Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for February 1st, 2021. In today’s article, we kick off the month with a handful of Mini-Views for recent releases. We then look at the few new releases that hit over the weekend and today. We finish things up with a relatively lengthy list of new sales, and the usual list of outgoing sales. That’s the lot, friends. Let’s go!
Mini-Views
SOLAS 128 ($14.99)
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if you like puzzle games about reflecting light beams, you would be hard-pressed to find a bigger, more satisfying example than SOLAS 128. With each screen being one part of a greater whole, the brain-bending color mixing and separation elements, and some enjoyably mysterious situations, the game gets a lot of mileage out of a single type of puzzle. But that is a key point to note: this is a fairly large, complex, and lengthy game that focuses entirely around one kind of puzzle. Even with everything it does to keep that core idea fresh, it starts to wear after a while. You may find yourself tempted to take advantage of the well-implemented hint system, but try not to let your frustration get the better of you. The difficulty curve in this game has been done very well, with a proper ramp up to some seriously challenging set-ups. The appeal is narrow, to be sure, but its laser-focus will almost certainly please puzzle fans of a particular sort.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
Gods Will Fall ($24.99)
There are things I don’t like about Gods Will Fall. The levels leading up to the boss battles are sometimes a slog, and the enemies are too sparse overall. Good loot is hard to come by. Figuring out the order to handle the bosses in feels as random as it is. In spite of that, it works. Combat feels engaging, the boss battles are satisfying, and there’s a really strong sense of risk and reward in terms of which characters you use and when you deploy them. “Dungeon crawling roguelite plus Dark Souls" is an idea that could have gone horrifically wrong, but it by and large comes together in a solid way here. An unusual flavor that I expect will go down well with roguelite fans.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
TOHU ($14.99)
TOHU does a lot of things right and doesn’t really do anything seriously wrong, but I found myself feeling very ho-hum about it in the end. The art is really nice and I enjoyed many of the puzzles. But as pretty as it is, there’s something very “generic point-and-click adventure" about the game that keeps it from truly standing out. Touch controls work well enough but note that if you’re playing docked you’re going to have to deal with a relatively annoying cursor-based interface that doesn’t work all that well with a controller. There’s so much obvious love put into this game, but I’m not sure all that personality is enough to make this anything more than a fairly standard take on a well-worn concept.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
Citizens Unite!: Earth x Space ($29.99)
I’ll say upfront that I wasn’t the biggest fan of either of the included games in their original forms. I think Citizens of Earth has dull combat and can get a little obnoxious. Citizens of Space has better combat but its story and themes don’t hit as well for me. Both games are trying hard to be funny and that is always a risky play. When you put them together, and do it in the very unique way Citizens Unite does, you get something that is a bit better than the parts of its whole. You can easily switch between the two games, and indeed there is some extra content in here that plays on that. Tired of Earth‘s battles? Jump over to Space. Want something a bit more grounded than Space‘s far-out setting? Hop back to Earth for a bit. Frankly speaking, both of these games are best enjoyed in smaller bites, and this unified collection greatly facilitates that approach.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
New Releases
Turrican Flashback ($29.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Depending on which part of the world you hail from, you may vaguely remember Turrican, not know it at all, or consider it one of the finest names in side-scrolling action games. Whatever your experience with Turrican, you’ll want to at least consider this set. It includes four games that give you a pretty good slice of the series: Turrican and Turrican 2 for the Commodore Amiga, Mega Turrican for the SEGA Genesis (effectively Turrican 3), and Super Turrican for the Nintendo Super NES (kind of a remixed and SNES-ified take on the first two Amiga games). While it’s far from a complete set, these are four fairly high-quality side-scrolling action-platformers that feature huge levels and plenty of secrets. There are some extra features and options to make the games easier to enjoy in a modern context. I’ll have a review of this one for you tomorrow.
Silver Chains ($24.99)
Got room in your life for another mediocre jump scare-riddled haunted house adventure game? If so, Silver Chains is for you. After hitting a tree in a storm, a guy wakes up in a spooky mansion in England. He has no idea how he got here or what happened between his accident and now, and part of the game is in figuring out that stuff. It’s also quickly apparent that what he believed to be a vacant house isn’t quite as empty as he thought, and that’s not a good thing for our poor protagonist. Anyway, it’s the usual business. Explore, solve puzzles, watch out for things that go bump in the night, and eventually hit a twist that would be shocking if it hadn’t been done a million times before. Ehn.
Glyph ($19.99)
This is a port of a free-to-play PC virtual reality game, with the VR feature stripped out and all of the optional DLC included for the purchase price. You play as a ball and need to make your way through more than 80 levels of precarious platforming. It’s okay, but a lot of its punch came from the VR feature and without it you’re left with a rather bland platformer on a platform swimming in great ones. If you have the means to do so, I absolutely encourage you to try out the free computer version and see how it suits you. If you’re still having fun after the first several levels, you can probably feel safe grabbing the full game.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
It’s a big list, but one rich in the usual suspects. The most notable things I spot in the lot are the BIT.TRIP series, Thomas Was Alone, Picklock, and Tanuki Justice. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other good games in there, but they’re ones we’ve seen on sale frequently. Very little in the outbox by contrast, and I can’t even say there’s much in there in terms of must-haves. Take a good look through anyway, of course. You never know when you’ll find something that you like more than I do.
