Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for February 7th, 2020. In today’s article, we have tons of new releases to check out and a rather large list of new sales. Due to the size of these sections, I passed on the news section today. Short version? Puyo Puyo 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are coming to the eShop worldwide on February 20th, Children of Morta and Wargroove‘s big updates are now available, and the Switch release of The Outer Worlds has been delayed due to the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak in China. Now, on to the new games. Let’s go!
New Releases
The Turing Test ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
We’re going to Europa, friends. The Turing Test is a first-person puzzle game where you play as a researcher at a station on Jupiter’s moon, Europa. The story is decent but the puzzles are the main event here, I think. Nothing too innovative, but it’s good bread-and-butter stuff. The story is at least compelling enough to keep you moving forward. While I wouldn’t give this a super-strong recommendation, if you enjoyed games like The Talos Principle you will probably enjoy yourself here.
Crash Drive 2 ($8.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Yeah, this game is pretty dope. Mobile gamers will certainly recognize it from its highly successful run on those platforms, but if you somehow missed it, you may want to catch it here. Lots of stunts to perform and fun things to find around each of the four large levels, and plenty of unlockable vehicles. There are various competitive events, and you can even level your cars up like it’s some sort of freaking car-PG. Multiplayer support for up to eight players online is included, but I think the game is plenty of fun even if you’re flying solo. Button controls make a big difference here, making this clearly better than the mobile versions. But if you want a taste of what this is all about, you can give the free-to-play mobile original a shot.
EQQO ($6.00)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Previously released on mobile and for Oculus Go, EQQO is an adventure game that is clearly a bit inspired by the classic PlayStation 2 game ICO. You’ve got an egg, a blind child, and a mother who has to guide the child. You’re the mother. The child has to use the abilities of the egg to solve various puzzles as your little group makes its way through a rather lovely world. Nothing too tough, but that doesn’t really seem to be the point anyway. You’re meant to enjoy the story and the lovely sights and not get snagged too much by anything along the way. For six bucks, it’s easily worth the trip.
Rune Lord ($6.99)
This is a rather unexciting match-3 game with a fantasy theme. It was released on computers a while back, and it’s basically plain yogurt. There are lots of levels to play, and that’s pretty much the best thing I can say about it. It’s not bad, and I think for seven dollars you’ll get your time out of it if you’re inclined to, but it’s hard to get too thrilled about something like this when you could buy Puzzle Quest or something for a bit more money.
The Town of Light: Deluxe Edition ($9.99)
A psychological horror game that draws inspirations from real stories of mental health institutes in the 1930s and 1940s, The Town of Light certainly has an intriguing tale to tell. You play as a young woman suffering from mental illness who ends up institutionalized after a sexual assault. She returns to the asylum many years later and pieces together the fragments of her past by walking around the now-closed facilities. But how much of it is real, and how much of it is simply her imagination? Since you’re depending on her as the narrator of this tale, it’s hard to tell. Interesting enough, but the gameplay and technical aspects aren’t as good. Still, if you come in fully aware of the game’s shortcomings, you may find something to like here.
Marooners ($14.99)
This is a somewhat middling party game whose main gimmick is in how the mini-games change every five minutes, keeping players on their toes. This game came out a couple of years ago on other platforms, though this version does include all of the content of the Deluxe Edition. Looking at reviews of the game on other systems, it seems to be okay if you’re playing multiplayer, but not particularly great. If you don’t have people to play with, you likely won’t have much fun here. It does support online multiplayer, but the game was apparently a ghost town on other systems and I can’t see the Switch’s ecosystem doing much better.
Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker ($14.99)
This is a dating simulator where you run a matchmaking agency with the sage advice of Kitty Powers, the drag queen diva. It came out a while ago on mobile, where you can grab it now for four dollars. What do you get by paying more than three times the price here? Some new scenarios and some new looks for the customers. Is it worth it? Hm. It’s certainly funny in places, but I could see people going either way on this. Probably easier to gamble four bucks than fifteen, if you ask me.
Zero Zero Zero Zero ($4.99)
Let’s see what Ratalaika has found for us this time. Ah, I see. This is an ultra-tough monochrome platformer that sees you jumping and shooting your way through a randomized mix of levels. There are 100 levels in total, which should keep you busy for enough time that you probably won’t mind the five bucks you spent on it. Nothing I’d tell people to run out and buy, but if you’re looking for something to entertain you for an evening, this will do the job.
