Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 7th, 2021. Today was looking like it was going to be a bit of a dull one in terms of new releases, but then Interplay threw us a surprise out of the middle of nowhere (Or not – the game has been delayed a few days!). Well, I won’t complain. There are a couple of other decent games today aside from that big-pants release, and a lot of more… dubious titles. Well, that’s how things go sometimes. We’ve got summaries of everything, as usual. We also have the expected lists of incoming and outgoing sales for you to look at. Let’s get on the road!
New Releases
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance ($29.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
What? Where did this come from? You’re just going to go and suddenly drop a game like this on us, Interplay? Hey, that’s cool by me. Things are a bit different these days, but time was that you couldn’t get many decent Diablo-style action-RPGs on home consoles. In the PlayStation 2/Xbox/Gamecube generation, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance (and its sequel) scratched the itch quite nicely. You and a friend could hack, slash, and zap your way through an entire Monstrous Compendium worth of trouble set in the Forgotten Realms world. And now you can do it again on your Switch! Just be advised that it’s not quite as long as some more modern games in the genre. Still a good fifteen to twenty hours, though. (This game got delayed a few days at the last minute, so don’t knock yourself out searching for it just yet)
Flowing Lights ($9.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
This trippy-looking shooter has an interesting twist to its mechanics. Your shots flow like liquid, rolling over and off the terrain. It’s not often as easy as taking a straight shot at your opponents as you have to account for the curvature of the level. There are also some puzzle elements involved with taking out certain enemies or getting past traps. At the end of each level, you’ll receive a grade based on your performance. There are apparently 200 “fights" in the game, and power-ups and online leaderboards to help spice things up. It’s really tough, but I think it’s unique and quite neat.
Total Arcade Racing ($9.99)
Okay, in the sense that Atari’s Sprint series did indeed start in the arcades, I acknowledge that this is Total Arcade Racing in a certain fashion. It’s a top-down racer where you race against up to seven opponents (and yes, they can be human if you have enough controllers) to see who can come in first. There is a variety of cars to choose from, and a number of different courses to race on. You get the usual racing modes like Championship and Time Trials, but you also get a bunch of other fun modes like Demolition Derby and Car Hockey. There’s also support for online leaderboards. It doesn’t look like the fanciest game around or anything, but I think it’s rather well-featured for what it is.
Blink: Rogues ($9.99)
This is an unusual shoot-em-up where the play area is split into two sections. You can teleport, or rather “blink" between them. The idea is to try to take out as many of the enemies as you can, blinking as needed while being careful you don’t blink yourself into a bullet or other hazard. In addition to the main story campaign, there’s a co-op local multiplayer mode, a PVP multiplayer mode, and even a mode where you play against the CPU. It seems to have a decent reputation on other platforms, so if you like the sound of the concept you may want to drop a tenner on this. Or wait a bit, as Ultimate Games tends to put everything on sale before long.
C14 Dating ($19.99)
Here’s an otome dating sim about an anthropology student from California who is participating in an internship in Belgium. There she meets an assortment of hunky dudes (and one lovely gal) that she may or may not smooch. She will also be doing some work digging up bones and tools, of course. She’s not just here to chat up good-looking people after all. Enjoy some archaeological minigames to go with your choice-based narrative, and see if you can unlock the secret romance option. This is actually closer to a proper dating sim than the usual visual novel-style efforts we see in the otome category on Switch. Also, the title pun is absolutely delicious.
Super Disc Soccer ($3.99)
Benjamin Kistler seems to be the newest slinger of low-effort, low-cost games on the eShop. This one goes for a lean four bucks, and it really looks the part. It’s a soccer-like game where the players are discs. Oh, and it’s turn-based. That’s interesting, at least. You select and drag your player to control the power and direction of your shot, then let fly. There are a couple of different modes, and you can play against a second player in local multiplayer. I suppose that’s enough for four dollars, but somehow I doubt it will feel like a deal for most.
