Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for July 15th, 2022. Halfway through the month already, eh? It’s a bit of a quiet Friday in terms of big names, but there are still several new games to look at. There’s a little bit of news to address, and the usual Friday hefty list of new sales. Expiring sales? Yes, we have a few. We’ll check those out as well. Let’s get to business!
News
‘Pokemon Puzzle League’ is Now Available for Switch Online Expansion Pack Subscribers
Yes friends, it’s that time again. If you’re a Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscriber, you can now update your Nintendo 64 app to get access to a fresh game. This time, it’s Pokemon Puzzle League. A reskin of a Panel de Pon game that ended up not getting released in Japan, this is one of very few Pokemon games with heavy influence from the anime. The puzzle gameplay is fun, and longtime Pokemon fans will probably get some nostalgic kicks from hearing some of the voices and music.
New Releases
DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace ($39.99)
We don’t have any offline games on Switch that let you play as a normal-butt Superman or Batman, but we now have a game that lets you play as Kryto the Superdog and Ace the Bat-Hound. I find this exceptionally amusing. Anyway, Krypto lives up to his name with a bevy of amazing powers including flight, while Ace is presumably just some rich dog with cool toys. This one comes from Impact Games, who are behind a dozen or so other licensed games aimed at kids on the Switch. If it follows in the footsteps of previous efforts, you can expect something decent enough for fans of the brand without being good enough to pull in a more general audience. That said, I haven’t played it yet so I can’t say for sure.
LOUD ($11.99)
Wow, even that title is loud. This is a rhythm game with a little story attached to it, with fourteen different stages (and therefore fourteen different songs) to play. You also get one bonus track, because fifteen is a nice number too. There are four difficulty levels to play on, and you get new outfits, locations, and instruments as you go. It’s a very good game, though it is a little on the short side. I’ll have a full review of it soon.
Shred! Remastered ($6.99)
Shred! 2 hit the Nintendo Switch a couple of years ago, and here is a full-on remake of the original game to go with it. You get thirty different trails inspired by real world locations to ride on, with gameplay that will be quite familiar to anyone who played Shred! 2. Reviews on the last release were all over the place, but I thought it was fairly enjoyable for the price it asked. I don’t feel much differently about this one, but I’ll admit the competition in this category has gotten a lot stiffer since 2020.
Marimo -VS- I.A.S. ($9.99)
This odd 2.5D shoot-em-up sees you playing as a mutant moss ball that is battling against a variety of invasive species that have invaded its lake. Yes, the same old shoot-em-up story. Can’t anyone come up with something new? I’m tired of playing as mutant moss balls. You’ve got a charge shot and a lock-on shot, and you’ll have to make effective use of both to repel the invaders and rack up a high score. It’s surprisingly well-made for what it is, with elements of Taito shooters like Darius and the Ray games and solid fundamentals.
Long Live The Queen ($9.99)
It’s hard enough to lose your mother, but when your mother happens to be the Queen, you’ve got more to worry about than your grief. As a fourteen-year-old Princess who suddenly finds herself promoted to the Big Job, you’ve got a lot of things to deal with. Scoundrels and rotten nobles see their chance to grab power, and they won’t think twice about using you towards their aims. Make your choices, manage your schedule to develop your preferred skills, and try not to die too quickly. Each playthrough is fairly short, but finding your way to a happy ending is going to take some work. A decent story backed by some Princess Maker-like mechanics.
Clutter Evolution: Beyond Xtreme ($9.99)
Another of the Clutter games, this one fully loaded with more than 1700 puzzles to solve. There are several different modes, but most of them involve sorting through piles of stuff to find specific objects. If you’ve tapped out the previous Clutter releases and are hungry for more, you won’t be unhappy with what you find here. I’m not sure if this is the better one to start with or not if you’re new to the series, but something tells you’ll be fine.
Hell Pages ($8.99)
I’ve said it many times before, but there are certain genres on the Switch that are so competitive that if you want to make a mark with your own you had better bring your A-game. Hell Pages is… okay. It functions, and it certainly has its own sense of style. Some interesting boss designs, for sure. Really cool music. But gosh, it’s almost impossible to imagine a scenario where you have nine bucks to spend on a Switch shoot-em-up and would want to go for this. Perhaps ironically given its theme, Hell Pages is really vanilla as this genre goes.
