Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 19th, 2019. Yes, I know many of you are up to your eyeballs in Apple Arcade games to play, so the ol’ Switch might be taking a well-deserved break. But there are plenty of good games out today, and tomorrow is only going to add to the pile. We’ve got summaries of all of the new stuff, along with a comprehensive list of new sales. Let’s get to business!
New Releases
GRID Autosport ($34.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Wait, can it be? Does the Switch finally have a really good realistic racer? Wow, big day, everyone. GRID Autosport comes from the nice folks at Feral Interactive and Codemasters, and they’ve done a great job putting this game on the Switch. With lots of different cars, tracks, and modes, there’s plenty to play around with here. There are even different performance settings, so you can choose from prettier visuals and a 30 FPS target, stripped back visuals and a 60 FPS target, and the power-saver mode that strips back the visuals and targets 30 FPS but goes easy on the battery as a result. The only fly in the ointment is that this is single-player only. Apparently multiplayer will be added later, but if you want to race against other people, you can’t do it here yet.
Sayonara Wild Hearts ($12.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
The latest title from the frankly embarrassingly talented folks at Simogo, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a stylish story of broken hearts and learning how to move on. Not the longest game in the world, nor is it particularly difficult to make your way to the end, but there’s definitely a nice high ceiling for scoring that should appease those who have the urge to tackle something tougher. It’s sort of a rhythm game? But also kind of a racing thing? You know what, just play it. If you have Apple Arcade, it’s on there and won’t even cost you anything extra.
Neon Drive ($9.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
I feel like the whole 80s nostalgia thing is starting to get a little played out, but a good game is a good game and Neon Drive is definitely good. The bulk of the game involves variations on lane-based driving with a rhythm-game feel. Weave around obstacles in glorious neon landscapes. That sort of thing. There are a couple of other level types where you’re doing some auto-running and shoot-em-up stuff, too. It’s not a very long game, but it’s enjoyable and certainly leans well into its theme.
Overland ($24.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Hmmm, this seems rather interesting. You take a group of survivors across a post-apocalyptic America in a stylish isometric turn-based survival game. It seems rather tough to win, as you’re incredibly vulnerable to all kinds of problems both normal and otherwise. I was kind of sitting on the fence on Overland until I noticed it was co-developed by Finji, a company whose fingers have been in all kinds of delicious gaming pies. I mean, one of the founders of the company is the dude that made Canabalt, and if you can’t trust him with cool post-apocalyptic games, who can you trust?
Lost Castle ($9.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Lost Castle is a neat beat-em-up RPG/roguelite thing-a-majig, and I think the Switch is a really great place to play it. Sort of like if you crossed Castle Crashers with Rogue Legacy, but probably not quite as awesome as that sounds. Up to four players can join in at once, but be warned: this game is really hard until you put in some grinding time. Cute cartoony graphics, compelling gameplay, and a fair price make this a good choice if you’re looking for something a little more long-haul to play with your buddies.
Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns ($14.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Geez, finally. Look, it’s not like I’ve hated the many follow-ups to Puzzle Quest, but all I’ve really wanted for the last several years is the original game on modern hardware. And here it is! It includes Challenge of the Warlords, Revenge of the Plague Lord, and even has an all-new expansion called Attack of the Golem Lord! There are five new classes, a hundred new quests, and no silly microtransactions. It’s all been given a nice new coat of paint, and the developer on this is the one that created the series in the first place. What’s not to love about this? Fifteen dollars is a steal, if you want my opinion.
Inferno 2 ($4.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Okay, so you’re on a tight budget this week, but you still want a great new game to play on your Switch. This may indeed be your stop. Radiangames brings their brand of awesome twin-stick action to the Switch with this expanded port of Inferno 2, and it’s just as great as it always was. I’ll be doing a full review of this later, but really, it’s five dollars and it’ll give you all the tense action you crave from a game in this genre. I hope it’s but the first of many games from this developer on the Switch.
Paper Dolls Original ($16.99)
Ah, it’s one of those pretty scary, kind of mediocre horror adventure games. You know, the kind that gets middling review scores but somehow sells a bunch anyway because it’s good enough at doing the thing that people buy horror games for, which is to scare the poop out of them when they least expect it. The theme is interesting, the puzzles are annoying, and the whole thing ends on a big old cliffhanger, but if you’re just looking to get spooked by some messed up stuff, it will give you that much.
