Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for April 3rd, 2023. In today’s article, we’ve got two reviews from our pal Mikhail and a couple of reviews from me, all mini-sized for your reading convenience. Then we have a few new releases to check out, though nothing terribly exciting. After that, it’s a surprisingly healthy list of new sales for you to consider, plus the outgoing list of sales about to expire. Let’s get going!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Session: Skate Sim ($39.99)
When Session: Skate Sim was announced for Switch, I was equal parts excited and afraid. Despite adoring Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater on PS5 with the amazing DualSense features and 120hz support, I loved the time I spent with it on Nintendo Switch. I was hoping Session: Skate Sim would deliver a true simulation experience on Switch, but the port is lacking.
When I started doing the tutorial and eventually exploring what Session: Skate Sim had to offer, I was impressed with the gameplay, music, and presentation. I was disappointed with the visuals and cutbacks compared to other platforms though. Session: Skate Sim is an impressive and chill game if you enjoy skateboarding, but it is disappointing on Switch.
Session: Skate Sim is a great game I recommend on literally any other current platform. It is a shame about how it turned out on Nintendo Switch. I still found myself having fun on and off, but I cannot recommend Session: Skate Sim on Nintendo Switch in its current state. You’re missing out on too much of the atmosphere by playing a subpar version on Switch right now. -Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 2.5/5
Train Life: A Railway Simulator ($29.99)
What is it with train games right now? Feral Interactive is bringing Sid Meier’s Railroads to mobile and Nacon recently released Train Life: A Railway Simulator on Nintendo Switch. As a fan of the genre, I was curious to see how Train Life: A Railway Simulator would be on Switch, and whether it would be worth playing on the go.
Having no experience with this game on other platforms, I was quite impressed to see how it scaled down on Switch in portable mode, but very disappointed by how it looks docked. Barring the visuals, the controls are good, and the overall experience seems very welcoming to newcomers.
With a good tutorial and a lot of accessibility options to tweak the difficulty, this feels like a nice blend of more realistic train simulation and something like Euro Truck Simulator. There is a lot of depth across the different trains, locations, requirements, and more in the core gameplay loop here.
I hope potential future updates can improve the visuals docked and some of the load times in general. I’d also recommend increasing the sensitivity speed for camera movement and zooming, because the defaults feel really bad.
Train Life: A Railway Simulator has been a pleasant surprise on Nintendo Switch. While I cannot recommend it for docked play at all, it has been fun in handheld despite its visual cutbacks. Train Life: A Railway Simulator is a nice blend of traditional management games and more-involved train games. I’m looking forward to trying the DLC when I get time to come back to Train Life: A Railway Simulator in the future. -Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Saga of Sins ($19.99)
Wasted potential, that’s what Saga of Sins is. It has a really interesting premise of entering the minds of sinners (and eventually the innocent), and the visual style is a great hook. It all looks like stained glass! Neat. Plus, you can transform into various beasts, and who doesn’t love that? And then you start playing it, find yourself in the middle of a very plain 2D platformer with very plain combat and some poorly telegraphed boss battles, and it all starts to unravel. The cool story set-up doesn’t really go anywhere interesting, either. It all adds up to a game that makes a great first impression and then slides downhill almost immediately, never quite recovering.
Saga of Sins is basically functional, so if you come in with realistic expectations you might have an okay time with it. But the good ideas here deserved better than to set up a game I can only damn with the praise of “basically functional". Cool visuals, some interesting mechanics, and at least the start of a cool story, but there isn’t much else here that really lifts this experience out of being absolutely middle-of-the-road.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
Assault Suits Valken Declassified ($24.99)
Once you started to dig past the most famous titles in the Super NES library, there was a lot of treasure to be found. Initially released in the West by Konami under the title Cybernator, Assault Suits Valken was one such game. It was a very distinct action game, and those who spent a little time getting used to its unique mechanics were rewarded with a really enjoyable mecha romp. Most had no way of knowing at the time that our version of the game had some cut content, or that it was part of a larger series. It speaks to the quality of the gameplay that Cybernator was still very well-regarded on the merits of what was there.
If you have happy memories of that game, publisher Rainmaker has a great proposition for you: a faithfully-translated version of Assault Suits Valken handled by the emulation pros at M2, all dressed up with an embarrassment of riches as far as extras are concerned. While the game itself is toting the usual features seen in many of M2’s other projects such as the Castlevania Anniversary Collection or the Namco Museum Archives, the bonus content goes well beyond by translating a full strategy guide, offering a nice way to listen to some tunes, and a whole lot more. The ultimate treat for a fan of the game, and priced accordingly.
The price point might make this a hard pill to swallow for those unfamiliar with the game already, but I suspect this is one for the super fans anyway. M2 has done its usual fine work with the emulation side of things, and Rainmaker has really packed in the extras to help increase the value proposition. The game itself is a good one, a strong deep cut from the Super NES library, and it’s nice to have the original experience in English after all this time.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
New Releases
New York City Driver ($12.99)
Another BoomHits driving game, following almost the same structure as all of the other ones. This time it’s less about the vehicle theme and more about the location, though. There are fifteen different vehicles that wouldn’t be out of place in New York, seventy-five missions to complete, and a… particular interpretation of New York City to drive around in. Likely to be on deep discount soon.