Ninja Epic Adventure ($3.99)
Pix Arts won’t take this affront to its title lying down, however. Here’s its latest: Ninja Epic Adventure, a crummy 2D platformer where you play as a ninja (or a variety of other unlockable characters) in thirty-six levels spread across four different worlds. Each world concludes with a boss fight. You’ll collect coins along the way that you can use in shops to buy items or unlock characters. Did you ever play Croc’s World? This game has some serious Croc’s World energy. I wouldn’t recommend it at all, but I know some people like to throw a few bucks at games like this in search of amusing garbage.
Sweets Swap ($5.99)
I’m not going to sugar-coat things: this is a pretty direct clone of Candy Crush. From our new pal Bejamin Kistler, naturally. Match candies and try to complete the objective on each of the game’s one hundred stages. You might have to match a certain number of specific candies, or make matches on squares filled with sweets to remove the purple candy filling, or drop specific pieces to the bottom of the board. The familiar power-ups are here, too. You can download a million games like this for free on your mobile device and just keep your six bucks. Most of them don’t get stupid-hard until well past the first hundred stages anyway.
Infestor ($4.99)
Oh hey, it’s a Woblyware game. Something so cozy about seeing those sprites. It really takes me back to the simpler days of mobile gaming, all the way back to the beginning of 2013. That’s when this game was released on mobile, and while it wasn’t the most celebrated game from this developer, it sure wasn’t bad. You play as a little alien slime thing that can take over bodies and use their skills. There are 70 levels in total, and the game does a fairly good job of exploring its mechanics across them. I think it’s a perfectly decent game to grab for a fiver.
Train Station Renovation ($18.99)
Do you love trains? Yes? Alright! Do you also love train stations? Maybe? Looking good! Do you like the idea of fixing up and cleaning completely trashed train stations so that they’re ready to be used again? Because that’s this game. It’s not really about the trains. It’s about doing repairs and renovations. Like the title says. It could be about renovating any decrepit buildings, really. It just happens to be about train stations. I don’t think I would pay nearly twenty bucks for this sort of thing, but I know some people get into these games. If that is you, dinner is served.
Silver Falls Episode Prelude ($7.99)
Who needs Resident Evil 8? We’ve got Silver Falls Episode Prelude! Okay, that’s not a cool comparison. I’m sure this comes from a rather small team instead of the big guns of one of the biggest gaming companies in the world, after all. It is a short survival-horror adventure, complete with puzzles to solve, weird characters to interact with, and terrifying creatures to battle with your sparse resources. I’m not a huge survival-horror person, so I’m not well-equipped to say how good or bad this is. I’d imagine we’ll be seeing more Silver Falls games on the Switch if this goes over well enough. I know the 3DS had a couple of them.
Youkai Poetry ($6.99)
This is a visual novel about a young man’s interesting encounters with youkai, creatures from Japanese mythology. Turns out many of them are actually cute ladies, who knew? The main character’s summer isn’t going to go the way he planned, to say the least. Not a bad premise, but the translation here is among the worst I’ve seen in a game of this genre. It’s not fully unintelligible, but just enough so that it’s utterly distracting while you’re trying to read the story. Kind of a sad outcome for a game with ‘poetry’ in its title.
Klondike Solitaire Collection ($5.79)
I feel like most people who like Klondike Solitaire probably don’t need more than one Klondike Solitaire game. If they own a Switch and are interested in having one, they probably already have one. But supposing they want another for some reason, here’s a rather full-featured one. You get ten variants of Klondike Solitaire in this collection, and I didn’t even know there were that many variants. Presentation-wise, this is far from the nicest game of this sort on the Switch, but it doesn’t look bad or anything. Just plain, really. I suppose if you value a few extra options over a little extra flash, this might be a way to go.
