Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for March 22nd, 2022. In today’s article, we’ve got a couple of reviews for you to check out. Dawn of the Monsters sees you battling ferocious beasts set on your destruction, while Gal*Gun Double Peace sees you battling only slightly less ferocious school girls set on your… ahem. There are four new releases to look at today, and they all look rather intriguing in their own right. There’s a teeny-tiny slice of news to enjoy, too. After that we finish things up as we always do, with lists of the newest sales and expiring deals. Let’s get to it!
News
Organize Your Library with the Latest Firmware Update
When it comes to Nintendo and firmware updates, most of the time there isn’t too much to tell. But the latest one has a feature people have been asking for nearly since the system’s launch. Groups allow you to, well, make groups to organize your game library. While one might think immediately of folders, they’re more like tags. That means games can be in more than one Group at once, so you can put Balan Wonderworld in both your Favorite Games Group and your Best 3D Platformers Group. It’s easy to make and organize Groups, but if you have a hefty backlog built you’ve probably got some work ahead of you. I’m just glad I can stick all of my Arcade Archives in one easily-accessible place now.
Reviews & Mini-Views
Gal*Gun Double Peace ($39.99)
The Gal*Gun games are silly, cheeky, over-the-top, and fully aware of that fact. Frankly, it’s the best thing about them. You’re a high school boy cursed (or blessed?) by an incompetent cupid who has to fend off mobs of lovestruck girls using pheromone shots to drive them into fits of ecstasy. You’re doing this because you’ve only got one day to find your one true love, and if you can’t you’ll be alone forever. It’s ridiculous, and only by embracing that ridiculousness can you have a good time here.
Regrettably, that’s about all this game has going for it. In terms of gameplay, this is a rail shooter that takes a couple of hours to play through and somehow feels like twenty. It’s too easy, and far too repetitive. Some may say that is the nature of the genre, but I’ve played plenty of rail shooters with more engaging mechanics than Gal*Gun Double Peace. If you do happen to get into it, there’s a lot here to do with multiple endings and extras to explore. But even with its goofy sense of humor and out-there premise carrying it forward, the flame flickers out on this game well before the candle melts down.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
Dawn of the Monsters ($29.99)
There are entirely too few games where you get to play as a kaiju rampaging your way through cities battling other monsters. There are probably too many beat-em-ups around, but I’m always game for another. Mix the two together and you’ve got Dawn of the Monsters, the latest effort from 13AM Games. Instead of brawling punks as you make your way through streets, picking up the odd crowbar or baseball along the way, you’ll be battling horrific monsters as you make your way through cities, picking up the odd skyscraper or building along the way. You can upgrade your chosen monster as you work through the surprisingly interesting story, and can ultimately earn a variety of rewards through skillful play. Go it alone or take a friend, but either way you’ll have a great time.
The basic concept of Dawn of the Monsters gives the game a big push at the start line, but it’s the solid gameplay mechanics that keep this machine moving. You get a nice mix of encounters and behaviors to deal with, and you have a fair number of options at your disposal. The sheer amount of content here will keep you playing for a long while, and although it can get a little repetitive over time, it really does take some time for that to set in. Fans of either beat-em-ups or giant monsters will want to grab this game sharpish and get to smashing and demolishing the enemy forces.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
New Releases
Rune Factory 5 ($59.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
When developer Neverland closed its doors in 2013 following the release of Rune Factory 4 on the Nintendo 3DS, many thought that would be the end of this rather enjoyable fantasy-style take on Story of Seasons. Luckily, Marvelous wasn’t interested in letting it go away that easily. Key members of the team behind the games were brought in to develop this new installment, and at least in terms of production values it’s a pretty big step up. The core idea is the same as always, however: Story of Seasons-style farming and community interactions married to an action-RPG. It’s not quite as fully-featured as Rune Factory 4 Special was, but I suspect series fans who have been waiting almost ten years will just be glad to have something new to play. I’ll have a review of this one soon.
Tempest 4000 ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Once upon a time, Jeff Minter made a really cool update to Dave Theurer’s Tempest called Tempest 2000. It was a rare bright spot in the Atari Jaguar’s library and is generally considered to be one of the best, if not the best, game on the system. Minter would come back around to the concept now and then, with his latest swing at it being the 2018 Tempest 4000. That game now comes to the Nintendo Switch in all of its trippy glory. A hundred levels, three different modes of play, and a whole lot of amazing action.
Kraken Academy ($17.99)
Kraken Academy is a rather unusual high school where all kinds of bizarre happenings are about. But don’t get too focused on the oddities, as you’ve got a rather important job to take care of. The world itself hangs in the balance, and you’re the only one who can find the Traitor that walks the halls of the school. But who is the Traitor? That’s up to you to figure out, but if you mess it up you’ll be able to use your time-traveling pendant to give it another go. You don’t have to spend the whole time hunting down your target, though. There are clubs to join, people to meet, and heart-broken Broccoli Girls to help.
