Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 10th, 2021. In today’s article, we’ve got news about not one but two games making their way over to the Switch soon. One of them has Spider-Man! Then we have a pair of reviews to look at. Mikhail is back again today with a review of Doomsday Vault, and I’ve got a review of the spiffy new Spelunker HD Deluxe. Then, it’s on to the new releases of the day which includes the rather promising Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle among other titles. We finish things up in the usual fashion with lists of incoming and outgoing sales. Let’s go to it!
News
The Original ‘LEGO Marvel Super Heroes’ Comes to Switch October 5th
It’s hard to get a consensus from fans of the LEGO games as to which game in the series is the best, but one that seems to come up a lot in the short list is the original LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. It pulled in all of the classic Marvel favorites for a huge adventure in the Merry Marvel Manner, and was perhaps one of the last big Marvel games before the success of the Avengers movie caused the MCU to start pushing its influence onto just about everything. Switch owners got the sequel, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2, but for various reasons it seemed like the original wasn’t going to come. Chin up True Believers, because the game is finally making its way to our favorite hybrid gaming device on October 5th in both digital and physical form. Excelsior!
‘Darksiders III’ Announced for Switch Release on September 30th
I wasn’t sure if this was actually going to happen or not, but I guess we’re doing this. Darksiders and Darksiders II both made their way to the Switch a while ago, a feat that wasn’t super-impressive given that they were both originally PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games. Darksiders Genesis also came to the Switch, but it was designed from the start with a Switch version in mind. But Darksiders III? That was always going to be a big question mark. It was released on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and if I can be frank it doesn’t run particularly well on those platforms. Somehow, however, we are getting a Switch port. Will it be a good port? I guess we’ll see, and soon. The game is scheduled for release on September 30th, and I will try to review it if I can.
Reviews & Mini-Views
Doomsday Vault ($19.99)
Doomsday Vault, the puzzle game from Flightless, debuted on Apple Arcade over a year ago. It was an accessible and relaxing puzzler with a lovely soundtrack and a nice aesthetic. Fast forward to today and it is out on Nintendo Switch and PC as is the case with many games that debut on Apple Arcade.
Your aim in Doomsday Vault is to rescue the remaining plant life on Earth as you brave various unique locations looking for seeds, nutrients, tools, and more. In addition to the core adventure mode, there’s also a challenge mode that forgoes the relaxing gameplay from the adventure mode for a more arcade-style experience where you try to aim for a high score on the leaderboards.
The controls are likely the only aspect of Doomsday Vault which will turn some people off. I ended up finding the touch controls the best overall. What controller d-pad you use when you play with traditional button controls will affect how you feel about the levels here for sure. I didn’t enjoy it one bit with the Joy-Con d-pad but the Pro Controller or Hori Split Pad Pro were great (as is the case with just about any game requiring 4 directional movement). Beyond the levels and the objectives in each level, you can unlock a plethora of customization options for your character.
Doomsday Vault on Nintendo Switch is a very good conversion of the original. It has full touch support and plays with button controls giving players the freedom to mix and match and play using a combination of both as well. Despite the challenges and the replay value if you want to be a completionist, Doomsday Vault is still on the shorter side for my liking. I’d definitely recommend playing it on Apple Arcade if you have the option though.
In its current state, it feels a bit lacking for its asking price on Nintendo Switch considering you don’t really get more than what the Apple Arcade version offers. If you don’t have Apple Arcade and want a puzzler you can keep coming back to (with hopefully future content updates), Doomsday Vault will serve you well. -Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Spelunker HD Deluxe ($24.99)
Spelunker is a pain in the butt to play. But the key thing is that it knows it is a pain in the butt to play. It revels in its obtuse difficulty. Fall a fraction of an inch too far and you will break your ankles and die. If a bat flying overhead poops on you, you die. Touched some steam? Die. A little too close to a bomb’s blast? Die. Tiny snake. Die. Fire. Die. Hit your head on the ceiling: die. Crushed by a boulder? Well, of course you die. Death is lurking around every corner. The game often touts itself these days as having “the weakest game hero", and while that is probably not exactly true, the titular Spelunker is definitely one of the more fragile platforming leads in a long-running series.
