Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for December 23rd, 2019. I’ll be taking a couple of days off from the daily articles this week, so the next Round-Up will be on Thursday. We’ll be running some Best of 2019 articles from both myself and Mikhail Madnani in the meantime, so do look forward to those. Anyway, today is all about the newest releases and the latest of sales, of which there are many of both. I’m not sure why so many games are dropping today of all days, but we’ll run through all of them anyway. Let’s get to it!
New Releases
Demon’s Tilt ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
One of the first video pinball games that I remember really nailing the experience was Compile’s Alien Crush on the TurboGrafx-16. As good as that was, its sequel Devil’s Crush was even better. Sadly, Compile met an unfortunate fate in the end, and one of the casualties of that outcome is that the Crush Pinball series has laid largely fallow in recent decades outside of a decent WiiWare revisit by Hudson. Demon’s Tilt isn’t an official sequel, and it’s obviously not made by Compile, but if you loved the Crush Pinball games, you’ll be in heaven here. The developer absolutely nailed the look and feel of those games in this superb homage.
Regions of Ruin ($9.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
This is a side-scrolling action-RPG with some city-building elements. YOu play as a dwarf who has to rebuild his kingdom. You do that by heading out to areas, exploring, gathering goodies, killing monsters, and completing missions. It gets a little repetitive after a while, but there’s definitely something compelling about it. It’s said to be inspired by the Kingdom series, but to be honest outside of a similar visual style I feel like Regions of Ruin is its own beast altogether. Definitely a nice way to pass a few lazy days.
Rush Rally 3 ($14.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Brownmonster’s excellent mobile racing series hits the Switch in style with this enhanced port of the latest installment. If you’ve never played any of these games before, they’re excellent rally racers filled with content and options galore. The Switch version offers up tons of settings you can play around with depending on your preferences, allowing you to prioritize framerate (a smooth 60 FPS is possible even in handheld mode) or crank up the visual extras and options at the cost of some smoothness. As long as you don’t mind a lack of real licensed cars, you’ll really like Rush Rally 3. I’ll have a full review of this one at some point over the holidays.
Warhammer Quest 2: The End Times ($29.99)
I really want to recommend this, because it’s a pretty solid game. But gosh, it feels like it’s priced a bit high. It includes everything from the mobile version, so it’s technically a good deal. But unless you’re actually interested in all of the IAPs, I feel like you’re better off grabbing the five-dollar mobile version and maybe adding one or two of the add-ons that you really want. I also slightly prefer the first game, which is available for the same price on Switch and is much more content-rich. That all said, if you liked that first game and want more like it on your Switch, you’ll probably be happy with this sequel.
Clumsy Rush ($4.99)
This is a cute idea. You control big hippo characters who are competing with one another to grab a crown and take it to the finish line. You control each foot of your hippo individually, so you have to tap out the proper rhythm to get moving. There are lots of different characters, levels, and rule modifiers to help keep things fresh. The game supports two players in local multiplay, but I really wish it allowed for more players. This has the potential to be a great party game, but as it is it would have to be an awfully small party.
DreamBall ($4.99)
I don’t know. Even for a rather reasonable five dollars, this feels like a poor pick-up. The basic pitch here is that it’s a sports game with ragdoll physics for up to four players. I’m sure you’ll get a few laughs out of it, and it’s not like there wasn’t effort put into designing a variety of locations and such, but DreamBall ultimately comes off more like a goofy experiment than something I’d actually want to play. I suppose that could be a good thing if you’re looking for a goofy experiment? I cannot tell you what you should or should not do with your money.
Mushroom Quest ($2.99)
A variant of the classic Sokoban-style block-pushing games, Mushroom Quest has you playing as a little mushroom who has to puzzle its way through thirty stages. While not a straight clone of Sokoban in a mechanical sense, there’s very little excitement happening here in a gameplay sense. For a few bucks, though, fans of puzzle games could do a whole lot worse. I just wish it had a little more meat on its bones. The levels get pretty tough, but with only thirty of them in the game, the ride ends all too early.
Crazy Zen Mini Golf ($4.99)
This one comes to us by way of Onteca, the makers of arguably the finest Santa-tracking game on the Switch, Santa Tracker. Like that, this is a retooled take on one of the developer’s old mobile releases. Play some mini-golf with up to four players in local multiplayer, and see if you can get a good score on a variety of not-as-wacky-as-hoped courses. Something tells me this is going to make regular appearances in eShop sales, and that ‘something’ is that the game is launching with a 60% off discount in play. With that in mind, I could see this maybe being worth picking up when it inevitably goes down to a dollar or less. Five? Mmm, better to play Kirby’s Dream Course on the Switch Online app.
Down to Hell ($9.99)
A side-scrolling hack-and-slash action game, Down to Hell aims for a dark atmosphere in more ways than one. I appreciate the attempt at having some interesting combat mechanics but there’s just something about how this one plays out that doesn’t do much for me. The controls are okay but hits don’t have the impact I’d like, and the heavy reliance on arena battles with very similar set-ups leads to the game starting to feel repetitive before you’re even out of the first stage. It’s not awful or anything, but I don’t think I’d spend a tenner on it.
