Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for January 10th, 2022. In today’s article, we’ve got reviews of a couple of recent releases. Dead Cells: The Queen and the Sea gets put through the paces, and QUByte has another affordable action game for us to enjoy. We have a pair of new releases to check out, with both of them being ports from mobile. One is a bit of a blast from the past, and the other… not so much. There are also some new sales, plus some expiring deals you’ll want to consider. Let’s get going!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Dead Cells: The Queen and the Sea ($4.99)
I’ve never actually had occasion to review the original Dead Cells, nor have I done so for any of its DLC thus far. Let’s quickly take care of that first. Dead Cells is a must-play. I’m not going to say everyone will like it, but for what it is trying to do, it’s almost flawless. You can play it anywhere you like; I’ve not yet seen a version I would warn people off of. Each of the DLCs released so far has added significant, meaningful content for those seeking more challenges and options.
The Queen and the Sea is no different. It adds an impressive amount of content for late-game players, complete with a new “this time for sure!" final boss battle and ending. There are also some new biomes, with the best of the bunch seeing you scale a tall vertical lighthouse as flames chase you from the bottom. An added bit of tension, in case Dead Cells can’t make you sweat anymore. There are some fun new weapons to use, and some new enemies to learn to deal with.
Because the content is mostly aimed at those in the late game, those who are new to Dead Cells may want to hold off until they’re sure they like what the game has to offer. Otherwise, The Queen and the Sea is exceptionally easy to recommend. The new content not only adds more stuff to the game, it also presents some interesting new experiences. It somehow raises the temperature on the excitement and tension even higher. Five dollars is a meager price to pay for such an impressive extension to Dead Cells.
SwitchArcade Score: 4.5/5
Watermelon Blocks ($3.99)
Watermelon Blocks is another cheap and simple platformer from QUByte Interactive. You play as a chunk of watermelon and need to make your way to the exit in each stage, collecting all the watermelon pieces along the way. It’s one of those games where your character always moves forward, so you can only change direction by kicking off a wall. All it takes is one hit to kill you, so you need to be very careful not to hit anything dangerous. You also have the ability to switch sets of blocks on and off, and mastering this ability is very important for the later stages.
Apart from the watermelon theme, there’s nothing particularly fresh or unusual about Watermelon Blocks. Its 46 stages take a little too long to heat up, and the difficulty really only picks up in the last quarter of them. That last stretch has some decent level designs, and the game’s controls and collision detection work the way you would want them to. It’s a functional platformer, albeit a short and somewhat plain one.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
New Releases
Star Balls ($9.99)
I had to look twice. At first, I thought we were getting a game based on a Mel Brooks movie, but I guess that would be silly. Sigh. As it turns out, this is a renamed port of 2014 mobile game named Astro Golf. I actually reviewed it all those years ago, and I rather liked it. I imagine this version is just as fun. You get three modes of play with fifty levels of space mini-golf where the balls are all robots. Exchange the currency you earn for some useful power-ups, and expand your capabilities to get around increasingly devilish traps and obstacles. If you’re looking for another quirky mini-golf game, you’ll likely have some fun with Star Balls.
Day of the Dead: Solitaire Collection ($19.99)
This is a level-based solitaire game with 100 levels to clear and a graveyard to decorate with the goodies you pick up along the way. You can use an assortment of boosters if you find yourself in a pinch. This is a port of a free-to-play mobile game, and I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt that they rebalanced it to account for the lack of microtransactions. Even with that, I’m not sure spending twenty bucks on this is a great value for your money. The Switch has a lot of great solitaire apps for a fraction of this price. But ultimately it’s up to you, friends.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Well yes, these aren’t the big name titles that we saw in the sales that kicked off late last week. By and large, the list of new games today is made up of the usual suspects. The outbox is more interesting. Ratalaika’s latest sale is wrapping up, and while I’m sure they’ll have plenty of other sales in the future, it may be a couple of months before they go up again. Those Koei Tecmo games are worth thinking about as well, especially for those who want to get caught up before Atelier Sophie 2 releases later this month. Check those lists as ever, friends.