Bridge Builder Adventure ($14.99)
Well hey, the kids all love a physics puzzle game. And within that genre, bridge-building games tend to be crowdpleasers. This one is set in a fantasy world, and as you might expect from that marketing text slapped all over the screenshot, it’s a port of a mobile release. That game is free-to-play on mobile, with IAPs a-plenty for buying in-game currency. As always, that makes me highly wary of the balance of the economy in this version with its upfront price tag. I’d recommend trying the free version on your mobile device before even considering dropping fifteen bucks on this port. If they can’t be bothered to submit new screenshots, I don’t have high hopes about the game balancing.
Super Korotama ($4.99)
This is a fairly simple game with some nice presentation elements. It’s trying to give you the experience of playing a game within the game. Specifically, it seems to be going for the feel of a Japanese arcade, and it’s not very authentic even if it does look neat. You use a metal bar to move a ball, trying to get it into a target hole while avoiding all of the other holes. Well, it’s cheap and it at least stands out visually. Not my thing, but maybe yours?
Arcade Archives: Saint Dragon ($7.99)
Developed by NMK and published by Jaleco in 1989, Saint Dragon is a shooter whose main twist is that you control a dragon with a long body. The body is invincible, so the idea is to manipulate it to protect your vulnerable head. It’s okay, but there are better games with this idea like Irem’s Dragon Breed. Still, this is a fairly deep cut, so if you’re looking for some classic shoot-em-ups that you haven’t played to death, this will likely fit the bill.
Rolling Sky 2 ($12.99)
This looks a lot like a port of a mediocre mobile free-to-play runner. Wait a sec. This is a port of a medicore mobile free-to-play runner. But, you know, upfront price tag and no IAPs. A relatively high upfront price tag, if I’m being honest. I can’t see any reason why you’d buy this here when you could just play it for free on your phone, but if you really want something like this on your Switch, you could do a lot worse than Rolling Sky 2.
The Man With The Ivory Cane ($9.99)
A couple of hours of casual adventure gameplay, that’s what you get here. This is one of those games you may have seen on mobile platforms from Big Fish Games, and within that particular sphere it seems to be reasonably well-regarded. You play as a young artist who falls under suspicion of foul play when your girlfriend goes missing. Just like in the real world, the only way to clear your name is to find the real killer. It’s… it’s not very hard. Don’t worry.
Sales
There were tons of new sales today, and I had to carve out some of the more common ones. Check the eShop if you want a full list, but I promise I got most of the interesting ones here. Children of Morta is a highlight, with its new update adding quite a bit of appeal to the game. Definitely worth grabbing on sale if you like roguelites. Kemco’s whole Asdivine series is on sale for those who like the bitter taste of somewhat bland JRPGs, and retro gamers can feel free to tear into the cheap Johnny Turbo’s Arcade line-up.
