Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for November 6th, 2020. As is generally the case on Fridays, we’ve got a bunch of new releases to look at. The most interesting ones today are Tropico 6, Descenders, and Red Rope: Don’t Fall Behind +, but there are a lot of games here for a variety of tastes. There’s also a fairly large list of new sales, with the best of the lot being discounts on a bunch of Bandai Namco games. Let’s dig in!
New Releases
Tropico 6 – Nintendo Switch Edition ($49.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that being a dictator is actually pretty hard to pull off. If there’s a second thing I’ve learned, it’s that being a dictator rarely ends well. So why not avoid the risk of the real thing and stick to a virtual life as Great Leader? To tell the truth, you don’t have to be a dictator in Tropico 6. It’s just the most fun way to play. Become the leader of the island state of Tropico and control its future through four different eras. This installment allows you to play on large archipelagos, putting you in charge of multiple islands at once. It’s a great installment in a very enjoyable series, and being able to play it on the go makes it even better.
Descenders ($24.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Downhill mountain biking meets roguelite in this odd but endearing game. Each level is procedurally generated, and you’re tasked with making your way down while reaching whatever the goal might be. Maybe you have to do certain tricks. Maybe it’s a race. The main thing is to just reach the end in one piece. Nice physics, fun to play, probably not going to change anyone’s mind that isn’t already into the whole mountain biking idea, but nevertheless a quality effort in a genre that could use more love. It’s nice to see a game with roguelite elements that isn’t space or fantasy themed, too.
Red Rope: Don’t Fall Behind + ($12.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Red Rope: Don’t Fall Behind is a game with two faces. In single player, it’s a rather tricky game where you need to control two characters at once, coordinating between your left and right hands just so in order to defeat enemies and move on to the next room. There’s a literal rope between the two characters that keep them from getting too far from each other. The rope also serves as your only weapon. Playing it alone reminds me of something like Namco’s Libble Rabble, and it makes my brain upset. Grab a second player for local multiplayer and its true face is revealed: it’s an incredibly clever game of communication and collaboration. I think the game stands well enough when you play solo, but it’s with that second player that it truly comes alive.
Memoranda ($14.99)
It’s something of a red flag to me when I see something claim to be inspired by Haruki Murakami’s writing. Not because I think poorly of Murakami; his writing is outstanding and unique in a way that few can match. Rather, it’s because Murakami is outstanding and unique that attempts to mimic his style don’t usual work out very well. And so it is here. Memoranda doesn’t provide a very good story or game. Its puzzles are frustrating. Its narrative similarities to Murakami’s abstract tales are only surface-level. The game’s heart feels like it’s in the right place, but that doesn’t mean it’s something I would recommend.
World of Solitaire ($14.99)
Baltoro has a few solitaire games available on the eShop. I personally enjoyed their Klondike solitaire game well enough, but I also got it on sale. This game gives you five different types of solitaire to play. Klondike, Spider, and FreeCell look very similar to the separate games Baltoro has sold, while Tri-Peaks and Pyramid are new additions. You can play with touch or button controls, there are lots of unlockable goodies like new card designs and music tracks, and a Quest Mode that apparently tries to tell a story. Sure, why not? If you love solitaire, this might be worth the fifteen bucks. If you just kind of like it, maybe wait for the inevitable sale.
Slots of the Season ($7.99)
Advantage of virtual slots: the most you can lose here is eight bucks. Disadvantage of virtual slots: the most you can win here is minus eight bucks. As the title promises, you get some season-themed slot machines to play in this one. No extra frills or anything. It’s essentially like the free ones you can find a zillion of on the App Store. There’s really nothing else to say about this game, so I’ll move on to the next thing now and leave this to the people who enjoy their video slots games.
Ord. ($4.99)
This is a clever choice-based narrative game where every scene consists of just one word. You are given two words to choose from as your action in that situation. And so it goes until you reach one of the many endings. It’s just about as minimal as it gets, and it sort of works. It’s a short thrill, though. You’ll soon start running into the same things as you try to work out all of the ending threads, and before long you’ll have exhausted them all. For the price, I think it’s decent enough. I found Ord. worked better as a mobile game, and you can save a couple of bucks by buying it and playing it there instead.
Trail Boss BMX ($19.99)
This game released about a year ago on mobile phones, where you can buy it for four dollars. It’s kind of like the downhill courses in the Tony Hawk games, asking you to check off objectives as you make your way down and requiring you to accomplish a specific number to unlock another stage. There are 40 levels in total, with 360 challenges to complete. It’s a decent enough game that hits just enough of the Tony Hawk vibe to make it compelling without going far enough to make it a must-have. The real question you need to ask yourself is whether button controls are worth sixteen extra dollars to you. Five times the price of the mobile release seems a bit much to me.
