Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 23rd, 2021. In today’s article, we’ve got a few reviews for you to check out. The light RPG Swords & Souls: Neverseen, the tactical strategy game Fort Triumph, and the adorable action-adventure Garden Story each get their time in the chair of judgement. I just made that up, there’s no chair. There are a few new releases to look at, though none of them are terribly thrilling. We close things out with the usual lists of new and expiring sales. Let’s get to business!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Swords & Souls: Neverseen ($14.99)
This is a follow-up to a popular browser/mobile game, and I can believe it. The gameplay loop here has no exit ramps, making it easy to lose hours at a time to the game. It’s technically an RPG and much of the game is made up of turn-based battles fought at various nodes on a map. That said, there are strong elements of idle tapper-style games in here. You fight battles, earn money, use the money to upgrade your town and gear, which helps you make more money, and so on. You can also train your stats by playing several different mini-games, and since they have no defined stopping point you’ll probably spend more time with them than you might realize. It’s all just one big escalator to the end, but it works.
There’s no great story here, no exploration, and the game is very transparent about its treadmill-like design. But the battles are interesting, the training mini-games are good challenges of their own, and the humor is done well enough without being obnoxious with it. It kind of feels like the RPG equivalent to one of those Kairosoft sims. You’re going to win no matter what, but it’s charming and playable enough that the inevitability of it all isn’t a big problem. As long as you know what you’re getting into with it, Swords & Souls: Neverseen is a very good time.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
Fort Triumph ($19.99)
I’ve played two games recently that have Heroes of Might & Magic vibes, and neither of them is quite up to the thrilling highs of that series. But neither of them are particularly bad, either. Fort Triumph has two main components to its gameplay. The first is a Heroes of Might & Magic-style overworld map with various points of interest and enemies to battle. You can upgrade your town and recruit new heroes to join your group. It’s fine enough. The second component is the turn-based tactical battle system, and it’s there where the game shines its brightest. It’s vaguely XCOM-ish but with some added environmental elements that add some spice. Knocking trees over onto enemies is a great feeling. It’s all wrapped up in a thick layer of ironic humor, and that’s either going to work for you or irritate you.
Fort Triumph is enjoyable, especially early on. The rules of the battle system are well-designed, the visuals are colorful and attractive, and the difficulty curve is pleasing. You’re better off enjoying it in its Skirmish mode than its Campaign Mode, because while it’s all well-made enough I feel it gets rather repetitive over the course of the story. I don’t think I would recommend it to a fan of Heroes of Might & Magic in spite of its leanings, but those who enjoy turn-based tactics games will find plenty here to fill their bellies.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Garden Story ($19.99)
I wanted to love Garden Story, but I ended up just liking it. You’re introduced to a positively adorable world full of fruit, puns, and all that other good stuff. It feels like you’re about to settle into a Stardew Valley-like sim, but in practice it’s closer to a Zelda style action-adventure. You pick up missions that usually amount to doing one of three things, almost all of which involve whacking something with your weapon. Complete enough requests and you can upgrade the town, the end result of which sees you heading into a dungeon. Repeat the process for the next town, and that’s basically the game. It feels like it plays its full hand far too early, but the cute characters and presentation help pull it along after its main ideas are exhausted.
The quirks in the game design are easy enough to forgive in light of the game’s good points, but it’s harder to get over the technical issues. Garden Story has a lot of problems running on Switch, at least in its current form. They range from extremely lengthy load times to outright crashes, and I’m afraid to say that I ultimately wasn’t able to complete the game due to the latter. I’m sure it will be patched eventually, but it’s being sold right now. If those problems can be sorted out, I think this game will appeal to fans of things like Blossom Tales or Ittle Dew, but for now I can only recommend proceeding with the greatest of caution.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
New Releases
Magnus Failure ($3.99)
This is a short, odd adventure game about someone on a journey to find the sender of a mysterious radio message. You’ll travel the world of Magnus, solving logic and item puzzles to move forward. The unique graphical style helps this one stand out, and the reasonable price means you can probably afford to take a punt on this if you like the vibes you’re getting from that screenshot. It’s alright.
Night Flight ($4.99)
You play as a toy that is trying to escape a factory after the last human has gone home for the night. Your choice of escape vehicle is a toy airplane, which is where that whole Night Flight name comes from. You have to collect stars as you go, which apparently serve as fuel for the plane. The stages aren’t just straight-up left to right affairs, and you’ll have to pull off some tight maneuvers in places to get through. It uses a three-star system, so if you’re still into that kind of thing I suppose that counts as some replay value. This doesn’t seem all that high-quality to me, but it’s your five bucks.
