Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 15th, 2020. In today’s article, we’ve got a little slice of news before heading into a guest review of Fight Crab from Mikhail. In addition, there’s a Mini-View of Under the Jolly Roger by yours truly, summaries of today’s new releases, and the usual lists of incoming and outgoing sales. There are quite a few games in both lists today, surprisingly enough. Anyway, let’s get into it all and see what’s good!
News
‘DOOM 64’ Gets Physical Release from Limited Run Games
DOOM 64 is the weird cousin of the DOOM series that all the cool kids love. It started as a big ol’ Nintendo 64 cartridge, became a digital release, and will now find its way back to a much smaller Switch cartridge courtesy of Limited Run Games. Pre-orders will start on September 25th on Limited Run Games’ website, with a snazzy Classic Edition featuring the game, a N64-style retro box, a non-functional commemorative N64-style cartridge, a behind-the-scenes booklet, and a poster. I find it humorous we’re getting a physical version of the pre-order bonus for DOOM Eternal before any hint of DOOM Eternal‘s promised Switch port. Anyway, if you want to get your strange DOOM on, mark September 25th on your calendar.
Reviews
Fight Crab ($19.99)
When I first saw some screenshots for the PC version of Calappa Games’ Fight Crab, I thought it would be just another one of those meme games that gets old after an hour. Fight Crab is a 3D action brawler that has you playing as a crab with access to loads of weapons as you try to flip your enemies over to claim victory.
Fight Crab has multiple playable crabs with an assortment of weapons ranging from different blades to a revolver and even a jet engine. It controls very differently to traditional brawlers with the pincers being a focus. It definitely has the feel of ragdoll physics games but manages to stand out with its premise and various weapon combinations.
Having played Fight Crab on both PC and Nintendo Switch, the transition to Nintendo Switch has been mostly good when it comes to the technical side. The frame rate isn’t consistent but it doesn’t feel awful given the movement speed of the game. If you want a more consistent experience, I’d get this on PC but I’ve been enjoying it a lot more in portable mode on Nintendo Switch. This version even supports motion controls with the Joy-Cons. I didn’t really enjoy using this feature but the option exists for those who enjoy motion controls or to add another layer of hilarity here.
On top of a campaign which includes dozens of levels (expect this to last you under 3 hours depending on how well you adjust to the controls), Fight Crab includes offline and online versus options. Even the campaign can be played in online co-op. I couldn’t test this particular aspect of the online as of now but the actual versus online worked well against someone on PC in the games I managed to find. As you progress, you unlock currency to buy more weapons or level up your crab.
Apart from this game being as fun as it turned out, I was most surprised by the soundtrack and the levels. The music is very catchy with vocals and the levels are pretty unique. This definitely felt like something that could feel repetitive but the developers have done a great job in making sure things remain fresh.
Overall, I’ve enjoyed my time with Fight Crab‘s campaign and in multiplayer in the few games I managed to find online. Having cross platform online support is definitely going to help here. While I think the asking price is a bit on the higher side, this is one of the more enjoyable games I’ve played in months. I can see this becoming a staple for parties because almost every battle is hilarious. -Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Mini-Views
Under the Jolly Roger ($19.99)
It didn’t take long for this game to tickle my memories a little. I soon realized it’s an enhanced version of Tempest – Pirate Action RPG, which came out on mobile a few years ago. It aims to give you a nice pirate experience, and it succeeds to an extent. Strangely, after spending my weekend with Under the Jolly Roger, I kind of found myself preferring the mobile game. That it’s less than half the price makes it an even easier decision. The interface is a little cumbersome on the Switch, and some aspects like the ship battles just aren’t any fun at all here. It’s still not too bad, and if you want a pirate game with some depth to it you’ll probably enjoy this well enough. It’s certainly no Sid Meier’s Pirates!, though.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
New Releases
Fight Crab ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Well, you’ve probably read Mikhail’s thoughts on Fight Crab up above. If not, make sure you do. It’s a bit of a ludicrous concept, and it more or less follows through on it as well as you could reasonably expect. While it’s not a must-have and the price is a bit high for what you get, there’s something oddly compelling about these clashing crustaceans and their menagerie of destructive implements. If you’ve got twenty bucks to burn and a desire for something odd, Fight Crab may be just the thing to attack your weak point for massive damage.
Her Majesty’s Ship ($10.99)
When I first saw the premise for this game, I was hoping it would be some kind of strategy/management game, but it’s really more of a clicker-style experience than anything else. You have to keep your ship running and your crew happy as you sail the seas, and the way to do that is apparently to keep an eye out for timers around the ship and take care of whatever problem is going on before said timers run out. There’s a mild resource management aspect to it, but other than that you’re really just trying to keep a bunch of plates spinning. Even combat doesn’t amount to much more than that. It’s not very deep, nor is it terribly engaging. On top of that, it’s obvious the interface was designed for a mouse, not a controller. For the price it’s going for, it’s awfully hard to recommend to anyone.
2weistein – The Curse of the Red Dragon ($18.00)
This might look like a budget take on The Legend of Zelda or games of its ilk, but it’s actually an educational puzzle adventure with a focus on math-related problems. It takes a few hours to run through the whole thing, and you can set the level of difficulty of the math problems to fit the needs of whoever is playing it. This is clearly targeted at elementary school kids who are still coming to grips with the fundamentals of mathematics, and as such I’m not really the person to judge it as an experience. I will say that I’m somewhat impressed at the level of effort put into what is, at its core, an edutainment title for grade-schoolers.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
There are a lot of games in the inbox today, with Ratalaika Games doing a big sale with tons of titles included. The Sniper Elite games are on sale for great prices, and other excellent games like Tesla vs Lovecraft and Inferno 2 are here too. Lots in the outbox too, though the bulk of the games will likely be on sale again before too long. The ones you should pay careful attention to are Hamster’s ACA NEOGEO titles, as sales on those are few, far between, and when it comes to specific titles, sometimes one-and-done. Have a gander, friends.
