Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for January 31st, 2020. In today’s article, we’re taking a quick look at a new special edition of the Switch hardware, hitting some summaries for today’s many new releases, and checking out a rather robust list of new sales. Some good stuff is hitting the shop today, and some of those deals are quite good. Let’s head on in!
News
Special Edition Switch for ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Coming
Need a new Switch in anticipation of the upcoming release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Nintendo has your back, friend. The special edition Animal Crossing-themed Nintendo Switch will arrive on March 13th for a price of $299.99. It includes a special dock design, a pattern on the back of the Switch screen, and specially-colored Joy-Cons. It does not include the game, which will arrive on March 20th for $59.99. But wow, just look at that thing. It’s gorgeous. If I weren’t holding out for that Switch Pro that the pundits have been predicting for the last two years, I’d be thinking real hard about trading up. I’m sure it’s coming any day now.
New Releases
Arcade Archives Tecmo Bowl ($7.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Tecmo’s classic arcade football game is now available on your Switch courtesy of the good folks at Hamster. Note that this isn’t exactly the same as the NES or Super NES versions that many people fondly remember, but it’s still a great arcade sports game. Hamster has done its usual job, giving you the arcade game more or less exactly as it was, with a bevy of options to play around with at your leisure. Good clean fun for up to four players locally.
Hypercharge: Unboxed ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
The Switch can always use more shooters, especially of the online multiplayer variety. And it sure doesn’t hurt if the game has a really cool theme the way this one does. It’s like… toy battles. Toy battles in real-world locations. So you’re, like, tromping around in a toy room or battling toy dinosaurs in an overgrown lawn and stuff. Very cool. You can play in co-op, battle competitively, roll it solo, play splitscreen or online, and more. This one really looks promising, and I’m very interested in digging into it further.
Bridge Constructor Ultimate Edition ($14.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
How weird is it that the Switch has had Bridge Constructor Portal for ages but not the vanilla Bridge Constructor? Odd as it is, that was the case until today. But now all is well and we have a normal Bridge Constructor, but also an Ultimate Edition of a normal Bridge Constructor. It has the base game, two pieces of DLC, and optional touchscreen controls. It is just as good as it ever was, which is to say that it is very compelling and also kind of a riot. Definitely recommend this one if you haven’t played it before and are into physics games.
Touchdown Pinball ($3.00)
Yeah, it’s another one of those generic themed pinball tables that seems like it’s based on a real table but is actually completely original. And like all of the others, it’s not especially good. You’re better off sinking your few bucks into a table in Pinball FX3 or even Zaccaria Pinball. But if you really, really want a table based on American football, I suppose there aren’t a ton of choices. Though I have to ask: why are you so obsessed with having a pinball table based on American football, to the point that you would buy a bad one? That’s just weird, friend.
Indie Gems Bundle – JRPG Edition ($19.99)
Okay, look. I am fighting every bone in my body to keep from launching into some pathetic display of hair-splitting over applying that genre label way too liberally, but on the other hand: I have roughly 42 years of time left on this Earth if I’m fortunate and I’ll be darned if I’m spending any of that time arguing over silly nonsense if I can avoid it. So instead let’s just say that this is a bundle of Dungeon Rushers and Robothorium, which normally go for $14.99 each. This is thus a very good deal, so long as you ignore the fact that both games regularly go on sale for a few bucks each. I’m sure this bundle will also go on sale before long, though.
Milo’s Quest ($4.99)
This is a rather simple overhead action game with lots of puzzles to solve. The key feature is that you are playing a cute dog, and that’s great. If you liked the game Kamiko and appreciate a good pup, you might want to give this one a go. At just five bucks, it’s an easy game to take a chance on. Which I suppose is the Ratalaika business model in a nutshell, yeah? Anyway, this is one of the good ones as long as you come into it with the appropriate level of expectations.
Willy Jetman: Astromonkey’s Revenge ($14.99)
Hey, this is alright. Willy Jetman is another one of those Metroidvanias that are all the rage these days. It’s a relatively brief one, but I sure don’t mind games that don’t overstay their welcomes. It’s filled to the brim with references to classic games and other media, so if that’s the kind of humor you like, saddle up. And hey, who doesn’t like a game where you play as an intergalactic janitor? Hmm, even that seems oddly familiar, doesn’t it? Anyway, this game is pretty decent and the only thing keeping me from stamping the ol’ Highlight label on it is that there are just so darn many great Metroidvanias on the Switch already. If you find yourself needing another one? By all means.
Super Battle Cards ($5.99)
Um, okay. This is a really modest-looking card game. There’s a whole story in here about battling monsters and defeating some sort of evil ogre to rescue a king, but yeah. Card game, seems very much like something you’d see on mobile, and that’s in no way an insult. This is one of those genres where you really have to give the game some time to unfold to see how good it is, and that’s not really what these summaries are all about. So I suppose you can gamble your six bucks and give it a shot if you think it looks good, or wait until I get around to it and see if I find it special enough to mention here again.
