Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for April 10th, 2020. In today’s article, we take a look at several new games that hit the eShop today. We’ve also got a little bit of news, and a humongous list of new sales to dig into. That about covers the lot as I once again spent a bit too much time today faffing around with my Turbografx-16 Mini. These things happen. At any rate, I suppose we should get rolling. Let’s go!
News
‘Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair’ Update Incoming
Playtonic has announced that a new update will be coming on April 14th for its latest game, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. The biggest addition comes in the form of two new states for the titular Impossible Lair, the nasty endurance run that caps off the game. Not So Impossible Lair adds checkpoints to the stage, which should make it easier for players to get through if they’re having trouble with its standard form. If you prefer a stiff challenge? You’re a wild one, but Playtonic hears you. Impossible Lair mode not only has no checkpoints, it also has no Bee Shield. Make it through this version and you’ll get the Golden Try Tonic without having to start a new save file. On top of that, a new 8-bit soundtrack will be made available as an option. To celebrate the update, those who own Yooka-Laylee can pick up Impossible Lair for half-price until April 19th. Those who don’t can still enjoy a 30% discount until then.
New Releases
Rush Rover ($4.99)
This is a rather affordable twin-stick roguelite shooter, and not the only one we’ll see in today’s releases. Rush Rover feels a bit thin in some respects, but it’s actually a rather enjoyable game to play. I really like the pixel art in this game, but it could certainly use a little more variety in its environments. The biggest problem is a common one we run into in these summaries. There are so many fantastic twin-stick shooters on the Switch, you probably already own more than you have time to play. Nothing about Rush Rover is strong enough that you should allow it to jump the line. If your queue is cleared though, you’ll get your money’s worth out of this one.
Battle Princess Madelyn Royal Edition ($14.99)
Mmm, I’m not sure how I feel about this one. The vanilla Battle Princess Madelyn is still available on the eShop at a higher price than this new Royal Edition. This is apparently the creator’s original vision and offers a bunch of improvements and extras over that original release. For what it’s worth, the stages are heavily redesigned in this version, and there are some new bosses, enemies, music, and art. Certainly not a minor update, to be sure. According to the dev, it’s such a significant update that it couldn’t be applied to the base game, and doing a discount for existing owners wouldn’t be financially viable. Well, at the very least I can say that if you want to buy Battle Princess Madelyn, this is the version to pick up.
RMX Real Motocross ($6.99)
Is it, though? Our friends at Ultimate Games are back with another title of questionable merit, this time presenting a rather straightforward motocross racing game. Graphically, it comes off more like a 3DS game than a Switch one, but perhaps it plays so well that you won’t care? No. No, it does not. If you want to see for yourself, you can play the game for free on your iPhone or Android device. It’s not awful, but it’s not very good either. Well, that’s how the eShop goes sometimes.
Rocket Rabbit – Coin Race ($7.99)
A bog-standard endless runner. It has a rabbit, so it probably wants you to buy it because of Easter. Don’t fall for the rabbit’s trickery. Jetpack Joyride is still free on your phone. Just play that again if you have an urge.
Solitaire Deluxe Bundle – 3 in 1 ($14.99)
If your issue with previous Switch solitaire games was that they didn’t have a fancypants enough presentation, here you go. You get three variations of solitaire here, as the title indicates. The line-up consists of trusty old Klondike, the popular Freecell, and of course, Spider. There are 20 different 3D themes, an option to play in a 3D mode or a more traditional 2D top-down view, lots of music tracks, a bunch of different styles of card art, and some tutorials and hints for starting players. Do I want a solitaire game for my Switch? Not really. But if I did, I think this would be the one I’d buy.
Black Rainbow ($9.99)
This is a pretty weak adventure game, if I can be frank. You get a whole lot of inventory puzzles, a totally forgettable plot, an extremely low level of challenge, and a really short runtime. Its puzzles aren’t terribly hard to solve, a problem made worse by the game’s insistence on holding your hand pretty much through the whole adventure. Without a decent plot or interesting puzzles, I’m not sure what the point of an adventure game is. Black Rainbow ironically offers no answers for that head-scratcher.
Null Drifter ($4.99)
This is a very low-fi twin-stick shooter with a distinct look to its visuals. There are lots of color palettes you can choose from, and some video options so you make it look as bad as you want it to. The soundtrack is apparently composed by an AI? It’s hard to find much to say about this as beyond its presentation it’s quite by-the-numbers. There’s an upgrade system that you can access on the fly, but that’s nothing new for this genre. I may sound like I’m down on this but it’s actually a pretty solid action game for a fiver.