Sector 781 ($5.99)
Pixel art platformers. We’ve got lots to choose from on the Switch. Sector 781 is another one. Explore the realms, upgrade your weapons and character, and collect shards to increase your precious energy supply. It’s a light Metroidvania-style game, and while it does not inspire me to do three hand-springs across the room pulling a streamer behind me, I think it’s rather well-made for what it is. The price is nice, too. But I can certainly understand anyone who feels full-up on this kind of thing taking a pass.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
The list of new sales today is very long, but there aren’t many rarities in it. Indeed, I’m just going to point at a single game to call attention to it: Raging Loop. It’s a very good visual novel that sometimes goes on sale, but it has never been as low-priced as it is now. As long as you don’t hate the genre, I recommend giving it a shot. The weekend outbox isn’t terribly exciting either, but make sure you take a good look at it. Many of the games in the list don’t get discounted often, but I’m hard-pressed to get excited about some of them myself.
Select New Games on Sale
Riverbond ($4.99 from $24.99 until 5/13)
Car Quest ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/13)
CyberHive ($8.99 from $9.99 until 5/14)
Rad Rodgers Radical Edition ($5.99 from $29.99 until 5/14)
Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams ($5.99 from $29.99 until 5/14)
Cycle 28 ($1.99 from $6.99 until 5/14)
Biped ($8.84 from $14.99 until 5/17)
Ethan: Meteor Hunter ($2.49 from $9.99 until 5/17)
Inside My Radio ($2.49 from $9.99 until 5/17)
Heroes of the Monkey Tavern ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/19)
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/19)
Train Station Renovation ($17.09 from $18.99 until 5/20)
Color Your World ($11.24 from $14.99 until 5/20)
1979 Revolution: Black Friday ($2.99 from $11.99 until 5/20)
Tamashii ($5.99 from $11.99 until 5/20)
Don’t Die, Mr Robot! ($2.24 from $8.99 until 5/20)
REZ PLZ ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/20)
Spectrum ($2.39 from $11.99 until 5/20)
Three Fourths Home: Extended ($2.24 from $8.99 until 5/20)
The Shapeshifting Detective ($6.49 from $12.99 until 5/20)
Bleed ($3.59 from $11.99 until 5/20)
Bleed 2 ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/20)
Shikhondo: Soul Eater ($4.19 from $13.99 until 5/20)
Vertical Drop Heroes HD ($2.49 from $9.99 until 5/20)
Ink ($2.24 from $8.99 until 5/20)
Hacky Zack ($2.49 from $9.99 until 5/20)
Sunless Sea: Zubmariner Edition ($11.99 from $19.99 until 5/20)
Pipe Push Paradise ($2.74 from $10.99 until 5/20)
Omega Strike ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/20)
Unto the End ($17.49 from $24.99 until 5/20)
Uncanny Valley ($2.49 from $9.99 until 5/20)
Aquatic Adv. of the Last Human ($3.89 from $12.99 until 5/20)
Joggernauts ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/20)
Paranautical Activity ($2.39 from $7.99 until 5/20)
Underhero ($10.19 from $16.99 until 5/20)
Adventures of Chris ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/20)
Blue Fire ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/20)
Double Cross ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/20)
Glass Masquerade ($3.59 from $11.99 until 5/20)
Glass Masquerade 2: Illusions ($5.99 from $11.99 until 5/20)
Mable & The Wood ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/20)
The King’s Bird ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/20)
Lost Artifacts: Soulstone ($2.99 from $9.99 until 5/20)
Signs of the Sojourner ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/20)
Bite the Bullet ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/20)
Tower of Time ($16.24 from $24.99 until 5/20)
Youkai Poetry ($5.59 from $6.99 until 5/20)
Supermarket Shriek ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/21)
Tokyo School Life ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/21)
Root Letter: Last Answer ($14.99 from $29.99 until 5/21)
Kotodama: 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa ($9.89 from $29.99 until 5/21)
Hell Warders ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/21)
Bunny Adventure ($2.10 from $6.00 until 5/21)
Parking Madness ($2.10 from $6.00 until 5/21)
Warborn ($16.24 from $24.99 until 5/21)
The Office Quest ($4.19 from $11.99 until 5/21)
PlataGO! Platform Game Maker ($6.59 from $19.99 until 5/21)
Ciel Fledge: Daughting Raising Sim ($5.49 from $9.99 until 5/21)
Freaky Awesome ($3.89 from $12.99 until 5/21)
Valrithian Arc: Hero School Story ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/21)
Anima: GoM The Nameless Chronicles ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/21)