Select New Games on Sale
Haustoria ($1.99 from $12.99 until 1/14)
Brawl Chess ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/14)
Coast Guard: Beach Rescue ($4.79 from $11.99 until 1/14)
Detective Driver: Miami Files ($4.79 from $11.99 until 1/14)
Gas Station: Highway Services ($4.79 from $11.99 until 1/14)
City Bus Driving Simulator ($4.79 from $11.99 until 1/14)
RazerWire: Nanowars ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/15)
Speedway Heroes ($1.99 from $8.00 until 1/15)
Beach Volleyball Challenge ($2.29 from $4.49 until 1/15)
Football Run ($6.99 from $9.99 until 1/15)
Quest Hunter ($8.99 from $29.99 until 1/17)
Sausage Sports Club ($4.50 from $15.00 until 1/17)
Snooker 19 ($12.24 from $34.99 until 1/17)
Tactical Mind 2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/17)
Aborigenus ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/17)
Moon Raider ($3.49 from $9.99 until 1/17)
Event Horizon: Space Defense ($1.99 from $6.99 until 1/17)
Girabox ($1.99 from $2.49 until 1/17)
Diabolic ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/17)
Swaps & Traps ($1.99 from $8.99 until 1/17)
Calico ($8.39 from $11.99 until 1/17)
Evan’s Remains ($4.19 from $6.99 until 1/17)
Teacup ($7.99 from $9.99 until 1/17)
Beasts of Maravilla Island ($6.99 from $9.99 until 1/17)
Newt One ($3.99 from $9.99 until 1/17)
Bombfest ($2.59 from $12.99 until 1/17)
We should talk. ($4.19 from $6.99 until 1/17)
Aground ($989 from $14.99 until 1/17)
StarCrossed ($2.99 from $9.99 until 1/17)
Where the Bees Make Honey ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/17)
Funny Bunny Adventures ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/18)
AAA Clock ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/21)
Azurebreak Heroes ($1.99 from $6.99 until 1/23)
Bridge Strike ($1.99 from $6.99 until 1/24)
Postal Redux ($4.49 from $8.99 until 1/24)
Build a Bridge! ($2.99 from $14.99 until 1/24)
Pixel Gladiator ($1.99 from $6.99 unti 1/24)
Jack Axe ($8.99 from $14.99 until 1/24)
City Match ($2.99 from $6.99 until 1/24)
Elden: Path of the Forgotten ($2.99 from $15.99 until 1/24)
LogScape: Puzzle Game ($2.99 from $6.99 until 1/24)
Guards ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/25)
Tardy ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/25)
Battle Princess Madelyn ($4.99 from $19.99 until 1/28)
Battle Princess Madelyn Royal ($3.74 from $14.99 until 1/28)
Multilevel Parking Driver ($5.99 from $11.99 until 1/28)
Truck Simulator 2 ($5.99 from $11.99 until 1/28)
Extreme Car Driver ($5.99 from $11.99 until 1/28)
Cargo Crew Driver ($5.99 from $11.99 until 1/28)
Earthlock ($5.68 from $29.90 until 1/28)
The Keep ($2.99 from $17.99 until 1/28)
Chameleon Run DE ($1.99 from $5.99 until 1/28)
Jim is Moving Out! ($1.99 from $14.99 until 1/28)
Toroom ($1.99 from $14.99 until 1/29)
Chess Gambit ($3.99 from $6.99 until 1/30)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 11th
8-Ball Pocket ($1.99 from $5.99 until 1/11)
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust ($11.99 from $19.99 until 1/11)
Atelier Sophie: Mysterious Book DX ($23.99 from $39.99 until 1/11)
Attack on Titan 2 ($29.99 from $59.99 until 1/11)
Beyond a Steel Sky ($31.99 from $39.99 until 1/11)
Captain Cat ($3.49 from $6.99 until 1/11)
Cel Damage HD ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/11)
Circuits ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Clash Force ($2.49 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Connection reHaunted ($1.99 from $6.66 until 1/11)
Crumble ($11.99 from $14.99 until 1/11)
Detective Di: Silk Rose Murders ($4.99 from $12.99 until 1/11)
Devious Dungeon Collection ($6.49 from $12.99 until 1/11)
Divine Ascent ($3.49 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Fairy Tail ($39.59 from $59.99 until 1/11)
Filament ($5.94 from $16.99 until 1/11)
FoxyLand ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
FoxyLand 2 ($2.39 from $5.99 until 1/11)
Freddi Fish 3: TCotSCS ($11.99 from $14.99 until 1/11)
Gleylancer ($4.89 from $6.99 until 1/11)
Golf Zero ($2.49 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Himno ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Hoggy2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Jack N’ Jill DX ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Jump, Step, Step ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Jurassic Pinball ($2.00 from $2.99 until 1/11)
Kiai Resonance ($3.49 from $4.99 until 1/11)
King Lucas ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Legend of the Skyfish ($3.19 from $7.99 until 1/11)
Loot Hero DX ($2.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Nicole ($9.49 from $18.99 until 1/11)
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection ($29.99 from $39.99 until 1/11)
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection DE ($37.49 from $49.99 until 1/11)
Path to Mnemosyne ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/11)
Project Highrise: AE ($7.99 from $39.99 until 1/11)
Puppies & Kittens ($23.99 from $29.99 until 1/11)
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time ($11.99 from $14.99 until 1/11)
Quest for the Golden Duck ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/11)
Random Heroes: Gold Edition ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Ravensword Shadowlands ($4.19 from $6.99 until 1/11)
Risk System ($7.99 from $9.99 until 1/11)
Rogue Bit ($2.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Seeders Puzzle Reboot ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/11)
Shadow Gangs ($17.99 from $23.99 until 1/11)
Shisen-Sho NIKAKUdori ($1.99 from $3.99 until 1/11)
Son of a Witch ($4.99 from $14.99 until 1/11)
Spellcasting: Purrfectly Portable ($4.99 from $9.99 until 1/11)
Super Skelemania ($2.49 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Takorita Meets Fries ($3.49 from $4.99 until 1/11)
The Game is ON ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Thunderflash ($2.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Ultra Foodmess ($1.99 from $3.99 until 1/11)
Warhammer 40k Mechanicus ($13.99 from $39.99 until 1/11)
Watermelon Party ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/11)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ($17.99 from $29.99 until 1/11)
Windmill Kings ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/11)
World Soccer Pinball ($2.00 from $2.99 until 1/11)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, some fresh sales, and whatever else decides to appear. I have to go to the hospital, but I shouldn’t be gone too long. I hope you all have a marvelous Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