The game is designed around that, naturally. More so in these newer entries in the series than in the original. Guiding your easily-killed character through the many hazards waiting for him in the caves is what it’s all about. There aren’t a whole ton of elements in play here, but the game keeps finding interesting ways to combine them to put your skills to the test. There are four different modes to play in this version, each offering their own challenges. Adventure Mode sends you into a prebuilt cave where you need to make your way to the bottom. Competition Mode has you competing against other players to see who can clear the level the fastest. Championship Mode gives you a bunch of lives and sends you into a super-hard cave, and Endless Cave NEO is procedurally-generated and forces a downward scroll.
All of the modes support both online and offline multiplayer, and all but the Competition Mode let you play solo if you like. Just be aware that the online modes are basically a ghost town, or at least they were when I wrote this review. You also have a choice between the new graphics (which have been further improved for this version from the 2009 PlayStation 3 release) or the classic style. I don’t think the new visuals look bad, but there’s no doubt that obstacles and hazards are easier to spot in classic mode. Believe me when I say you’ll need that edge. Spelunker is a frustrating enough game, but it’s even worse when you can’t really see everything you need to. Compared to the original, this is a bit more forgiving, but you’ll still need all the help you can get.
While the average player may be better off waiting until the arrival of the Spelunky games on Switch, Spelunker HD Deluxe has charms of its own. The multiplayer modes alone add a lot of value to the game provided you can find people to play with, and pushing up the leaderboards in single-player is quite satisfying as well. Its adherence to the fussy rules of a rather early computer game will surely turn some away, but approach it on its own terms and you’ll find a challenging adventure that rewards you for your patience and investment in its mechanics.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
New Releases
Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle ($49.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
If you’ve been around the mobile card game circuit a few times, you probably know Shadowverse. In case you don’t: it’s Hearthstone, but with more of a Japanese anime/manga vibe to the art. So what is Champion’s Battle? Well, much as Monster Strike and Puzzle & Dragons did, Champion’s Battle sticks the familiar gameplay of the mobile game into an RPG-style story, complete with areas to explore, characters to meet, and so on. If you enjoy the mobile game, you’ll definitely dig this. It’s a fun, well-designed card game and while the RPG bits are quite plain, they do what they need to in providing reasons to shuffle you from one battle to the next. Even if you don’t care much about all that extra stuff, you can play online or local multiplayer against other people.
Black Book ($24.99)
Perhaps you want a card-focused game that is a bit more serious and difficult to pick up, though? Black Book has your back, friend. This one is steeped in Russian mythology, with a deck-building card battle system. Beyond the battles, there’s a full-on adventure here, complete with side-quests, puzzles, and so on. This follows the story of a young woman named Vasilisa who is seeking a powerful artifact called the Black Book to bring back her deceased beloved. She’ll be dealing with dark forces, and those very forces she seeks to control may well end up turning the tables on her. This is a pretty cool game, especially if you have an interest in Northern Slavic folklore. A somewhat odd one, but if you’re open-minded and enjoy this genre, give it a shot.
Button City ($19.99)
Button City is a wholesome little narrative adventure about some friends who are trying to save their local arcade. Ahh, a period piece. With the arcade figuring into the story as much as it does, you can actually play some mini-games when you feel like taking a break. There are puzzles to solve, quests to complete, and lots of interesting characters to meet. This one is more for the story fans, but in that respect it certainly pulls its weight. It’s a familiar story, perhaps an overdone one, but it’s well-told enough. Whether you’ll enjoy the gameplay bits that fill in the cracks is another matter, but it’s all at least tolerable provided you don’t hate fetch quests. I wish I could say it was better than that, but that’s how it is.
Super Hiking League DX ($4.99)
Some weird creature with a magic gem seeks to flatten the entire world! That’s a big problem for our hiking-loving hero, who battles other hikers to collect gems of his own. Every level takes the form of a vertical platforming race between you and another character, whether it be under the control of the CPU or another person via local multiplayer. The key gimmick is your climbing rope, which you can use on grappling points to swing your way up. There’s a bit of technique to it, putting it more in the camp of things like Umihara Kawase than, say, Bionic Commando. That being said if you don’t want that level of nuance, there are a few different control options that can make the rope work a bit simpler. Not too shabby as a single-player game, and better still if you have someone to play with.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Well, let’s have a look at what today brings us. I’ll always bang the drum for Dadish, Dadish 2, and Super Fowlst 2. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and Jurassic World Evolution may be of interest to fans of sim games. That’s really all I can get behind strongly today as far as the new list goes. From the outbox, I personally like Burnout Paradise Remastered and Touhou Luna Nights. Have a look through both lists yourself, though. My tastes don’t map perfectly onto yours, after all.
