Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 3rd, 2021. It’s a lighter bite today than we generally see, and that’s really down to two things. First, it’s just a quiet day for news and new releases. Second, I got my first vaccine shot today and I’m trying to take it easy a bit. We’ve got a little news to read, a review for Trigger Witch, summaries of today’s new releases, and the usual lists of incoming and outgoing sales for you to mull over. Let’s get to business!
News
Stack Em Up to the Sky in the Next ‘Tetris 99’ Maximus Cup
Yeah, I expected this one. The next Tetris 99 Maximus Cup event will be held on this upcoming weekend, kicking off on Friday as usual and running for three days through the weekend. The subject of this 23rd Maximus Cup is Nintendo’s recently released remake, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. The event is set up like usual. Play the game, and earn points based on how high you finish. If you collect 100 points during the duration of the event, you’ll be able to keep the Skyward Sword theme. That’s all there is to it. Happy hunting!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Trigger Witch ($14.99)
Reverie wasn’t a perfect game by any means, but I enjoyed playing it. A lot of that came down to its sense of humor and that elusive element we reviewers like to call charm. Perhaps it’s little surprise that Trigger Witch has left me feeling the same. The idea behind this one is twin-stick shooter meets a Zelda-style open world adventure, and it mostly works. It’s a bit repetitive, the puzzle designs run out of new ideas quickly, and most of the extra items you earn mostly come down to new guns. But the action is sound, the controls work well, and the novelty of the combination of these two familiar concepts does its job. It also has charm by the bucketload, but I’m sure anyone that played Reverie wouldn’t expect otherwise.
The colorful 16-bit style visuals and world design might have you thinking Trigger Witch is going to scratch the Zelda itch. The selection of guns and over-the-top violence could have you expecting a top-shelf shooter. Trigger Witch isn’t quite either of those things, but it’s close enough on both counts that there are a lot of good times to be had here. I wish the story was handled a little better, and although its runtime feels about where it needs to be, it does come across like it’s out of ideas a little before it reaches its end. Even with its faults, it’s still a game that is worth checking out. The moment-to-moment action is a blast, and it’s hard not to appreciate its enthusiasm.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
New Releases
Dragon Star Varnir ($29.99)
Hey Varn, it’s the latest from Idea Factory and Compile Heart, and it’s pretty much what you would expect from them, know what I mean? I got paid to make a strained reference to Ernest P. Worrell in the year 2021. Sometimes the job is good. Anyway, the main character of this one is a knight who hunts witches until one day, oh no, he becomes a witch! What a twist! Will he learn that perhaps his bloody-minded hunting of a group of demonized folks was misguided and that witches are people too? I feel like the odds are strong. This port of the 2018 PlayStation 4 turn-based RPG includes all of the DLC for free. It has a better battle system than you might expect, and it ends up being the highlight of the game. The story isn’t quite as innovative, but I’ve seen worse. I might have a review of this one for you at some point if I’m feeling frisky.
Memory Lane 2 ($3.99)
I guess the first one did okay, because here we are with Memory Lane 2. Flip over the cards and try to make matching pairs. You know, just like that game you can play with literally any deck of cards. You can pick from eight different card sets, and like in the first game you’ll get little nuggets of brain trivia here and there as you play. Somehow the game is loaded with music, with thirty different tracks to listen to as you make your matches. It’s single-player only, so in some ways this is actually inferior to playing with a real deck of cards. Well, it didn’t stop folks from buying it last time, so I doubt it will stop them this time.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
It’s another interesting list today that has a lot of familiar faces and a few lesser-seen titles. But what of them? Jin Conception hasn’t seen many discounts, but I still wouldn’t recommend it at that price. My Friend Pedro, on the other hand? Yeah, that’s ten bucks well-spent. I will always recommend Lair of the Clockwork God when it turns up in these lists, and you may also want to look into those Pixel Game Maker Series games since they are so rarely discounted. The outbox is fairly compact, but there are some decent games in there that you may want to think about picking up while you can save a buck or two.
