News

SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Killer Queen Black’ and ‘Forager’ Retail Edition Reviews, ‘Overwatch 2’ Coming to Switch, Today’s New Releases, Sales, and More

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for November 4th, 2019. Well, another weekend is done, the clocks have been adjusted, and we’ve got another busy week of Switch gaming ahead of us. In today’s article, we’ve got reviews of two retail editions, some news about upcoming games and DLC, summaries of some new releases, and a rather healthy list of sales. Let’s get going!

News

‘Overwatch 2’ Announced for a Variety of Platforms Including Switch

Overwatch just came out on Switch last month, but at last weekend’s BlizzCon the game’s sequel was announced. Sort of? Apparently it might just be an upgrade for the existing game, like Fortnite Season 2? I’m not clear on that. Also unclear is the release date for this follow-up. What we do know, however, is that the game will be coming to the Switch along with a variety of other platforms. Yes, just two months ago we had no Overwatch on the system, and now we’re getting all the Overwatch. Good, good.

‘Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle’ Gets New Character Free for Two Weeks

The Touhou bullet hell battler Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle isn’t exactly a critical darling, but the Touhou fanbase and those who get into quirkier action games seem to appreciate it well enough. For those players that are enjoying the game, publisher NISA has a little treat. The ghostly gardener Youmu Konpaku is available as DLC starting today, becoming the tenth playable character in the game. You can download her free for the next two weeks, after which she will cost $2.49. To celebrate the launch of the new character, the base game itself is on sale for $9.99, half-price, until November 22nd.

Reviews

Today, I’m looking at a couple more physical editions of previously-released games from Nighthawk Interactive. We’ve looked at both Killer Queen Black and Forager in the SwitchArcade Round-Up before, and even had a Mini-View of the former. As such, these reviews are as much a look at the physical packages themselves as they are of the games. You can find both of them for $29.99 at a variety of retailers, including Amazon, GameStop, and others. A big thanks to Nighthawk Interactive for providing copies of these for us to look at.

Killer Queen Black ($29.99)

Killer Queen was something of an arcade sensation, or so I’m told. I’m a bit surprised but also somewhat pleased to hear that, given the game is decidedly less flashy than you’d expect an arcade star to be. It’s a 2D single-screen multiplayer game that allows teams of players to face off against each other and try to pull out a win through a variety of means. Nighthawk has worked together with Liquid Bit and BumbleBear to bring the game to retail in a rather nice, albeit simple, package.

Nighthawk always likes to throw at least one extra treat in the box for those who pick up the company’s retail editions, and Killer Queen Black is no exception. In addition to the case and the cartridge, you also get some slick stickers you can apply to your Joy-Cons. Useful for Killer Queen fans and those who want to set aside some dedicated controllers for local multiplayer. The stickers apply easily and are simple to remove without leaving any nasty residue behind in case you want to swap them out for something else.

As for the game itself, I haven’t had the experience of playing the arcade Killer Queen, so I can’t speak to how well this game captures the original experience. Killer Queen Black is the game’s first exposure to a wide audience, and I feel like it has all the tools it needs to succeed as a popular multiplayer game. There are different ways to win, just enough players on the field to make things chaotic without going completely off the rails, and a variety of playfields to keep players thinking about new strategies. It’s as though someone boiled a strategy game down to its gooey core and fused it with Joust-style action. Single-player content is almost non-existent and local multiplayer can be a bit of a pain to deal with as you need two Switch units to get the proper experience, so I’d say this is best recommended to those looking for some online kicks. In that regard, it is both unique and most enjoyable.

Personally, Killer Queen Black is a game I prefer to have on my Switch whenever I need it, so the digital version is my preferred choice. That said, the physical version not only looks good on the shelf, it’s also useful if I want to play the local multiplayer mode. Lots of my friends have Switches of their own, but they may not own the game. In those cases, I can just toss the cartridge their way and we’re good to go. It’s a lot cheaper than owning a pair of arcade machines, if nothing else.

SwitchArcade Score: 4/5

Forager ($29.99)

For this release, Nighthawk Interactive worked with HopFrog and Humble Bundle. Forager is an interesting take on the whole survival game concept, feeling like a cross between the usual game of that sort and more laidback farming and crafting games. It’s one of those titles that is extraordinarily hard to put down once you’ve picked it up, and while I think in the long run it can get a little bit repetitive, you’ll probably be a dozen or so hours deep before that notion strikes you.

Forager uses a rather cute visual style, so it only makes sense that its retail edition would also be adorable. The cover features the main character, looking all bright and unaware of the challenges to come. Inside the package, we get the usual cartridge and a couple of nice bonuses. There’s a fold-out poster featuring a number of characters and creatures from the game, and a set of five stickers that are of reasonably good quality. Feel free to stick them wherever you like, but know that if you stick them to your cat, you’re not getting the sticker back without some hair on it. This too is life.

All told, it’s a decent retail package for an enjoyable game, and as is always the case with Nighthawk’s stuff, the price is quite agreeable. About the only general criticism I have of these releases is the lack of an included manual, which I think would be a really good thing to have given that the Switch doesn’t have digital manuals included the way previous platforms did. Forager is a compelling experience, and having some stickers and a poster to show off the game’s attractive art and characters makes this retail version a great choice for fans of the game.

