Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for June 20th, 2023. In today’s article, we kick things off with a slice of news before heading into a couple of reviews from our pal Mikhail. He’s been a busy beaver, and he’s got reviews of Loop8: Summer of Gods and Protodroid DeLTA for you to enjoy. After that, we head into the new releases of the day, such as they are. Finally, we bring things to a close in our usual manner with the latest sales and expiring discounts. Let’s wade on in and check things out!
News
A 40 Minute Long Nintendo Direct Airs Tomorrow
Nintendo just announced a 40 minute long Nintendo Direct for tomorrow. What should we expect? Well, I don’t know, but I’d love to see some new ports and remasters sprinkled through the year if there are no major first party titles coming. We won’t need to wait too long either way. You can watch it through the link above.
‘Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster’ Set for Release on September 14th
I was pretty happy when Bandai Namco announced Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster a while back. Regular readers know I love my RPGs, and this pair of Gamecube adventures have been living under the radar far too long. The set includes Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean and Baten Kaitos Origins, all spiffed up and ready for you to enjoy. Anyway, a release date! There is one now. It is September 14th, which might seem like a ways off until you realize it’s almost July. Where is the year going? I don’t know, but we’re getting some Baten Kaitos in a couple months and that is a good thing.
Reviews & Mini-Views
Protodroid DeLTA ($19.99)
Last month, Humble Games published Adam Kareem’s 3D action platformer Protodroid DeLTA on consoles and PC platforms. Since launch, it has gotten one patch on Switch to fix some issues, but the PC version has gone quite a bit ahead with updates bringing in much-needed features. In its current state, Protodroid DeLTA is a very good take on the 3D action platformer genre, but I cannot recommend it on Switch without caveats.
When I first booted up Protodroid DeLTA on Switch and Steam Deck, I liked how the movement and combat felt. While there’s repetition, I came away from Protodroid DeLTA enjoying the core experience, but there are some issues. The default controls felt a bit weird, but I got used to them. If you are interested in Protodroid DeLTA and want to play it on Switch, I’d grab it once the updates hit.
On Switch, there is no way to rebind buttons and a single save file right now. These updates will be coming in the future but they aren’t in right now. In its current state, Protodroid DeLTA on Switch feels like an early access game in some ways, but a polished one. If you enjoy Mega Man X style games and have wanted a modern 3D take on that, Protodroid DeLTA will deliver. The performance is fine on Switch, but it shines on Steam Deck for sure right now in general to the point where I’d recommend it there even above the PlayStation and Xbox versions.
While I think the asking price is high given the state of the Switch version, there’s a lot of potential here. When the updates hit Switch, it will be an easier recommendation at full price. It might have been better for the developer to focus on releasing it and fixing any issues on PC before bringing it to consoles. I hope that the updates arrive in time for a potential physical release, because despite my issues, I’ll be adding this one to my collection if it does see a retail release. -Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Loop8: Summer of Gods ($49.99)
Loop8: Summer of Gods, a new coming of age JRPG featuring looping through a specific time period, had a lot of potential. Every trailer had it looking interesting, but the end result is a game that feels equal parts charming and half-baked. Originally released earlier this month on Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One, Loop8: Summer of Gods has a good relationship system, but relies on too much RNG and grinding for progression.
It feels like part gorgeous interactive anime and part mediocre JRPG mechanically. In its current state, it also has a few too many technical issues with loading on Switch. Xseed Games did an awesome job with the localization, even adding full English voice acting as an option in addition to the original Japanese voice track, and the localization is probably the best part of this release right now.
On paper, the looping concept and setting could’ve worked well, but it feels like there was a disconnect between the people working on the in-game combat and dialogue systems with the rest of the game. Loop8: Summer of Gods is one of the biggest disappointments of 2023. It had so much potential, and I hope this idea is revisited in the future, but I cannot recommend it right now unless you’re ok with boring gameplay that feels more like a chore than anything. The great art, music, and voice acting sadly isn’t enough to elevate this to something I can recommend at full price. It should’ve been better. –Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 2.5/5
New Releases
Robolt ($4.99)
Another one of those days where the most interesting new release is a game with five-dollar Switch platformer energy. Sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes that’s a bad thing, but today it’s just a thing. This is a run-and-gun, if we’re being very specific. It features sixteen levels spread across four worlds, which isn’t a whole ton. You can upgrade your bot as you go, and there are lots of enemies and some nasty big bosses to battle.
