Welcome to your SwitchArcade Roundup for August 22nd, 2018. Phil here with more coverage and news out of Gamescom 2018, as well as some headlines from outside of Germany as well. It’s a full day of news once again, and I’m ready and raring to go to get to it. First, let’s check out the Game of the Day, which is highlighted not just for being a stellar puzzle game, but also because of its current Nintendo eShop discount.
Game of the Day
Puyo Puyo Tetris ($23.99 from $29.99 until August 28)
It only makes sense to have our featured Game of the Day also be a game featured today in the Sales section of the SwitchArcade Roundup. Well that’s exactly what’s happening here with SEGA and Sonic Team’s Puyo Puyo Tetris. True to its name, Puyo Puyo Tetris is a combination of Sonic Team’s Puyo Puyo and the most famous puzzle video game of all time, Tetris.
Puyo Puyo Tetris is filled with more modes than my side of the screen usually is filled with Puyo Puyo or Tetriminos (because, y’know, I suck at these types of games). First, there is a full-blown Adventure mode containing 10 chapters of multiple challenges, fully voiced dialog, and wacky and whimsical characters that tell the story. This was my mode of choice to play and practice in. If a particular challenge was too hard and I failed it enough times, I was able to skip it and move on to the next one with zero penalty, which is terrific for those like me whose Puyo Puyo and Tetris skills aren’t exactly professional player material.
There are then modes that mash Puyo Puyo and Tetris together, that have you occasionally switch boards with the other player for strategic matching of Puyo Puyo and Tetriminos, and of course, all of these can be played in Versus play either locally or online, and many with up to four players at once.
Like peanut butter and jelly–and to be more topical–pineapple on pizza (but not for me, thank you very much), Puyo Puyo and Tetris go together splendidly, making the end result of Puyo Puyo Tetris the Game of the Day!
News
Nintendo reveals a new River Survival mode in Super Mario Party
Touted as being a return to form to the Mario Party series, Super Mario Party will party hearty this October on the Switch. Ahead of its release and as part of Gamescom, Nintendo has revealed a new mode for the game, River Survival. This mode has four players paddling a raft cooperatively together in hopes of reaching the end of the multi-branched river. Time, however, is ticking down, so the need to cooperate with one another, grab green clocks that add additional time, and avoid obstacles is of the utmost importance. Along the way, there are red balloons that when popped allow all four players to engage in a mini-game. The river route gets trickier as players progress, as seen by the play-through by Nintendo of America staffers. Super Mario Party celebrates its arrival on the Switch on October 5th.
Diablo III: Eternal Collection gets Switch footage from Gamescom and good news for physical purchasers
Have you been itching for new footage of Diablo III running on the Switch hardware? Well, first, you might want to get that itch checked, as it might be something serious, and secondly, Nintendo of Europe has got you covered! Extended gameplay footage of Diablo III: Eternal Collection showed up at Gamescom (all 20+ minutes of it with developer commentary) and found itself uploaded on Nintendo UK’s YouTube channel.
In other Diablo III: Eternal Collection news, some positive, encouraging news for those of us interested in purchasing the retail version of the game on store shelves. Thanks to PCMag.com, we now know that Diablo III on the Switch will require NO additional download, meaning we’ll get the full game on the cartridge at release and no need to fill up any precious Switch hardware or SD card memory. How’s that for a nice change of pace?
Pre-registration for Tencent’s Arena of Valor is now open
Perhaps you’d like to get a jump on the fun before the MOBA Arena of Valor launches on the Switch some time next month. That’s good, as you’ll be rewarded for it! Pre-registration is now live for the game on the official Arena of Valor website. By inputting your email, you’ll receive four bonuses around launch time: a 7-day trial card for Maloch, a level-3 Arcana Chest, 100 gems, and a 3-day double gold card. If you have any interest whatsoever in the Switch version of Arena of Valor, it only makes sense to check out the website and get locked in to get these pre-registration rewards.
Football Manager 19 welcomes Switch owners to the job this November
Football Manager 18 coached its way onto the Switch with a delayed release when compared to other platforms. Now, it’s been confirmed that Football Manager 19 is Switch-bound, and it’s apparently releasing in the same launch window as the other versions this November. Football Manager 19 puts players in the role of a titular football manager: recruiting players, providing detailed playing strategies, and much more–all with the “goal" (hee-hee) of getting your team to victory. According to the official PR, further details regarding new gameplay features and club licenses are coming late next month. For now, you can watch this trailer in anticipation for the news (and game) to come.
Morphies Law getting updated with Version 1.0.2 patch
We didn’t hear much about Morphies Law for a good, long while. Then, yesterday, the game got a stealth launch, which has seen quite the mixed reaction. The offline works relatively well, but online is a decidedly different story. Now, the developers behind the game are planning a patch to at least address some of the issues currently present with the game. One big potential fix is that of lag during online play. To see the full patch notes for Morphies Law Version 1.0.2, check out the website here.
