Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 9th, 2021. In today’s article, we’ve got an absolute bucket-load of new games to check out. Some really good ones, too. And a few bad ones. C’est la vie. Great or not-so-great, we’ve got summaries of all of them. If that’s not enough, we also have the lists of new and expiring sales for you to look at. There’s a lot to see today, so let’s get to work!
New Releases
BloodRayne Betrayal: Fresh Bites ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
I would not call myself a fan of BloodRayne, but when BloodRayne Betrayal first released on the PlayStation 3 back in September 2011, I bought it. I did so because WayForward was behind it, and it seemed to offer the Castlevania-style game I was craving at the time. These were the dark Lords of Shadow years, friends. Well, what I got wasn’t exactly Castlevania, but it sure was a well-made 2D action game. A tough one, but a good one. And now it’s back! With voice acting, and a new difficulty mode that will make it more accessible for players who want a slightly more relaxed challenge! Neat. I’m really happy to see this game come back.
Luna’s Fishing Garden ($7.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
You know what? I dig this. It’s a short, chill little game where you go fishing, then sell those fish to get stuff to upgrade your garden. It is super-easy to plow through this whole thing in one sitting, both because it is only a few hours long and also because it is really hard to put down. If you are looking for a little fluff for a weekend afternoon or quiet evening, this is a good pick-up.
Espgaluda II ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
The parade of Cave shoot-em-up releases on the Switch continues with this dandy port of Espgaluda II. As we saw with Live Wire’s work with Mushihimesama a little while back, this is a quality conversion of one of Cave’s more popular titles. A novice mode is included to show newcomers the ropes, while veterans can jump right into the thick of the action and get to dodging waves of bullets. Both the Normal and Black Label versions are included here, along with all of the options for screen orientations, size, and so on that we saw in Mushihimesama. A great port of a great shoot-em-up. I’ll have a review of this one soon, but you probably know my feelings on it already.
Residual ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Wow, this looks really cool. Good on you, OrangePixel. You play as a lone explorer who crash lands on a strange planet. It’s a non-violent survival game that is largely centered around exploring, scavenging, building, and uncovering mysteries. The planet itself is procedurally generated, but it avoids a lot of drawbacks that come from that sort of approach. It comes off as very natural in a way a lot of games that use procedural generation don’t. I’ll be giving this one a closer look, for sure. Perhaps a review, if I’m feeling energetic enough.
Dice Legacy ($19.99)
This game describes itself as a dice-based survival city builder, and I’m not quite sure what to make of that. You roll dice to collect resources and build your settlement, expanding your borders and dealing with the inhabitants of the planet you’ve landed on. As you push out and explore, you may find frightening things lurking out there. But if you’re not careful, you’ll fall victim to a more common threat: the freezing cold winter. The dice gimmick adds some novelty to the familiar builder concept, but how does it all come together? Well, this is another game I’ll be reviewing soon, so I suppose we’ll find out early next week.
Hindsight 20/20 – Wrath of the Raakshasa ($14.99)
I expect opinions to be all over the board on this one. It’s an action-RPG from a new team made up of veterans of big-name studios, which seems impressive unless you’ve been around the mobile space long enough to know that even experienced cooks can’t guarantee a good soup. There are moral choices to make, many of which are ham-fisted, and a whole lot of combat to engage in. It’s all fairly well-made, particularly for the price point it’s going for. At the same time, I’m not sure how well it really sticks what it’s going for. Personally, I think it’s okay but not great. I could see people falling well on either side of that depending on what they value.
Boulder Dash Deluxe ($14.99)
Well, this is obviously a port of a mobile game. Text on the screenshots and all that jazz. But it’s not a bad one, provided you are into Boulder Dash. If you haven’t played the original game before, you basically play through stages where you are digging through dirt searching for diamonds. Collect enough of them and the stage exit will open. There are a lot of things complicating matters, the least of which being huge boulders that can crush you if you dig carelessly. This Deluxe version brings a whopping 180 levels with it, including some from the original game and some new ones from the original creator. You can even use the original art style if you find the “modern" one to be a hideous abomination. Cough.
