Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 25th, 2022. In today’s article, we’ve got a massive avalanche of new releases to look at. A few good, a few bad, and a whole lot in between. There are summaries of all of them, albeit a few that are rather terse in nature. After that, there’s a fairly healthy list of new sales along with the expiring discounts of the day. Let’s go to it!
New Releases
Splatoon 3: Splatfest World Premiere (Free)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Okay, not technically a new release, but let’s run with it. Splatoon 3: Splatfest World Premiere will be held this Saturday from 9 AM PT to 9 PM PT, and is free for all to join. The needed app is available to download from today so that you can get it all ready to play. So yes, if you want an early taste of Splatoon 3, here is your chance.
SD Gundam Battle Alliance ($59.99)
This action game has a bit of an Earth Defense Force whiff about it. You lead a three-unit squad comprised of Mobile Suits and pilots from the various Gundam series and try to find the source of the Breaks that are twisting Gundam history as we know it. You can head out on the mission alone or pull in up to two other players via local wireless or online multiplayer. I don’t see how a Gundam fan could go wrong grabbing this one.
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Burst Forth!! Choro-Gon Breath ($39.99)
The popular manga and anime gets a video game, and it’s probably not in the genre you would expect. This is a full-fat vertical shoot-em-up developed by Kaminari Games that features a number of characters from the series in a suitably wacky tale. Miss Kobayashi and her maids have been zapped into the world of video games and they’ll have to shoot their way out to return to reality. Fun for fans of the characters, and the shooting gameplay is pretty solid here as well. I’ll have a full review soon.
Forest Camp Story ($14.00)
It’s another Kairosoft game, and if you’ve played a couple of its games before you’ll know exactly what you are getting here. This time you’re basically building and managing campgrounds in a forest. It’s fine, like all Kairosoft sims are. It’s also cheaper to buy on mobile and plays just as well, like all Kairosoft sims are. Do what you will with it.
Idol Manager ($24.99)
If you’re looking for a simulation game that plays a bit differently from Kairosoft’s stuff, Playism has this game for you to consider. You’re a manager at a talent agency and you need to make the next group of star idols. That encompasses training the idols inn singing and dancing, producing their albums, handling advertising, taking care of the office, and dealing with any scandals or bad press that come along. If that all sounds like too much of a headache, there’s a more relaxed mode you can play that tones down on the plate-spinning a bit.
Like No Other: The Legend of the Twin Books ($18.99)
A brief adventure game about a would-be adventurer exploring an abandoned town in search of a book that he believes was mistakenly left behind in favor of a replica. You can finish the game in under two hours, so be aware that it is not an epic tale by any means. You get 23 different rooms to explore, and the whole thing has a family-friendly vibe that might make it a fun one to play through with your kids.
Kofi Quest ($19.99)
This is a goofy real-time strategy game about a bunch of self-aware video game characters. The main hero is Kofi, who is low-level but is going to try to make the best of things. While its setting is an RPG, the game itself really isn’t much of one, so don’t expect that. It’s more of game of managing things while all hell breaks loose. It has a very good reputation on other platforms, so if you want something weird that might also make you laugh, this could be your ticket.
Arcade Archives Super Volley Ball ($7.99)
Arcade Archives never misses a week, and sometimes that means you get a week like this. Video System’s 1989 Super Volley Ball isn’t exactly one of those games that most people have been waiting for, but it’s a decent enough game that ended up spawning a little series. It’s a pure side-view take on the sport and isn’t very complex, so it has nice pick up and play appeal. It was reasonably popular in its time, though its sequels were perhaps more well-known. If you have warm and fuzzy memories of it, know that Hamster has done it justice as the developer always does.
The Bonfire: Forsaken Lands ($7.99)
Ah yes, I remember this one from its mobile release. It’s a lot like A Dark Room, but with more graphical flourish. I recall our own Mr. Andy Fretz was quite taken with it, but I personally found it a bit wanting. Games of this small family tend to be very deterministic by nature, but I could really feel it in The Bonfire. Still, you’ll get a couple of reasonably enthralling hours out of it, and maybe that’s enough for this price.
I Was A Teenage Exocolonist ($24.99)
This is pretty neat. You play as a kid born on an alien planet and need to live your life as you see fit. Make choices, collect battle cards, experience some of the more than eight hundred story events, and ultimately arrive at one of twenty-nine different endings. Will you help your colony or hurt it? Find happiness or despair? It’s all up to you. An intriguing narrative adventure with considerable replay value.
HAAK ($18.90)
Okay, the title sounds like the sound a cat makes when it barfs up a hairball, but the game itself is a Metroidvania-style action game with a zippy pace and nice visuals. Reviews for it have been mostly positive on other platforms, so with any luck this will mark another solid game of this sort for the Switch. I haven’t had a chance to play it yet, so I really can’t say too much more about it.