Desktop Basketball ($7.20)
I feel like this series is really starting to push the boundaries of its concept a little too far. Anyway, this is another sports game that is allegedly set on top of a desk. You get an assortment of modes and options, and you can play with up to four players at once via local multiplayer. If you’ve enjoyed the previous games in this series and have no particular issue with basketball as a sport, you’ll probably like this one too. It aims to have more of a casual appeal than the average sports game, and I suppose it succeeds well enough at that.
Arcade Archives MX5000 ($7.99)
Konami is behind some of the most legendary arcade shooters in history. Gradius, Life Force, TwinBee, Parodius, Scramble, Gyruss, Time Pilot… the list goes on and on. But that list won’t often include 1987’s MX5000/Flak Attack in it, and I suppose I can see why. This is a fairly plain vertical shoot-em-up whose main gimmick involves its boss battles, which allow you to move around in any direction, Time Pilot-style. It’s hardly Konami’s greatest but chances are good you haven’t played it, which might make it of interest to fans of this particular era of shoot-em-ups. Hamster has done its usual good job with bringing the game to Switch with plenty of options.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Well, that’s not a small list by any means. But it’s also not a super-cool list, if I’m being honest. There are some good games in there like Rocket League, Chasm, Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair, Volgarr the Viking, and Treasure Stack, to be sure. But there isn’t really anything there that is grabbing me by the collar of my shirt and saying “HEY PAL YOU BETTER BUY ME IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU“, you know? I encourage you to have a look for yourself and see if anything strikes you differently, however. The outbox is fairly thin but if you somehow don’t have all of Image & Form’s SteamWorld games yet, you could correct that.
Select New Games on Sale
Rocket League ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/20)
Lumo ($11.97 from $19.95 until 4/18)
Riptide GP: Renegade ($3.99 from $9.99 until 4/16)
Tachyon Project ($0.99 from $9.99 until 4/27)
Gem Smashers ($6.99 from $9.99 until 4/23)
ClusterPuck 99 ($0.99 from $9.99 until 4/23)
Hello Kitty Kruisers ($20.96 from $29.95 until 4/18)
Infectious Madness of Dr Dekker ($7.79 from $12.99 until 4/23)
Mahjong Deluxe 3 ($15.99 from $19.99 until 4/23)
Vegas Party ($10.99 from $21.99 until 4/22)
Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/18)
Holy Potatoes! We’re In Space?! ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/18)
Mugsters ($1.49 from $14.99 until 4/19)
Starship Avenger: Operation TBE ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/29)
Spheroids ($0.99 from $7.99 until 4/27)
Chasm ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/16)
Super Blackjack Battle 2 TE ($0.99 from $7.99 until 4/29)
Joggernauts ($3.74 from $14.99 until 4/23)
Spencer ($3.49 from $6.99 until 4/20)
Storm in a Teacup ($0.89 from $2.99 until 4/18)
Chicken Range ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/22)
Dracula’s Legacy ($15.99 from $19.99 until 4/23)
Swamp Defense 2 ($1.49 from $2.99 until 4/20)
Trailblazers ($8.99 from $29.99 until 4/18)
M.A.C.E. Space Shooter ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/20)
Bibi Blocksberg – Big Broom Race 3 ($20.99 from $29.99 until 4/23)
Panda Hero ($20.99 from $29.99 until 4/23)
Bibi & Tina: Adventures with Horses ($20.99 from $29.99 until 4/23)
Bibi & Tina at the Horse Farm ($20.99 from $29.99 until 4/23)
Ultimate Runner ($13.99 from $19.99 until 4/23)
Horizon Shift ’81 ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/22)
Super Treasure Arena ($0.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Bubble Shooter DX ($1.49 from $2.99 until 4/20)
Marble Power Blast ($1.49 from $2.99 until 4/20)
Double Cross ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/23)
Nippon Marathon ($6.74 from $14.99 until 4/24)
Red’s Kingdom ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/18)
Volgarr the Viking ($0.99 from $9.99 until 4/23)
Balance Blox ($1.49 from $2.99 until 4/20)
Perry Pig Jump ($1.49 from $2.99 until 4/20)
The King’s Bird ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/23)
Strikey Sisters ($5.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Hexa Maze ($13.99 from $19.99 until 4/23)
Treasure Stack ($3.99 from $19.99 until 4/23)
Crash Dummy ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/22)