SwitchArcade Score: 4/5

New Releases

Truck Simulator USA ($13.99)

A port of a free-to-play mobile game that seems to have an audience, Truck Simulator USA will give you what you’re looking for, provided you’re looking for a wildly inaccurate simulation of driving across the United States. It’s missing cities, the roads in no way resemble the real ones, but it’s a big space and you have a truck. You’ll have to simulate the rest in your imagination, I guess. If this is somehow interesting to you, make sure you try it for free on your phone to see how well you like it before you drop the cash on the Switch port.

Twister Road ($4.99)

Another mobile port, this one of a game that is, shall we say, heavily inspired by Twisty Road. Well, you know the business here. Guide a ball down an endless track, shifting lanes as necessary to avoid sailing into the abyss or crashing against an obstacle. This is another game you can try out for free on your phone, but at least this one isn’t too much more expensive than the ad removal IAP in the mobile version. Probably not something I’d play on my Switch over my mobile device, but if this is your thing feel free to try it out.

Sales

A few of these sales were games I missed on Friday, while others trickled in over the weekend. Whichever day they arrived, we’ve got a lot of games to check out. I think that’s a new low price for Mercenaries Saga Chronicles, and considering there are three games included there that’s a good value. BurgerTime Party! and Corpse Party Blood Drive are both very recent, so even small discounts are pretty nice. In the outbox, Capcom’s sales are coming to an end. So too are the sales on the two excellent titles from Onion Games, Black Bird and Dandy Dungeon.

New Games on Sale

BurgerTime Party! ($17.99 from $19.99 until 11/7)
Corpse Party Blood Drive ($17.99 from $19.99 until 11/7)
Mantis Burn Racing ($13.99 from $19.99 until 11/9)
Mercenaries Saga Chronicles ($8.99 from $14.99 until 11/7)
Bleed ($3.59 from $11.99 until 11/13)
The Coma: Recut ($5.99 from $19.99 until 11/13)
DragonFangZ ($12.49 from $24.99 until 11/14)
Heroes of the Monkey Tavern ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/12)
Inversus Deluxe ($4.94 from $14.99 until 11/11)
Letter Quest Remastered ($2.99 from $11.99 until 11/13)
Shu ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/14)
Slain: Back From Hell ($5.99 from $19.99 until 11/13)
Tallowmere ($2.79 from $6.99 until 11/14)
Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star ($24.99 from $49.99 until 11/7)
Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/21)


Super Ping Pong Trick Shot ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/21)
Rock ‘N Racing Off Road DX ($3.99 from $9.99 until 11/21)
Pool ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/21)
Air Hockey ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/21)
Bingo ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/21)
Hyper Sentinel ($0.90 from $12.99 until 11/8)
Animal Hunter Z ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/21)
Ping Pong Trick Shot Evolution ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/21)
Caterpillar Royale ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/21)
UNI ($0.49 from $4.99 until 11/15)
Boxing Champs ($1.90 from $9.50 until 11/21)
Quest Hunter ($14.99 from $19.99 until 11/19)
Battle & Crash ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/21)
Collide-a-Ball 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/21)
Akash: Path of the Five ($26.99 from $29.99 until 11/21)
Oliver’s Adventures in Fairyland ($2.79 from $6.99 until 11/20)
Lanternium ($3.99 from $9.99 until 11/20)
Silk ($9.09 from $12.99 until 11/8)
Yaga ($19.99 from $24.99 until 11/19)
SkyScrappers ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/25)

Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 5th

Beyond Enemy Lines: Covert Operations ($10.49 from $13.99 until 11/5)
Black Bird ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/5)
Cyber Protocol ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/5)
Dandy Dungeon – Legend of Brave Yamada ($16.99 from $24.99 until 11/5)
Dead Dungeon ($0.99 from $4.99 until 11/5)
Devil May Cry ($14.99 from $19.99 until 11/5)
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen ($22.49 from $29.99 until 11/5)
Event Horizon ($1.49 from $5.99 until 11/5)
Forklift – The Simulation ($7.49 from $9.99 until 11/5)
MachiKnights -Blood Bagos- ($11.99 from $14.99 until 11/5)
Metaloid: Origin ($6.99 from $9.99 until 11/5)


Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate ($24.99 from $49.99 until 11/5)
Onimusha: Warlords ($11.99 from $19.99 until 11/5)
Polyroll ($8.99 from $9.99 until 11/5)
Puzzle Box Maker ($11.99 from $14.99 until 11/5)
Resident Evil ($19.99 from $29.99 until 11/5)
Resident Evil 0 ($19.99 from $29.99 until 11/5)
Resident Evil 4 ($19.99 from $29.99 until 11/5)
Resident Evil Revelations ($13.99 from $19.99 until 11/5)
Resident Evil Revelations 2 ($13.99 from $19.99 until 11/5)
Tardy ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/5)
The Gardens Between ($8.99 from $19.99 until 11/5)
Wonder Boy Returns Remix ($11.99 from $14.99 until 11/5)

That’s all we have for today, friends. Tomorrow has a couple of noteworthy releases to look at, with Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 leading the charge. It’s a lot better than those games usually are, so keep your eye on it. Whatever news and sales come along will also be here, and I may have a review ready if possible. Have a great Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!