Select New Games on Sale
Children of Morta ($15.39 from $21.99 until 2/20)
Quest Hunter ($10.99 from $19.99 until 2/25)
Heroes of the Monkey Tavern ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/19)
Letter Quest Remastered ($2.99 from $11.99 until 2/26)
Worms W.M.D ($10.19 from $29.99 until 2/16)
WWE 2K18 ($19.79 from $59.99 until 2/17)
Slain: Back From Hell ($3.99 from $19.99 until 2/26)
Bleed ($3.59 from $11.99 until 2/26)
Bleed 2 ($4.49 from $14.99 until 2/26)
Black The Fall ($4.99 from $14.99 until 2/20)
Tachyon Project ($0.99 from $9.99 until 2/24)
3D MiniGolf ($15.99 from $19.99 until 2/20)
POOL ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/26)
Air Hockey ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/26)
Slayaway Camp ($4.49 from $14.99 until 2/26)
Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: All Titles ($1.99 from $7.99 until 2/20)
Word Search by POWGI ($3.99 from $7.99 until 2/20)
Pic-a-Pix Deluxe ($3.99 from $7.99 until 2/20)
Party Trivia ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/26)
Yoku’s Island Express ($6.79 from $19.99 until 2/16)
The Journey Down: Chapter One ($5.99 from $9.99 until 2/21)
Paranautical Activity ($1.19 from $7.99 until 2/26)
Bomb Chicken ($8.99 from $14.99 until 2/20)
Fill-a-Pix: Phil’s Epic Adventure ($3.99 from $7.99 until 2/20)
Super Volley Blast ($6.99 from $9.99 until 2/20)
Frost ($3.89 from $12.99 until 2/26)
1979 Revolution: Black Friday ($3.59 from $11.99 until 2/26)
Unexplored ($4.50 from $15.00 until 2/26)
Spectrum ($2.39 from $11.99 until 2/26)
Hacky Zack ($1.49 from $9.99 until 2/26)
Fall of Light: Darkest ($4.49 from $14.99 until 2/26)
Nefarious ($4.49 from $14.99 until 2/26)
NBA 2K20 ($29.99 from $59.99 until 2/16)
NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 ($7.49 from $29.99 until 2/17)
The Room ($3.39 from $9.99 until 2/16)
Carnival Games ($9.99 from $39.99 until 2/17)
Sid Meier’S Civilization VI ($35.99 from $59.99 until 2/17)
Omega Strike ($4.49 from $14.99 until 2/26)
Feudal Alloy ($11.89 from $16.99 until 2/14)
Oniken & Odallus Bundle ($4.99 from $19.99 until 2/26)
Oniken: Unstoppable ($3.39 from $9.99 until 2/26)
Odallus: The Dark Call ($4.07 from $11.99 until 2/26)
Rotating Brave ($3.99 from $4.99 until 2/20)
Monster Slayers ($5.09 from $14.99 until 2/26)
My Time at Portia ($14.99 from $29.99 until 2/16)
Super Blood Hockey ($5.09 from $14.99 until 2/26)
Black Paradox ($5.09 from $14.99 until 2/26)
Shakedown: Hawaii ($14.99 from $19.99 until 2/20)
Skelly Selest ($3.39 from $9.99 until 2/26)
Golem Gates ($8.49 from $24.99 until 2/26)
Verlet Swing ($5.09 from $14.99 until 2/26)
Rolling Gunner ($15.99 from $19.99 until 2/12)
The Sinking City ($24.99 from $49.99 until 2/20)
Anthill ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/12)
Overlanders ($2.49 from $24.99 until 2/26)
Straimium Immortaly ($5.99 from $11.99 until 2/26)
XenoRaptor ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/26)
Tamashii ($5.99 from $11.99 until 2/26)
Demon Pit ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/26)
Battojutsu ($3.99 from $4.99 until 2/20)
Asdivine Hearts ($6.49 from $12.99 until 2/27)
Asdivine Hearts II ($6.49 from $12.99 until 2/27)
Asdivine Dios ($9.09 from $12.99 until 2/27)
Asdivine Menace ($9.09 from $12.99 until 2/27)
Spice and Wolf VR ($17.49 from $24.99 until 2/21)
Super Battle Cards ($4.19 from $5.99 until 2/26)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Battleship ($3.99 from $19.99 until 2/8)
Clue: The Classic Mystery Game ($14.99 from $29.99 until 2/8)
Immortal Planet ($13.49 from $14.99 until 2/8)
It’s Raining Fists and Metal ($4.54 from $6.99 until 2/8)
Automachef ($8.99 from $14.99 until 2/9)
Blasphemous ($14.99 from $24.99 until 2/9)
Flipping Death ($4.99 from $19.99 until 2/9)
FoxyLand 2 ($4.79 from $5.99 until 2/9)
King’s Heir: Rise to the Throne ($3.74 from $14.99 until 2/9)
Overcooked Special ($6.79 from $19.99 until 2/9)
Overcooked! 2 ($14.99 from $24.99 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)
Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adventure ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/9)
Tumblestone ($2.24 from $14.99 until 2/9)
That’s all that’s good for today and this week, friends. Next week we’ll have a number of interesting new games to look at, including Snack World and Darksiders Genesis. What are you all playing this weekend? I’m probably going to wrap up the last few bits of Link’s Awakening alongside the games I need to play for work. I hope you all have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!
