Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for January 4th, 2022. Today definitely seems to have that New Year vibe to it. Lots of new releases, but most of them are rather dubious. There are a few worth looking at, though. We’ve got summaries of everything anyway. There are also some sales to check out, both new and expiring. Nothing to get too excited about, but you’ll want to have a look anyway. Let’s get going!
New Releases
FightNJokes ($19.99)
A 1997 Italian MS-DOS fighting game has been revived for the Switch and other platforms with the release of FightNJokes. It’s a parody of the one-on-one fighter, but it looks and plays fairly good all things considered. It was originally put together by a rather young and inexperienced group of friends, and you can definitely spot some things that come from such circumstances. But that’s part of what makes the game interesting, I’d say. It seems to only have support for local multiplayer, so make sure you have a buddy or family member to enjoy it with if you pick it up.
Work It Out! Job Challenge ($12.72)
Yes, it’s another SAT-BOX game. You can tell by the odd price. This one gets away from the Desktop Sports style with a different sort of multiplayer action. Take on ten different minigames based on various jobs, from firefighting to burger-flipping. Up to four players can join in on the fun via local multiplayer, or you can go it alone in solo play. Try to master all of the jobs and get all of the collectible goodies. This actually looks really fun, but I haven’t been able to try it out yet myself.
Splotches ($9.99)
This is an interesting puzzle game where you need to move and mix paint colors to cause explosions in the right places. This one is already available on mobile for a fraction of the price, so if you have a phone and want to save nine bucks, you know what to do. There are 120 puzzles to solve in this one, plus a puzzle maker you can tinker with to make your own levels. If you’re looking for a new puzzle game to play, you could do a lot worse.
Chess – Clash of Kings ($9.99)
At least on paper, this seems to be a rather nice package for chess fans. You can play against another player locally or take on the AI at ten different difficulty levels. There are also over four hundred chess puzzles to solve if you don’t feel like digging into a full game. It also seems to offer different types of pieces and boards to choose from. I can’t speak to how sophisticated the AI is, and the presentation isn’t exactly delivering any knock-out punches. But at least in terms of features, this doesn’t look like a bad choice for those on the hunt for a new chess experience.
Geography Quiz Festival: Guess the Countries ($4.99)
One of those titles that does my job for me, isn’t it? There are four different modes in here. In one, you choose the letters to guess the name of the country. In another, you have to pick the right colors for the country’s flag. There’s a timed mode where you need to answer as many questions as you can in one minute, and a daily mission mode with a fresh challenge every day. Single-player only, which feels like a missed opportunity.
Racing Karts ($4.99)
Benjamin Kistler is starting off the year in his usual manner, with a probable template flip that isn’t worth even the meager price it commands. Three game modes, five tracks, kart customization, and support for up to four players locally via a splitscreen. There are better ways to spend a fiver.
Minepull ($2.99)
Well, that’s just a reskinned Flipull/Plotting, isn’t it? I’d imagine this will scratch the itch if you’ve been waiting for Hamster to add the real thing to Arcade Archives, at least in the basic sense. It also includes a local two-player mode where you compete with each other. I like Flipull, but I think I’ll stick to my Game Boy version.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Not much going on with the new sales today, it seems. A few new releases have their launch sales in effect, but beyond that it’s mostly a few of the usual suspects. The outbox continues the shedding of the year-end sales with discounts from Ubisoft, Thunderful, Two Tribes, and Jupiter coming to a close. If there is anything but moths left in your wallet after the holidays, have a gander through the lists and see what grabs you.
