Hello, gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for December 20th, 2018. Today we’ve got an avalanche of new releases, along with a hot sale from Team17, some update news, and a trailer for one of the cooler-looking games hitting the eShop next month. Let’s take a running leap into the pile of snow that is today’s round-up!
News
The Latest Trailer for ‘Dragon Marked for Death’ is Here
Inti Creates’ latest game is going to be out soon, and there’s a hot new trailer that walks you through the story, the main characters, and how they work in-game. It looks like the game will be great for anyone who has enjoyed any of Inti Creates’ previous titles such as Azure Striker Gunvolt or Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. Heck, one of the characters almost immediately calls to mind Zero’s play style from the Mega Man Zero games. Dragon Marked for Death will release on January 31st.
Control Improvements and More in the Newest Update to ‘Warframe’
The Switch version of Warframe is something of a minor miracle, but some players have had a bone or two to pick with it. The latest update seeks to ease some of the difficulties certain players have had with the controls, and fixes a few other things while it’s at it. Basically, the aim here was to improve the responsiveness of the controls, and the developers have done a few things to try to achieve that. You also get some new motion control support during certain actions, such as for flying your craft on the loading screen or to make things easier to use in the Decorate mode. Loading times during transit from Cetus to the Plains have been improved, and several bugs were fixed.
Williams Pinball Volume 2 is Now Available in ‘Pinball FX3’
The latest set of Williams tables is now available in Pinball FX3. This pack includes Black Rose, The Party Zone, and Attack From Mars. All great tables, to be sure. Like before, it will cost you $9.99 for the bundle of three. And also like before, the games are running in Family Mode, so certain elements are censored to appease the ratings gods. Yes, poor old Black Rose has to wear pants on the console versions. Oh well. The play’s the thing, and these do play great.
New Releases
Razed ($11.99)
From what I can gather, this is a sort of racer/platformer hybrid where you have to zip through levels as fast as you can before the rocket shoes you’re wearing explode. That… that is a pretty good set-up, right there. Reviews on other platforms have been mixed but slightly favorable, so if barfy neon is your aesthetic and you like the idea of slamming against levels over and over again trying to shave off a few microseconds, you might like this one. If, on the other hand, that sounds frustrating to you, then you may want to give Razed a wide berth.
Viviette ($9.99)
SwitchArcade Recommended!
Viviette may look like a 16-bit RPG, but similar to the now-classic Corpse Party, this is actually an adventure game with a horror theme. You wake up in a hospital bed, and your memories are foggy. All you know is that something happened at a mansion that affected you and your friends. You head back there looking to unravel its secrets, and like always, that was actually a pretty bad idea. But you’re in there now, and you’re going to have to deal with whatever you find. Tricky puzzles await, and something is stalking you. Can you solve all of the riddles that lead to the true ending? Can you even survive to reach any ending? This one has been out on PC for a bit, and it’s rightfully received quite a bit of praise from those who have played it. Perhaps it can find a wider audience on Switch, even if it is a little seasonally off-brand right now.
The Keep ($17.99)
Hey, you. Yeah, you with the iron helmet and the sword. Do you like Dungeon Master-style first-person dungeon crawlers? Are you big on solving puzzles that involve weighing down pressure plates? Are you the type that knows true combat involves waltzing around monsters waiting for your stamina to recover? Well, have I got a game for you. It’s called The Keep, and it’s a beefed up version of a game you may have seen on the Nintendo 3DS. It’s no Legend of Grimrock, mind you, but do you know what isn’t on Switch? Legend of Grimrock. Do you know what is? The Keep. There you go.
Revertia ($4.99)
Um, did you know? Othello is unexpectedly popular in Japan, and even setting aside the games inspired by Othello, there are a ton of Othello video games that never leave the country. Every once in a while, though, the light shines through and the rest of the world can see that love pour out. Revertia is one such beam of light. It’s a puzzle game that uses an Othello/Reversi mechanic as its core element, and it’s kind of neat. It also has a pretty cute homemade craft-style look to it, helping it stand out the way any puzzle game that wants to succeed needs to these days. I haven’t had the chance to try this one out yet, but at that price, I think I’ll bite on it.