Egg Over It: Fall Flat from the Top ($3.99)
Cooking & Publishing has been around on the Switch eShop for several months now, part of a new wave of bottom-of-the-barrel publishers along with the likes of Midnight Works. I’ve been getting increasingly frustrated with the presence and proliferation of these creatively bankrupt releases, and games like Egg Over It are a perfect example why. This game, which I can say was probably ported over from mobile due to lack of button control support, is nothing more than a copy of Getting Over It. It’s just that you’re an egg instead of a weird guy in a barrel. But that isn’t enough, is it? They have to juice the SEO by putting a reference to the wildly successful Human: Fall Flat in the title, despite this game in no way resembling it. But this isn’t even the worst thing this publisher put out today, because here comes…
Mini Subway: Logic on the Metro Line ($3.99)
This is nothing more than a complete clone of Dinosaur Polo Club’s Mini Metro. Cooking & Publishing couldn’t even be bothered to change the aesthetic. But perhaps it couldn’t, because I suspect very much this is just a mobile template flip. It’s handheld only because touch controls are very much required. Frankly, I don’t understand why Nintendo is allowing this kind of thing. And I don’t know how the people at Cooking & Publishing are okay with this, either. Congratulations on stealing ideas wholesale from your betters, I guess? Is this why you got into making games? Is this living the dream? Please don’t support this trash. The real Mini Metro is available on Switch at a reasonable price and it’s a far more thoughtful conversion along with, you know, being the actual original. Disgusting. Shame on you, Cooking & Publishing.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Some cool stuff in the list today. Tangledeep is an excellent roguelike, and both it and its DLC rarely go on sale. Cathedral and the Alwa’s games are worth checking out, and Kairosoft fans may want to fill their boots while they can. Not much to fuss about in the weekend outbox, so feel free to allocate your cash in other places this time.
Select New Games on Sale
Axiom Verge ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/21)
Tangledeep ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/22)
Tangledeep Dawn of Dragons DLC ($2.50 from $5.00 until 7/22)
Floating Farmer ($1.99 from $2.99 until 7/25)
Metro Simulator ($5.99 from $19.99 until 7/29)
Airport Simulator Day & Night ($10.49 from $34.99 until 7/29)
Resident Evil 0 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/29)
Resident Evil ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/29)
Resident Evil 4 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/29)
Resident Evil 5 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/29)
Resident Evil 6 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/29)
Resident Evil Revelations ($7.99 from $19.99 until 7/29)
Resident Evil Revelations 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 7/29)
Cathedral ($7.49 from $14.99 until 7/29)
Alwa’s Awakening ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/29)
Alwa’s Legacy ($8.99 from $17.99 until 7/29)
Rise of the Slime ($8.99 from $14.99 until 7/29)
Mokoko X ($8.61 from $11.49 until 7/29)
Dungeon of the Endless ($3.99 from $19.99 until 7/29)
Silver Falls Episode Prelude ($4.79 from $7.99 until 8/1)
Dwarf Journey ($3.99 from $7.99 until 8/1)
Shadow Gangs ($17.99 from $23.99 until 8/1)
Pool Slide Story ($7.00 from $14.00 until 8/3)
Ninja Village ($8.40 from $14.99 until 8/3)
Grand Prix Story ($8.40 from $14.00 until 8/3)
Home Run High ($7.00 from $14.00 until 8/3)
Pocket League Story ($8.40 from $14.00 until 8/3)
Rolling Sky ($5.49 from $10.99 until 8/4)
Rolling Sky 2 ($6.49 from $12.99 until 8/4)
Green Hell ($2.49 from $24.99 until 8/4)
Cooking Simulator ($1.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Wanderlust Travel Stories ($2.24 from $14.99 until 8/4)
Best Month Ever! ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
The Amazing American Circus ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Effie ($6.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Help Will Come Tomorrow ($3.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
orbit.industries ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Bit Dungeon Plus ($2.24 from $8.99 until 8/4)
Armed to the Gears ($2.39 from $11.99 until 8/4)
Moving Out ($6.24 from $24.99 until 8/4)
Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair ($7.49 from $29.99 until 8/4)
Kuukiyomi: Consider It! ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/4)
Toridama: Brave Challenge ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/4)
Overcooked! 2 ($6.24 from $24.99 until 8/4)
Horrid Henry’s Krazy Karts ($1.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Pawn of the Dead ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/4)
Hollow 2 ($1.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Ghoulboy ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/4)
Hot Shot Burn ($2.24 from $14.99 until 8/4)
Tennis Open 2020 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/4)
Panzer Dragoon Remake ($2.49 from $24.99 until 8/4)
Danger Scavenger ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/4)
Thief Simulator ($1.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
My Time at Portia ($7.49 from $29.99 until 8/4)
Worms W.M.D ($5.99 from $29.99 until 8/4)
Yoku’s Island Express ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Monster Sanctuary ($6.79 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Space Lines: A Puzzle Arcade Game ($2.00 from $5.99 until 7/16)
Spaceland ($3.99 from $19.99 until 7/16)
Casino Heaven ($2.99 from $9.99 until 7/17)
Drag Clash Pro ($2.39 from $7.99 until 7/17)
Jumpy Mia ($2.69 from $8.99 until 7/17)
OkunoKA Madness ($1.99 from $7.99 until 7/17)
Poker Champion ($2.99 from $9.99 until 7/17)
Rise: Race the Future ($9.06 from $16.49 until 7/17)
Top Speed 2 ($2.99 from $9.99 until 7/17)
Zombie Beyond Terror ($2.69 from $8.99 until 7/17)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. We’ll be back next week with some cool new releases including the likes of Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, Coromon, and River City Saga: Three Kingdoms, plus some reviews, plenty of sales, and likely a bit of news as well. I’m going to spend my weekend playing games for reviews. Don’t worry, they’re pretty good games. I’ll be fine. I hope you all have a good weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!