Finger Football: Goal in Two ($2.00)
It’s back, and this time the gimmick is that you have two shots to make a goal on each of the seventy levels. Really not a whole lot to this one, but I suppose at the price of less than two delicious Snickers bars it doesn’t have to be anything terribly fancy.
Zenful Journey ($4.99)
I think Ultimate Games has picked up on the fact that customers have picked up on the fact that most of these hiking games that it has been releasing are all basically the same thing. The solution to the problem is to remove the word ‘hike’ from the titles, I guess. Whatever the publisher wants to call it, this is just another game where you take a walk through the woods and a few other areas. When will these stop coming? Maybe next week.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
A respectable list for a normal Tuesday, I suppose. Things of note in the inbox include Melty Blood: Type Lumina, Nowhere Prophet, Fashion Police Squad, and Ender Lilies. There isn’t too much in the outbox that I feel like cheerleading with much enthusiasm, so I’ll let you sort that one out yourself. Check those lists!
Select New Games on Sale
Melty Blood: Type Lumina ($27.49 from $49.99 until 6/27)
Madorica Real Estate 2 ($10.99 from $18.99 until 6/27)
Sentry Paragon ($2.39 from $5.99 until 6/30)
Mighty Mage ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/30)
Ratyboy Adventures ($3.99 from $9.99 until 6/30)
Yello Adventures ($2.39 from $5.99 until 6/30)
Melonizard ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/30)
Stab Stab Stab! ($2.99 from $9.99 until 7/3)
Thea: The Awakening ($5.39 from $17.99 until 7/3)
Immortal Planet ($4.49 from $14.99 until 7/3)
Collab Ball ($2.14 from $4.99 until 7/4)
Death, Soul & Robots ($3.34 from $4.99 until 7/4)
OMNO ($3.19 from $15.99 until 7/4)
Amazing Breaker ($2.07 from $7.99 until 7/4)
My Hidden Things ($2.02 from $6.99 until 7/4)
HardCube ($2.03 from $7.00 until 7/4)
Boris the Rocket ($3.44 from $14.99 until 7/4)
One Dog Story ($2.24 from $14.99 until 7/4)
Mainframe Defenders ($2.75 from $11.99 until 7/4)
Galaxy Squad ($2.29 from $9.99 until 7/4)
Frido ($3.34 from $4.99 until 7/4)
Family Man ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/9)
Nowhere Prophet ($2.49 from $24.99 until 7/9)
Fashion Police Squad ($14.99 from $19.99 until 7/9)
Soccer Story ($13.99 from $19.99 until 7/9)
Regency Solitaire ($4.07 from $11.99 until 7/10)
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights ($12.49 from $24.99 until 7/10)
Roomie Romance ($6.69 from $9.99 until 7/10)
Poosh XL ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/10)
Super Bit Blaster XL ($1.99 from $3.99 until 7/10)
Elves Fantasy Hentai Puzzle ($1.99 from $2.99 until 7/10)
Mythology Waifus Mahjong ($3.34 from $4.99 until 7/10)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 21st
Among Us ($3.50 from $5.00 until 6/21)
Battle & Crash ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/21)
Big Adventure: Trip to Europe ($7.19 from $11.99 until 6/21)
Big Adventure: Trip to Europe 2 ($8.99 from $14.99 until 6/21)
Big Adventure: Trip to Europe 3 ($8.99 from $14.99 until 6/21)
Caterpillar Royale ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/21)
Cattails ($1.99 from $14.99 until 6/21)
Detective Agency: Gray Tie ($8.99 from $14.99 until 6/21)
Dungeon Shooting ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/21)
Fates of Ort ($5.99 from $14.99 until 6/21)
Gemini ($4.49 from $4.99 until 6/21)
Kao the Kangaroo Bundle ($16.49 from $32.99 until 6/21)
My Lovely Pets CE ($8.99 from $14.99 until 6/21)
Overlord Escape from Nazarick ($14.99 from $29.99 until 6/21)
Penko Park ($6.49 from $12.99 until 6/21)
Pixel Boy Lost in the Castle ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/21)
Qube Cross ($4.19 from $6.99 until 6/21)
Runefall 2 ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/21)
Space Tail: Every Journey Leads Home ($6.99 from $19.99 until 6/21)
SUPERHOT ($11.24 from $24.99 until 6/21)
Void Scrappers ($2.99 from $3.99 until 6/21)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, perhaps a review, and maybe even some news. Those rumors are flying around like wild these days, and though I don’t like reporting on such things I do believe the timing is about right for some announcements. I suppose we’ll know soon enough. I hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