Survival ($9.99)
Aw heck, it’s Sabec. I will say this: there seems to have been a little more work put into this than the publisher’s usual fare. But only a little. You need to survive for 30 days in the wild, hunting, fishing, and growing crops. Watch out for bears and wolves, especially if you venture into the forest at night. The Switch has no shortage of great survival games. This is not one of them. If you spend ten dollars on this, you have in a sense failed one of life’s survival games.
Chess Minimal ($4.99)
As the title says, this is a fairly straightforward chess game. The presentation is really plain, almost absurdly so. Yet in terms of features, it has a lot of nice points. Online multiplayer support that allows you to play with different time limits, global leaderboards, a rating system, local multiplayer, AI opponents, and support for touch controls and regular button controls. If you just want a chess game to play on your Switch, this is a good, inexpensive way to do that.
PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay ($39.99)
Hmm. You know, there’s such a thing as having too many elements built into your characters. Oh well. I guess a meteor has fallen and given the pups super powers. Unfortunately, it has also made a mess of Adventure Bay. Using the new powers of the pups, their well-honed rescue skills, and a handy array of gadgets, you’ll have to get things back to normal. Play as the different members of the PAW Patrol, each with their own special powers, and explore the town and other locations. The game has support for local two-player co-op, making it a nice thing for parents to play with young kids who love PAW Patrol.
Salad Bar Tycoon ($4.99)
Another food-serving time management game from Baltoro, and it’s pretty much identical to the last four or five of these except with a new skin. Go through more than sixty stages, serving up over seventy dishes to waves of customers before they get impatient and leave. Use the money you earn to buy upgrades and improve your selection of offerings, all of which are salads. These games are popular with a certain crowd, and I’m sure they’ll be happy enough to have another.
Shisen-Sho NIKAKUdori ($3.99)
This is a fairly no-frills Shisen-Sho game. This Japanese game, which uses mahjong tiles, is sometimes known as Four Rivers. It’s very similar to mahjong solitaire/Shanghai in that you’re trying to remove matching tiles until the board is clear. Instead of only being able to remove tiles on top of the pile or on the edges, here you can only remove tiles if they are connected by horizontal or vertical lines. It’s kind of hard to explain but the game includes a tutorial that will walk you through the rules. Anyway, it’s a reasonable video game version of Shisen-Sho and the price is right for what you get.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
As anticipated, there’s a fairly lengthy list of new sales to look at today. It’s not a hugely impressive bunch, but with Black Friday looming a lot of publishers are probably going to chill out until then. Notables today, then? Fairy Tail is on sale for the first time, and it’s a good discount. Mr. Driller DrillLand and the Namco Museum Archives are great pick-ups for the prices they’re at. DEEMO is jam-packed with tunes these days thanks to getting so many free updates and is frankly one of the best values you can get in a rhythm game on the Switch. The weekend outbox doesn’t have a whole lot of rare stuff in it, but have a look anyway just to be safe.
Select New Games on Sale
DEEMO ($20.99 from $29.99 until 11/9)
Monster Hunter Generations Ult. ($15.99 from $39.99 until 11/11)
Forest Home ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/12)
Choices That Matter: ATSWO ($4.79 from $5.99 until 11/12)
Jungle Z ($6.49 from $12.99 until 11/13)
Fairy Tail ($41.99 from $59.99 until 11/13)
Swallow Up ($3.99 from $7.99 until 11/13)
Rolling Sky ($5.49 from $10.99 until 11/13)
Rolling Sky 2 ($6.49 from $12.99 until 11/13)
Ball Attraction ($3.99 from $7.99 until 11/13)
Hair Mower 3D ($2.99 from $5.99 until 11/13)
Voxel Pirates ($1.99 from $7.28 until 11/17)
Voxel Shot ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/17)
Voxel Sword ($1.99 from $7.00 until 11/17)
Voxel Galaxy ($1.99 from $7.43 until 11/17)
Our Flick Erasers ($9.07 from $12.96 until 11/17)
Chalk Dash Carnival ($1.99 from $7.09 until 11/17)
Desktop Soccer ($2.84 from $7.11 until 11/17)
Desktop Table Tennis ($2.96 from $7.41 until 11/17)
Desktop Bowling ($2.95 from $7.39 until 11/17)
Desktop Baseball ($2.91 from $7.21 until l1/17)
Desktop Dodgeball ($2.98 from $7.45 until 11/17)
