Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for December 9th, 2022. In today’s article, we go over some of the Nintendo Switch-related announcements from The Game Awards before going into the summaries of the handful of new releases for the day. We’re definitely on that gentle slope towards the end of the year. There are also some great new sales to check out, plus the list of sales that will expire over the weekend. Let’s go forth!
News
The Game Awards Featured New Games and More
Okay, The Game Awards. It was a really big show, and there was a lot to see on it. I will quickly summarize the highlights. First, awards relevant to the Switch: Kirby & the Forgotten Land got Best Family Game, Splatoon 3 notched the Best Multiplayer Game, Bayonetta 3 took home Best Action Game, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope got the nod as Best Sim/Strategy Game, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom got Most Anticipated Game of the Year. Not a bad showing all around, though Xenoblade Chronicles 3 pretty much got robbed if you ask me.
As for game announcements, there were a handful of interesting things to see Switch-wise. The biggest is probably Bayonetta Origins: Cereza & the Lost Demon, an action-adventure starring a young Bayonetta that is scheduled for release on March 17th, 2023. Beyond that, the upcoming DLC for Dead Cells will feature Castlevania characters, Fire Emblem Engage will unsurprisingly have a expansion pass, a Hellboy game is coming from Good Shepherd Entertainment and Dark Horse Comics, and Hades is getting a sequel that will hopefully come to Switch eventually.
New Releases
Dragon Quest Treasures ($59.99)
The latest spin-off in the Dragon Quest series sees young versions of Erik and Mia from Dragon Quest XI brought to another world for a treasure adventure. This game feels like it’s following in the line of the Dragon Quest Monsters sub-series, though it’s different enough that I can see why Square Enix went with a different name. I haven’t had a chance to play this yet, but it’s Dragon Quest, so I will.
Adventure Academia: The Fractured Continent ($39.99)
Remember Class of Heroes? Probably not, but if you do you’ll be happy to know that this is in fact a strategy RPG spin-off of that series. Evil monsters threaten your home, and it’s up to your team of students to deal with them. Assemble your team from more than ten different races, equip them appropriately, and engage in some good old turn-based tactical combat. I’ll have a review of this one soon.
Jitsu Squad ($29.99)
This is a beat-em-up starring four heroes, with the gimmick being that if you are playing alone you will have to control all of them. You can also bring in a friend for local co-op, and that certainly adds a bit of fun to the mix. Somehow, Yooka and Laylee are here. I do enjoy my brawlers, so you can look forward to my review of this game early next week.
Petite Adventure ($4.99)
As a species, humans are quite fascinated by the idea of little cars driving around in normal sized spaces. Petite Adventure offers us another game of this sort, though its perspective helps separate it from many of its peers. There are thirty-two levels to play with a variety of objectives and techniques to encounter. It looks playful in all the right ways, but I haven’t had a chance to play it yet so that’s about as much as I can say for the moment.
Puzzle by Nikoli S Nurikabe ($4.99)
Another puzzle game from the folks at Hamster. This one features Nurikabe puzzles, which are a type of logic puzzle where you have to fill in cells such that the numbered cells form little “islands" made up of the appropriate amount of unfilled cells. It’s hard to explain how some puzzles work with words, but I can assure you that this is an enjoyable kind of puzzle to solve. Certainly worth a punt at five dollars for puzzler fans.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Wow, some really good games on sale today. I’ve kept the list manageable so I recommend just reading through all of it to see what grabs you. There isn’t much worth fussing about in the weekend outbox, but feel free to have a look at that one too. It’s a nice time to fill in the gaps in your “critically acclaimed games" group.
