Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for November 22nd, 2019. As with yesterday, today was oddly slow in terms of new releases compared to the usual for this day of the week. Still, we’ve got summaries of all of the latest games, and there was plenty of news stories to fill the gap. There’s a healthy list of sales to dig into as well, because even in a slow week that’s still going to be a thing. Let’s dive in!
News
Love It or Hate It, ‘Pokemon Sword and Shield’ is a Huge Success
To say that this latest installment in the long-running Pokemon series has been divisive in certain circles would be an understatement. Some people are disappointed by the major cuts to the Pokedex and the moves list. Others feel the technical performance isn’t where it should be, particularly given the price. Some feel the overall design isn’t up to snuff. On the other hand, many people find the games as enjoyable as ever and aren’t really bothered that much by the flaws. You could go back and forth on this all day, but what is inarguable is that the games have done very well in terms of sales already. According to Nintendo, Pokemon Sword and Shield sold a boggling 2 million copies in the US in its first two days on sale, and over 6 million copies worldwide. The two versions are among the fastest-selling Switch games of all-time, which isn’t too bad at all given the split reception from fans.
‘Langrisser I & II’ Releasing in the West in March 2020
One of the classic Japanese TRPG franchises, Langrisser has had its share of ups and downs over the last couple of decades. While opinions are decidedly mixed on some of later games in the series, most people agree that the first two are quite good. We got the original game in the West under the title of Warsong, but the second game went untranslated. Lucky thing, then, that NISA is bringing this collection of remakes to the West in March of next year. It includes full-on remakes of the first two games in the series, and if you want to see how dramatic a difference it is, check out the above trailer. The game is set to hit North America on March 10th 2020, with releases in Europe and Australia/New Zealand following the week after.
‘Arcade Archives Hyper Sports’ Set for Release Next Week
The arcade sequel to 1983’s Track & Field from Konami, Hyper Sports was actually a licensed Olympics title in its original Japanese form. Presumably that means that Hamster’s Arcade Archives version, due next week, won’t offer the usual region changing options. Anyway, you get seven different sports events to compete on, and most of them involve whaling on the buttons like Ralphie on Scott Farkus in A Christmas Story. I suppose there’s a certain charm to it. The game will be available on November 28th at the usual price of $7.99 for those who want to relive some memories.
The Chiling ‘Alien: Isolation’ Arrives on Switch on December 5th
The Switch port of Creative Assembly’s excellent 2014 survival horror take on the Alien franchise finally has a release date, and it’s very soon indeed. Feral Interactive has announced the game will come out on December 5th for $34.99. It seems to include all of the extra content and DLC that was available for the original game, so you can enjoy a nice, complete Alien: Isolation experience. This is one of the better Alien games, in my opinion, so as long as the port has been handled well, it’ll make a great pick-up for the many fans of the movies.
New Releases
Arcade Archives In The Hunt ($7.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
If you know your pixel art, you’re probably thinking the art style in that screenshot is awfully familiar. In The Hunt is a submarine shooter released by Irem in 1993, but the team that made it would soon depart from the company to form a new developer called Nazca. Nazca in turn would go on to create the Metal Slug series, which of course uses art that looks very similar to that found in this game. In The Hunt hasn’t had a lot of home ports, and the ones it has had have varied in quality, so having an arcade-perfect version on the Switch is very welcome indeed. A great shooter with an interesting premise and amazing visuals, this is definitely one to get for fans of retro arcade games.
Tiny Gladiators ($14.99)
You know, Tiny Gladiators is a bit fun. But it’s also a bit free if you play it on mobile, and that makes it hard to recommend over here on Switch. Participate in one-on-one battles with some strange opponents, power up your gladiator and evolve them, take on tons of levels, and so on. I’d imagine this has been re-balanced to account for the lack of IAPs, and the local multiplayer mode is a nice addition. I’d recommend trying it out on your mobile device first to see how you like it, then proceeding from there.
