Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for December 2nd, 2019. In today’s article, we’ve got Mini-Views of all four of the Five Nights at Freddy’s games, summaries of a couple of cool new releases, and a list of sales that popped up over the weekend. Super Mario Maker 2 has a super-cool update on the way this week, but apart from that, there’s not much going on news-wise today. Let’s just roll up our sleeves and get down to business!
News
‘Super Mario Maker 2’ Has a Major Update Coming This Week
I don’t think it’s terribly controversial to say that Super Mario Maker 2 hasn’t had quite the same post-release support that the original Wii U game did. I’ve even heard some players express worry that the game was dead in the water. Well, Nintendo is finally doing another big update, and it’s a doozy. The highlight is the new Master Sword item, which changes Mario into Link, complete with a full set of Link-style moves and items that promise to add a whole new dimension to the game. There are some new enemies like the ball-tossing Spike and the living cactus Pokey, some new level objects like dash pads and frozen coins, and more. Watch the video for the full details and get ready to get your hands on all of this on December 5th.
Mini-Views
Five Nights at Freddy’s ($7.99)
One week ago, we had zero Five Nights at Freddy’s games on Switch, and now? Boom, we have four. You are perhaps wondering which to buy, or maybe you’re already familiar with the games and just want to know how the ports are. The last question is easy: the ports are quite good, though the controls for the camera system can be a little fiddly with the stick. Some extra options are unlocked from the get-go. You can use the directional pad in this one, which works better. As for the first question? These games live or die based on the densely-connected lore, so I feel like if you’re in for a penny, you’re in for a pound. If you only want one, I suppose this first game would be the way to go. The mechanics are simple and it relies heavily on jumpscares, but it nails its atmosphere and the tension is something else.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 ($7.99)
This is the favorite of a lot of Five Nights at Freddy’s fans, and it’s easy to see why. There are more animatronic monsters in this game than any of the others in this lot, and the gameplay is quite involved. You can’t keep yourself fully safe at any time in this one, and you need to be very careful about how you handle things. Your flashlight will keep you safe from most animatronics, but flash it at the wrong one and you’re done. Like the first game, some options to make the game easier are available right from the start here. You can also use the directional pad or the stick to navigate the cameras, and you’ll probably want to go with the former. The story really starts to pick up here.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 ($7.99)
The third game is my favorite game in the series, but that’s not a popular opinion at all. Anyway, this one cuts away all of the previous animatronic creatures in favor of one rather clever one named Springtrap. This game has a lot of mini-games and dumps a huge amount of lore, answering so many questions that I once foolishly speculated that it surely must be the last installment in the series. No unlocked cheats in this one like the first two have, so you have to get through on your own power. I’m not sure why, but the directional pad didn’t seem to work for controlling the camera system in this game, so you have to use the stick. The stick is not optimal. Otherwise, this odd installment packs in bucketloads of jumpscares, a wily opponent, and plenty of answers for many of the mysteries of the series.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 ($7.99)
The spice must flow, so of course there was another game after the rather final-feeling third game. This one changes things up, having you play a child in a room rather than an adult in a restaurant (or nostalgic re-creation of a restaurant). You don’t have any fancy cameras to help you keep watch this time around, and you also don’t have a lot to keep you safe from the creatures that seek to end you. You have to rely on sound more than ever, listening at doors before either closing them shut or peeking out into the hallway with your light. If you hear breathing, pull the door tight. If you open the door when a monster nears, you’ll get a jump scare and a game over for your troubles. The port here is better than the original mobile port and includes all of the content from the computer version. Not a huge fan of it personally, but others seem to like it more than I do.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
New Releases
SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions ($29.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Psst. Hey, friend. Do you want an RPG unlike anything you’ve ever played before, for better or worse? Let me point you towards the latest release from the lovely folks at Square Enix. SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions is the latest in a series that has always marched to the beat of its own drum, going all the way back to the Game Boy Final Fantasy Legend. While its experimental approach has resulted in some frankly disastrous missteps, this revamped take on the 2016 Vita original is anything but. Just don’t go in expecting anything to work like the usual JRPG, because that baggage might keep you from seeing what’s great about this unique game.
Get Me Outta Here! ($4.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
The most recent release from the Rossman Brothers makes its way from mobile to the Switch, and it’s a rather smooth transition. A wave-based arena run-and-gun action game, you play as a guy who has been abducted by weird aliens and needs to escape. Luckily, you find a pretty nifty gun whose only real drawback is that it has a tendency to overheat. Battle waves of aliens and mutated creatures to try to survive and get back home. It’s a good game that plays well on the Switch and isn’t too much more expensive than the mobile version.
Sales
In today’s list, we’ve got some sales on new games that came out late last week, as well as a few stragglers for the Cyber Deals sale. I think that if you have an taste for the specific flavor of retro that is “console first-person shooters from the 32-/64-bit period", those Turok sales are hard to resist. We likely won’t be seeing deals on those two again this good for a while. Nothing too outstanding in the outbox, but there are only a couple days left in the big sale, so you should probably start finalizing your plans on that.
Select New Games on Sale
Turok ($6.99 from $19.99 until 12/5)
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil ($6.99 from $19.99 until 12/5)
Get Me Outta Here ($2.49 from $4.99 until 12/21)
Solitaire Klondike Black ($2.50 from $5.00 until 12/19)
Toridama: Brave Challenge ($2.50 from $5.00 until 12/19)
Seeders Puzzle Reboot ($3.99 from $9.99 until 12/16)
FoxyLand ($3.99 from $4.99 until 12/14)
Dead End Job ($14.44 from $16.99 until 12/19)
UNI ($0.49 from $4.99 until 12/15)
Almost There: The Platformer ($1.49 from $9.99 until 12/10)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 3rd
Azure Saga: Pathfinder Deluxe ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/3)
Fantasy Strike ($19.79 from $29.99 until 12/3)
MagiCat ($0.99 from $4.99 until 12/3)
My Lovely Daughter ($7.49 from $14.99 until 12/3)
Narcos: Rise of the Cartels ($23.99 from $29.99 until 12/3)
R.B.I. Baseball 19 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 12/3)
Rage in Peace ($6.49 from $12.99 until 12/3)
She and the Light Bearer ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/3)
Street Basketball ($2.39 from $5.99 until 12/3)
Ultra Space Battle Brawl ($1.49 from $14.99 until 12/3)
That’s it for today, friends. A little short, I’m afraid. But that’s how it goes sometimes. Hopefully, we’ll have some interesting news and new sales to look at tomorrow, but if nothing else we have a handful of new releases to check out. I hope you all have a marvelous Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