Sacred Stones ($14.99)
No connection to the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem game, sadly. Instead, this is a tough platformer that comes to us, apparently, from the same publisher behind that terrible remake of the first Wonder Boy game. It’s not the same developer, fortunately. Anyway, what you’re looking at here ends up feeling like someone took the basic gameplay mechanics of Cave Story and built a rather nasty boss rush-style ultra-hard game out of them. How much you enjoy it is going to depend heavily on how much tolerance you have for bosses that are damage sponges. It’s fun, but not fun enough for me to recommend with much vigor.
Princess Maker Go! Go! Princess ($14.99)
I guess along with the Westone Wonder Boy IP and rights, CFK also picked up the license for Princess Maker somewhere along the line. For those not familiar with it, Princess Maker was a rather popular life sim made by animation studio Gainax (of Evangelion fame) that ended up with a slew of sequels and spin-offs before flaming out in the PlayStation 2 era. This particular game is one of the spin-offs, a 1999 party/board game originally released on the first PlayStation. Up to four players choose the role of one of the girls and travel around the board trying to become princesses. It’s okay for what it is, but the translation is genuinely horrible.
Princess Maker -Faery Tales Come True- ($29.99)
But maybe you’d rather try one of the mainline games instead. CFK has your back, friend. Princess Maker -Faery Tales Come True- is sometimes referred to as Princess Maker 3, and it originally released in 1997 on the PlayStation and SEGA Saturn. In this one, you have to raise your young faery daughter to become a princess. Bring her up properly and she may indeed reach her dream, but if you fail in your duties don’t be surprised to see her head down much darker paths. As silly as this all sounds, this is actually a pretty dense simulation game. You have to micromanage your daughter’s life in a ridiculous number of ways, and you also need to mind your own funds to make sure you can pay for all of those extra lessons and life experiences she’ll need. It’s a solid game, believe it or not. So why am I not recommending it? Well, the English translation is such utter word hamburger that it’s really hard to play. At this price, CFK should have done a lot better.
Sales
What, the other seven hundred or so sales weren’t enough for you? You want more? Alrighty! In today’s huge list, we’ve got sales from Devolver Digital, discounts on the Turok remakes, great prices on quality indies like Chasm, Axiom Verge, Snake Pass, and Mr. Shifty, and a whole lot more. There’s some good stuff in the outbox that will be expiring over the next few days, so make sure you have a last look at that as well.
Select New Games on Sale
L.A. Noire ($24.99 from $49.99 until 12/29)
Crayola Scoot ($11.99 from $29.99 until 1/1)
Turok ($6.99 from $19.99 until 1/2)
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil ($6.99 from $19.99 until 1/2)
UglyDolls: Imperfect Adventure ($19.99 from $39.99 until 1/1)
Koloro ($0.99 from $9.99 until 1/11)
Dawn of Survivors ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/4)
Sweet Witches ($1.99 from $9.99 until 12/31)
Swaps and Traps ($1.34 from $8.99 until 1/2)
Snow Battle Princess Sayuki ($7.50 from $15.00 until 1/9)
Snake Pass ($6.99 from $19.99 until 1/3)
Mr. Shifty ($4.50 from $15.00 until 1/6)
TumbleSeed ($4.94 from $14.99 until 1/3)
Phantom Trigger ($4.50 from $15.00 until 1//6)
Troll and I ($2.99 from $29.99 until 1/2)
Axiom Verge ($7.99 from $19.99 until 1/2)
The Flame In The Flood: Complete ($5.24 from $14.99 until 1/3)
Perception ($2.99 from $19.99 until 1/8)
Human: Fall Flat ($7.49 for $14.99 until 1/3)
Black The Fall ($4.99 from $14.99 until 1/7)
The Final Station ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/6)
Rogue Aces ($3.89 from $12.99 until 1/3)
Garage ($4.50 from $15.00 until 1/6)
Punch Club ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/6)
No Heroes Here ($2.99 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Bomber Crew ($4.49 from $14.99 until 1/3)
Guts & Glory ($3.74 from $14.99 until 1/6)
Hello Neighbor ($10.00 from $39.99 until 1/6)
Hello Neighbor Hide and Seek ($7.50 from $29.99 until 1/6)
Ninjin: Clash of Carrots ($0.99 from $9.99 until 1/2)
Velocity 2X ($5.99 from $19.99 until 1/3)
The Swindle ($4.49 from $14.99 until 1/3)
Party Hard ($4.65 from $14.99 until 1/6)
Monica e a Guarda dos Coelhos ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Beholder: Complete ($4.49 from $14.99 until 1/3)