Other Headlines & Game Announcements
Full remakes of Langrisser I & II are coming to the Switch, complete unveiling August 29th
Major update coming to Portal Knights, featuring “Creative Universes"
New Releases
Like Brad Pitt in the movie Se7en, you’re probably asking, “What’s Out of the Box?!!" I would answer, “1) You’re thinking of the line ‘what’s in the box’ and 2) It’s the lone new release of the day." Let’s check out the trailer for this game of gangsters.
Out of the Box ($14.99)
Sales
New Games on Sale
Though the discount isn’t too terribly large, a discount is a discount and a great puzzle game is a great puzzle game. Puyo Puyo Tetris is just that, and it’s now on sale until next Tuesday!
- Puyo Puyo Tetris ($23.99 from $29.99 until August 28)
- The Sexy Brutale ($9.99 from $19.99 until August 29)
- Agatha Knife ($8.99 from $11.99 until September 3)
- Guilt Battle Arena ($4.99 from $9.99 until September 4)
- Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn ($9.99 from $19.99 until September 10)
Sales Ending on Thursday, August 22nd
As tomorrow is Thursday, the day where the Nintendo eShop generally updates with the most games and new sales, some old sales are ending tomorrow. Be sure to review this list to make sure you don’t miss out on a good deal! Might I recommend Bomb Chicken, Riptide GP: Renegade, and Splasher? Oh wait. I just did! Hooray!
- A Hole New World ($6.99 from $9.99 until August 23)
- Aqua Kitty UDX ($4.49 from $8.99 until August 23)
- Beach Buggy Racing ($3.99 from $9.99 until August 23)
- Bit Dungeon Plus ($6.29 from $8.99 until August 23)
- Black Hole ($2.99 from $5.99 until August 23)
- Black The Fall ($8.99 from $14.99 until August 23)
- Bloody Zombies ($6.74 from $14.99 until August 23)
- Bomb Chicken ($8.99 from $14.99 until August 23)
- Chameleon Run: Deluxe Edition ($2.99 from $5.99 until August 23)
- Crypt of the Necromancer: Nintendo Switch Edition ($7.99 from $19.99 until August 23)
- Death Squared ($8.99 from $14.99 until August 23)
- Earthlock ($17.99 from $29.9 until August 23)
- Farming Simulator – Nintendo Switch Edition ($29.99 from $49.99 until August 23)
- Floor Kids ($11.94 from $19.90 until August 23)
- Frost ($9.74 from $12.99 until August 23)
- Grave Danger ($17.99 from $19.99 until August 23)
- Heroes of the Monkey Tavern ($4.99 from $9.99 until August 23)
- Hiragana Pixel Party ($5.39 from $8.99 until August 23)
- Joe Dever’s Lone Wolf ($8.99 from $14.99 until August 23)
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes ($13.49 from $14.99 until August 23)
- Layers of Fear: Legacy ($11.99 from $19.99 until August 23)
- Mahjong Deluxe 3 ($17.99 from $19.99 until August 23)
- Masters of Anima ($11.99 from $19.99 until August 23)
- Membrane ($4.99 from $9.99 until August 23)
- Neo ATLAS 1469 ($24.99 from $49.99 until August 23)
- Ninja Striker ($2.39 from $3.99 until August 23)
- Nuclien ($2.39 from $3.99 until August 23)
- Pankapu ($7.99 from $11.99 until August 23)
- PixelJunk Monsters 2 ($8.99 from $14.99 until August 23)
- PixelJunk Monsters 2 Deluxe Edition ($10.99 from $21.99 until August 23)
- Raging Justice ($8.99 from $14.99 until August 23)
- Riptide GP: Renegade ($3.99 from $9.99 until August 23)
- Rocket League ($13.99 from $19.99 until August 23)
- Snow Moto Racing Freedom ($19.99 from $39.99 until August 23)
- Splasher ($9.99 from $14.99 until August 23)
- SpiritSphere DX ($6 from $10 until August 23)
- Squid Odyssey ($8.99 from $14.99 until August 23)
- Super Beat Sports ($11.99 from $14.99 until August 23)
- Super One More Jump ($4.20 from $7 until August 23)
- The Jackbox Party Pack 4 ($14.99 from $24.99 until August 23)
- Werewolf Pinball ($1.79 from $1.99 until August 23)
- Yodanji ($2.99 from $4.99 until August 23)
Part two of our SwitchArcade Roundup’s coverage of Gamescom 2018 is over. Stay tuned for more news and coverage throughout the rest of this week. As always, we’re paying attention to the comments section and to tweets, so feel free to give us a heads up on what’s on your mind. Until tomorrow, keep your Joy-Cons charged and your Switches loaded with great games!
