Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for June 22nd, 2020. In today’s article, we’ve got summaries of a couple of new releases that hit the eShop since we last checked in. There are also a pair of Mini-Views for a couple of recent releases. We finish things up with a full list of incoming and outgoing sales for you to comb through. The big news is the unveiling of which character from ARMS will be joining Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but that’s unfortunately in the future for me and probably the past for you, so we’ll have to talk about that tomorrow. Let’s get into it!
Mini-Views
Ruiner ($19.99)
There are two things that Ruiner does really well: its amazing atmosphere and its excellent action gameplay. Right from the start you’re immersed in a very well-realized cyberpunk world, following orders because you have to and wreaking havoc perhaps because you want to. There are a lot of treats for your eyes, which is good because it helps cover up some slightly bland structural designs in the levels. While the level layouts themselves may leave you wanting, the intense action certainly won’t. There’s nothing particularly new about the top-down carnage you can inflict using a variety of guns and melee attacks, but Ruiner does it with a great deal of polish and impact. Dashing around a room and reducing your enemies to ribbons just feels great.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
Five Night’s at Freddy’s: Sister Location ($7.99)
Some fans consider this the best game in the series. Well, maybe it is. I think the recently released Help Wanted has more in general to offer, but that came out after this game originally so it’s hard to say how fair that comparison is. Anyway, this is the game where the creator starting spending some proper money on putting one of these together, and it shows. The general production values are a lot better than any of the previous games, and rather than drill down on one particular type of gameplay, you’re given a variety of activities to engage in. Little chance of this game convincing anyone who isn’t already part of the faithful, but that doesn’t stop it from being a whole lot of enjoyable tension.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
New Releases
Sword and Sandals: Spartacus ($12.99)
Oh hey, I found Spartacus. Tell that Roman dude who was looking for him. He thought he’d be in a Kirk Douglas movie, but no. He’s actually starring in a rather middling platformer. I like the pixel art in this one and it’s not horrible to play or anything, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near being able to hang with the competition in the price tier its publisher has picked. Probably the most noteworthy thing about it is that this is the first game I’ve ever seen touting a lack of Metroidvania elements as a feature in its description. You could always check out the version on mobile, which is free to start, to see if this is your cup of tea.
Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio ($4.99)
A retro-style platformer, Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio released on computers several years back and seems to be fairly well-liked as far as Steam reviews are concerned. And yeah, it’s okay. Not great, but okay. There’s a nice sense of humor to it, one that is absurd in the way that classic games often were, and the difficulty curve isn’t too sharp. One of my personal pet peeves, collision detection, is an issue here. But otherwise it’s fun for a playthrough or two, and that’s really all a five dollar game needs to be in my books. Don’t expect too much, though.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
A healthy chunk of new sales popped up over the weekend, and there are some real eye-catchers in there. Elliot Quest for nine cents? Uh, yeah. That’s a great Zelda II-like, and there sure aren’t many of those. Fury Unleashed gets its first post-launch discount, and that’s a good bit of fun too. Children of Morta is a cool roguelite and a great pick-up for under fifteen bucks, and pretty much everything from Limited Run is worth considering on some level. The outbox doesn’t have too much to fret about, so feel free to focus on the new sales.
Select New Games on Sale
Fury Unleashed ($14.99 from $19.99 until 7/9)
Children of Morta ($14.73 from $21.99 until 7/7)
Sally’s Law ($7.79 from $12.99 until 7/11)
Soap Dodgem ($0.99 from $1.99 until 7/5)
She Sees Red ($5.99 from $9.99 until 7/8)
Robots Under Attack! ($1.99 from $5.99 until 7/10)
Troubleshooter ($0.99 from $2.99 until 7/9)
Parallel ($2.99 from $9.99 until 7/9)
Otto ($2.49 from $4.99 until 7/9)
City Driving Simulator ($8.99 from $11.99 until 7/11)
Elliot Quest ($0.09 from $9.99 until 6/26)
Revenge of the Bird King ($0.99 from $4.99 until 7/3)
Double Switch – 25th Anniversary ($1.99 from $14.99 until 7/3)
Night Trap – 25th Anniversary ($2.99 from $14.99 until 7/3)
Saturday Morning RPG ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/3)
Cosmic Star Heroine ($1.99 from $14.99 until 7/3)
Super Inefficient Golf ($3.99 from $7.99 until 7/9)
The First Tree ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/29)
Mars or Die! ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/9)
Zombie Scrapper ($1.49 from $2.99 until 7/8)
Hyperdrive Massacre ($3.99 from $7.99 until 7/9)
Rest in Pieces ($1.19 from $7.99 until 7/9)
Speedway Racing ($6.99 from $9.99 until 7/9)
Radio Squid ($3.99 from $4.99 until 7/6)
Demon’s Rise – War for the Deep ($4.89 from $6.99 until 7/9)
Moorhuhn Wanted ($5.59 from $6.99 until 7/10)
Bring Them Home ($2.39 from $2.99 until 7/10)
Build a Bridge! ($2.99 from $14.99 until 7/7)
Event Horizon ($0.99 from $5.99 until 7/7)
Swaps & Traps ($0.44 from $8.99 until 6/30)
Atomic Heist ($0.79 from $7.99 until 6/29)
Island Maze ($1.49 from $2.99 until 6/30)
Pixel Gladiator ($1.49 from $6.99 until 6/30)
Tactical Mind 2 ($0.74 from $4.99 until 6/29)
Breathing Fear ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/7)
Funny Bunny Adventures ($0.74 from $4.99 until 6/29)
Swordbreaker The Game ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/7)
Debtor ($0.74 from $2.99 until 6/29)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 23rd
Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers ($2.99 from $19.99 until 6/23)
Conjuror Andy’s Repeatable Dungeon ($6.79 from $7.99 until 6/23)
Dark Burial ($0.99 from $3.99 until 6/23)
Event Horizon: Space Defense ($1.97 from $6.99 until 6/23)
ICEY ($6.99 from $9.99 until 6/23)
Mech Rage ($0.49 from $9.99 until 6/23)
One Person Story ($0.74 from $2.99 until 6/23)
Sports Party ($4.99 from $39.99 until 6/23)
Summer in Mara ($22.49 from $24.99 until 6/23)
Sweet Witches ($1.49 from $9.99 until 6/23)
Tardy ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/23)
Undead Horde ($6.79 from $16.99 until 6/23)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow to talk about a solid bunch of new releases, and Mikhail should have a review of Burnout Paradise Remastered ready to go. We’ll talk about whatever news hits, which will of course include that ARMS Smash character. And of course, whatever sales pop up will also be included. I know you all love the sales. I hope you have a good Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