Nightshade ($47.99)
If you’re familiar with Hakuoki and, you know, liked it, you’ll probably want to take a look at Nightshade. If you’re not, I guess I should explain. Nightshade is a visual novel in the otome category, which basically means the protagonist is a woman and she’s surrounded by a bunch of handsome men who she can kindle a romance with. Most games like this have a gimmick, and this one is that it takes place a few hundred years in the past and all of the handsome men are ninjas. This one has been out on other platforms for a year or two, and reviews for it are favorable if not overwhelmingly so. There are five men to romance and two endings for each of them, so there’s a lot of content here if you’re into it.
Leopoldo Manquiseil ($5.99)
Ever read a description of a game and feel like you’re on the outside of an inside joke? That’s how I feel about this one. I have no idea what it’s on about at all. But it looks like a challenging platformer in the line of things like Super Meat Boy and what-have-you. There are 24 levels broken into three sets of eight, and the game touts its special levels that are references to Pang (that’s good, I guess) and Flappy Bird (hmm). I don’t know, I can’t tell how much of this game is a joke and how much I’m meant to take seriously, but it doesn’t appeal to me at all. Maybe it’s good, but unless someone actually shoves it into my hands and tells me I have to play it, I’ll never know.
Kingmaker: Rise to the Throne ($14.99)
You know those hidden object games that make scads of money on mobile and seem to feature in 30% of the incentivized video ads you watch to get extra coins? That’s what this is. Literally. So you probably know what to expect here. Puzzles that occupy your mind without actually taxing it. A story that mildly engages but will instantly disappear from your mind after you’ve finished it. Detailed art that almost comes off as creepy at times. A running time of about two hours and not much to bring you back for a replay. It’s not my thing, but I know it’s a thing for enough people that Kingmaker will probably find an audience.
Horizon Shift ’81 ($9.99)
This is a retro-themed single-screen wave-based shooter, and just by the year it hangs onto its title you can probably guess which game it resembles. But this isn’t merely a copy of Galaga. It has an interesting gimmick or two to call its own, and it’s through those that it becomes something you might want to check out. Your ship sits in the middle of the screen and waves appear from both the top and bottom. You can switch which direction you’re facing, but it’s important to keep an eye on all of the enemies. Once they reach the center line, referred to as the horizon, they’ll all behave in different ways. You can dash into them at this point and knock them into other enemies, and if you get good at it you’ll be able to rack up some serious points. It sounds cool, but this developer’s PC shoot-em-ups have been so-so and I suspect that’ll be the same here.
Guess the Character ($2.99)
It’s Guess Who, isn’t it? Yep. This is just unlicensed Guess Who, which I suppose is fine given that Milton Bradley/Hasbro really just made a product out of a game kids had been playing on their own for ages. It seems to have lots of different themes and characters to choose from, but you have to pick your question from a list which limits how creative you can get. Some of those characters look like they’re skating the line of copyright infringement, too. You can play with another person locally or go against the computer, but I can’t imagine the latter will provide much fun. Eh, I guess if you’re looking for something fun to play with the kids at the holiday family dinner, this is only a few bucks.
Funghi Explosion ($17.99)
The Touch Detective games were reasonably successful in their own right, but ultimately the greatest legacy of the series is the character known as Nameko in Japan and Funghi in the West. A creepy/cute mushroom, it became quite popular in Japan for a while, and spawned some spin-offs that did very well indeed. And this is one of them! It’s a puzzle game where you need to match different types of mushrooms, often collecting towards a particular goal. It supports both single-player and two-player, so you can match weird mushrooms with a friend if you want. The mobile game this is sort-of based on was a massive hit, so I could see this going over well, too.
Chronus Arc ($12.99)
Nope. Non. Nyet. Nein. Iie. There are only a couple of Kemco RPGs I would pay more than a tenner for, and this isn’t one of them. Never mind the cost. There are so many good RPGs you could be playing on your Switch that you shouldn’t ever have to resort to games that I’ve generously referred to as the “convenience store cheeseburgers of JRPGs". This one isn’t terrible as Kemco RPGs go, and it may in fact be one of the better ones from developer Hit-Point. But that’s not the point. You can get Cosmic Star Heroine for two dollars more than this. Go ahead, treat yourself.
