Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for December 19th, 2023. In today’s article, we have one review for you to enjoy. I take a look at Raccoo Venture from QUByte Interactive and Diego Ras, and then head into the summaries of the new releases of the day. Following that, we do our usual thing and present some lists of new and outgoing sales. A fairly normal Tuesday, in most regards. Well, that’s nice sometimes. Let’s get to it.
Reviews & Mini-Views
Raccoo Venture ($14.99)
We see a fair number of 3D platformers these days, with even indie developers getting in on the action. They vary in scope and where they draw inspiration from, and some are certainly more successful than others. Raccoo Venture comes to us by way of developer Diego Ras and publisher QUByte Interactive, and it’s certainly a big swing for the latter. You play as a little raccoon who is on a quest to get all of his chess pieces and board back from some jerks who took them. It’s a very familiar pair of shoes if you were playing games during the collectathon heyday of the late 1990s and early 2000s, even if it doesn’t quite fit the mold in every way.
For starters, levels are a fair bit more linear than some of those classic games. Indeed, they feel a bit more like levels from Super Mario 3D World in how they play out. A little bit of room for exploration, but you’re largely going to be funneled from one little area to another. You can’t move the camera around, but the game is mainly designed in consideration of that. There are hidden things to find in each stage, and you’ll need to have sharp eyes, a bit of wit, and some manual dexterity to find them all. You can also get new costumes which are simply cosmetic but are still welcome.
Broadly speaking, Raccoo Venture plays well enough. The jumping is a bit stiff, and the ground pound attack feels a little awkward to use at times. The penalty for falling off an edge is fairly severe compared to taking hits, and it’s really easy to mess up until you become extremely well acquainted with how the main character moves. The way the enemy AI behaves is also a bit strange, something that again takes some getting used to. Still, once you do it’s all very workable. Nothing amazing, but you’ll have a decent enough time with it if you enjoy the genre.
That’s really how I would sum up Raccoo Venture on the whole. It’s a solid, but not spectacular, entry into the 3D platforming genre. I think if you’re a fan of 3D platformers, you probably won’t be disappointed with what you get here. Those less interested in the genre likely won’t find much to change their minds. I also don’t imagine it will stick in anyone’s memories all too often. It does its job, and maybe that’s enough.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
New Releases
Terra Nil ($24.99)
This game describes itself as a reverse city builder, and that seems like a fun way to sum it up. You’re trying to restore nature to a lifeless landscape using advanced eco-technology, and with procedurally generated maps you can keep on doing it as many times as you like. Create a balanced ecosystem and move on to the next place that needs your help. I’ll have a review of this one as soon as I can swing it.
Twin Mind: Murderous Jealousy Collector’s Edition ($14.99)
Yes, we just had one of these last week. No, this one doesn’t do anything different. Just another case for the twin detectives, this time involving a murder at a theater. Look for hidden objects, play some mini-games, you know how it goes.
All I Want for Christmas are Subgames CE ($9.99)
This is a collection of more than twenty mini-games with a strong emphasis on Christmas themes. Think things like crosswords, spot the differences, and other such fare from actual puzzle books. Might be what you’re looking for to get yourself more into the seasonal mood.
The Bin Bunch
Airport ($9.99)
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
A few goodies today. RPG fans might want to look into Trails into Reverie, while shoot-em-up enjoyers would do well to check out RayStorm X RayCrisis HD Collection. Those who want to relive the Amiga years can grab the Turrican sets on the cheap, and if you like exploratory platformers but have somehow missed the Ori games up until now, you can get those at great prices as well. There are some things to see in the outbox, but I’ll let you deal with that on your own.
Select New Sales
Snow Madness ($2.09 from $2.99 until 12/25)
Age of Sokoban ($2.09 from $2.99 until 12/25)
Jigsaw Tetra ($3.49 from $4.99 until 12/25)
Retro Space Fighter ($3.49 from $4.99 until 12/25)
Minepull ($2.09 from $2.99 until 12/25)
Alone Music ($3.49 from $4.99 until 12/25)
Zumba Garden ($1.99 from $2.99 until 1/1)
Silt ($6.89 from $14.99 until 1/1)
Little Friends: Puppy Island ($23.99 from $39.99 until 1/1)
Lifeslide ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/1)
TLoH: Trails into Reverie ($44.99 from $59.99 until 1/1)
Mad Rat Dead ($23.99 from $39.99 until 1/1)
Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief ($19.99 from $39.99 until 1/1)
CRYMACHINA ($47.99 from $59.99 until 1/1)
Disgaea 7 Complete Edition ($87.99 from $109.99 until 1/1)
Jitsu Squad ($14.99 from $29.99 until 1/3)
RayStorm X RayCrisis HD Collection ($27.99 from $39.99 until 1/3)
Cursed to Golf ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/3)
Lonely Mountains: Downhill ($7.99 from $19.99 until 1/3)
Wavetale ($14.99 from $29.99 until 1/3)
Taito Milestones 2 ($31.99 from $39.99 until 1/3)
Turrican Flashback ($8.99 from $29.99 until 1/3)
Turrican Anthology Vol. I ($10.49 from $34.99 until 1/3)
Turrican Anthology Vol. II ($10.49 from $34.99 until 1/3)
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! ($29.99 from $39.99 until 1/3)
Ori & the Blind Forest: Definitive ($6.59 from $19.99 until 1/4)
Ori & the Will of the Wisps ($9.89 from $29.99 until 1/4)
Side View Golf ($4.79 from $5.99 until 1/7)
Pan-Dimensional Conga Combat ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/8)
Void Scrappers ($2.39 from $3.99 until 1/8)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, December 20th
A Knight’s Quest ($3.74 from $24.99 until 12/20)
American Fugitive ($2.99 from $19.99 until 12/20)
Autonauts ($6.79 from $19.99 until 12/20)
Beholder: Complete Edition ($2.24 from $14.99 until 12/20)
Bomber Crew ($2.99 from $19.99 until 12/20)
Chenso Club ($6.69 from $9.99 until 12/20)
Embr ($4.99 from $19.99 until 12/20)
For The King ($6.24 from $24.99 until 12/20)
From Space ($6.74 from $14.99 until 12/20)
Hotshot Racing ($2.99 from $19.99 until 12/20)
Hue ($2.49 from $9.99 until 12/20)
Human: Fall Flat ($5.99 from $19.99 until 12/20)
Just Die Already ($3.74 from $14.99 until 12/20)
LocO-SportS ($2.15 from $5.99 until 12/20)
Manual Samuel ($2.49 from $9.99 until 12/20)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle ($13.99 from $39.99 until 12/20)
Motorsport Manager ($3.74 from $14.99 until 12/20)
Pumped BMX Pro ($2.24 from $14.99 until 12/20)
Serial Cleaner ($2.24 from $14.99 until 12/20)
Smoke and Sacrifice ($2.99 from $19.99 until 12/20)
Space Crew: Legendary Edition ($7.49 from $24.99 until 12/20)
Space Warrior ($4.99 from $9.99 until 12/20)
The Swindle ($2.24 from $14.99 until 12/20)
Velocity 2X ($2.99 from $19.99 until 12/20)
When Ski Lifts Go Wrong ($2.24 from $14.99 until 12/20)
You Suck at Parking ($13.99 from $19.99 until 12/20)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with a handful of new releases, the usual lists of sales, and perhaps a review or some news items. I actually have to go to the fancy hospital tomorrow for a check-up, so my time is going to be a bit shorter than the average Wednesday. I’ll do my best anyway. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