Reknum ($4.99)
If you’re looking for some cheap fun today, this may be one of your only choices. Reknum is a side-scrolling action game that looks to offer some meat-and-potatoes platforming. Your character can swing a sword or shoot arrows, and you have to navigate tricky platforms and battle enemies across six different zones. Some bosses await you along the way, of course. The controls are a bit fiddly but I’ve certainly suffered worse. I don’t know, this isn’t anything I’d run down the street shouting about, but it’s amusing enough for the price.
Ash of Gods: Redemption ($29.99)
At first glance, this game looks an awful lot like The Banner Saga. I’m not sure how well it measures up to those games in terms of quality, however. This is a turn-based RPG with tactical combat and a rich non-linear narrative. You’ll have to make plenty of choices, and those choices will often have severe consequences for the on-going story. This game released a couple of years ago on other platforms and received largely middling review scores. This Switch version doesn’t seem to have changed very much, so you can probably expect a similarly so-so experience. Not bad, not great, perhaps nice filler if you’re hunting for something along the lines of The Banner Saga.
Not Tonight: Take Back Control Edition ($24.99)
Well, this is certainly timed nicely. Not Tonight imagines a post-Brexit future, and it has a rather grim outlook. This game takes a lot of inspiration from Papers, Please. It’s a time management RPG where you have to make a lot of decisions, often without a lot of time or information to do so. You play as a freelance bouncer of sorts, taking gigs at various pubs, clubs, festivals to try to make ends meet in a country on the verge of collapse. Certainly seems like an interesting game, provided its very contemporary politics don’t make you uncomfortable.
Phar Lap – Horse Racing Challenge ($39.99)
This horse racing games hit other platforms last year, and it didn’t exactly receive a rosy reception. I have trouble imagining it’s any better here. Horse racing, breeding, and betting are all available in this game, which also promises realistic, cinematic graphics. Hm. Apparently up to eight players can join in, and it does support online multiplayer. I don’t know. I suppose if you’re really into horse racing and forty bucks doesn’t mean a whole lot to you, you could give this a go. I wouldn’t, but there are a lot of things I wouldn’t do that you probably would. Thaaaaat’s humanity!
Sales
Ah, there we go. Now those are some sales. Some discounts on some nice FDG games like Oceanhorn and Venture Kid, awesome sale prices for the SteamWorld quartet, and solid prices for a variety of Team 17 titles. Lots of other good stuff too, so be sure to have a look at the list. Only one big sale in the outbox this weekend, but it’s an important one. Last call on grabbing Cuphead at a nicer price. Who knows when the next sale might be on that particular must-have game? Not I. So grab it while the grabbing is good.
Select New Games on Sale
Oceanhorn ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/19)
Venture Kid ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/19)
Overcooked Special ($6.79 from $19.99 until 2/9)
Overcooked! 2 ($14.99 from $24.99 until 2/9)
Automachef ($8.99 from $14.99 until 2/9)
SteamWorld Dig ($2.49 from $9.99 until 2/9)
SteamWorld Dig 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 2/9)
SteamWorld Heist: Ultimate ($4.99 from $19.99 until 2/9)
SteamWorld Quest ($17.49 from $24.99 until 2/9)
Stick It to The Man ($2.39 from $11.99 until 2/9)
Never Again ($12.59 from $13.99 until 2/6)
Plague Road ($0.75 from $15.00 until 2/19)
Yooka-Laylee ($13.59 from $39.99 until 2/19)
Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair ($20.09 from $29.99 until 2/19)
Blossom Tales ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/19)
Woodle Tree Adventures ($0.99 from $4.99 until 2/6)
Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/9)
Darkest Dungeon ($14.99 from $24.99 until 2/6)
Crypt of the NecroDancer ($3.99 from $19.99 until 2/19)
Die for Valhalla! ($5.99 from $11.99 until 2/14)
Hungry Shark World ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/4)
Crush Your Enemies! ($0.80 from $8.00 until 2/19)
Flipping Death ($4.99 from $19.99 until 2/9)
Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle ($4.99 from $19.99 until 2/6)
Thea: The Awakening ($8.99 from $17.99 until 2/14)
StarDrone ($6.99 from $9.99 until 2/13)
Super Star Path ($2.49 from $4.99 until 2/19)
Bot Vice ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/19)
Red Siren: Space Defense ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/19)
Tetsumo Party ($2.49 from $4.99 until 2/14)
Just Black Jack ($0.99 from $1.99 until 2/19)
Blasphemous ($14.99 from $24.99 until 2/9)
Adventures of Elena Temple: Definitive ($3.99 from $4.99 until 2/19)
Sorry, James ($2.49 from $4.99 until 2/18)
Sparkle 4 Tales ($8.99 from $9.99 until 2/19)
Monkey Barrels ($11.99 from $14.99 until 2/13)
Roombo: First Blood ($3.99 from $4.99 until 2/17)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Cuphead ($14.99 from $19.99 until 2/1)
That’s all that’s good for today, friends. And all that’s good for this week, and also all that’s good for this month. Wow, what a month. I don’t know about all of you, but I’m ready for it to be over and I sure hope February isn’t nearly as awful. At least there were some good games? Mmm, cold comfort. Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!