Anima: GoM Arcane Edition ($14.99 from $29.99 until 5/21)
Anima Gate of Memories ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/21)
Muddledash ($2.99 from $5.99 until 5/21)
All-Star Fruit Racing ($7.99 from $19.99 until 5/21)
Up Cliff Drive ($2.10 from $6.00 until 5/21)
Nippon Marathon ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/21)
RAZED ($5.99 from $11.99 until 5/21)
Our World Is Ended. ($14.99 from $49.99 until 5/21)
Awe ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/21)
Can Androids Pray:Blue ($3.49 from $6.99 until 5/21)
Leopoldo Manquiseil ($1.99 from $3.99 until 5/21)
Tadpole Treble Encore ($6.74 from $8.99 until 5/21)
Gal*Gun 2 ($16.49 from $29.99 until 5/21)
Gun Gun Pixies ($24.99 from $49.99 until 5/21)
Raging Loop ($14.99 from $29.99 until 5/21)
Dusk Diver ($19.24 from $34.99 until 5/21)
Aperion Cyberstorm ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/21)
Tower Climb ($2.10 from $6.00 until 5/21)
Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition ($11.99 from $14.99 until 5/21)
NoReload Heroes Enhanced Edition ($22.49 from $24.99 until 5/26)
Brawlout ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/26)
Never Stop ($3.24 from $4.99 until 5/26)
Tales of the Tiny Planet ($9.74 from $14.99 until 5/26)
SpyHack ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Beach Bounce Remastered ($7.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Mini Island Challenge Bundle ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Binarystar Infinity ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Frontline Zed ($2.39 from $11.99 until 5/27)
Virus: The Outbreak ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Danger Scavenger ($6.69 from $9.99 until 5/27)
The Dark Eye: Memoria ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Aeolist Tournament ($2.24 from $14.99 until 5/27)
The Long Journey Home ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Deponia ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Chaos on Deponia ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Goodbye Deponia ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Deponia Doomsday ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Edna & Harvey: The Breakout ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
AER Memories of Old ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Omen Exitio: Plague ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Crying Suns ($22.49 from $24.99 until 5/27)
Apocryph: Old-School Shooter ($6.99 from $14.95 until 5/27)
Ultimate Fishing Simulator ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Bomber Fox ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Hot Shot Burn ($2.24 from $14.99 until 5/27)
Green Hell ($12.49 from $24.99 until 5/27)
Sinless ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Towaga: Among Shadows ($2.24 from $14.99 until 5/27)
OmoTomO ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
The Childs Sight ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Q-YO Blaster ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Hyperlight Ultimate ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Gunpowder on the Teeth ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Tap Skaters ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Dark Veer ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Grave Keeper ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Terrorhythm ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Startide ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Cooking Simulator ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Pack Master ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Masky ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Pixboy ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Seeds of Resilience ($2.09 from $14.99 until 5/27)
Agony ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Thief Simulator ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Surfingers ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Phantom Doctrine ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Hard West ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Clock Simulator ($1.99 from $3.99 until 5/27)
IHUGU ($1.99 from $3.99 until 5/27)
Fishing Universe Simulator ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Bad Dream: Coma ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Bad Dream: Fever ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Summer Sweetheart ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Felix the Reaper ($1.99 from $14.99 until 5/27)
Dungeons & Aliens ($1.99 from $3.99 until 5/27)