Select New Games on Sale
Jin Conception ($12.00 from $15.00 until 8/6)
Street Basketball ($1.99 from $5.99 until 8/6)
Them Bombs! ($3.49 from $13.99 until 8/9)
Freecell Solitaire Deluxe ($1.99 from $8.99 until 8/9)
Solitaire Deluxe Bundle 3 in 1 ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/9)
Jet Ski Rush ($1.99 from $3.99 until 8/9)
Among Pipes ($1.99 from $7.99 until 8/9)
Colorfall ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/9)
Fantasy Checkers ($1.99 from $7.99 until 8/9)
Gangsta Paradise ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/9)
Urban Flow ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/9)
Perfect Traffic Simulator ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/9)
Fantasy Tower Defense ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/9)
MindSeize ($17.99 from $23.99 until 8/9)
The Legend of Ninja ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/9)
My Magic Florist ($1.99 from $6.99 until 8/9)
Royal Tower Defense ($1.99 from $7.99 until 8/9)
Salad Bar Tycoon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/9)
S.N.I.P.E.R.: Hunter Scope ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/9)
Fall Gummies ($1.99 from $7.99 until 8/9)
Let’s Cook Together ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/9)
Real Drift Racing ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/9)
AnimaLudo ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/9)
Bubble Cats Rescue ($1.99 from $3.99 until 8/9)
Classic Games Collection ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/9)
My Friend Pedro ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/10)
SteamWorld Quest: HoG ($12.49 from $24.99 until 8/10)
SteamWorld Dig 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/10)
SteamWorld Heist: Ultimate ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/10)
SteamWorld Dig ($2.49 from $9.99 until 8/10)
Darkest Dungeon ($12.49 from $24.99 until 8/10)
Defend the Kingdom ($3.99 from $4.99 until 8/15)
The Sinking City ($12.49 from $49.99 until 8/16)
Chameleon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/17)
F-117A Stealth Fighter ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/17)
Bubsy: Paws on Fire! ($4.99 from $24.99 until 8/17)
Puss! ($2.99 from $11.99 until 8/17)
Dungeon and Puzzles ($6.49 from $9.99 until 8/17)
Pet Shop Snacks ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/22)
Lair of the Clockwork God ($5.99 from $19.99 until 8/23)
Behold the Kickmen ($1.99 from $3.99 until 8/23)
Juiced! ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/23)
Baila Latino ($6.99 from $9.99 until 8/23)
Castle of Heart ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/23)
Persian Nights 2: Moonlight Veil ($2.09 from $14.99 until 8/23)
Warplanes: WW2 Dogfight ($4.99 from $9.99 until 8/23)
Jet Kave Adventure ($13.39 from $19.99 until 8/23)
Destrobots ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/23)
Family Mysteries 3: CM ($2.09 from $14.99 until 8/23)
The Solitaire Conspiracy ($9.59 from $11.99 until 8/23)
Thomas Was Alone ($4.99 from $9.99 until 8/23)
PGM Series Isekai Quartet Adventure ($11.99 from $14.99 until 8/23)
PGM Series Dragon Peak ($6.99 from $9.99 until 8/23)
PGM Series Osyaberi! Horijyo! Holin Slash ($8.39 from $11.99 until 8/23)
PGM Series Remote Bomber ($6.99 from $9.99 until 8/23)
PGM Series Puzzle Pedestrians ($10.49 from $14.99 until 8/23)
PGM Series STEOS: SSoBH ($4.99 from $9.99 until 8/23)
PGM Series Dungeon of Nazarick ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/23)
PGM Series Werewolf Princess Kaguya ($4.99 from $9.99 until 8/23)
PGM Series The Witch & 66 Mushrooms ($3.30 from $6.60 until 8/23)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 4th
#Funtime ($5.96 from $14.99 until 8/4)
Almost There: The Platformer ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/4)
Ayo the Clown ($17.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Breakpoint ($2.43 from $4.99 until 8/4)
Chasm ($5.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Cosmic Defenders ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/4)
Cozy Grove ($13.43 from $14.99 until 8/4)
Deleveled ($4.48 from $9.99 until 8/4)
Dicey Dungeons ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/4)
Fracter ($3.41 from $6.99 until 8/4)
Harvest Moon: Light of Hope ($19.99 from $39.99 until 8/4)
Harvest Moon: Mad Dash ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Harvest Moon: One World ($39.99 from $49.99 until 8/4)
Legends of Ethernal ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adv. ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/4)
Roundguard ($8.77 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Sakura in Gameland ($2.79 from $9.99 until 8/4)
Steam: Rails to Riches Complete ($16.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
The Ambassador: FT (($5.96 from $14.99 until 8/4)
The Bridge ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/4)
Unbound: Worlds Apart ($16.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Wild Guns Reloaded ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Wood Block Escape Puzzles 2 ($1.99 from $5.99 until 8/4)
That’s all for today, friends. This is quite the week in the world of Shaun. I have to go to the hospital tomorrow to get some test results, so keep your fingers crossed for me. I don’t think my visit will get in the way of doing my work tomorrow, so we should have the regular article for you to dig into. News, new releases, sales. You know the tune. I hope you all have a truly fantastic Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