Select New Games on Sale
Pizza Bar Tycoon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/16)
Food Truck Tycoon: Asian Cuisine ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/16)
Breakfast Bar Tycoon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/16)
Spider Solitaire ($1.99 from $8.99 until 8/16)
Willy Morgan & Curse of Bone Town ($19.99 from $24.99 until 8/17)
Dry Drowning ($12.49 from $24.99 until 8/17)
Mahjong Masters ($3.99 from $5.99 until 8/17)
Adventure Field 4 ($6.99 from $9.99 until 8/22)
Elipsis ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/23)
Last Encounter ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/23)
Fin & the Ancient Mystery ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/23)
Cloudbase Prime ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/24)
Ultra Foodmess ($2.49 from $3.99 until 8/27)
Dadish ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/30)
Dadish 2 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/30)
Super Fowlst 2 ($2.00 from $10.00 until 8/30)
Figment ($2.59 from $19.99 until 8/30)
Enigmatis: Ghosts of Maple Creek ($2.09 from $14.99 until 8/30)
Enigmatis 2: Mists of Ravenwood ($2.09 from $14.99 until 8/30)
Ludomania ($1.99 from $3.99 until 8/30)
Sweet Bakery Tycoon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Go! Fish Go! ($1.99 from $3.99 until 8/30)
Curious Cases ($3.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Escape First ($3.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Escape First 2 ($3.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Escape First 3 ($3.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Escape 2088 ($3.20 from $4.00 until 8/30)
The Experiment: Escape Room ($3.19 from $3.99 until 8/30)
Klondike Solitaire ($1.99 from $8.99 until 8/30)
Sushi Time! ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Moto Rush GT ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/30)
Where Are My Friends? ($2.39 from $5.99 until 8/30)
Flowlines VS ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Complete ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/30)
Jurassic World Evolution Complete ($29.99 from $59.99 until 8/30)
Energy Cycle Edge ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Commander Keen: Keen Dreams Definitive ($3.29 from $9.99 until 8/30)
Spiral Splatter ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Deiland: Pocket Planet ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/30)
Struggling ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/30)
Alteric ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Air Conflicts: Secret Wars ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/30)
Save the Ninja Clan ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/30)
Safari Pinball ($2.00 from $2.99 until 8/30)
Adventure Pinball Bundle ($2.24 from $8.99 until 8/30)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 11th
Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/11)
Azure Reflections ($12.49 from $24.99 until 8/11)
Battle Brothers – Tactical RPG ($20.99 from $29.99 until 8/11)
Burnout Paradise Remastered ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/11)
Curling ($3.59 from $5.99 until 8/11)
Demon’s Rise: War for the Deep ($1.99 from $6.99 until 8/11)
Dragon Star Varnir ($23.99 from $29.99 until 8/11)
Dungeon Warfare ($2.49 from $9.99 until 8/11)
Fault: Milestone Two Side Above ($11.99 from $14.99 until 8/11)
GensokyoDefenders ($5.99 from $19.99 until 8/11)
Gensou Skydrift ($19.19 from $23.99 until 8/11)
Gorilla Big Adventure ($2.99 from $4.99 until 8/11)
Keen: One Girl Army ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/11)
Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia ($8.44 from $12.99 until 8/11)
Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville ($25.99 from $39.99 until 8/11)
Shieldwall Chronicles ($5.59 from $7.99 until 8/11)
Touhou Hyouibana AoCF ($27.99 from $34.99 until 8/11)
Touhou Luna Nights ($14.39 from $17.99 until 8/11)
Turbo Skiddy Racing ($2.99 from $4.99 until 8/11)
Turmoil ($2.99 from $14.99 until 8/11)
Unravel Two ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/11)
War on Stealth: Assassin ($4.99 from $9.99 until 8/11)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with some news, some new releases, some sales, and that’s about it. I’ve got a splitting headache right now and I forget to bring some pain-killers to work, so that’s where I’m at. Hot towel on the eyes and an early bed time tonight, I suppose. I hope you all have an excellent Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
