Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for June 11th, 2021. In today’s article, we’ve got the rest of the new releases for the week to look at. The highlights include Game Builder Garage, Wave Break, The Solitaire Conspiracy, and Sun Wukong VS Robots. We’ve got summaries for all of those games, plus the latest lists of incoming and outgoing sales. Not so many as I expected, but with Nintendo’s announcement that a big sale is kicking off on Tuesday, perhaps not terribly surprising. Let’s get to it!
SwitchArcade Highlight!
I swear, the folks at Nintendo can make just about anything fun if they put their minds to it. Here’s Nintendo’s attempt at teaching the basics of programming a game, in as simple and straightforward a manner as you could hope. Now, it obviously has its limitations. In particular, you don’t really get a lot of visual elements to work with. But you can do quite a bit with it, and between the joy of creation and checking out other people’s efforts, you’ll probably get your thirty bucks’ worth out of it. I should have a review for you early next week after I invest a bit more time into this quirky release.
SwitchArcade Highlight!
One of the better games in the Stadia line-up makes its way to the Switch, complete with its episodic single player campaign and ranked online multiplayer. This game describes itself as a skateboating game, drawing inspiration from the likes of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. There are two big differences, however. First, you’re on the water. Second, everyone has guns. Yeah, it’s weird. It works, though. There are a number of game modes to play, lots of customization options for the characters, a park creator, and a really great soundtrack. It takes a bit of time to get into, but once you have the hang of it, it’s quite fun whether you’re playing by yourself or digging into the multiplayer.
Pix Arts isn’t going to miss a chance to cash in on something like Euro 2020, of course. Here’s a soccer fan that alleges to have been made by soccer fans for soccer fans. Doubtful. Very, very doubtful. You can play solo or pull in another victim for the two-player local multiplayer mode. Normally I’d say something about how the low price makes up for the poor quality, but let’s be real: you can find far better soccer games at or around this price on Switch, and it’s not even difficult to do so.
Hald and his sister are Keepers, dedicated to keeping order in the world. An evil force casts a spell on Hald’s sister, sending her into a deep sleep and putting the balance of peace in jeopardy. Hald must track down the culprit and release his sister from the dark magic that afflicts her. This is a Metroidvania-style game with a look inspired by 16-bit classics. It features RPG elements like stats, equipment, and quests to complete. Reviews on this one are a little mixed on other platforms, but it assuredly has its fans. I’ll be doing a review of this one as soon as I can make my way through it.
This is a short Metroidvania-style game where the legendary hero Sun Wukong wakes up in a mechanical maze, imprisoned by some sort of mind control device placed on his head. To earn his freedom, he has to defeat four robots. There are a few upgrades to find, some abilities to unlock using experience points, and so on. The game last about two hours, and it’s not a bad romp for the price. Essential? No, I wouldn’t say so. But if you’re looking for a quick game of this sort to spend an evening fooling around with, you’ll likely be satisfied with this game.
You know all those cheap solitaire games on the Switch that have no-frills presentations? This is pretty much the opposite of those. This is a solitaire game with such lush production values that you’ll be wondering why they put all of that effort into what is essentially yet another solitaire game. Here, the games of solitaire are battles between spies in life or death struggles for the fate of the free world. It’s an odd mix and I’m not sure it really works for me. I don’t play solitaire because I want to pay attention to something, you know? And if I want to follow a story, I’m not sure I want the stuffing between the story bits to be as mindless as solitaire. But you certainly might feel differently.
Oh I recognize that genre, UI, and price point. This is another port of a free-to-play mobile driving game, isn’t it? Yes, it is. The original title is Multi Floor Garage Driver. Well, you probably know what to expect with these by now. The theme of this one is parking. Parking in all kinds of parking lots. Very challenging parking challenges, the description assures us. There are ten different cars to drive, fifty different missions to complete, and a free roam mode so you can mess around and take a break from the missions. You can give it a try on your mobile device for a free taste before making a decision about whether or not you want to pay to have it on your Switch.
Ah, that most classic of soccer battles: America against Europe. Okay, don’t worry. I think they mean America as in North and South America here. I mean, Brazil is in the screenshot and everything. Anyway, this is a follow-up to Super Soccer Blast, and it looks to offer another helping of arcade sports fun for up to four players via local multiplayer. You can customize your characters and build your dream team, then head to the field for some fun footie. Those who want to play solo will find a reasonably substantial World Tour mode on offer. It seems fine enough, I suppose.
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.
There are some games today that I really can’t say very much about. This is one of them. This may be the worst of them, even counting Notes. It’s video poker. No frills. Apparently tied in with a popular online video gambling brand. There’s practically nothing separating this from the several other video poker games on the Switch, except that this one is about as cheap as it gets.