Cake Laboratory ($2.99)
Mmm, some games look more like bland junk from the basement of the App Store than others. This one really looks like it. Stack layers of cakes to make a big tower. Did you get three stars? Maybe you want to get three stars. Either way, you can go on to the next stage on a cute little map that looks a lot like the ones in the King puzzle games. It’s colorful, it’s cheap, it’s three dollars you could put towards something more interesting than this. Not even Junkyard Dog would tell you to grab these cakes.
Bring Them Home ($14.99)
In this puzzle game, you play as a little UFO who is helping astronauts get home. You can push them around and activate various mechanisms to get them where they need to go. In total, there are 50 stages spread across five different worlds. This is, when you boil it down, a variation on the Sokoban-style crate-pusher, and games like this live or die based on the quality of the level design. It seems like it might be okay and it’s certainly cute, but I don’t know if it’s something a lot of Switch owners are going to bother with. Who knows, though?
Battle Princess Madelyn ($19.99)
This game is an homage to Capcom’s Ghosts ‘n Goblins series, and it really looks the part. That’s probably one of the main reasons it had some people excited, but now that the game’s been out a couple of weeks on other platforms, it might be best to temper your expectations. What this seems to be is a pretty fun game that is perhaps a little off its mark in some aspects, particularly with regards to level design. What this isn’t is the second coming of Cursed Castilla. But hey, it’s still gorgeous and it’s not like our cups runneth over with Ghosts ‘n Goblins-style games these days. Close enough may indeed be close enough for many.
Awe ($4.99)
While being a god seems like a job where it would be hard to just chill, that’s kind of what Awe is all about. Sure, you’re creating things and there are plenty of puzzle-y bits, but it’s more about soaking in the atmosphere and just letting things flow than anything else. It’s very minimalistic and you probably shouldn’t expect anything too deep. At the same time, this has been out for a few years on other platforms and it’s generally well-liked for what it is. I’m not going to pound down your door telling you to pick it up, but if you’re looking for that kind of relaxed poke-at-bits-and-don’t-think-too-hard experience, this one is a good choice for the price.
Sales
The big news in sales today is that Team17 has begun its holiday discounts. There are a lot of great games here, and the discounts are solid. I can’t tell you which will appeal to you most, but I encourage you to not sleep on Yoku’s Island Express, arguably the finest pinball-based Metroidvania available on the Nintendo Switch. Also, Black Bird from Onion Games is on sale for the first time, and it’s a whopping 50% off. It’s a great game, and definitely worth picking up.
New Games On Sale
Black Bird ($9.99 from $19.99 until 01/03)
Shelter Generations ($9.99 from $19.99 until 01/02)
The Room ($7.49 from $9.99 until 01/02)
Mugsters ($7.49 from $14.99 until 01/02)
Raging Justice ($7.49 from $14.99 until 01/02)
Brawlout ($9.99 from $19.99 until 01/08)
The Escapists Complete Edition ($8.99 from $14.99 until 01/02)
The Escapists 2 ($10.99 from $19.99 until 01/02)
Overcooked Special Edition ($11.99 from $19.99 until 01/02)
Overcooked 2 ($18.74 from $24.99 until 01/02)
Yoku’s Island Express (9.99 from $19.99 until 01/02)
Old Man’s Journey ($6.69 from $9.99 until 01/02)
Worms W.M.D. ($16.49 from $29.99 until 01/02)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Friday, December 21st
Car Quest ($0.99 from $9.99 until 12/21)
Beholder: Complete Edition ($11.99 from $14.99 until 12/21)
That’s all for today. There are only a few days left before Christmas, so I may disappear for a day or two to spend time with my family. And by family, I mean my new games. Okay, and my wife and son, too. Still, we’ve got a couple days left before all of that really starts going. What do you hope to find under your tree? Did you avoid buying it for yourself already? Feel free to comment and let me know. I’ll be back tomorrow, and thanks for reading!