Select New Games on Sale
Sniper Elite V2 Remastered ($11.89 from $34.99 until 9/21)
Sniper Elite 3 Ultimate ($13.99 from $34.99 until 9/21)
HardCube ($2.10 from $7.00 until 9/21)
Inferno 2 ($0.99 from $4.99 until 9/27)
The Bug Butcher ($2.95 from $7.99 until 9/27)
Lumini ($3.99 from $9.99 until 9/27)
The Walking Vegetables: Radical ($1.94 from 12.99 until 9/27)
Dimension Drive ($1.94 from $12.99 until 9/27)
The Long Reach ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/27)
Back to Bed ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/27)
Cast of the Seven Godsends ($1.29 from $12.99 until 9/27)
She Sees Red: Interactive Movie ($3.29 from $9.99 until 9/27)
Rainswept ($7.99 from $9.99 until 9/27)
Lost Wing ($6.95 from $7.99 until 9/27)
Never Again ($8.39 from $13.99 until 9/28)
Lumo ($9.97 from $19.95 until 9/28)
Thunder Paw ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Random Heroes: Gold ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Rush Rover ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Blind Men ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Guard Duty ($7.49 from $9.99 until 9/28)
Gun Crazy ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Reed 2 ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Thy Sword ($7.49 from $9.99 until 9/28)
Concept Destruction ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Castle Pals ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Strawberry Vinegar ($7.49 from $9.99 until 9/28)
Spacejacked ($7.49 from $9.99 until 9/28)
Clash Force ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Distraint 2 ($6.74 from $8.99 until 9/28)
Ultra Hat Dimension ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Jisei: The First Case HD ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Nicole ($14.24 from $18.99 until 9/28)
Radio Squid ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
A Summer with the Shiba Inu ($7.49 from $9.99 until 9/28)
Duck Souls+ ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/28)
Tesla vs Lovecraft ($5.24 from $14.99 until 9/20)
Spirit of the North ($17.49 from $24.99 until 9/20)
Robots Under Attack! ($0.99 from $5.99 until 10/3)
Nowhere Prophet ($14.99 from $24.99 until 10/4)
Food Truck Tycoon ($2.99 from $4.99 until 10/4)
Ding Dong XL ($0.09 from $0.99 until 10/4)
Super Bit Blaster XL ($0.09 from $3.99 until 10/4)
GERRRMS ($2.99 from $9.99 until 10/4)
Ministry of Broadcast ($8.99 from $14.99 until 10/5)
Jet Ski Rush ($0.99 from $3.99 until 10/5)
Uncharted Tides: Port Royal ($1.49 from $14.99 until 10/5)
Infini ($8.00 from $12.00 until 10/5)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 16th
ACA NEOGEO King of the Monsters ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/16)
ACA NEOGEO Power Spikes II ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/16)
ACA NEOGEO Sengoku ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/16)
ACA NEOGEO World Heroes 2 ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/16)
ACA NEOGEO Zed Blade ($3.99 from $7.99 until 9/16)
Active Neurons 2 ($3.99 from $4.99 until 9/16)
American Ninja Warrior ($7.49 from $29.99 until 9/16)
Animal Hunter Z ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/16)
Battle & Crash ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Big Buck Hunter Arcade ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/16)
Bingo ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Blacksad: Under the Skin ($24.99 from $49.99 until 9/16)
Bot Vice ($2.99 from $9.99 until 9/16)
Caterpillar Royale ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Collide-a-Ball 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Dungeon Shooting ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Flashback ($0.99 from $19.99 until 9/16)
Goosebumps the Game ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/16)
History 2048 ($0.99 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Jelly Champs! ($9.59 from $11.99 until 9/16)
Just Black Jack ($0.99 from $1.99 until 9/16)
Kuukiyomi 2: Consider It More! ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Mega Party: Tootuff Adventure ($19.99 from $29.99 until 9/16)
Miniature – The Story Puzzle ($0.99 from $3.99 until 9/16)
Nickelodeon Kart Racers ($7.49 from $29.99 until 9/16)
Overlanders ($0.99 from $24.99 until 9/16)
Ping Ping Trick Evolution ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Potata: Fairy Flower ($9.00 from $12.00 until 9/16)
Rapala Fishing Pro Series ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/16)
Retro Game Pack ($2.99 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Sea King ($0.99 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Soulblight ($4.49 from $14.99 until 9/16)
Street Outlaws: The List ($9.99 from $39.99 until 9/16)
Sudoku Relax 2 Summer Waves ($3.75 from $5.00 until 9/16)
Super Chariot ($1.49 from $14.99 until 9/16)
Super Loop Drive ($0.99 from $3.99 until 9/16)
Super Ping Pong Trick Shot ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Super Star Path ($1.49 from $4.99 until 9/16)
Syberia ($4.99 from $14.99 until 9/16)
Syberia 3 ($9.99 from $49.99 until 9/16)
Tinboy ($0.39 from $1.99 until 9/16)
Toridama: Brave Challenge ($3.75 from $5.00 until 9/16)
Zenge ($0.99 from $1.99 until 9/16)
Zombieland Double Tap ($9.99 from $39.99 until 9/16)
That’s all for today, friends. Quite a Tuesday, to be sure. But the week is just beginning, so don’t blow all of your cash just yet. We’ll be back tomorrow with some fresh news, a couple of new releases, and at least a few new sales. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