99Seconds ($0.98 from $2.99 until 1/9)
99Moves ($0.98 from $2.99 until 1/9)
When Ski Lifts Go Wrong ($5.99 from $14.99 until 1/3)
Unruly Heroes ($12.99 from $19.99 until 1/3)
Pumped BMX Pro ($5.99 from $14.99 until 1/3)
Degrees of Separation ($1.99 from $19.99 until 1/2)
Motorsport Manager ($8.99 from $14.99 until 1/3)
For The King ($12.49 from $24.99 until 1/3)
American Fugitive ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/3)
Crypt of the Serpent King ($0.99 from $2.99 until 1/8)
Graveyard Keeper ($6.99 from $19.99 until 1/6)
Rally Rock ‘N Racing ($4.99 from $9.99 until 1/9)
Streets of Rogue ($13.99 from $19.99 until 1/6)
Bear With Me: The Lost Robots ($2.49 from $4.99 until 1/2)
Escape from the Universe ($0.99 from $9.99 until 12/27)
Trine: Ultimate Collection ($29.99 from $49.99 until 1/2)
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince ($19.49 from $29.99 until 1/2)
A Knight’s Quest ($17.49 from $24.99 until 1/3)
Override: Mech City Brawl ($25.99 from $39.99 until 1/2)
Pig Eat Ball ($10.49 from $14.99 until 1/6)
Vortex Attack EX ($7.79 from $9.99 until 1/4)
Enter the Gungeon ($7.49 from $14.99 until 12/30)
Crossing Souls ($7.49 from $14.99 until 12/31)
Not a Hero: Super Snazzy ($2.59 from $12.99 until 12/30)
Minit ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/30)
The Messenger ($11.99 from $19.99 until 12/30)
Broforce ($3.74 from $14.99 until 12/30)
Reigns: Kings & Queens ($3.99 from $7.99 until 12/30)
I Hate Running Backwards ($3.74 from $14.99 until 12/30)
Mother Russia Bleeds ($3.74 from $14.99 until 12/30)
Pikuniku ($6.49 from $12.99 until 12/30)
Ape Out ($7.49 from $14.99 until 12/30)
The Red Strings Club ($7.49 from $14.99 until 12/30)
Reigns: Game of Thrones ($1.99 from $3.99 until 12/30)
The Swords of Ditto ($7.49 from $14.99 until 12/30)
Gato Roboto ($3.99 from $7.99 until 12/30)
Hotline Miami Collection ($12.49 from $24.99 until 12/30)
Heave Ho ($6.99 from $9.99 until 12/30)
Spirit Roots ($2.79 from $6.99 until 12/31)
The Jackbox Party Pack 3 ($16.24 from $24.99 until 1/3)
The Jackbox Party Pack 6 ($20.99 from $29.99 until 1/3)
Rento Fortune Monolit ($6.99 from $9.99 until 1/1)
Chasm ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/7)
Dyna Bomb ($1.59 from $1.99 until 1/11)
Metaloid: Origin ($5.99 from $6.99 until 1/11)
Sales Ending December 24th to 26th
Pixel Gladiator ($2.79 from $6.99 until 12/24)
Tactical Mind 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 12/24)
Trax – Build it Race it ($2.99 from $14.99 until 12/24)
DEEMO ($14.99 from $29.99 until 12/25)
Gear.Club Unlimited ($8.99 from $44.99 until 12/25)
Strikey Sisters ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/25)
Akane ($0.99 from $4.99 until 12/26)
Almost There: The Platformer ($0.99 from $9.99 until 12/26)
Bastion ($2.99 from $14.99 until 12/26)
Behind The Screen ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/26)
Brawl ($0.99 from $9.99 until 12/26)
Coffee Crisis ($1.99 from $9.99 until 12/26)
Crypt of the NecroDancer ($3.99 from $19.99 until 12/26)
Defoliation ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/26)
Gekido Kintaro’s Revenge ($4.94 from $9.89 until 12/26)
Gensou Skydrift ($19.19 from $23.99 until 12/26)
Groove Coaster Wai Wai Party!!!! ($49.99 from $59.99 until 12/26)
Human Rocket Person ($0.74 from $4.99 until 12/26)
Johnny Turbo’s Arcade – All Titles ($1.99 from $7.99 until 12/26)
Kuukiyomi: Consider It! ($3.49 from $4.99 until 12/26)
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom ($19.99 from $39.99 until 12/26)
Monster Puzzle ($1.49 from $4.99 until 12/26)
Pizza Parking ($1.49 from $5.99 until 12/26)
Soul Searching ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/26)
SpaceColorsRunner ($0.59 from $5.99 until 12/26)
Spy Chameleon ($3.99 from $7.99 until 12/26)
Super Tennis Blast ($7.49 from $14.99 until 12/26)
Super Volley Blast ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/26)
Tower Climb ($1.20 from $6.00 until 12/26)
Transistor ($3.99 from $19.99 until 12/26)
Unit 4 ($1.49 from $14.99 until 12/26)
Utopia 9 – A Volatile Vacation ($0.99 from $9.99 until 12/26)
That’s it for today, friends. There are some new games releasing over the next couple of days, but we’ll have to catch up with them after Christmas. Yes, even I take a day or two off sometimes. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy our Best of 2019 Switch content, and may there be some excellent games under the tree for you! Have a great holiday, and as always, thanks for reading!