Ultra Age ($29.99)
This is character action game where you swing a mighty blade and use a grapple to fight enemies and explore a post-apocalyptic Earth for the key to humanity’s survival. The combat has the whiff of Devil May Cry 4 about it, and is so far my favorite part of the game. The other bits aren’t grabbing me quite as much yet. I’ll have a review of this one soon if you need some help making a decision.
Arcade Archives Pop Flamer ($7.99)
The question on everyone’s lips: what was Jaleco up to in 1982? Apparently, they were making Pop Flamer. You have to defeat the monsters that are littering each stage. You do this by means of your flamethrower, but it weakens over time and must be refueled by popping balloons. Pop all of the balloons and you’ll move on to the next stage. This isn’t a very good game nor is it a particularly noteworthy one, but Hamster has given a kind rerelease anyway.
From Earth to Heaven ($6.99)
Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven? No seriously, in this game you play as a character that fell from heaven and need to make your way back by doing some good ol’ first-person platforming. Some very floaty first-person platforming. Some of the environments are pretty and there’s a nice sense of peace about the whole affair. With a reasonable price attached, you may want to check it out.
Smashing the Battle Ghost Soul ($14.99)
The extremely repetitive bonk-and-slash starring ladies that puberty was inordinately kind to is back in a new special version. It includes a hefty new campaign called Ghost Soul, because if there is one thing Smashing the Battle needed, it was more content to hammer the button through. Note that this version includes the entirety of the original game, so there’s no need to buy the original if you pick this up.
Mystik Belle: Enchanted Edition ($19.99)
Sure, that map looks like textbook Metroidvania, and at least part of this game is that. But a big part of this game is actually more like the old Dizzy games. Yes, the egg child. Basically, there’s a big adventure game component here that involves swapping items and figuring out where to use them. It seems to go over well enough for people who liked the Dizzy games, so if that’s you, you may want to give this a closer look.
Olympia Soiree ($49.99)
This is an otome visual novel where you follow the story of a young woman named Olympia who holds the power to bring back the sun. She needs to find a partner to do this, and she will find one among the heads of the various districts of Tenguu Island. Some very nice art, though that’s hardly a surprise with these high-end efforts from Idea Factory’s visual novel group.
Apple Knight ($9.99)
Well, it’s a side-scrolling action game. This one is free-to-play on mobile, and I know a lot of people who really enjoy it there. The bar for this genre is quite a bit higher on the Switch, and I’m not sure if this really goes beyond what we normally classify as a “five-dollar Switch platformer". But if you like the game on mobile and want to own a version without the extra monetization, here you go.
Highschool Romance ($12.99)
In this visual novel, you play as a high school boy named Shoji who has through some wild sequence of circumstances been enrolled into an all-girls high school. Clearly the only option here is for Shoji to pretend to be a girl, and of course antics ensue. There are various choices to make and different girls to build relationships with, ultimately leading to multiple endings.
GLO ($4.99)
Well hey, if you’re going to do a five-dollar Switch platformer, you might as well have a gimmick. In this game, you’re platforming through dark stages with only occasional bits of light to show the path. A bit of memorization, a bit of reflex action. In some places you can find somewhat cryptic messages written on the walls. You need to make your way to the exit on each of the one hundred stages. There’s also a speedrun mode if you want to really put your memory to the test.
Tux and Fanny ($9.99)
Hm. That’s a title. Anyway, this is a game based on an Instagram series of animations? I think, anyway. The two characters want to play soccer, but their ball is deflated. Naturally, they head on an adventure to get their ball reinflated. This adventure consists of a bunch of mini-games that really show off the absurd humor that people enjoyed in the Instagram stuff. I’m not going to recommend it, but I’m not going to not recommend it either.
Smash Reversi ($9.00)
You know, if you’re going to do a Reversi game on the Switch, this is not a bad way to do it. You can play against AI, with other players via local multiplayer, or hop online for to battle other people. You get a few different board types to play on, and the main gimmick that makes this Smash Reversi is an item pick-up that can turn things around in a big way. Naturally, you’ll have to be into Reversi for this to have any value, but if you do like that game I think this is a fair price for what you get.