Moorhuhn X – Crazy Chicken X ($6.99)
This, if I recall correctly, is the game that brought Moorhuhn to the proverbial dance. It’s a fairly straight-forward gallery shooter where you have to take out as many chickens as possible in ninety seconds. There are some extra mini-games and modes you can unlock, but it all comes back to trying to get as high a score as you can by blasting away those chickens. I’m not really into Moorhuhn, but if you are then I’m sure this will be of some interest to you.
Narona Sports ($9.99)
Enjoy five somewhat unique variations on different sports in this game. Up to four players can join in on the fun via local multiplayer, and it looks like you’ll want to play this with others if you really want to get the most out of it. You get soccer/football, basketball, volleyball, pok-ta-pok, and basque ball. There are ten different characters to choose from and a bunch of skins you can unlock. It doesn’t do anything for me, but perhaps you’ll find it more appealing.
Alien War ($3.99)
Aliens are invading, and you’re just the surface-to-air weapon to put a stop to it. Yes, it’s a tale as old as time. This one gives you experience points for defeating the aliens that you can use for upgrades for both your main weapon and your support weapons. This doesn’t look like very fancy dining to me, but it’s four bucks.
Criminal Expert ($9.99)
This looks like an incredibly corny FMV mystery adventure. You’re a police investigator and you have three days to get to the bottom of a rather curious incident. You’ll talk to witnesses, gather evidence, and so on. You’ll be asked to make decisions at various points, and your actions will result in one of several endings. The English subtitles have at least one mistake in the eShop trailer alone, so that could end up being a point of concern. Not really my kind of game, but it could be yours.
Hidden Shapes: Black Skull + Old West ($3.99)
Alright, I guess that first one did well enough, because here is one more. You have some animated pictures that are divided up into squares and jumbled up, and you need to manipulate the pieces to make the picture look right. You get two themes here: pirates and cowboys. Definitely aiming for a different segment than the first game’s animal themes. Not challenging in the least, but if you’re looking for something to chill with this may do the job.
Createscape Town – Nyanzou&Kumakichi: Escape Game ($4.90)
This seems a little different from the normal escape room game from Alignment Sharp in that you can build your own town while solving escape game puzzles. I’m not really sure how all that works, but at least it’s something new.
Escape Game & Card Search Game R01M ($1.00)
If you’ve only got a buck to spend today, I guess you’re stuck with this. It’s another escape room game from Alignment Sharp that also throws in some hidden cards to find as an extra bit of incentive. About as standard as this kind of thing comes.
Enduring Mountain ($5.99)
Hmm, Weakfish. Well, that’s an ominous sign. This is apparently a 2D adventure game where you are exploring a mountain to find your friends. I can’t quite grasp its mechanics from the description and screenshots provided in the eShop, and I haven’t been able to play it yet. So I suppose all I can do is move along.
Blossom’s Bloom Boutique ($9.99)
A Gardenscapes-style match-3 puzzler with a decoration component. Play more than one hundred levels, rebuild your flower shop, and enjoy the story. Why not just download Gardenscapes for free on your mobile device, though? It has Austin and everything.
WorldWide FlightSimulator ($24.99)
This is a somewhat shabby-looking flying game that uses satellite imagery to lend a bit of reality to its locations. Only a bit, mind you. Most of it is as low-resolution as you would imagine it to be. It boasts ten thousand airports to take off from and land in, and claims you can travel anywhere in the world. Microsoft Flight Simulator it isn’t, but perhaps you’re craving something like this enough to make compromises.
Modern War: Tank Battle ($14.99)
Gee, a bunch of the eShop Low-Tier Game Avengers are assembling today. Anyway, here’s another tank battler from TROOOZE, and it’s not much different from World War: Tank Battle. So similar, in fact, that the publisher has just copied and pasted the eShop description from World War: Tank Battle and did a Find & Replace to swap “World War II" for “Modern War" and simply cut any specific references to tanks or participating forces. It… doesn’t work very well. Fifteen bucks, people.
Hashiriya Drifter-Car Racing,Drift,Drag Online Multiplayer Simulator Games Driving Sim. ($19.99)
Midnight Works is here with another pile of over-priced trash that it ported over from mobile in the laziest possible fashion. How lazy? The publisher copied over the description from the mobile version that describes this game as “the CSR experience on steroids for free". Buddy, I know free, and it doesn’t look like twenty bucks. And yes, that is the title, transcribed in all of its purple monkey dishwasher glory, precisely as it appears in the eShop. Handheld only because there are no button controls, but at least it isn’t lying about having online play.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Another of those typical 2K Games sales, but there are a couple of new low prices here for Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, Borderlands: GOTY Edition, and BioShock: The Collection. Hatsune Miku Project DIVA Mega Mix is celebrating its new DLC with a sale on the base game and the first DLC pack. There are a few other goodies in the inbox, so give it a look. The outbox also has a bunch of great games in it, such as Unpacking, Supraland, A Hat in Time, and Darkest Dungeon. Load up on the good stuff!
