Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for April 26th, 2022. In today’s article, I’ve got four more reviews for you to dig into. Today’s batch includes Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Revita, Roguebook, and Lila’s Sky Ark. It’s been a very exhausting couple of weeks, friends. But wait, we’ve also got a few new releases to check out and all of them are pretty decent. There are also some sales to dig into as Japan heads into Golden Week. Lots to look at, so let’s commence with the looking!
Reviews & Mini-Reviews
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ($19.99)
Phew, this is a seriously 2008 Wii game alright. Targeting is a bit clunky, the camera is fussy, it has semi-functional motion controls, there are QTEs to end each boss battle, and it sometimes seems more interested in playing around with physics than anything else. It’s a product of the Lucas era of Star Wars, and fills in a storyline gap in a way that has since been declared non-canon by Disney. It’s not a great game by any means, but it’s also better than it should be. Aspyr has made some improvements and adjustments here, with the most welcome being that you can ignore motion controls entirely.
Despite the fact that 2008 is longer ago than most of us would like to admit, there is still some fun to be had with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Some may have preferred a different version from the Wii one, but what it lacks in visual punch it more than makes up for with additional content and more focused level design. It’s an enjoyable, silly Star Wars adventure that probably isn’t going to flip the switches of anyone without affection for the brand, but will be a good enough time for fans to keep them from focusing on its many rough edges. A bit of a time warp, but not a bad one.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Revita ($14.99)
Yet another roguelite action game, but this one is rather enjoyable. It’s a side-scroller with twin-stick shooting where you travel from one relatively small room to another, defeating all of the enemies or resolving whatever events happen within each before moving on. Every so often you’ll hit a boss, and… well, you know how this dance works. What makes this one neat is that you basically have to exchange your health for any power-ups and perks you might want on each run, so you’re always balancing your desire to become stronger against just how many of your remaining hits you want to spare. Naturally, you’ll also unlock more permanent additions over the course of many runs.
Revita isn’t doing a whole lot that we haven’t seen bits of in other games before, if not necessarily in this exact combination. But it’s doing all of it rather well, with reliable controls, challenging and fun boss encounters, enough randomness to add spice but not so much to make it all a crapshoot, and interesting choices to make with your character’s growth during each run. Those looking for their next roguelite action game to conquer will want to give this one some consideration.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
Roguebook ($24.99)
I once again must beg of developer who are porting their games over to the Switch from PC: please check and make sure your font is readable in handheld mode. Roguebook is far from the worst offender I’ve seen, but there’s a lot of reading involved in this deck-building RPG and I ended up having to resort to magnifying glasses. Yes, I’m getting older, but those glasses rarely need to come out just to play a game. Setting aside the tiny text, we’ve also got the rather lengthy loads before battles and an interface that was clearly designed for a mouse and keyboard.
And yet I am still inclined to recommend Roguebook. Richard Garfield was involved in the development of this game, and you can certainly feel the effects of that whether it was directly by his hand or simply inspired by his other work. While you are partially at the mercy of random elements, there’s a great degree of agency in how your chosen heroes and their abilities work together. I think the core game here is just as good as titles like Slay the Spire or Monster Train, but the Switch conversion leaves a bit to be desired. Play it elsewhere if you can, but if you enjoy the genre and only have a Switch, you’ll probably be able to put up with this port’s issues.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Lila’s Sky Ark ($14.99)
My first impression of this game was how pretty it was. It’s got a nice sense of style to it, and I love the odd creatures that inhabit this world. My second impression involved getting stuck in a piece of the environment and having to reset the game. My third impression of the game is that while it’s relatively short it somehow manages to wear out all of its tricks well before it ends, and alternates between being boring and irritating in its back half. That first bug wasn’t the only one to rear its head either. There’s something worth getting into here, but there’s just too much dragging the overall experience down.
SwitchArcade Score: 2.5/5
New Releases
Zombie Army 4: Dead War ($49.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Rebellion does very good work on the Nintendo Switch, and Zombie Army 4: Dead War isn’t going to buck that trend. You get a slight visual hit in the process of the conversion from the big-pants consoles, but the game still looks and plays really well. It’s an over-the-top zombie-splattering gorefest, with all of the interesting gameplay mechanics you would expect from the latest in this spin-off series of Sniper: Elite. I’ve only had a chance to play the single-player campaign thus far, but once I get a good crack at the online multiplayer I’ll have a review for you with my final assessment.
The Serpent Rogue ($19.99)
This is a crafting action-adventure game of sorts where you play as an alchemist known as The Warden. Explore the world, gather up ingredients, fend off monsters, befriend pets, and do whatever is necessary to protect the realm from the titular Serpent Rogue. If you enjoy crafting-heavy games, you’ll probably have fun with this one. The combat is a bit on the clunky side but otherwise there’s an awful lot to like in The Serpent Rogue.
Research and Destroy ($19.99)
A rather novel turn-based strategy game with a strong co-op component that can be enjoyed in either online or local multiplayer. As the title implies, there’s a research part of the game where you examine the battlefields and upgrade your tech, and then a destroy part of the game where you put that tech to good use. While the combat is turn-based, each turn allows you to move freely and attack within a limit, so there’s a real-time aspect to it as well. It’s all wrapped up with a goofy sense of humor that leans hard into the whole weird science-fiction aspects.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Some cool stuff in the list today, including Golden Week sales from Koei Tecmo and Capcom plus some hot sales on the Sam & Max adventure games. Ratalaika also has a bunch of its games on sale, and I’ve included some but not all of them here. Not a whole lot in the outbox, but there are probably more Golden Week sales incoming so you may not want to blow your whole paycheck just yet.
