain all of those thrilling features and many more! So buy it. It’s pretty cheap.
I mean, sure, why not.
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle ($49.99 Regular, $69.99 Deluxe)
Did you play the online trail of this and got excited for the full game? Well, good news: it’s out now! This is like the X-Men vs. Street Fighter of BlazBlue, from the developer of the Guilty Gear games. This crosses over with Rooster Teeth’s anime RWBY, Persona 4 Arena, and Under Night In-Birth. The game comes with 20 characters, and two extra ones are free DLC. 18 characters in total are available in $4.99 DLC three-packs, for a total of 40 once all are released, with the Deluxe Edition containing all of them. $4.99 for a three-pack is a better deal than paying for Street Fighter V characters, which if I recall, I had to pay six bucks to unlock Blanka and Akuma. Probably still a better situation than having to buy a whole new version of the game each year!
Happy Birthdays ($39.99)
NIS America brings Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada’s sandbox game Happy Birthdays to Switch today. You create environments from cubes, and then populate and cultivate the worlds with life and plants. Oh, and you can have dinosaurs and humans. Though, I’d probably make sure the humans stay away from any kind of advanced technology, considering what shape the earth is in now, and away from dinosaurs, who got a raw deal from that meteor that wiped them out.
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!