Adventure Field 4 ($9.99)
Sometimes games come along that help you appreciate the works of KEMCO and EXE-Create. Adventure Field 4, unfortunately, is one of those. Now, I’ll be fair: this is apparently the work of a solo developer, and in that context it’s not that bad. But ultimately, it’s your ten dollars to spend, and if you’re looking for a JRPG-style game to spend it on, it’s hard to recommend this one in particular. There just isn’t much meat on the bone here, and what is here is pretty rough. I see some potential here and I hope the developer makes more games and builds on this effort, but in the here and now this is really only for those who want to support a small indie and are willing to deal with a heavily flawed game to do so.
Checkers for Kids ($9.99)
It’s a checkers game, for kids. You can play checkers against the CPU or another player, and everything is done up to look like a child’s room. There are even various toys you can play with if you don’t feel like playing checkers. You can customize the playground, do some kind of mini-game with the pet fish, and adjust a variety of parameters for the game itself. Personally, I’m not really into checkers and it’s pretty clear this isn’t aimed at an old guy like me. Still, I can look at this and say it appears to do what it claims to do. Perhaps something to look at if you have younger kids who are into checkers or board games in general.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
It’s not a bad bunch today if you like old-school game homages. Tikipod’s titles are on sale, and you really can’t go wrong with any of them. If you have to pick one, I suggest Iron Crypticle. Thalamus is also having a sale, with lovely things like Death Ray Manta SE and Cecconoid available at deep discounts. Beyond that, I suppose you could grab the Deponia games, considering how cheap they are. Vaporum is a nice dungeon-crawler, though we see it on sale often. The same could be said for the enjoyable Manticore: Galaxy on Fire. The outbox has some important titles in it, with the QuakeCon sales coming to an end. Fill your boots with over-the-top action games while you still can.
Select New Games on Sale
Windbound ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/25)
Manticore: Galaxy on Fire ($3.99 from $19.99 until 8/25)
Relicta ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/25)
Coast Guard: Beach Rescue ($4.79 from $11.99 until 8/27)
Gas Station: Highway Services ($4.79 from $11.99 until 8/27)
Detective Driver: Miami Files ($4.79 from $11.99 until 8/27)
City Bus Driving Simulator ($4.79 from $11.99 until 8/27)
Treadnauts ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/28)
CASE: Animatronics ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/28)
CASE 2: Animatronics Survival ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/28)
Top Run ($3.24 from $4.99 until 8/29)
Links Puzzle ($2.54 from $2.99 until 8/29)
Mahjong Adventure ($5.19 from $7.99 until 8/29)
Lucah: Born of a Dream ($5.09 from $14.99 until 8/29)
Quest Hunter ($10.49 from $29.99 until 8/30)
Breakfast Bar Tycoon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Food Truck Tycoon: Asian Cuisine ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Pizza Bar Tycoon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Spider Solitaire ($1.99 from $8.99 until 8/30)
Kingdom Rush ($5.99 from $9.99 until 8/30)
Astro Aqua Kitty ($11.24 from $14.99 until 8/31)
Aqua Kitty UDX ($6.74 from $8.99 until 8/31)
Rock Boshers DX: Director’s Cut ($5.24 from $6.99 until 8/31)
Iron Crypticle ($7.49 from $9.99 until 8/31)
Boom Blaster ($3.49 from $4.99 until 9/1)
Roki ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/1)
Die With Glory ($4.89 from $6.99 until 9/1)
Dead Dust ($3.99 from $4.99 until 9/1)
Karma. Incarnation 1 ($9.59 from $11.99 until 9/1)
Crossbow Crusade ($3.99 from $4.99 until 9/1)
Yoko & Yuki: Dr. Rat’s Revenge ($3.49 from $4.99 until 9/1)
Wind Peaks ($10.49 from $14.99 until 9/4)
Yuppie Psycho: Executive ($8.33 from $16.66 until 9/6)
The Game is ON ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/6)
Road 3 Pack ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/6)
Windmill Kings ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/6)
Seeders Puzzle Reboot ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/6)
Lost Castle ($3.99 from $9.99 until 9/6)
Quest for the Golden Duck ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/6)
Rogue Bit ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/6)
Watermelon Party ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/6)
Slots of Poker at Aces Casino ($2.99 from $7.99 until 9/6)
Legrand Legacy: TotF ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/6)
Son of a Witch ($4.99 from $14.99 until 9/6)
Sinner Sacrifice for Redemption ($5.69 from $18.99 until 9/6)
Gradiently ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Rock ‘N Racing Bundle 3 in 1 ($7.49 from $24.99 until 9/10)
Driving World: Nordic Challenge ($5.99 from $11.99 until 9/10)
Shopping Mall Parking Lot ($7.79 from $11.99 until 9/10)
Shark Pinball ($2.00 from $2.99 until 9/10)
Slither Loop ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Chess Minimal ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Suguru Nature ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Futoshiki Math ($3.49 from $6.99 until 9/10)
Shikaku Shapes ($3.49 from $6.99 until 9/10)
Hitori Logic ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Kakurasu World ($1.99 from $2.99 until 9/10)
Wordify ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Solitaire Klondike Minimal ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Solitaire Spider Minimal ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Crypt of the Serpent King ($1.99 from $2.99 until 9/10)