Dark Fantasy: Jigsaw Puzzle 2 ($4.99)
More jigsaw puzzles, with twenty-four different fantasy images to play. Most of them seem to be pretty ladies. You can play each of them at a variety of difficulties, and there are different backgrounds and modes to keep the good times rolling. Compared to many jigsaw puzzle games on the Switch, this does seem to have a healthy amount of content for the price.
Casino Roulette Royale ($4.99)
It’s another indistinct casino game for your Switch, this time covering Roulette. Single-player only, unfortunately. Chances are if you are interested enough to buy something like this, you already own one that is just as good. Such is the market.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Well, let’s see what we have for today so far. Some frequent guests like Sparklite and Luckslinger. Actually, a lot of regulars. I would say the most interesting point in the list is The Outer Worlds hitting a new low price, perhaps to celebrate the arrival of its latest expansion. While the Switch version did see some fixes after a very rough launch, it’s still not the best way to experience the game by any means. But for twenty bucks, you may feel it’s worth gambling on. Some decent stuff in the outbox too, but I’ll leave that to you to look through.
Select New Games on Sale
Horror Tales: The Wine ($11.99 from $14.99 until 9/12)
Titan Chaser ($4.49 from $4.99 until 9/15)
Frontier Quest ($10.79 from $11.99 until 9/15)
Castle of Pixel Skulls ($3.99 from $9.99 until 9/22)
Sparklite ($9.99 from $24.99 until 9/22)
Immortal Planet ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/22)
Rainswept ($2.49 from $9.99 until 9/22)
Lost Wing ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/22)
Batu Ta Batu ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/22)
Cloudpunk ($14.99 from $24.99 until 9/22)
BFF or Die ($4.79 from $7.99 until 9/22)
Luckslinger ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/22)
Buildings Have Feelings Too! ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/22)
OctaFight ($1.99 from $5.99 until 9/22)
Wingspan ($13.39 from $19.99 until 9/22)
Chess Royal ($1.99 from $2.99 until 9/22)
A Day Without Me ($2.99 from $5.99 until 9/22)
Lumini ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/22)
Stab Stab Stab! ($3.99 from $9.99 until 9/22)
Inferno 2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/22)
Solo: Islands of the Heart ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/22)
Candle: Power of the Flame ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/22)
Battle Group 2 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/22)
The Bug Butcher ($1.99 from $7.99 until 9/22)
Out of the Box ($5.24 from $14.99 until 9/22)
Dimension Drive ($1.99 from $12.99 until 9/22)
Die for Valhalla! ($2.39 from $11.99 until 9/22)
Steamburg ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/22)
HoPiKo ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/22)
Aragami: Shadow Edition ($11.99 from $29.99 until 9/22)
Back to Bed ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/22)
Tetsumo Party ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/22)
The Outer Worlds ($19.79 from $59.99 until 9/29)
Syberia 1 & 2 ($1.99 from $34.99 until 9/29)
Abbie’s Farm for Kids & Toddlers ($8.49 from $9.99 until 9/29)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Friday, September 10th
A Hat in Time ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10)
ABZU ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Adventure Time: PotE ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/10)
Aegis Defenders ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Animal Hunter Z ($5.49 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Animal Up! ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
B.ARK ($8.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Battle & Crash ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Beach Buggy Racing 2 ($13.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Ben 10 ($11.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Ben 10: Power Trip! ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/10)
Bingo ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/10)
Book of Demons ($12.49 from $24.99 until 9/10)
Brawl Chess ($2.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/10)
Carto ($11.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Caterpillar Royale ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Checkers for Kids ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Chess Minimal ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
City Bus Driving Simulator ($4.79 from $11.99 until 9/10)
City Driving Simulator 2 ($8.99 from $11.99 until 9/10)
Coast Guard: Beach Rescue Team ($4.79 from $11.99 until 9/10)
Collide-a-Ball 2 ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Crayola Scoot ($8.99 from $29.99 until 9/10)
Cricket 19 ($34.99 from $49.99 until 9/10)
Crossbow: Bloodnight ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Crying Suns ($19.99 from $24.99 until 9/10)
Crypt of the Serpent King ($1.99 from $2.99 until 9/10)
