Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for June 12th, 2020. In today’s article, we’ve got an absolute ton of new releases to summarize. Apparently several games dropped out of nowhere yesterday while I was sleeping snug in my bed, so between those and the actual Friday releases, there’s a lot to deal with. Beyond that, I’ve also got a list of the new sales that popped up. Smaller than usual, because just about everything is on sale already. Let’s have a look!
New Releases
Warborn ($24.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Thanks to the Super Robot Taisen series, in Japan you’re as likely to find a turn-based strategy game with giant robots as you are to find one with swords and sorcery. Yet the tricky licensing of that series has left much of the Western world bereft of strategic giant robot battles. PQube’s Warborn looks to help tip the scales a bit. Turn-based battles on hex grids, complete with dramatic story scenes between giant robot pilots? Sure, roll it out. In practice, it comes off an awful lot like Advance Wars or Military Madness, and that’s not bad at all. It doesn’t do anything new or different enough to pull in those who don’t already like this genre, but if you do? Get in the heckin’ robot, Shinji.
Spacejacked ($9.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Here’s the latest release from prolific publisher Ratalaika. It’s a tower defense/action hybrid where you need to build defenses and fend off alien attacks. Your character can’t jump, but they can use a gravity flip to travel around within each stage. It’s a cool twist that adds a lot of spice to an already hectic formula. There’s a story mode with two acts, a challenge mode with extra-tough stages for you to attempt, and two endless modes to keep you playing after you’ve finished all of the finite content. It’s been out for years on other platforms, and it seems to be generally well-liked. I’m not going to disagree with the majority on that assessment.
Jacks or Better – Video Poker ($7.49)
Seven and a half dollars. Look, that’s not a lot of money, I understand. But it can buy you a lot of things, especially on the Switch eShop. Even more so when there’s a big sale going on. It can buy you tasty snacks, like several delicious Snickers bars. Maybe a magazine? Do they make magazines in America anymore? Perhaps an eBook or something, then. What I’m getting at is that there are a lot of better things you can do with that money than spend it on an incredibly cheap-looking video poker game. Heck, at least Sabec renders a table or something to dress things up. Bah.
House Flipper ($24.99)
Ah, house flippers. To have so much money to play with, and spend it all trying to make a little more. The struggle of modern life, my friends. I’ll never have enough money to buy even one house, let alone think about flipping them. For people like me, this game will be as close as I get to this modern American past-time. Surprisingly, the game works a lot like Ultimate’s other simulators that have repair mechanics in them. You come into possession of a thing, you fix up the thing by doing some light mini-games, then you sell the thing for more money. Repeat until you get tired of either the gameplay or the cumbersome UI. In this case it’s houses instead of cars or motorcycles, but it all plays out the same. Nevertheless, I have to concede that this is probably the best house-flipping game on the Switch.
Pew Paw ($6.99)
Well, we can’t have a week go by without at least a few new top-down roguelite twin-stick shooters, can we? Pew Paw at least has a nice visual style going for it. You play as a lone survivor of a zombie apocalypse. Well, your dog also made it. It’s a tough situation to be in, but you’re armed to the teeth and ready to take down zombies and keep on living, at least until you die. Not much you can do when that happens. Craft tons of weapon parts, battle against a variety of surprisingly well-equipped zombies, find armored suits to give yourself an edge, and follow your dog’s nose to find extra pick-ups. You know, considering the price of this game, it’s not a bad pick-up at all. Still, I can’t help but feel that most of us have more than enough games of this sort by now in our backlogs.
Half Dead ($4.99)
Apparently a survival game of some sorts. It’s been out on other platforms for a while, and the game’s reputation seems to be middling. The story sees you in some kind of futuristic TV show trying to beat the odds and keep on living. Probably not worth bothering with unless you have someone to join you for local multiplayer, and even then you’ll be hard-pressed to get more than a few hours of fun out of it at max. I suppose you really can’t expect much more than that for five dollars, though. Even at such a low price, however, I’d give it a hard pass.