Panda’s Village ($5.99)
This is just a weird game. It’s a tower defense game of sorts where you play as a panda and have to fortify your village and defend it against the neighboring monkeys who have a habit of invading. Yes, they will throw poop at you. It’s like something you would accidentally find on the App Store and have a guilty evening with before deleting and never speaking of again.
Cube Farmer ($30.00)
This is a very simple puzzle game where you place water cubes in designated locations to make the crops grow properly. You get forty levels to play in total. This seems like it would be a decent enough puzzler to chill with were it not for the price tag, which is absolutely bonkers. Seventy-five cents per level is one of the poorer propositions I’ve seen in a puzzle game in a while, especially since some of them are over in seconds. It seems priced to put on deep sale for attention, not to sell at its normal price.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Well right at the head of the list there you’ve got a quality shoot-em-up. Head down the list a bit and you’ll see some stuff from Team 17, plus the awesome throwbacks Donut Dodo and Galacticon. Not too much to note in the outbox, but do note that the discount connected with FIFA’s run on Game Trials is coming to a close.
Select New Games on Sale
Hell Blasters ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/7)
Rogue Star Rescue ($9.74 from $14.99 until 4/14)
Golazo 2 Pixel Soccer ($12.78 from $15.98 until 4/15)
Mudness Offroad Car Simulator ($1.99 from $14.99 until 4/15)
Automachef ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/16)
Neon Abyss ($6.99 from $19.99 until 4/16)
Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair ($5.99 from $29.99 until 4/16)
Crown Trick ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/16)
Monster Sanctuary ($6.99 from $19.99 until 4/16)
The Survivalists ($6.24 from $24.99 until 4/16)
Raging Justice ($3.74 from $14.99 until 4/16)
My Time at Portia ($7.49 from $29.99 until 4/16)
Golf With Your Friends ($5.99 from $19.99 until 4/16)
Moving Out ($6.24 from $24.99 until 4/16)
King of Seas ($4.99 from $24.99 until 4/16)
Worms WMD ($5.99 from $29.99 until 4/16)
Worms Rumble ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/16)
Epic Chef ($6.24 from $24.99 until 4/16)
Overcooked 2 ($6.24 from $24.99 until 4/16)
The Legend of Tianding ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/17)
Alisha: Oblivion of Twin Goddesses ($13.19 from $32.99 until 4/17)
Crazy Chicken Xtreme ($7.99 from $24.99 until 4/17)
My Life: Riding Stables 3 ($11.99 from $29.99 until 4/17)
My Life: Pet Vet ($11.99 from $29.99 until 4/17)
Monster Dynamite ($2.99 from $19.99 until 4/17)
Amazing Machines ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/17)
Barn Finders ($6.99 from $19.99 until 4/18)
4×4 Offroad Driver 2 ($7.79 from $12.99 until 4/21)
Roof Jump Stunt Driver ($6.49 from $12.99 until 4/21)
Donut Dodo ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/21)
Billy 101 ($3.99 from $4.99 until 4/21)
Chenso Club ($6.49 from $9.99 until 4/21)
Hotshot Racing ($2.99 from $19.99 until 4/21)
American Fugitive ($1.99 from $19.99 until 4/21)
Human: Fall Flat ($5.99 from $19.99 until 4/21)
Fishing: Barents Sea CE ($2.99 from $29.99 until 4/21)
Galacticon ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/21)
The Legend of Gwen ($11.99 from $19.99 until 4/21)
Gunpig: Firepower for Hire ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/21)
Detective Agency: Gray Tie CE ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/21)
Match Ventures 2 ($9.59 from $11.99 until 4/21)
Runefall 2 CE ($5.99 from $9.99 until 4/21)
Brightstone Mysteries: The Others ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/21)
My Lovely Pets CE ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/21)
Big Adventure: Trip to Europe ($9.59 from $11.99 until 4/21)
Big Adventure: Trip to Europe 2 ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/21)
Big Adventure: Trip to Europe 3 ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/21)
Woodle Tree 2 Deluxe ($1.99 from $12.99 until 4/22)
Suicide Guy Collection ($2.19 from $10.99 until 4/22)
Formula Retro Racing World Tour ($14.99 from $19.99 until 4/23)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 4th
After Wave: Downfall ($3.74 from $14.99 until 4/4)
Beauty Bounce ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/4)
Bunny Bounce ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/4)
Dating Life: Miley X Emily ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/4)
Dyna Bomb ($3.74 from $14.99 until 4/4)
EA Sports FIFA 23 Legacy ($19.99 from $39.99 until 4/4)
Evolution Board Game ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/4)
Horror Tale 1 Kidnapper ($6.99 from $9.99 until 4/4)
Kamikaze Veggies ($3.89 from $12.99 until 4/4)
Legend of Arcadieu Bundle ($3.99 from $7.99 until 4/4)
Little Misfortune ($6.99 from $19.99 until 4/4)
Magi Trials ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/4)
Sakura Santa ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/4)
Sakura Succubus 4 ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/4)
Secrets of Magic 3: Halloween ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/4)
Summer Days ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/4)
Superliminal ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/4)
W.A.R.P. ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/4)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, more reviews, and maybe some news. I feel like I have a million things to do right now and no time to do them, but I guess that’s how it goes sometimes. I hope you all have a great Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