Monster Dynamite ($13.99 from $19.99 until 4/23)
Super Star Blast ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/20)
Giga Wrecker Alt ($17.49 from $24.99 until 4/18)
Darkwood ($8.99 from $14.99 until 4/19)
39 Days to Mars ($10.04 from $14.99 until 4/23)
Super Tennis Blast ($9.89 from $14.99 until 4/23)
Summer Sports Games ($19.99 from $24.99 until 4/23)
Winter Sports Games ($19.99 from $24.99 until 4/23)
Ankh Guardian ($4.79 from $7.99 until 4/29)
Rise: Race The Future ($12.36 from $16.49 until 4/24)
Shinobi Spirits S ($6.29 from $8.99 until 4/29)
Headspun ($7.79 from $12.99 until 4/23)
Cyber Protocol ($0.99 from $9.99 until 4/15)
Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair ($20.09 from $29.99 until 4/19)
Contraptions ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/22)
Mable & The Wood ($5.99 from $14.99 until 4/23)
Earth Atlantis ($4.49 from $14.99 until 4/29)
88 Heroes – 98 Heroes ($8.98 from $29.95 until 4/18)
Null Drifter ($3.99 from $4.99 until 4/30)
Super Pixel Racers ($13.49 from $14.99 until 4/16)
Kawaii Deathu Desu ($3.99 from $4.99 until 4/30)
Graceful Explosion Machine ($4.50 from $12.99 until 4/16)
Lichtspeer: Double Speer ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/19)
Beach Buggy Racing ($3.99 from $9.99 until 4/16)
Conga Master Party! ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/18)
Inversus Deluxe ($1.49 from $14.99 until 4/22)
Ninja Shodown ($5.98 from $14.95 until 4/18
Summer Sweetheart ($15.99 from $19.99 until 4/23)
Bloo Kid 2 ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/29)
Football Manager 2020 Touch ($26.79 from $39.99 until 4/23)
Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath ($19.99 from $29.99 until 4/23)
Jewel Wars ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
UnderHero ($11.38 from $16.99 until 4/29)
Go All Out! ($8.70 from $12.99 until 4/29)
Fred3ric ($6.69 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Lines XL ($0.49 from $1.99 until 4/28)
Wanderlust Travel Stories ($10.04 from $14.99 until 4/29)
Animated Jigsaws Collection ($12.49 from $24.99 until 4/22)
Soul Axiom Rebooted ($9.09 from $12.99 until 4/23)
Brotherhood United ($6.29 from $8.99 until 4/19)
Lost Artifacts ($5.99 from $9.99 until 4/23)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Almost There: The Platformer ($1.49 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Anthill ($3.99 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Flipping Death ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
In Other Waters ($13.49 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Mystery of Woolley Mountain ($0.12 from $12.99 until 4/11)
Soulblight ($5.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
SteamWorld Dig ($2.49 from $9.99 until 4/11)
SteamWorld Dig 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
SteamWorld Heist ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
SteamWorld Quest ($12.49 from $24.99 until 4/11)
Stick It to The Man ($2.99 from $11.99 until 4/11)
7th Sector ($13.99 from $19.99 until 4/12)
Butcher ($2.99 from $9.99 until 4/12)
Cast of the Seven Godsends ($1.29 from $12.99 until 4/12)
Cinders ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/12)
Doughlings: Invasion ($6.69 from $9.99 until 4/12)
Dragon Pinball ($1.49 from $2.99 until 4/12)
Food Truck Tycoon ($3.74 from $4.99 until 4/12)
Grand Prix Rock ‘N Racing ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/12)
Jurassic Pinball ($1.49 from $2.99 until 4/12)
My Memory of Us ($5.24 from $14.99 until 4/12)
Numbala ($1.59 from $7.99 until 4/12)
Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs ($4.99 from $24.99 until 4/12)
Rock ‘N Racing Off Road DX ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/12)
Super Arcade Soccer ($2.44 from $6.99 until 4/12)
The Escapists 2 ($6.79 from $19.99 until 4/12)
The Escapists: Complete ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/12)
The Long Reach ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/12)
Timber Tennis: Versus ($0.59 from $1.99 until 4/12)
Titans Pinball ($1.49 from $2.99 until 4/12)
World Soccer Pinball ($1.49 from $2.99 until 4/12)
That’s all we’ve got for today and this week, friends. Next week is looking a bit… I don’t know, plain at the moment, but there could be some surprises. And if there aren’t any, I suspect some of the releases will end up more interesting than they look. If all else fails, there’s always the backlog, right? Anyway, I hope you all have a decent weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!