Dots 8 ($1.99)
Not sure what to say about a game that has a pre-launch discount of 90% off. It’s an abstract puzzle game that comes off a little like Go but a bit easier for newcomers to pick up. You can choose between two different scoring systems, with one focused on capturing territory and the other on capturing enemy dots. You can also set how long you want to give each player to take their turn. Up to eight people can join in on this one via local multiplayer. It’s a good pick-up for those looking for some cheap tactical entertainment, even at its full price.
Rogue Robots ($14.99)
Yeah, it’s another top-down roguelite twin-stick shooter. This one is a follow-up to a game called Spareware that wasn’t released on the Switch. The feedback the developers received on that first game apparently helped shape this one, though. Build up your robot and blast through pesky humans either by yourself or with up to three of your friends or family members in local multiplayer. I don’t really have too much more to say about this one. Other than its cool robots versus humans theme, it doesn’t seem to have much to make it stand out from what is now an incredibly huge pack.
Super Toy Cars 2 ($11.99)
Super Toy Cars 2, or as the villainous Carter Dotson would call it 2 Super 2 Toy Cars, is the follow-up to the relatively popular original title that saw you racing small cars around real-world environments. That’s a theme most people can get behind, so it’s nice to see the sequel is building on it. Race through toy rooms, casinos, yards, and more in your choice of toy car. You’ll eventually unlock 20 toy cars, each of which can be upgraded and customized. Up to two players can join in on the fun via local multiplayer. You’ll likely enjoy this if you had fun with the original, as it builds on it solidly.
Roulette at Aces Casino ($7.99)
At first I thought this might be a Sabec game, but I noticed the extra detail in the screenshots and realized there was 26% more effort put into this game than the average Sabec. Anyway, it is what it says. You play roulette at Ace’s Vegas Casino, with both European and American roulette tables on offer. For some reason, there’s also a spooky ghost table? You could print out a picture of Hamster’s entire Arcade Archives line-up, throw a dart at it, and whatever you hit will probably be a better use of eight bucks than this.
Masky ($4.99)
This is apparently a dancing game of some kind? I’m not sure. I haven’t had a chance to play this one yet, so all I can do is try to piece things together based on the shop description and reviews from its releases on other platforms. Anyway, don’t expect a rhythm game here. It’s more about tilting back and forth and trying to join hands with other characters to create a big line of dancers. Some characters have special powers connected to their masks, most of which will try to mess with your balance. If you mess up and fall over, you’re done. On the other hand, if you get a big enough line going you’ll move on to the next area. You can play with up to four players locally, and that’s probably how you’ll get the best experience with Masky.
Ship Sim 2020 ($14.99)
It kind of burns my hide that there are more games about simulating ship businesses on the Switch than there are ice hockey games. Oh well. This is another game about simulating a ship business. Take the captain’s chair in a cruise ship, cargo ship, or oil tanker and sail the seas as ship captains do. Specifically, the Mediterranean Sea. Enjoy the day-night cycle and changing weather patterns, dock your ship carefully, and try not to think about how you could have bought Celeste or something instead. Like the other recent releases from this publisher, you can find a free version of this game on the App Store if you want to check it out first.
Firefighters – Airport Heroes ($39.99)
Furthermore, there are now more games about firefighters battling fires at airports on the Switch than there are ice hockey games. Seriously. This is the latest in the Firefighters series from UI Entertainment/UIG, and I can’t really tell you how it’s different from the already-available Firefighters: Airport Fire Department. It promises many exciting missions set in a variety of airport locations such as planes, terminals, and offices. You also get a selection of fire engines to pick from. Well, there are enough games in this series on the Switch by now that there’s clearly a market for them, and if that market includes you this will probably be to your liking.
Seeds of Resilience ($13.99)
A simulation game where you need to build a village on a desert island, and one not quite as fluffy about that business as Animal Crossing. It’s turn-based, so you can take your time to plan your moves for each day before letting things play out. It tries to do things a bit more realistically, and apparently the way you build things in the game would more or less work in real life. Not really a selling point for me, but maybe it is for you? Anyway, you also have to keep the environment in mind while you’re building. If you over-fish in locations or cut down too many trees, you could land yourself in trouble. It’s no Civilization VI, but for the price it does what it needs to.