Dungeon Shooting ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Lines XL ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Kakuro Magic ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Monster Prom: XXL ($6.39 from $15.99 until 9/10)
Animal Up! ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
They Came From the Sky ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Kropki 8 ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Sudoky ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Zombies Ruined My Day ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Battle & Crash ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Collide-a-Ball 2 ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Animal Hunter Z ($5.49 from $9.99 until 9/10)
‘n Verlore Verstand ($2.09 from $14.99 until 9/10)
Tyd wag vir Niemand ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
My Little Fast Food Booth ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Super Ping Pong Trick Shot ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Ping Pong Trick Shot Evolution ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Caterpillar Royale ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Checkers for Kids ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Bingo ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Crossbow: Bloodnight ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/10)
.cat ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/11)
Deponia ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/11)
Chaos on Deponia ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/11)
Goodbye Deponia ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/11)
Deponia Doomsday ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/11)
Rise: Race the Future ($9.89 from $16.49 until 9/11)
Fire: Ungh’s Quest ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/11)
Anna’s Quest ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/11)
The Long Reach ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/12)
The Walking Vegetables: Radical ($2.59 from $12.99 until 9/12)
Crimson Keep ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/12)
RIOT: Civil Unrest ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/12)
Vaporum ($9.99 from $24.99 until 9/12)
Orbitblazers ($3.99 from $19.99 until 9/12)
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes ($12.49 from $24.99 until 9/12)
Route Me Mail & Delivery Co ($5.59 from $7.99 until 9/12)
Cecconoid ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/13)
Death Ray Manta SE ($2.00 from $10.00 until 9/13)
Bezier: Second Edition ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/13)
Lumo ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/13)
LOVE: A Puzzle Box With Stories ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/13)
Rogue Aces ($2.59 from $12.99 until 9/13)
Solitaire TriPeaks Flowers ($1.99 from $5.99 until 9/13)
Crowdy Farm Puzzle ($1.99 from $5.99 until 9/13)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 24th
Aborigenus ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/24)
Bounty Battle ($7.49 from $24.99 until 8/24)
Candy Match Kiddies ($2.99 from $3.99 until 8/24)
Cast of the Seven Godsends ($3.89 from $12.99 until 8/24)
Cattails ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/24)
Cloudbase Prime ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/24)
Colossus Down ($11.69 from $17.99 until 8/24)
Croc’s World 2 ($1.99 from $5.99 until 8/24)
Deadly Fighter 2 ($1.99 from $3.99 until 8/24)
Deployment ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/24)
Diabolic ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/24)
DOOM ($29.99 from $39.99 until 8/24)
DOOM Eternal ($29.99 from $59.99 until 8/24)
DOOM Eternal: Ancient Gods DLC ($22.49 from $29.99 until 8/24)
Fates of Ort ($10.49 from $14.99 until 8/24)
Girabox ($1.99 from $2.49 until 8/24)
Island Maze ($1.99 from $2.99 until 8/24)
Lost Words: Beyond the Page ($9.74 from $14.99 until 8/24)
Mainlining ($4.49 from $14.99 until 8/24)
Outbreak Lost Hope ($6.49 from $12.99 until 8/24)
Outbreak the Nightmare Chronicles ($6.49 from $12.99 until 8/24)
Outbreak: Endless Nightmares ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/24)
Outbreak: Epidemic ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/24)
Outbreak: The New Nightmare ($6.49 from $12.99 until 8/24)
Override: Mech City Brawl ($9.89 from $29.99 until 8/24)
Pixel Gladiator ($1.99 from $6.99 until 8/24)
Spirit of the North ($12.49 from $24.99 until 8/24)
Stay Safe ($4.49 from $5.99 until 8/22)
Stranded Sails: EotCI ($9.99 from $24.99 until 8/24)
Swaps & Traps ($1.99 from $8.99 until 8/24)
Tactical Mind 2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/24)
The Count Lucanor ($2.99 from $14.99 until 8/24)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ($29.99 from $59.99 until 8/24)
Trine: Ultimate Collection ($9.99 from $49.99 until 8/24)
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus ($17.99 from $59.99 until 8/24)
Wolfenstein: Youngblood ($5.99 from $19.99 until 8/24)
Wolfenstein: Youngblood Deluxe ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/24)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with some new release summaries including King’s Bounty II, plus the usual lists of sales, some news, and maybe even a review. This is all pending me feeling okay after getting my second vaccine shot, however. If it knocks me on my butt, there may be no article at all tomorrow! We’ll see how it goes. I hope you all have a magnificent Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