Select New Games on Sale
Portal Dogs ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/2)
Battleship ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/4)
Clue: The Mystery Game ($14.99 from $29.99 until 2/4)
4×4 Dirt Track ($5.99 from $11.99 until 2/5)
The Bridge ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/5)
Tumblestone ($1.99 from $14.99 until 2/5)
Almost There: The Platformer ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/5)
Gurgamoth ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/5)
Car Driving School Simulator ($6.99 from $13.99 until 2/5)
Gas Station: Highway Services ($4.79 from $11.99 until 2/5)
Detective Driver: Miami Files ($4.79 from $11.99 until 2/5)
City Bus Driving Simulator ($4.79 from $11.99 until 2/5)
Deleveled ($4.98 from $9.99 until 2/5)
Breakpoint ($2.49 from $4.99 until 2/5)
Fracter ($3.48 from $6.99 until 2/5)
Carnage: Battle Arena ($2.99 from $14.99 until 2/5)
Roundguard ($8.97 from $19.99 until 2/5)
The Ambassador: FT ($6.73 from $14.99 until 2/5)
#Funtime ($6.73 from $14.99 until 2/5)
The House of Da Vinci 2 ($5.99 from $9.99 until 2/7)
Mad Carnage ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/8)
Food Truck Tycoon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/8)
Urban Flow ($1.99 from $14.99 until 2/8)
The Hong Kong Massacre ($14.99 from $19.99 until 2/8)
Dead Dungeon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/8)
One Person Story ($1.99 from $2.99 until 2/8)
Atomic Heist ($1.99 from $7.99 until 2/8)
Dark Burial ($1.99 from $3.99 until 2/8)
Pizza Bar Tycoon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/8)
Paratopic ($2.74 from $5.49 until 2/9)
Pew Paw ($1.99 from $6.99 until 2/9)
Farabel ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/9)
Mushroom Quest ($1.99 from $2.99 until 2/9)
Event Horizon ($1.99 from $5.99 until 2/9)
Grood ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/9)
Find the Balance ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/11)
Hardway Party ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/11)
Door Kickers ($8.39 from $11.99 until 2/11)
DungeonTop ($9.79 from $13.99 until 2/11)
Magic Nations: STG ($1.99 from $19.99 until 2/13)
Space Aliens Invaders ($3.99 from $4.99 until 2/13)
Death’s Hangover ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/14)
Eyes: The Horror Game ($1.99 from $2.49 until 2/14)
Stencil Art ($1.99 from $3.99 until 2/14)
Tower Inferno ($1.99 from $7.99 until 2/14)
Zombie Blast Crew ($3.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
BIT.TRIP Series, Assorted ($3.99 from $4.99 until 2/14)
Brawl ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Escape Doodland ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Koloro ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Super Hero Fight Club Reloaded ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Odium to the Core ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/14)
Utopia 9: A Volatile Vacation ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Unit 4 ($1.99 from $14.99 until 2/14)
Mini Trains ($1.99 from $5.99 until 2/14)
#RaceDieRun ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Chop ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Rimelands: Hammer of Thor ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Throne Quest Deluxe ($2.69 from $5.99 until 2/14)
Castle of No Escape 2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/14)
Space Pioneer ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Twister Road ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/14)
Barbarous: Tavern of Emyr ($1.99 from $7.99 until 2/14)
Gravity Rider Zero ($1.99 from $6.99 until 2/14)
Welcome to Primrose Lake ($1.99 from $7.99 until 2/14)
Puzzle Book ($1.99 from $3.99 until 2/15)
Pocket Mini Golf ($1.99 from $2.49 until 2/15)
Hexagon Defense ($3.19 from $3.99 until 2/15)
Elden: Path of the Forgotten ($4.79 from $15.99 until 2/15)
REKT! High Octane Stunts ($1.99 from $5.99 until 2/15)
Archaica: Path of Light ($3.97 from $14.99 until 2/16)
Spirit Roots ($1.99 from $6.99 until 2/16)
The Great Perhaps ($4.49 from $9.99 until 2/16)
Collapsed ($10.50 from $15.00 until 2/17)
Depth of Extinction ($8.99 from $14.99 until 2/17)
Outbreak Lost Hope ($6.49 from $12.99 until 2/18)
Dungeon Nightmares Collection ($1.99 from $12.00 until 2/18)
Sorry, James ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/18)
The Big Journey ($2.49 from $9.99 until 2/18)
Super Arcade Soccer ($2.02 from $6.99 until 2/18)
Lines X ($1.99 from $3.99 until 2/18)
Lines Infinite ($1.99 from $3.99 until 2/18)
Wayout ($2.49 from $4.99 until 2/18)
Rock’N Racing Off Road DX ($2.99 from $9.99 until 2/18)
Grand Prix Rock ‘N Racing ($2.99 from $9.99 until 2/18)
Vera Blanc: Ghost in the Castle ($3.99 from $4.99 until 2/19)
Thomas Was Alone ($7.99 from $9.99 until 2/19)
FootGoal! Tiki Taka ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/19)
#Halloween, Puzzles Dream ($1.99 from $5.99 until 2/19)
Picklock ($3.99 from $7.99 until 2/19)
Tanuki Justice ($11.24 from $14.99 until 2/19)
Splashy Cube ($3.49 from $4.99 until 2/19)
Body of Evidence ($5.49 from $9.99 until 2/19)
Burn! SuperTrucks ($6.99 from $7.99 until 2/19)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 2nd
Dirt Bike Insanity ($6.39 from $7.99 until 2/2)
Fall Gummies ($1.99 from $7.99 until 2/2)
Fantasy Tower Defense ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/2)
Funny Bunny Adventures ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/2)
Perfect Traffic Simulator ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/2)
Ploid ($2.69 from $2.99 until 2/2)
Portal Dogs ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/2)
STONE ($9.99 from $14.99 until 2/2)
The Legend of Ninja ($1.99 from $7.99 until 2/2)
That’s all for today, friends. There are a handful of new releases hitting tomorrow that we’ll be taking a look at and summarizing as usual. I’ll also have a full review and perhaps a couple of Mini-Views for you, plus whatever news and new sales that come along in the next day. I hope you all have a super Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