Select New Games on Sale
Tales from the Borderlands ($14.99 from $24.99 until 8/30)
Borderlands GOTY Edition ($9.89 from $29.99 until 8/30)
Borderlands: Handsome Collection ($9.99 from $39.99 until 8/30)
Borderlands: Legendary Collection ($19.99 from $49.99 until 8/30)
PGA Tour 2K21 ($14.99 from $59.99 until 8/30)
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI ($8.99 from $29.99 until 8/30)
BioShock: The Collection ($9.99 from $49.99 until 8/30)
BioShock Remastered ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/30)
BioShock 2 Remastered ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/30)
BioShock Infinite CE ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/30)
XCOM 2 Collection ($7.99 from $49.99 until 8/30)
Out of Line ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/1)
Tandem: A Tale of Shadows ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/1)
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MM ($19.69 from $39.39 until 9/1)
Hatsune Miku PD MM Mega Pack DLC ($29.99 from $59.99 until 9/1)
Ravensword: Shadowlands ($3.49 from $6.99 until 9/5)
Within the Blade ($5.49 from $10.99 until 9/5)
Parasite Pack ($5.59 from $7.99 until 9/5)
Apple Slash ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/5)
Anodyne 2: RtD ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/5)
Pinkman+ ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/5)
Cresteaju ($4.89 from $6.99 until 9/7)
Phoenotopia Awakening ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/8)
Death Road to Canada ($5.99 from $14.99 until 9/8)
Ploid ($2.09 from $2.99 until 9/14)
Ploid Saga ($2.03 from $11.99 until 9/14)
Nape Retroverse Collection ($5.59 from $6.99 until 9/14)
Reknum Cheri Dreamland ($2.02 from $6.99 until 9/14)
Encodya ($2.99 from $29.99 until 9/14)
Leisure Suit Larry WD Saga ($6.49 from $64.99 until 9/14)
Leisure Suit Larry WDDD ($3.99 from $39.99 until 9/14)
Leisure Suit Larry WDDT ($3.99 from $39.99 until 9/14)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Friday, August 26th
90" Soccer ($3.99 from $4.99 until 8/26)
A Hat in Time ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/26)
A Hat in Time: Ultimate Edition ($18.49 from $36.99 until 8/26)
Always Sometimes Monsters ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/26)
Beat Souls ($6.49 from $9.99 until 8/26)
Connect It! ($2.09 from $2.99 until 8/26)
Crisis Wing ($4.79 from $7.99 until 8/26)
Cube Life: Island Survival ($11.99 from $14.99 until 8/26)
Danmaku Unlimited 3 ($4.99 from $9.99 until 8/26)
Darkest Dungeon ($8.49 from $24.99 until 8/26)
Darkest Dungeon: Ancestral Edition ($13.59 from $39.99 until 8/26)
Dog Gone Golfing ($1.99 from $9.99 until 8/26)
Fire: Ungh’s Quest ($2.49 from $9.99 until 8/26)
Forager ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/26)
Greedroid ($8.40 from $12.00 until 8/26)
Ikenfell ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/26)
Jumanji: The Curse Returns ($9.49 from $18.99 until 8/26)
Mayhem Brawler ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/26)
Moero Crystal H ($23.99 from $39.99 until 8/26)
NHRA Championship Drag Racing ($44.99 from $49.99 until 8/26)
One Step From Eden ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/26)
Paradise Island Driver ($6.49 from $12.99 until 8/26)
Project Starship X ($2.99 from $9.99 until 8/26)
Revertia ($3.49 from $4.99 until 8/26)
Roll The Cat ($3.99 from $4.99 until 8/26)
Seven Pirates H ($33.99 from $39.99 until 8/26)
Slay the Spire ($9.99 from $24.99 until 8/26)
Supaplex Squares ($6.99 from $9.99 until 8/26)
Supraland ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/26)
The Letter: A Horror Visual Novel ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/26)
The Wild At Heart ($16.74 from $24.99 until 8/26)
Trigger Witch ($8.99 from $14.99 until 8/26)
Unpacking ($15.99 from $19.99 until 8/26)
Unsighted ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/26)
Void Bastards ($11.99 from $29.99 until 8/26)
Wandersong ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/26)
Wildcat Gun Machine ($7.99 from $14.99 until 8/26)
Wizard of Legend ($6.39 from $15.99 until 8/26)
Writhe ($3.99 from $9.99 until 8/26)
Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes ($5.99 from $14.99 until 8/26)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with the remaining releases for the week, with the biggest of the bunch looking to be Pac-Man World Re-PAC. There should be at least a few other things worth looking into, though. We’ll also likely have a very big list of new sales to check out. I hope you all have a great Thursday, and as always, thanks for reading!