Devil May Cry 2 ($19.99)
Fun fact about me: I bought Devil May Cry the day it came out and completely bounced off it because I didn’t understand how to play it. After enjoying Bayonetta I went back and picked up the whole series, which at that time consisted of four games, and decided I would play them all in order. I had heard stories of how weak Devil May Cry 2 was, but people say that about all kinds of decent games, so I thought it was overblown. It was not overblown. This game is so bland and lifeless compared to every other Devil May Cry game, and while I’ve definitely played worse games, there aren’t many more disappointing than this. I wouldn’t bother with this port, but I like that it’s here because it means Devil May Cry 3 is surely on the way and that game freaking owns.
Police Stories ($14.99)
As much as this may look like Hotline Miami, you definitely don’t want to play it like that. Rather, this is a more methodical, tactical top-down shooter. It was inspired by SWAT 4 and appears to be a bit meticulous in trying to recreate the police experience. I haven’t had a chance to play this one yet and can’t find much buzz on it, but I think it looks really interesting. That said, I’ve been bitten before by games that look interesting. If I find it to be particularly special after putting some time into it, I may swing back around with a review.
Soul Knight ($11.99)
Well, I think a lot of TouchArcade readers will recognize this title. Sort of a “this’ll do" take on Enter the Gungeon when it appeared as a free-to-play title on mobile, Soul Knight was pretty fun in its original form and I’d imagine it’s even better here with the monetization fluff stripped out. I suppose the only real problem is that there’s a lot more competition in the top-down shooter roguelite sub-genre on Switch, and with how replayable they tend to be on the whole, I’m not sure where Soul Knight fits in for the average player. Definitely not garbo though, so if you’re keen for another game of this sort, it won’t let you down.
Sales
While I’m sure more sales are on their way as the day progresses, at the time of this writing it is all about the Kemco. Are any of them worth it? Well, it depends how bored you are. Asdivine Hearts is my personal favorite of their RPGs, but that’s not saying a lot. Yodanji is pretty cool and maybe worth a few bucks. Otherwise, I’d give their line-up a wide arc and save your money for better things. The outbox is equally unimpressive, for the most part.
New Games on Sale
Yodanji ($2.99 from $4.99 until 10/10)
Superola and the Lost Burgers ($0.99 from $5.99 until 10/7)
Asdivine Hearts ($8.44 from $12.99 until 10/10)
Dexteritrip ($1.99 from $6.99 until 10/7)
Voxel Sword ($5.60 from $7.00 until 10/10)
The Rainsdowne Players ($1.19 from $3.99 until 10/3)
Alvastia Chronicles ($8.44 from $12.99 until 10/10)
SlabWell ($3.99 from $9.99 until 10/8)
You Died but a Necromancer Revived You ($5.84 from $8.99 until 9/29)
Desktop Baseball ($5.83 from $7.29 until 10/10)
Archlion Saga ($2.99 from $4.99 until 10/10)
Gurgamoth ($4.99 from $9.99 until 10/10)
Habroxia ($6.79 from $7.99 until 10/10)
Mistover ($26.99 from $29.99 until 10/9)
Tower of Babel ($1.79 from $5.99 until 10/8)
Final Light, The Prison ($2.09 from $6.99 until 10/8)
Xtreme Club Racing ($2.96 from $9.89 until 10/8)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Friday, September 20th
39 Days to Mars ($11.99 from $14.99 until 9/20)
Braveland Trilogy ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/20)
Darkest Hunter ($1.32 from $5.30 until 9/20)
Godly Corp ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/20)
Guess the Word ($0.47 from $1.89 until 9/20)
Gym Hero – Idle Fitness Tycoon ($0.57 from $2.29 until 9/20)
Henry the Hamster Handler ($0.30 from $0.60 until 9/20)
Hexologic ($1.19 from $2.99 until 9/20)
Hotel Dracula ($1.42 from $5.69 until 9/20)
Kaiju Khaos ($2.29 from $4.59 until 9/20)
MotoGP19 ($39.99 from $49.99 until 9/20)
MXGP3 ($11.99 from $39.99 until 9/20)
Niffelheim ($12.74 from $14.99 until 9/20)
Pet Care ($0.37 from $1.49 until 9/20)
The Path of Motus ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/20)
Tyd wag vir Niemand ($7.99 from $9.99 until 9/20)
Unicornicopia ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/20)
That’ll do it for today, friends. Tomorrow will see another big haul of new releases, and likely a rather large list of sales if the usual pattern holds. We’ll be taking a look at all of those new games, along with any interesting news that comes along. I hope you all have a great day, and as always, thanks for reading!