Marblelous Animals ($4.99)
What is this madness? In this game, you get 40 stages of rolling around little spherical animals. Collect all the goodies, drop the animal in the hole, and do it before you run out of time. Like one of those old wooden labyrinths, you don’t control the animal directly but rather move the stage by tilting your Switch. It looks okay for what it is, and it’s not too much more expensive than it is on mobile. At the very least, the art style is fairly striking.
Monster Bugs Eat People ($1.99)
I’d say the most compelling feature of this game is its price, and if that’s the case, you know there isn’t a lot of nice things to talk about. You control one of the titular monster bugs and try to chow down your specific food type in order to get bigger. So yeah, it’s kind of a variant on Snake. But perhaps Slither.io is the better point of reference, especially taking into account the local multiplayer modes and the general look of the game. Well, hey, it’s only two dollars. It’s not like you’re losing much if you like the look of it and it turns out to not be to your tastes. But that is a couple of tasty Snickers bars, so choose carefully.
Castle of No Escape 2 ($7.99)
Do you have room in your heart for another faux-retro, top-down, roguelite action game? If you do, you may want to check out Castle of No Escape 2. It’s a room-by-room affair that calls the original Legend of Zelda to mind, though only in the barest sense as you aren’t going to be solving many puzzles here. It’s a bit of a bear compared to some other games like this, but for the price I think it pulls its weight properly. Shame this is such a crowded scene on the Switch, because I’m not sure decent is good enough to catch a lot of players.
Sales
Well, it’s a big list to be sure, but is there anything interesting in it? Lots of the usual suspects, but careful examination shows some new faces and deeper cuts on returning ones. The first two Baobabs Mausoleum games are cheap as chips. The awesome Skulls of the Shogun is down to a mere five bucks. Rimelands has its first post-release discount, and it’s half-off. Raiden V is down to a much easier to swallow sub-twenty dollar price right now as well. Or you can just sit on your cash and wait for the Black Friday sales to kick off. I won’t blame you either way.
New Games on Sale
Black Future ’88 ($17.99 from $19.99 until 11/28)
Lichtspeer: Double Speer ($0.99 from $9.99 until 12/1)
Sparkle 2 ($2.39 from $7.99 until 11/27)
RiME ($9.89 from $29.99 until 12/5)
Tennis in the Face ($1.49 from $4.99 until 11/27)
Guns, Gore and Cannoli ($5.99 from $9.99 until 11/28)
Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2 ($7.79 from $12.99 until 11/28)
Woodle Tree Adventures ($1.49 from $4.99 until 11/28)
Woodle Tree 2: Deluxe ($10.39 from $12.99 until 11/28)
Sparkle Unleashed ($2.39 from $7.99 until 11/27)
Baseball Riot ($1.49 from $4.99 until 11/27)
AeternoBlade ($5.99 from $14.99 until 12/4)
Wanderjahr TryAgainOrWalkAway ($3.99 from $9.99 until 12/4)
Typoman ($6.49 from $12.99 until 12/5)
Zotrix: Solar Division ($1.49 from $14.99 until 12/5)
Suicide Guy ($2.39 from $7.99 until 11/28)
Suicide Guy: Sleepin’ Deeply ($1.79 from $5.99 until 11/28)
Baobabs Mausoleum Ep.1 ($0.99 from $5.99 until 12/5)
Baobabs Mausoleum Ep.2 ($1.49 from $5.99 until 12/5)
Mecha Storm ($9.99 from $19.99 until 12/10)
Parallel ($2.99 from $9.99 until 12/4)
Otto ($2.49 from $4.99 until 12/4)