Desktop Rugby ($1.99 from $7.43 until 11/17)
Garfield Kart Furious Racing ($11.99 from $29.99 until 11/18)
Way of the Passive Fist ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/18)
Bleed Complete Bundle ($4.19 from $27.99 until 11/18)
Snakeybus ($5.99 from $11.99 until 11/18)
Horror Bundle Vol. 1 ($4.56 from $30.49 until 11/18)
Pixel Art Bundle Vol. 1 ($5.69 from $37.99 until 11/18)
Indie Darling Bundle Vol. 3 ($7.56 from $50.49 until 11/18)
Couch Co-Op Bundle Vol. 2 ($6.89 from $45.99 until 11/18)
The Pew Pew Bundle Vol. 1 ($8.99 from $44.99 until 11/18)
Asterix & Obelix XXL2 ($8.99 from $29.99 until 11/18)
Toki ($2.95 from $14.90 until 11/18)
Frost ($3.24 from $12.99 until 11/18)
Fall of Light: Darkest ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/18)
Flashback ($0.99 from $19.99 until 11/18)
UnExplored ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/18)
Slain: Back From Hell ($4.99 from $19.99 until 11/18)
Valfaris Full Metal Mode ($12.49 from $24.99 until 11/18)
Gear.Club Unlimited ($9.95 from $14.90 until 11/18)
Nefarious ($3.60 from $14.99 until 11/18)
Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut ($3.74 from $4.99 until 11/18)
Letter Quest Remastered ($2.99 from $11.99 until 11/18)
Yesterday Origins ($4.90 from $14.90 until 11/18)
Demon Pit ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/18)
Blacksea Odyssey ($2.59 from $12.99 until 11/18)
Ink & HackyZack Bundle ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/18)
Oniken: Unstoppable ($2.49 from $9.99 until 11/18)
Odallus: The Dark Call ($2.99 from $11.99 until 11/18)
Monster Slayers ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/18)
Super Blood Hockey ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/18)
Black Paradox ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/18)
Glass Masquerade Double Pack ($3.29 from $21.99 until 11/18)
Reverse Crawl ($3.24 from $12.99 until 11/18)
Cinders ($5.99 from $19.99 until 11/18)
Verlet Swing ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/18)
Skelly Selest ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/18)
Straimium Immortaly ($3.59 from $11.99 until 11/18)
XenoRaptor ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/18)
Golem Gates ($6.24 from $24.99 until 11/18)
Sword Art Online: HR Deluxe ($14.99 from $49.99 until 11/19)
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive ($14.99 from $49.99 until 11/19)
Katamari Damacy Reroll ($9.89 from $29.99 until 11/19)
Mr. Driller DrillLand ($14.99 from $29.99 until 11/19)
Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun ($14.99 from $49.99 until 11/19)
Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 ($11.99 from $19.99 until 11/19)
Namco Museum Archives Vol 2 ($11.99 from $19.99 until 11/19)
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2+ ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/19)
One Piece: Unlimited World Red ($11.99 from $39.99 until 11/19)
One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 ($11.99 from $39.99 until 11/19)
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 ($9.99 from $49.99 until 11/19)
Dragon Ball FighterZ ($14.99 from $59.99 until 11/19)
Super Dragon Ball Heroes ($14.99 from $59.99 until 11/19)
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/19)
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/19)
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/19)
Rad ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/19)
A Hole New World ($0.99 from $9.99 until 11/19)
Super Soccer Blast ($6.39 from $7.99 until 11/19)
Tanks Meet Zombies ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/19)
My Memory of Us ($5.99 from $14.99 until 11/19)
MotoGP 19 ($8.74 from 34.99 until 11/19)
Gnomes Garden 2 ($0.99 from $4.99 until 11/19)
Brawlout ($7.99 from $19.99 until 11/19)
Tanky Tanks ($2.99 from $5.99 until 11/19)
Ghoulboy ($0.99 from $9.99 until 11/19)
Monster Energy Supercross ($8.99 from $29.99 until 11/19)
Butcher ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/19)
Unitied ($1.19 from $2.99 until 11/19)
Lichtspeer: Double Speer ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/19)
Simulacra ($9.09 from $12.99 until 11/19)
Project Warlock ($11.99 from $14.99 until 11/19)
MouseCraft ($6.99 from $9.99 until 11/19)
Regalia: Of Men & Monarchs ($17.49 from $24.99 until 11/19)
MechaNika ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/23)
Fobia ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/24)
Lines XL ($1.99 from $3.99 until 11/24)
Quest of Dungeons ($1.99 from $8.99 until 11/25)
Wordify ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/25)