Detective Driver: Miami Files ($4.79 from $11.99 until 9/10)
Drawn to Life: Two Realms ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Dreamworks Dragons DoNR ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/10)
Driving World: Nordic Challenge ($5.99 from $11.99 until 9/10)
Dungeon Shooting ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
El Hijo: A Wild West Tale ($13.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Enchanted in the Moonlight ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Forager ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Fury Unleashed ($8.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Futoshiki Math ($3.49 from $6.99 until 9/10)
Gas Station: Highway Services ($4.79 from $11.99 until 9/10)
Ghostrunner ($11.99 from $29.99 until 9/10)
Gigantosaurus The Game ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/10)
Gradiently ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Her Love in the Force ($17.49 from $24.99 until 9/10)
Hitori Logic ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Horace ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/10)
Hotel Transylvania 3 MO ($17.99 from $29.99 until 9/10)
How Buddy’s Parents Met ($2.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
I, Zombie ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Ice Age Scrat’s Nutty Adventure ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/10)
Ikenfall ($13.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Indivisible ($7.49 from $29.99 until 9/10)
Journey to the Savage Planet ($11.99 from $29.99 until 9/10)
Jumanji: The Video Game ($23.99 from $59.99 until 9/10)
Kakurasu World ($1.99 from $2.99 until 9/10)
Kakuro Magic ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Kissed by the Baddest Bidder ($12.49 from $24.99 until 9/10)
Kropki 8 ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Last Day of June ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Lines XL ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Little Big Workshop ($11.99 from $29.99 until 9/10)
Love Letter from Thief X ($17.49 from $24.99 until 9/10)
Monster Energy Supercross 2 ($5.24 from $34.99 until 9/10)
Monster Prom: XXL ($6.39 from $15.99 until 9/10)
MotoGP19 ($5.99 from $29.99 until 9/10)
My Forged Wedding ($17.49 from $24.99 until 9/10)
My Little Fast Food Booth ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
n Verlore Verstand ($2.09 from $14.99 until 9/10)
One Step From Eden ($13.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Our Two Bedroom Story ($17.49 from $24.99 until 9/10)
Ping Pong Trick Shot Evolution ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Portal Knights ($7.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Puzzletronics ($2.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Ring of Pain ($13.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Riptide GP: Renegade ($2.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Rock ‘N Racing Bundle 3 in 1 ($7.49 from $24.99 until 9/10)
Royal Roads ($3.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Shadow Fight 2 ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/10)
Shark Pinball ($2.00 from $2.99 until 9/10)
Shikaku Shapes ($3.49 from $6.99 until 9/10)
Shing! ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Shopping Mall Parking Lot ($7.79 from $11.99 until 9/10)
Slay the Spire ($12.49 from $24.99 until 9/10)
Slither Loop ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Snowball Collections Bubble ($1.99 from $5.99 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)
Star-Crossed Myth ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10)
Sudoky ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Suguru Nature ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Super Ping Pong Trick Shot ($2.74 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Supraland ($13.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Terraria ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10)
They Came From the Sky ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Tiny Racer ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Transformers: Battlegrounds ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/10)
Trollhunters: Defenders of Arcadia ($23.99 from $39.99 until 9/10)
Tyd wag vir Niemand ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Void Bastards ($14.99 from $29.99 until 9/10)
Wandersong ($4.99 from $19.99 until 9/10)
Warplanes: WW1 Sky Aces ($6.99 from $9.99 until 9/10)
Wildfire ($10.49 from $14.99 until 9/10)
Wizard of Legend ($6.39 from $15.99 until 9/10)
Wordify ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Yet Another Zombie Defense HD ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/10)
Zoids Wild Blast Unleashed ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/10)
Zombies Ruined My Day ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/10)
Zumba Burn It Up! ($19.99 from $39.99 until 9/10)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with the rest of the releases for the week, including the brand new WarioWare game. Neato. I hope you all have a thrilling Thursday, and as always, thanks for reading!