Select New Games on Sale
S.N.I.P.E.R. Hunter Scope ($1.99 from $14.99 until 1/10)
Crumble ($11.99 from $14.99 until 1/11)
Circa Infinity ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/17)
Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers ($3.99 from $19.99 until 1/20)
Sorcerer Knights ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/24)
Knights & Guns ($4.49 from $14.99 until 1/24)
DroneRidge ($4.74 from $9.49 until 1/24)
‘n Verlore Verstand ($2.09 from $13.99 until 1/24)
Tyd wag vir Niemand ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/24)
World of Solitaire ($1.99 from $14.99 until 1/24)
Work It Out! Job Challenge ($8.64 from $12.72 until 1/24)
The Secret Order: Shadow Breach ($2.09 from $14.99 until 1/24)
The Secret Order: RttBK ($2.09 from $14.99 until 1/24)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 5th
Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot TFC ($23.99 from $29.99 until 1/5)
Assassin’s Creed III ($14.79 from $39.99 until 1/5)
Assassin’s Creed: Rebel Collection ($14.79 from $39.99 until 1/5)
Brawlout ($7.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Clan N ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Crazy Oce ($2.09 from $5.99 until 1/5)
Deadly Days ($2.84 from $18.99 until 1/5)
Deployment ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Descenders ($12.49 from $24.99 until 1/5)
Dicey Dungeons ($2.99 from $14.99 until 1/5)
DreamGallery ($2.09 from $5.99 until 1/5)
Ekstase ($9.99 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Encodya ($14.99 from $29.99 until 1/5)
Family Feud ($9.89 from $29.99 until 1/5)
Figment ($1.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Filmechanism ($16.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Hypnospace Outlaw ($7.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Immortals Fenyx Rising ($19.79 from $59.99 until 1/5)
Instant Sports Tennis ($7.47 from $14.90 until 1/5)
Jessika ($4.49 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Jigsaw Masterpieces EX KCG ($14.99 from $29.99 until 1/5)
Just Dance 2022 ($29.99 from $49.99 until 1/5)
Kemono Friends Picross ($7.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Knight Squad ($3.74 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Knight Squad 2 ($11.24 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Leisure Suit Larry WDD Saga ($12.99 from $64.99 until 1/5)
Leisure Suit Larry: WDDD ($3.99 from $39.99 until 1/5)
Leisure Suit Larry: WDDT ($9.99 from $39.99 until 1/5)
Life is Strange: True Colors ($53.99 from $59.99 until 1/5)
Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia ($4.99 from $12.99 until 1/5)
Lonely Mountains: Downhill ($10.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Mario + Rabbids KB Gold Edition ($15.99 from $79.99 until 1/5)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle ($11.99 from $59.99 until 1/5)
Not Tonight: Take Back Control ($2.49 from $24.99 until 1/5)
Nowhere Prophet ($9.99 from $24.99 until 1/5)
Parasomnia Verum ($2.79 from $3.99 until 1/5)
Path Through the Forest ($2.09 from $5.99 until 1/5)
Picross Lord of the Nazarick ($7.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Picross S ($6.39 from $7.99 until 1/5)
Picross S2 ($7.19 from $8.99 until 1/5)
Picross S3 ($7.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Picross S4 ($7.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Picross S5 ($7.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Picross S6 ($7.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Qube Qross ($4.19 from $6.99 until 1/5)
Rawr-Off ($1.99 from $2.99 until 1/5)
Return of the Obra Dinn ($14.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
RIVE: Ultimate Edition ($1.99 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Runestone Keeper ($5.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Shakes on a Plane ($1.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Stay Safe ($2.99 from $5.99 until 1/5)
Stela ($6.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Summer Sweetheart ($6.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Swap This! ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/5)
Swords & Soldiers ($1.99 from $7.49 until 1/5)
The Innsmouth Case ($2.24 from $14.99 until 1/5)
The Knight of Queen ($3.49 from $4.99 until 1/5)
The Letter: A Horror Visual Novel ($15.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf ($31.99 from $39.99 until 1/5)
Toki Tori ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/5)
Toki Tori 2+ ($1.99 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Touhou Spell Bubble ($27.49 from $54.99 until 1/5)
UNO ($3.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Working Zombies ($15.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Yes, Your Grace ($7.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with a few more new releases, some sales, and maybe a review if I can get my ducks lined up right. There could be some news, but I’m not counting on much. The industry at large is still waking up from the holidays. I hope you all have an excellent Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