Select New Games on Sale
Swords & Bones ($1.99 from $7.99 until 5/2)
Firework ($9.74 from $14.99 until 5/2)
Zorya: The Celestial Sisters ($9.99 from $24.99 until 5/2)
Hero Express ($3.24 from $4.99 until 5/2)
Potion Party ($6.99 from $9.99 until 5/3)
Pinball FX3 Aliens vs Pinball ($3.99 from $9.99 until 5/3)
Guardian of Lore ($9.79 from $13.99 until 5/3)
Jin Conception ($9.00 from $15.00 until 5/3)
Gibbous A Cthulhu Adventure ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/3)
GUNGUNGUN ($3.49 from $4.99 until 5/3)
Atelier Ryza: ED&tSH ($29.99 from $59.99 until 5/9)
Atelier Ryza 2: LL&tSF ($38.99 from $59.99 until 5/9)
Fairy Tail ($39.59 from $59.99 until 5/9)
Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX ($22.49 from $29.99 until 5/9)
Dynasty Warriors 8 XL Definitive ($27.99 from $39.99 until 5/9)
Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate ($35.99 from $59.99 until 5/9)
Fatal Frame: MoBW Digital Deluxe ($43.99 from $54.99 until 5/9)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV ($41.99 from $69.99 until 5/9)
Sam & Max Save the World ($13.99 from $19.99 until 5/9)
Sam & Max Beyond Time & Space ($15.99 from $19.99 until 5/9)
Battle Brothers: Turn Based TRPG ($16.49 from $29.99 until 5/10)
Spaceland ($5.99 from $19.99 until 5/10)
Monster Hunter Generations Ult. ($11.99 from $39.99 until 5/16)
Monster Hunter Rise ($29.99 from $59.99 until 5/16)
Monster Hunter Stories 2 ($29.99 from $59.99 until 5/16)
Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection ($19.79 from $29.99 until 5/16)
Onimusha Warlords ($7.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen ($14.99 from $29.99 until 5/16)
Okami HD ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Capcom Arcade Stadium Packs 1/2/3 ($29.99 from $39.99 until 5/16)
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary ($11.99 from $29.99 until 5/16)
Ultra Street Fighter II ($19.99 from $39.99 until 5/16)
Capcom Beat Em Up Bundle ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Resident Evil 0 ($12.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Resident Evil ($12.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Resident Evil 4 ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Resident Evil 5 ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Resident Evil 6 ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Resident Evil Revelations ($7.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Resident Evil Revelations 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Devil May Cry ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Devil May Cry 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Devil May Cry 3 SE ($11.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Phoenix Wright AA Trilogy ($14.99 from $29.99 until 5/16)
Great Ace Attorney Chronicles ($24.79 from $39.99 until 5/16)
Ace Attorney Turnabout Collection ($39.59 from $59.99 until 5/16)
Shinsekai Into the Depths ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Dadish ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/16)
Dadish 2 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/16)
Super Fowlst ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/16)
Super Fowlst 2 ($2.00 from $10.00 until 5/16)
The Language of Love ($5.99 from $11.99 until 5/16)
Tamiku ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Golf Club Wasteland ($3.99 from $9.99 until 5/16)
The Hong Kong Massacre ($3.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Beautiful Desolation ($2.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Even the Ocean ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/16)
What Lies in the Multiverse ($9.74 from $14.99 until 5/16)
Devious Dungeon Collection ($5.19 from $12.99 until 5/16)
Tetra’s Escape ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Zeroptian Invasion ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Plantera Deluxe ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Roommates ($7.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Two Parsecs From Earth ($3.19 from $7.99 until 5/16)
Jack N’ Jill DX ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Access Denied ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Micetopia ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Ord. ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Jenny LeClue Detectivu ($4.99 from $24.99 until 5/16)
Purrs in Heaven ($1.99 from $6.99 until 5/16)
Discolored ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/16)
Summer in Mara ($9.99 from $24.99 until 5/16)
More Dark ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Rally Rock ‘N Racing ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/16)
Woven ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/16)
Birthday of Midnight ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Aspire: Ina’s Tale ($6.49 from $12.99 until 5/16)
Vera Blanc: Full Moon ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/16)
Vera Blanc: Ghost in the Castle ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/16)
BOT.vinnik Chess ($1.99 from $2.99 until 5/16)
Galaxy Champions TV ($1.99 from $6.99 until 5/16)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 27th
8 & 9 Ball Pocket ($5.39 from $11.99 until 4/27)
Basketball Pinball ($1.99 from $2.99 until 4/27)
Buck Bradley Comic Adv. ($1.99 from $6.99 until 4/27)
Detective Di: Silk Rose Murders ($2.59 from $12.99 until 4/27)
Hextones ($1.99 from $2.99 until 4/27)
Horror & Sports Pinball ($6.74 from $14.99 until 4/27)
Off The Road Unleashed ($4.79 from $15.99 until 4/27)
Pony World 3 ($4.19 from $6.99 until 4/27)
Shark Pinball ($1.99 from $2.99 until 4/27)
Sports & Adventure Pinball ($6.74 from $14.99 until 4/27)
Stealth ($1.99 from $4.98 until 4/27)
Wild & Adventure Pinball ($6.74 from $14.99 until 4/27)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, perhaps some news, and maybe another review. I’m not feeling too great today, so I had to cut back on some other things I was planning to write up. That’s how it goes as you get older, I suppose. I hope you all have a great Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
