Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for July 22nd, 2021. In today’s article, we take a look at all of the new releases of the day. It’s… it’s not a good crop this week, friends. There are a couple of decent games and a whole lot of junk. Nothing stellar to save the day this time. Perhaps one of next week’s five or so amazing games could have come out a week early and enjoyed the lack of competition. Oh well. We’ve got summaries of all of the games anyway, plus the usual lists of incoming and outgoing sales. Let’s go!
New Releases
Last Stop ($24.99)
Annapurna’s latest release comes from developer Variable State. It’s a narrative adventure game set in London where you guide three characters through a rather interesting supernatural tale. The production values on this one are really impressive, and that’s a good thing because the somewhat uneven storytelling needs the assist. The characters are solid enough, but pacing stumbles a bit and I’m really not very satisfied with the ending. But stories are incredibly subjective, so if you like the look of this you certainly don’t need to take my opinion as gospel.
Aery – Calm Mind ($8.99)
There’s getting to be quite a few of these Aery games, isn’t there? If you happen to not be familiar with this series, all of the games involve you playing as a bird flying around various fantastical landscapes. They’re low-stress games where you can’t get killed or anything. Just fly around the world, complete low-pressure quests, or just enjoy the sights and sounds. I’ve no doubt this is as good as the previous games, so if you like what this developer has laid down before I’m sure you won’t be disappointed with Aery – Calm Mind. I always appreciate the relatively low prices on these, too. A fair ask for an hour or two of escape, I say.
Bishoujou Battle Mahjong Solitaire ($5.99)
You know it’s a rough Thursday when one of eastasiasoft’s sexy lady games is among the better titles in the bunch. At any rate, this is the usual thing from the publisher. Take a basic video game concept, in this case Mahjong Solitaire/Shanghai, add in some pretty ladies, and let the player unlock an assortment of fetish-tastic costumes for them to wear by playing. The main gameplay gimmick is that you’re timed, so the patterns tend to be smaller and you have to make those matches quickly. The theme around the women is that they’re all supposed to be part of the military. Seems like each was done by a different artist, so there’s some variety in there.
Timothy vs the Aliens ($16.99)
This is a 3D action-platformer game with a whole lot of shooting and a bit of platforming. You play as a gangster who has been given special powers by some aliens, and now finds himself having to battle some other, less friendly aliens. The game’s presentation is probably its strongest point, with all of the Earthly elements displayed in noir-style monochrome and all the extraterrestrial stuff in vivid colors. I’ve played worse games, but the gameplay really doesn’t live up to the promise of the visuals. The biggest problem is in how repetitive it gets, with very little enemy variety. There’s just not enough meat on the bone in general, really. And what is here just feels lacking.
Nyakamon Adventures ($4.99)
You can probably guess from the screenshot, but this is a Sokoban-style game. But it has a kitty, so maybe that’s enough. There are thirty levels in the normal mode, and an additional thirty levels in hardcore mode for those who want a little more zip in their whip. There are a couple of visual themes for the stages, but otherwise this is a fairly spartan take on the concept. Some good puzzle designs, though. Well, you either need another crate-pushing puzzle game in your life, or you don’t. I leave it in your hands as always.
Racing Xtreme 2 ($6.99)
What more can I tell you that the game’s own tagline doesn’t? “Drive monster trucks and launch them over huge jumps in extreme races!" it says, and that’s probably enough for most of the people that buy this sort of thing. As the Bubster would say, what could pawsibly go wrong? You get 30 monster trucks to drive, a few different modes to drive them in, plenty of upgrade options, and a reasonably-sized open world to romp around in. There are a bunch of challenges to complete in case you need some guidance for your monster truck journey. I can’t say I’ve been impressed with any of this publisher’s previous racers, but if you’ve had fun with them, here’s another one for you.
Bunny Bounce ($4.99)
The third game in the Beach Bounce series of visual novels sees our hapless protagonist having an accident that causes him to hallucinate while he’s on the job. Yes, he’s still doing that resort thing. With all the cute ladies. Seems to have a whole, you know, thing going on with that. Anyway, this hopefully-mild brain damage is causing him to see animal ears on the women. Animal ears and weird sexy costumes. I’m not sure exactly what part of the brain got injured here. I suspect it’s the medial frontal cortex, but I’m also not going to rule out some damage to the occipital lobe. Either way, he probably shouldn’t still be working. This is another brief tale that falls very much in line quality-wise with the previous two games. Do what you will with it.