Cosmic Defenders ($9.99)
This is a quirky shoot-em-up for up to four players locally. There are three different gameplay modes, with a main story mode, a slightly randomized survival mode, and a versus mode available. It’s very colorful and it does some neat things with its levels, but unless you’ve got some friends with you the action gets old fast here. Having four different characters with different abilities helps to alleviate that somewhat, but something about the gameplay in this game just doesn’t do it for me. You may feel differently.
Him & Her ($0.99)
If you’re on a budget, this is going to be your best choice from today’s new releases. Him & Her is a platformer with 34 levels and two difficulty settings. Your goal in each stage is to make your way to Her. You can run and jump, as you’d expect, but you’re also able to climb up walls by running into them, flipping the level’s perspective and reorienting gravity. Nothing too fancy, but for a buck? It does the job. You’ll definitely get your four quarters’ worth.
Pixboy ($4.99)
You know, I’ve seen games selling themselves on NES nostalgia, Game Boy nostalgia, and general 16-bit nostalgia, but I think this is the first time I’ve seen a game pitching itself based on crappy old Nokia cell phone nostalgia. Time makes fools of us all sooner or later. This is a 2D platformer with 40 levels and a lot of secrets, all done up in a two-color graphic style that is meant to evoke the monochrome displays on old cell phones. The resolution is a bit high for that, but hey. You can also unlock new color options by finding them in the levels if you want to get that Game Boy creamed spinach look instead. It’s okay.
Pack Master ($4.99)
This is a simple puzzle game with a neat concept behind it. You’re given a bag or container of a particular shape, and you need to fit all of the objects into it. There are fourteen different locations that serve as themes for the hundreds of levels included in the game, and there’s even local multiplayer support for up to four players. You’ll probably get tired of the game before you run out of content, and while I can’t say if that’s a good or bad thing, it’s nice problem for a five dollar game to have.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Usually Friday has a ton of new sales to check out, but given the timing of the Summer Sale we’ve got a less than usual to deal with. It’s still a fairly hefty list, with titles from Circle Entertainment and AkSys leading the charge. The weekend outbox doesn’t have a whole ton of sales to worry about, but take a good look just in case.
Select New Games on Sale
The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa ($10.49 from $14.99 until 7/2)
Little Dragons Cafe ($17.99 from $59.99 until 6/18)
WILL: A Wonderful World ($8.99 from $14.99 until 7/2)
Death Mark ($19.99 from $49.99 until 6/18)
Spirit Hunter: NG ($24.99 from $49.99 until 6/18)
Legendary Eleven ($3.99 from $9.99 until 6/29)
Quad Fighter K ($3.99 from $7.99 until 6/18)
WHIP! WHIP! ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Flashback ($0.99 from $19.99 until 6/17)
Super Volley Blast ($6.99 from $9.99 until 6/25)
Piczle Lines DX 500 More Puzzles! ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/25)
Super Blackjack Battle 2 Turbo ($0.99 from $7.99 until 7/1)
The Low Road ($5.24 from $14.99 until 6/18)
Mercenaries Wings ($7.79 from $12.99 until 7/2)
Mercenaries Saga Chronicles ($7.49 from $14.99 until 7/2)
Asterix & Obelix XXL 2 ($8.99 from $29.99 until 7/1)
Stardust Galaxy Warriors ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/18)
Toki ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/24)
Julie’s Sweets ($3.99 from $9.99 until 6/30)
Ivanych vs Eared Beast ($0.89 from $2.99 until 6/25)
Super Treasure Arena ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Animus ($3.99 from $7.99 until 7/1)
Neko Navy – Daydream ($9.09 from $12.99 until 6/25)
The Office Quest ($2.99 from $11.99 until 6/25)
Piczle Colors ($3.60 from $12.00 until 6/25)
Solstice Chronicles: MIA ($8.99 from $14.99 until 7/2)
Fun! Fun! Animal Park ($14.99 from $29.99 until 6/18)
A Dark Room ($4.19 from $6.99 until 7/2)