Bot Vice ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Super Star Path ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Risky Rescue ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Silence ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Merchants of Kaidan ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
The Mahjong Huntress ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Diggerman ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Grab Lab ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Bedtime Blues ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Teddy the Wanderer: Kayaking ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Teddy the Wanderer: Mountain Hike ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
My Brother Rabbit ($2.99 from $14.99 until 5/27)
Shift Happens ($1.99 from $14.99 until 5/27)
Phantaruk ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Realpolitiks ($2.49 from $24.99 until 5/27)
Shut Eye ($1.99 from $3.99 until 5/27)
Tiny Hands Adventure ($2.39 from $7.99 until 5/27)
State of Mind ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Persian Nights: Sands of Wonders ($2.99 from $14.99 until 5/27)
Star Story: The Horizon Escape ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
NoReload Heroes ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Whip! Whip! ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Go All Out! ($2.59 from $12.99 until 5/27)
Goetia ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Glaive: Brick Breaker ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Millie ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Zombillie ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Wanderlust Travel Stories ($2.24 from $14.99 until 5/27)
Hollow ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Frederic: Resurrection of Music ($2.39 from $5.99 until 5/27)
Frederic 2: Evil Strikes Back ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Fred3ric ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Qbik ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Violett ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Sparkle ZERO ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Sparkle 2 EVO ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Sparkle 3 Genesis ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Sparkle 4 Tales ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Poly Puzzle ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/27)
Ultimate Ski Jumping 2020 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
Tennis Open 2020 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
DreamGallery ($2.99 from $5.99 until 5/27)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Crossbow: Bloodnight ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/8)
Heroes of Loot ($5.59 from $7.99 until 5/8)
Rock ‘N Racing Bundle OR & GP ($5.99 from $19.99 until 5/8)
Star Wars Pinball ($17.99 from $29.99 until 5/8)
Stardash ($6.99 from $9.99 until 5/8)
Sweets Swap ($4.49 from $5.99 until 5/8)
A Winter’s Daydream ($2.99 from $5.99 until 5/9)
Blood Waves ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/9)
Braveland Trilogy ($2.99 from $14.99 until 5/9)
Breeder Homegrown: DC ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/9)
Bubble Bubble Ocean ($2.99 from $4.99 until 5/9)
Drowning ($1.99 from $2.99 until 5/9)
Fantasy Tavern Sextet Vol.1 ($5.59 from $7.99 until 5/9)
Fantasy Tavern Sextet Vol.2 ($5.59 from $7.99 until 5/9)
Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S ($12.60 from $14.00 until 5/9)
KukkoroDays ($4.79 from $7.99 until 5/9)
NekoMiko ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/9)
Niffelheim ($3.99 from $19.99 until 5/9)
NinNinDays ($3.99 from $7.99 until 5/9)
North ($1.99 from $2.99 until 5/9)
Party Games 15 in 1 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/9)
Prison Princess ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/9)
Rift Keeper ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/9)
Slash Ninja ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/9)
Spaceland ($6.49 from $19.99 until 5/9)
The Mooseman ($3.49 from $6.99 until 5/9)
The Tiny Bang Story ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/9)
The Tower of Beatrice ($2.99 from $5.99 until 5/9)
Total Arcade Racing ($6.99 from $9.99 until 5/9)
TroubleDays ($4.79 from $7.99 until 5/9)
Urban Street Fighting ($2.99 from $3.99 until 5/9)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance seems to have saved the day today (whoops). Next week will see the release of the Famicom Detective Club games, the Subnautica games, and many more. What are you digging into this weekend, friends? Taking pictures of Pokemon? Shooting toothpaste lasers from your Raiden ship? Slaying goblins? Whatever you choose to play, I hope you have a great weekend. As always, thanks for reading!