A Place for the Unwilling ($14.99)
How about a slightly more grim take on the end of days? Venture into a city that will meet its end in 21 days in this branching narrative adventure. Depending on the choices you make, things can end in a wide variety of ways. Explore the city, talk to its many inhabitants, and see if you can’t find your way to a better conclusion. But don’t waste any time, as the clock is ticking. There are more than one hundred different events you can stumble into, so you’re looking at quite a few playthroughs if you meant to see everything.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Well, what do we have today? Mayhem Brawler hits a new low price, Ratalaika is having a huge sale across much of its line, the first volume of Williams tables for Pinball FX3 is cheap as chips, and Life is Strange: True Colors can be had for a nice deal. And in the outbox… not much! But you can buy Paradise Killer if you haven’t already. It’s very cool.
Select New Games on Sale
Mayhem Brawler ($13.99 from $19.99 until 3/28)
Doughlings Arcade ($2.09 from $6.99 until 3/28)
Doughlings Invasion ($3.99 from $9.99 until 3/28)
Treachery in Beatdown City ($7.99 from $19.99 until 3/29)
Pinball FX3 Williams Vol.1 ($4.49 from $9.99 until 3/29)
Vampire: The Masquerade – CoNY ($3.99 from $19.99 until 3/29)
Vampire: The Masquerade – SoNY ($5.19 from $12.99 until 3/29)
The Persistence ($2.99 from $29.99 until 3/29)
SUPERHOT ($13.74 from $24.99 until 3/30)
Demon’s Tilt ($9.99 from $19.99 until 3/31)
Anna’s Quest ($3.99 from $19.99 until 3/31)
Deponia ($1.99 from $19.99 until 4/1)
Deponia Doomsday ($1.99 from $19.99 until 4/1)
Chaos on Deponia ($1.99 from $19.99 until 4/1)
Huntdown ($7.99 from $19.99 until 4/3)
Goat Simulator: The GOATY ($7.49 from $29.99 until 4/3)
Taxi Chaos ($14.99 from $34.95 until 4/4)
Angry Alligator ($14.99 from $29.99 until 4/4)
Guardians of the Galaxy Cloud Vers. ($29.99 from $59.99 until 4/5)
Life is Strange True Colors ($44.99 from $59.99 until 4/5)
Life is Strange TC Deluxe ($52.49 from $69.99 until 4/5)
Boreal Blade ($1.99 from $3.99 until 4/5)
Trine Enchanted Edition ($3.74 from $14.99 until 4/5)
Trine 2 Complete Story ($4.24 from $16.99 until 4/5)
Trine 3: Artifacts of Power ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/5)
Nine Parchments ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/5)
SturmFront: The Mutant War ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/5)
Bone Marrow ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Loopindex ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Apple Slash ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Freddy Spaghetti 2 ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Cross the Moon ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Fatum Betula ($2.25 from $5.49 until 4/11)
Sun Wukong VS Robot ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Donuts’n’Justice ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
A Little Lily Princess ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Despotism 3k ($2.19 from $10.99 until 4/11)
Gutwhale ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Rabisco+ ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Anodyne 2: Return to Dust ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Sumatra: Fate of Yandi ($3.49 from $6.99 until 4/11)
Dreaming Sarah ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Zero Zero Zero Zero ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Thunderflash ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Pinkman+ ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
C14 Dating ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Infestor ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Angels with Scaly Wings ($6.49 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Himno ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Attack of the Toy Tanks ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Legend of the Skyfish ($2.39 from $7.99 until 4/11)
Hoggy2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Distraint Deluxe ($1.99 from $5.99 until 4/11)
Trails & Traces: TToTT ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Bai Qu: Hundreds of Melodies ($5.99 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Sagebrush ($1.99 from $5.99 until 4/11)
Mochi Mochi Boy ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Super Box Land Demake ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Super Wiloo Demake ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Ravensword Shadowlands ($3.49 from $6.99 until 4/11)
One Escape ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Within the Blade ($6.59 from $10.99 until 4/11)
Barry the Bunny ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Milo’s Quest ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Delta Squad ($1.99 from $5.99 until 4/11)
Gravity Duck ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
FoxyLand ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
FoxyLand 2 ($1.99 from $5.99 until 4/11)
Heal: Console Edition ($3.49 from $6.99 until 4/11)
Cannibal Cuisine ($4.93 from $12.99 until 4/11)
Ultra Foodmess ($1.99 from $3.99 until 4/11)
Summer Paws ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Spellkeeper ($1.99 from $5.99 until 4/11)
Ellipsis ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Fhtagn! Tales of Creeping Madness ($2.99 from $7.99 until 4/11)
Enigmatis 3: TSoK ($2.09 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Family Mysteries 3: Criminal Mindset ($2.09 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Crossroad Crash ($1.99 from $4.98 until 4/11)
Crash Drive 2 ($1.99 from $8.99 until 4/11)
Crash Drive 3 ($1.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 23rd
Dead by Daylight ($13.99 from $29.99 until 3/23)
Dead by Daylight: Ultimate ($48.99 from $69.99 until 3/23)
Luminos ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/23)
Paradise Killer ($11.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Scrapnaut ($8.99 from $11.99 until 3/23)
Soap Dodgem ($1.99 from $5.99 until 3/23)
Urban Flow Extended Edition ($1.99 from $16.99 until 3/23)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, perhaps more news, and maybe a little more. One never knows what the day will bring anymore. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