Select New Games on Sale
LOVE 3 ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/12)
Chicory A Colorful Tale ($13.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Hollow Knight ($7.50 from $15.00 until 12/19)
Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak DX ($49.99 from $79.99 until 12/19)
Untitled Goose Game ($9.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Celeste ($4.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Undertale ($10.04 from $14.99 until 12/19)
What Remains of Edith Finch ($4.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Axiom Verge ($5.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Hyper Light Drifter ($10.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Stardew Valley ($9.99 from $14.99 until 12/19)
Ori & the Will of the Wisps ($10.19 from $29.99 until 12/19)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 ($15.99 from $39.99 until 12/19)
Sonic Mania ($9.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
DOOM Eternal Deluxe Edition ($22.49 from $89.99 until 12/19)
13 Sentinels Aegis Rim ($35.99 from $59.99 until 12/19)
Okami HD ($9.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Katana Zero ($8.99 from $14.99 until 12/19)
Downwell ($2.00 from $2.99 until 12/19)
TES V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition ($34.99 from $69.99 until 12/19)
Diablo III: Eternal Collection ($29.99 from $59.99 until 12/19)
Shin Megami Tensei V ($29.99 from $59.99 until 12/19)
Dicey Dungeons ($1.99 from $14.99 until 12/19)
Carrion ($9.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Death’s Door ($9.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Disco Elysium The Final Cut ($19.99 from $39.99 until 12/19)
Tetris Effect Connected ($19.99 from $39.99 until 12/19)
Spelunky 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Rayman Legends Definitive ($9.99 from $39.99 until 12/19)
Divinity Original Sin 2 ($29.99 from $49.99 until 12/19)
Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris ($34.99 from $49.99 until 12/19)
Portal Companion Collection ($13.39 from $19.99 until 12/19)
Restless Soul ($9.74 from $14.99 until 12/22)
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion ($5.99 from $14.99 until 12/22)
Bite the Bullet ($2.99 from $14.99 until 12/22)
DUSK ($14.99 from $19.99 until 12/28)
Creepy Tale ($1.99 from $9.99 until 12/28)
Panzer Dragoon Remake ($2.49 from $24.99 until 12/29)
Cooking Simulator ($1.99 from $19.99 until 12/29)
Evil Tonight ($12.74 from $14.99 until 12/29)
Invirium ($1.99 from $7.99 until 12/29)
Sherlock Holmes & THotB ($9.09 from $12.99 until 12/29)
Green Hell ($2.49 from $24.99 until 12/29)
Alchemist Simulator ($6.12 from $12.49 until 12/29)
Chef’s Tail ($4.02 from $11.49 until 12/29)
Ancient Islands ($6.12 from $12.49 until 12/29)
The TakeOver ($2.99 from $19.99 until 12/29)
Thief Simulator ($1.99 from $19.99 until 12/29)
The First Tree ($1.99 from $9.99 until 12/29)
Bastion ($2.99 from $14.99 until 12/29)
Hades ($12.49 from $24.99 until 12/29)
Super Mombo Quest ($5.99 from $15.90 until 12/29)
Overcooked All You Can Eat ($19.99 from $39.99 until 12/29)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Construction Ramp Jumping ($2.99 from $9.99 until 12/10)
Driving School Sim ($6.93 from $9.90 until 12/10)
Extreme Trucks Simulator ($6.93 from $9.90 until 12/10)
Farmer Sim 2020 ($6.93 from $9.90 until 12/10)
Flight Sim 2019 ($6.93 from $9.90 until 12/10)
Human: Fall Flat ($5.99 from $19.99 until 12/10)
Ramp Bike Jumping ($2.99 from $9.99 until 12/10)
Real Driving Sim ($6.93 from $9.90 until 12/10)
Ship Sim 2020 ($6.93 from $9.90 until 12/10)
Taxi Sim 2020 ($6.93 from $9.90 until 12/10)
The Eternal Castle Remastered ($9.99 from $14.99 until 12/10)
War Titans ($6.93 from $9.90 until 12/10)
Amnesia: Collection ($4.49 from $29.99 until 12/11)
World Soccer Cup 2022 ($3.49 from $4.99 until 12/11)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. We’ll be back next week with more news, more reviews, more new games, and more sales. I’ve got some really big games to get through over the next little while for reviews, so my weekend is basically booked. I hope you all have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!