Gnomes Garden 3 ($2.99 from $4.99 until 12/5)
Super Inefficient Golf ($3.99 from $7.99 until 12/4)
Spencer ($3.49 from $6.99 until 12/2)
Swamp Defense 2 ($1.49 from $2.99 until 12/2)
M.A.C.E. Space Shooter ($2.49 from $4.99 until 12/2)
Gear.Club Unlimited 2 ($23.99 from $59.99 until 12/11)
Party Arcade ($14.99 from $19.99 utnil 12/11)
Bubble Shooter DX ($1.49 from $2.99 until 12/2)
Marble Power Blast ($1.49 from $2.99 until 12/2)
The Office Quest ($1.79 from $11.99 until 12/5)
Crazy Strike Bowling EX ($3.99 from $9.99 until 12/4)
Mars or Die! ($9.99 from $19.99 until 12/4)
Balance Blox ($1.49 from $2.99 until 12/2)
Perry Pig Jump ($1.49 from $2.99 until 12/2)
GALAK-Z: The Void Deluxe ($3.74 from $14.99 until 12/1)
Warparty ($11.99 from $19.99 until 11/28)
Lost King’s Lullaby ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/30)
Super Star Blast ($2.49 from $4.99 until 12/2)
Skulls of the Shogun: Bone-A-Fide ($4.99 from $19.99 until 12/1)
The Drama Queen Murder ($6.99 from $9.99 until 12/5)
Hyperdrive Massacre ($3.99 from $7.99 until 12/4)
Teddy Gangs ($1.99 from $9.99 until 12/11)
Nyan Cat: Lost in Space ($8.99 from $9.99 until 11/28)
Monkey King: Master of the Clouds ($2.49 from $4.99 until 12/5)
Raiden V: Director’s Cut ($17.99 from $29.99 until 12/5)
Bubsy: Paws on Fire! ($14.99 from $24.99 until 12/5)
Adventures of Bertram Fiddle: Ep.1 ($1.49 from $4.99 until 12/12)
Adventures of Bertram Fiddle: Ep.2 ($2.99 from $9.99 until 12/12)
Fernz Gate ($7.79 from $12.99 until 12/5)
Chronus Arc ($9.09 from $12.99 until 12/5)
The VideoKid ($1.49 from $4.99 until 12/12)
Pianista ($14.99 from $24.99 until 12/12)
Table Top Racing: World Tour Nitro ($7.49 from $14.99 until 12/9)
Burger Chef Tycoon ($3.49 from $4.99 until 12/12)
Defenders of Ekron: Definitive ($11.19 from $13.99 until 12/15)
Caveblazers ($3.74 from $14.99 until 12/6)
Doom & Destiny ($9.59 from $11.99 until 12/6)
Creepy Road ($6.49 from $12.99 until 12/13)
Not Not – A Brain Buster ($0.49 from $1.99 until 12/13)
Switch ‘N’ Shoot ($0.45 from $4.50 until 11/23)
Blazing Beaks ($2.99 from $14.99 until 12/13)
Warlocks 2: God Slayers ($1.79 from $17.99 until 12/13)
Miner Warfare ($6.39 from $7.99 until 12/7)
Mini Trains ($1.99 from $5.99 until 12/13)
Deadly Fighter 2 ($0.39 from $3.99 until 12/13)
Chop ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/13)
Atomic Heist ($1.99 from $7.99 until 12/2)
Rimelands: Hammer of Thor ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/13)
Shipped ($2.99 from $5.99 until 12/13)
Pixel Gladiator ($3.49 from $6.99 until 12/2)
Nonograms Prophecy ($2.99 from $3.99 until 12/9)
Strike Force Kitty ($3.99 from $4.99 until 12/13)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Invisigun Reloaded ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/23)
Switch ‘N’ Shoot ($0.45 from $4.50 until 11/23)
Almost There: The Platformer ($0.99 from $9.99 until 11/24)
Anthill ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/24)
Hyper Sentinel ($0.98 from $12.99 until 11/24)
Silk ($8.96 from $12.99 until 11/24)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. As we get closer to the holidays, I expect the new releases to slow down a little bit. The sales, on the other hand, will probably be picking up. Probably the biggest names for new releases next week are the Five Nights At Freddy’s games, and I know people are hot and cold on those games. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!