Kakuro Magic ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/25)
Animal Up! ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/25)
Urban Trial Tricky ($5.99 from $14.99 until 11/25)
Kropki 8 ($1.99 from $3.99 until 11/25)
Car Quest ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/25)
Smash Rush ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/25)
Solitaire Klondike Black ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/25)
Strikey Sisters ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/25)
Frontline Zed ($5.99 from $11.99 until 11/25)
Red Siren: Space Defense ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/25)
Paper Train ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/25)
Doodle Mafia: Crime City ($2.44 from $6.99 until 11/25)
Mad Bullets ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/25)
Outbreak ($11.04 from $12.99 until 11/25)
Nyan Cat: Lost in Space ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/25)
Goblin Sword ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/26)
Shisen-Sho NIKAKUdori ($1.99 from $3.99 until 11/26)
Apparition ($7.99 from $9.99 until 11/27)
4×4 Dirt Trick ($5.99 from $11.99 until 11/27)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Boss Rush: Mythology ($7.19 from $8.99 until 11/7)
Crazy Strike Bowling EX ($3.99 from $9.99 until 11/7)
Infini ($5.00 from $12.00 until 11/7)
Lydia ($2.00 from $4.00 until 11/7)
Outlast 2 ($7.49 from $29.99 until 11/7)
Outlast: Bundle of Terror ($6.24 from $24.99 until 11/7)
PBA Pro Bowling ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/7)
Rest in Pieces ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/7)
Soul Searching ($3.99 from $9.99 until 11/7)
SUPERHOT ($14.99 from $24.99 until 11/7)
Wanderjarhr TryAgainOrWalkAway ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/7)
Warsaw ($15.99 from $19.99 until 11/7)
Welcome to Hanwell ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/7)
Windbound ($22.49 from $29.99 until 11/7)
Bounty Battle ($14.99 from $24.99 until 11/8)
Cast of the Seven Godsends ($1.29 from $12.99 until 11/8)
Firefighters: Airport Heroes ($13.59 from $39.99 until 11/8)
Firefighters: The Simulation ($13.59 from $39.99 until 11/8)
Grand Prix Rock ‘N Racing ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/8)
Guacamelee! 2 ($6.99 from $19.99 until 11/8)
Guacamelee! Super Turbo ($5.24 from $14.99 until 11/8)
Hyper Sentinel ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/8)
Jurassic Pinball ($2.00 from $2.99 until 11/8)
Mountain Rescue Simulator ($13.59 from $39.99 until 11/8)
Professional Construction: Simulation ($13.59 from $39.99 until 11/8)
Professional Farmer ($13.59 from $39.99 until 11/8)
Professional Farmer: American Dream ($13.59 from $39.99 until 11/8)
Rock’N Racing Off Road DX ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/8)
Severed ($5.24 from $14.99 until 11/8)
She & the Light Bearer ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/8)
Space Blaze ($10.19 from $29.99 until 11/8)
Spirit of the North ($17.49 from $24.99 until 11/8)
Strife: Veteran ($7.49 from $9.99 until 11/8)
Super Arcade Soccer ($2.09 from $6.99 until 11/8)
Super Club Tennis ($19.49 from $29.99 until 11/8)
Tactical Mind 2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/8)
Tales From Space: MBA ($3.49 from $9.99 until 11/8)
The House of Da Vinci ($5.99 from $9.99 until 11/8)
The Long Reach ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/8)
Them Bombs! ($9.79 from $13.99 until 11/8)
TheNightfall ($13.59 from $39.99 until 11/8)
True Fear: Forsaken Souls 1 ($6.49 from $9.99 until 11/8)
True Fear: Forsaken Souls 2 ($7.49 from $9.99 until 11/8)
Turok ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/8)
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/8)
Twister Road ($0.99 from $4.99 until 11/8)
Ultra Space Battle Brawl ($1.49 from $14.99 until 11/8)
Walking Vegetables: Radical ($1.94 from $12.99 until 11/8)
World Soccer Pinball ($2.00 from $2.99 until 11/8)
Zhed ($1.99 from $3.25 until 11/8)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. Next week has lots of goodies to look forward to, including the excellent Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, the exciting Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered, and the exacting Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory. I’m really looking forward to that last one in particular. For this weekend, I’ll be playing some Onimusha for another project. Feel free to comment and let me know what you’re playing. I hope you all have a nice rest, and as always, thanks for reading!