Truberbrook ($14.99 from $29.99 until 7/1)
DayD: Through Time ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/25)
Defend Your Castle ($1.74 from $4.99 until 6/18)
Table Top Racing: World Tour ($12.49 from $24.99 until 6/25)
Shadows of Adam ($10.49 from $14.99 until 7/2)
European Conqueror X ($5.99 from $9.99 until 7/2)
Light Tracer ($8.99 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Among the Sleep – Enhanced ($7.49 from $24.99 until 7/1)
Bullet Battle: Evolution ($7.49 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Word Mesh ($3.49 from $4.99 until 7/22)
The Drama Queen Murder ($2.49 from $9.99 until 6/30)
M.A.C.E. Tower Defense ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/22)
Exception ($3.74 from $14.99 until 6/25)
Paper Dolls Original ($11.89 from $16.99 until 7/2)
Button Button Up! ($5.99 from $11.99 until 7/2)
Home Sheep Home ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/25)
Tower Climb ($1.50 from $6.00 until 6/25)
Ghost Parade ($19.99 from $39.99 until 6/18)
Incredible Mandy ($8.99 from $14.99 until 7/2)
Bloo Kid 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 7/1)
Simulacra ($9.09 from $12.99 until 6/25)
Dead End Job ($8.49 from $16.99 until 7/1)
Maitetsu: Pure Station ($24.49 from $24.99 until 7/2)
Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ ($27.99 from $39.99 until 6/18)
Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late cl-r ($27.99 from $39.99 until 6/18)
Hidden Through Time ($6.39 from $7.99 until 6/19)
Yoga Master ($19.99 from $24.99 until 6/25)
SeaBed ($15.99 from $19.99 until 6/25)
Sin Slayers ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/25)
Black Rainbow ($6.99 from $9.99 until 6/30)
Pixel Art Bundle Vol.1 ($5.69 from $37.99 until 6/24)
Him & Her ($0.49 from $0.99 until 7/1)
Glass Masquerade Double Pack ($10.99 from $21.99 until 7/1)
Seeds of Resilience ($12.59 from $13.99 until 7/1)
Summer in Mara ($22.49 from $24.99 until 6/23)
Blair Witch ($26.99 from $29.99 until 7/1)
Miden Tower ($13.49 from $14.99 until 6/25)
Sales Ending This Weekend
n Verlore Verstand ($6.29 from $13.99 until 6/13)
Steamburg ($0.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Tetsumo Party ($0.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Tyd wag vir Niemand ($5.99 from $9.99 until 6/13)
Chop is Dish ($1.20 from $3.00 until 6/14)
Deployment ($0.99 from $9.99 until 6/14)
Despotism 3k ($9.89 from $10.99 until 6/14)
Frozen Friends ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/14)
Goat Simulator: The GOATY ($7.49 from $29.99 until 6/14)
Halloween Pinball ($0.98 from $2.99 until 6/14)
Iconoclasts ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/14)
In-Vert ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/14)
Lanternium ($3.99 from $9.99 until 6/14)
Moonlighter ($9.99 from $24.99 until 6/14)
Mummy Pinball ($0.98 from $2.99 until 6/14)
Oliver’s Adventures in Fairyland ($2.79 from $6.99 until 6/14)
Pirate Pop Plus ($3.34 from $4.99 until 6/14)
Pirates Pinball ($0.98 from $2.99 until 6/14)
Quell Memento ($3.99 from $7.99 until 6/14)
Quest for the Golden Duck ($0.03 from $9.99 until 6/14)
Rogue Bit ($0.99 from $4.99 until 6/14)
Runbow ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/14)
Rune Lord ($3.49 from $4.99 until 6/14)
Stikbold! Dodgeball Adventure ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/14)
Taimumari: Complete ($5.99 from $14.99 until 6/14)
The Inner World: Last Wind Monk ($5.99 from $14.99 until 6/14)
Thumper ($4.99 from $19.99 until 6/14)
Trover Saves the Universe ($20.99 from $29.99 until 6/14)
Valley ($5.99 from $14.99 until 6/14)
Werewolf Pinball ($0.98 from $2.99 until 6/14)
That’s all we’ve got for today and this week, friends. And what an expensive week it turned out to be! Don’t count on next week giving your wallet a reprieve, either. Retro fans in particular have a rough week coming between the Namco Museum Archives and Darius Cozmic Collection releases. Burnout Paradise Remastered, Railway Empire, Working Zombies, and more await those with slightly more modern proclivities. I hope you all have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!