Terra Lander ($9.99)
This is an homage to Atari’s classic Lunar Lander. The idea is that you have to carefully land your little pod onto the various landing zones without getting destroyed. Maneuver using your thrusters and blast away whatever you need to, but be mindful because you’re fighting against both a timer and your limited fuel supply. Fuel can be recovered by shooting fuel dumps. There are twenty levels in total, but don’t worry too much if that’s not enough to slake your thirst because…
Terra Lander II – Rockslide Rescue ($9.99)
…we get the sequel on the same day! Wow, lucky us! It’s generally more of the same, but with the added quirk of having you rescue people as you go. You also get a limited force field in this one so that it’s not a one-hit kill every time. Also, there appear to be more rockslides involved. Fair. If you put that in the title and don’t deliver, people are going to be disappointed, particularly rockslide enthusiasts. Can’t get enough of this setting but maybe have had your fill of the Lunar Lander stuff after two of these games at the same time? Well, there’s also…
Terra Bomber ($9.99)
…this game to consider. It’s an homage to Konami’s famous side-scrolling shoot-em-up Scramble. Fly your ship, shoot the enemies, dodge the hazards, and make sure you bomb the fuel dumps along the way. If you miss too many you’ll run out of fuel midflight, something that typically doesn’t end well for the craft or the pilot. It really only deviates from Scramble through its power-ups. You can pick them up to upgrade your guns and bombs. To be frank, I think the asking price is a bit high for this trio of games. They look like something to punt on during a deep sale, not something that costs more than buying the actual games they’re inspired by.
Wood Block Escape Puzzles 3 ($5.99)
Of course we’re getting a visit from our pal Benjamin Kistler today. Of course. It’s another game in his series of handheld mode-only wood block puzzles, offering you up more levels of sliding wood pieces around to get the target piece to the exit. Benny paid $141.90 for this template, called Unblock Wood, on the Unity Asset Store, and I guess it must be doing well for him if he’s gone and made some new puzzles to solve again. That’s like, actual work. I mean, I assume he made new puzzles. He may just have shuffled around the existing 2,000 puzzles from the first game and I can’t imagine most folks would be any the wiser. Anyway, it functions. Could be worse.
#pinocchio, Super Puzzles Dream ($5.99)
Hashtag Pinocchio, that’s going to be a hot beat. Good call on that one, developer. Anyway, this is the seventh or maybe eighth Super Puzzles Dream, and the only real difference here is that the pictures are Pinocchio-themed. The puzzle pieces fall in and you have to guide them to the correct location. Play alone if you don’t feel like inflicting this on anyone else, or play with or against a friend in local multiplayer. I have nothing new to say about these games at this point, and yet I force myself to mention them anyway. If only I had a helpful cricket that kept me from doing stupid things.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Here’s what we’ve got at the time of writing, friends. Celeste is on for a silly low price again, and if you don’t own it already I don’t know what to say. Wild Guns Reloaded: it’s neat, buy it. If you love puzzle games and have some money to throw around, Touhou Spell Bubble has a solid discount going. The outbox is substantial so make sure you check through it before it’s too late. Off the top of my head, Human: Fall Flat is a nice pick-up at its sale price. I’ll leave you to do that thing you do.
Select New Games on Sale
Celeste ($4.99 from $19.99 until 7/28)
Among Us ($3.50 from $5.00 until 8/2)
Harvest Moon: Light of Hope ($19.99 from $39.99 until 8/4)
Harvest Moon: Mad Dash ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Harvest Moon: One World ($39.99 from $49.99 until 8/4)
Cosmic Defenders ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/4)
Legends of Ethernal ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Wild Guns Reloaded ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/4)
Reel Fishing: Road Trip Adv. ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/4)
MachiKnights -Blood Bagos- ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/5)
Wonder Boy Returns Remix ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/5)
Nekopara Vol.3 ($5.99 from $14.99 until 8/5)
Nekopara Vol.4 ($11.99 from $14.99 until 8/5)
Amazing Brick Breaker ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/5)
Princess Maker Go Go Princess ($10.49 from $14.99 until 8/5)
Princess Maker Faery Tales Come True ($20.99 from $29.99 until 8/5)
Sacred Stones ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/5)
A Street Cat’s Tale ($6.39 from $7.99 until 8/5)
Silent World ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/5)
MazM: Jekyll & Hyde ($8.99 from $14.99 until 8/5)
Fairy Knights ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/5)
Monochrome World ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/5)
Hotel Sowls ($6.39 from $7.99 until 8/5)
Nevaeh ($2.59 from $12.99 until 8/5)
QV ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/5)
Touhou Spell Bubble ($38.49 from $54.99 until 8/10)
KORG Gadget ($33.60 from $48.00 until 8/10)
Solitaire Card Games ($1.99 from $5.99 until 8/10)
Goonya Fighter ($11.59 from $14.49 until 8/10)
Sky Ride ($1.99 from $7.00 until 8/10)
Flip Over Frog ($1.99 from $7.50 until 8/10)
Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/11)
War on Stealth: Assassin ($4.99 from $9.99 until 8/11)
Kero Blaster ($3.99 from $9.99 until 8/12)
Astebreed ($5.99 from $19.99 until 8/12)
Marenian Tavern Story ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/12)
Blacksmith of the Sand Kingdom ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/12)
Illusion of L’Phalcia ($6.49 from $12.99 until 8/12)
Monochrome Order ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/12)
Crystal Ortha ($10.49 from $14.99 until 8/12)
Ghost Blade HD ($4.49 from $14.99 until 8/12)
Mad Father ($7.99 from $9.99 until 8/12)
Yumenikki -Dream Diary- ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/12)
Croixleur Sigma ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/12)
Orangeblood ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/12)
Hakinowa Explorer Plus ($8.39 from $11.99 until 8/12)
One Way Heroics Plus ($10.49 from $14.99 until 8/12)
TorqueL: Physics Modified ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/12)
Lost Sea ($2.99 from $9.99 until 8/12)
Angels of Death ($8.99 from $14.99 until 8/12)
inbento ($2.99 from $4.99 until 8/12)
Vertical Strike Endless Challenge ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/12)
Star Sky ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/12)
Chiki-Chiki Boxy Pro Wrestling ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/12)
Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/12)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Friday, July 23rd
4×4 Dirt Track ($5.99 from $11.99 until 7/23)
A Knight’s Quest ($4.99 from $24.99 until 7/23)
American Fugitive ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Anima: Gate of Memories ($8.99 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Anima: GoM Arcane Edition ($13.49 from $29.99 until 7/23)
Anima: GoM The Nameless Chronicles ($8.99 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Awe ($2.49 from $4.99 until 7/23)
Behind the Screen ($7.99 from $9.99 until 7/23)
Beholder: Complete Edition ($2.99 from $14.99 until 7/23)
Bomber Crew ($2.99 from $14.99 until 7/23)
Bunny Adventure ($2.10 from $6.00 until 7/23)
Car Driving School Simulator ($6.99 from $13.99 until 7/23)
Carnage: Battle Arena ($4.49 from $14.99 until 7/23)
City Driving Simulator ($5.99 from $11.99 until 7/23)
Crying Suns ($19.99 from $24.99 until 7/23)
Danger Mouse: The Danger Games ($3.99 from $4.99 until 7/23)
Death Crown ($11.04 from $12.99 until 7/23)
Driving World: Aspen ($7.19 from $11.99 until 7/23)
For The King ($8.49 from $24.99 until 7/23)
Freaky Awesome ($4.41 from $12.99 until 7/23)
Gnomes Garden 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 7/23)
Grand Prix Racing ($3.89 from $5.99 until 7/23)
Hidden Through Time ($5.35 from $7.99 until 7/23)
Hotshot Racing ($6.79 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Hue ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/23)
Human: Fall Flat ($7.99 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Ironcast ($5.19 from $12.99 until 7/23)
Just Die Already ($11.24 from $14.99 until 7/23)
Late Shift ($7.79 from $12.99 until 7/23)
Leopoldo Manquiseil ($1.99 from $3.99 until 7/23)
Lines Infinite ($1.99 from $3.99 until 7/23)
Lines X ($1.99 from $3.99 until 7/23)
Manuel Samuel ($2.49 from $9.99 until 7/23)
Monkey Wall ($3.99 from $4.99 until 7/23)
Monster Truck XT Airport Derby ($7.19 from $11.99 until 7/23)
Moto Racer 4 ($1.99 from $14.90 until 7/23)
Motorsport Manager ($4.49 from $14.99 until 7/23)
Narcos: Rise of the Cartels ($5.99 from $29.99 until 7/23)
Offroad Racing: BxAxM ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Parking Madness ($2.10 from $6.00 until 7/23)
Peaky Blinders: Mastermind ($7.49 from $24.99 until 7/23)
Pix Jungle Adventures ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/23)
PixARK ($13.19 from $39.99 until 7/23)
Pumped BMX Pro ($2.99 from $14.99 until 7/23)
Pure Pool ($10.49 from $14.99 until 7/23)
Rogue Star Rescue ($13.49 from $14.99 until 7/23)
Route Me Mail & Delivery Co ($5.19 from $7.99 until 7/23)
Serial Cleaner ($2.24 from $14.99 until 7/23)
Smoke and Sacrifice ($4.99 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Snooker 19 ($13.99 from $34.99 until 7/23)
Sorry, James ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/23)
Space Crew ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Speed Truck Racing ($5.49 from $9.99 until 7/23)
Super Arcade Racing ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/23)
Super Chariot ($1.99 from $14.90 until 7/23)
Super Destronaut DX-2 ($3.99 from $4.99 until 7/23)
Super Space Serpent ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/23)
Syberia 2 ($1.99 from $29.99 until 7/23)
The Big Journey ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/23)
The Flame in the Flood ($3.74 from $14.99 until 7/23)
The Office Quest ($4.19 from $11.99 until 7/23)
The Spectrum Retreat ($5.19 from $12.99 until 7/23)
The Swindle ($3.74 from $14.99 until 7/23)
Through the Darkest of Times ($7.49 from $14.99 until 7/23)
Toki ($1.99 from $14.90 until 7/23)
Tower Climb ($2.10 from $6.00 until 7/23)
Townsmen: A Kingdom Rebuilt ($7.99 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Up Cliff Drive ($2.10 from $6.00 until 7/23)
Velocity 2X ($4.99 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Warparty ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/23)
Wayout ($2.49 from $4.99 until 7/23)
When Ski Lifts Go Wrong ($2.99 from $14.99 until 7/23)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with the rest of the week’s releases, and I’m hoping we see some better titles in there. We should also have a bunch of sales to dig into, so save some space in your budget. I hope you all have a great Thursday, and as always, thanks for reading!