Well, this was inevitable I guess. People gave Sabec’s Calculator app tons of attention, so it was bound to get imitators looking to get in on some of that sweet viral attention. Here is Notes, a note app for your Switch. Take notes. Write whatever you want. Almost like that handy 3DS app except you have to exit whatever game you’re playing to access it. Uh, what else can I say about this? It auto-saves? That’s about it.
(North American eShop, US Prices)
As mentioned above, Nintendo has announced a big sale that will start on Tuesday. I’d imagine that’s the reason why today’s list of new sales isn’t as big as it might have been. Still, it’s not as though there isn’t anything worth looking at in the current batch. Heck, Blossom Tales has never been so cheap. The weekend outbox is positively tiny by contrast. Not too much to concern yourself with in there, but check it just to be safe.
Select New Games on Sale
Torchlight III ($19.99 from $39.99 until 6/18)
Torchlight II ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/18)
OlliOlli: Switch Stance ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/18)
Hob: The Definitive Edition ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/18)
Through the Darkest of Times ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/18)
Neighbors Back From Hell ($9.99 from $14.99 until 6/18)
Silver Falls Episode Prelude ($5.99 from $7.99 until 6/18)
Luciform ($4.49 from $4.99 until 6/18)
Gaokao.Love.100Days ($6.99 from $11.99 until 6/21)
Youkai Poetry ($5.59 from $6.99 until 6/21)
Soulslayer ($5.49 from $9.99 until 6/21)
CrunchTime ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/21)
Lily of the Hollow: Resurrection ($4.89 from $6.99 until 6/21)
Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adv. ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/24)
Clumsy Rush ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/24)
OMG Police: Car Chase TV Sim ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/24)
Pineview Drive ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/25)
Joe’s Diner ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/25)
Daylife in Japan: Pixel Jigsaw ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/25)
Spooky Chase ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/25)
Forestry: The Simulation ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/25)
Half Dead ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/25)
Mountain Rescue Simulator ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Mad Games Tycoon ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Mad Tower Tycoon ($11.99 from $29.99 until 6/25)
Vasara Collection ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/25)
Space Elite Force ($1.99 from $2.99 until 6/25)
Firefighters: Airport FD ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Firefighters: The Simulation ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Firefighters: Airport Heroes ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Professional Construction: The Sim ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Professional Farmer ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Professional Farmer: American Dream ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
TheNightfall ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Happy Animals Bowling ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/25)
Space Blaze ($11.99 from $29.99 until 6/25)
Gnomes Garden: Lost King ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/25)
Soccer, Tactics & Glory ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
The Adv. of 00 Dilly ($5.99 from $14.99 until 6/25)
Tinker Racers ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/25)
Animal Doctor ($15.99 from $19.99 until 6/25)
War Solution: Casual Math Game ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/25)
Vesta ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/28)
Life of Fly 2 ($6.99 from $9.99 until 6/28)
Legendary Eleven ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/30)
Notes ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Kirakira Stars Idol Project Ai ($8.00 from $10.00 until 7/1)
Sable’s Grimoire ($11.99 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Shieldwall Chronicles: SotN ($5.59 from $7.99 until 7/1)
Battle Axe ($23.99 from $29.99 until 7/1)
Kuukiyomi 3: Father to Son ($3.74 from $4.99 until 7/1)
Oceanhorn 2: KotLR ($22.49 from $29.99 until 7/1)
Piczle Lines DX Bundle ($3.99 from $19.99 until 7/1)
Mushroom Heroes ($2.09 from $5.99 until 7/1)
Slayin 2 ($2.99 from $11.99 until 7/1)
Yoga Master ($17.49 from $24.99 until 7/1)
Piczle Cross Adventure ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Gunma’s Ambition ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Robots Under Attack! ($1.99 from $5.99 until 7/1)
FUZE4 Nintendo Switch ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/1)
Venture Kid ($2.50 from $10.00 until 7/1)
Divine Ascent ($2.99 from $4.99 until 7/1)
Kiai Resonance ($2.99 from $4.99 until 7/1)
Shmubedi Boo ($3.39 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Ghoulboy ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Monster Boy & the Cursed Kingdom ($15.99 from $39.99 until 7/1)
Toridama: Brave Challenge ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/1)
Piczle Colors ($2.40 from $12.00 until 7/1)
Six Sides of the World ($3.50 from $10.00 until 7/1)
Piczle Lines DX 500 More Puzzles! ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
The Gardens Between ($4.59 from $19.99 until 7/1)
Football Manager 2021 Touch ($19.99 from $39.99 until 7/1)
Oceanhorn: MoUS ($5.99 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Piczle Lines DX ($2.99 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King ($3.74 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Ice Cream Surfer ($2.80 from $8.00 until 7/1)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Bargain Hunter ($8.74 from $12.49 until 6/12)
Demon’s Tilt ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/12)
Time Tenshi ($10.49 from $14.99 until 6/12)
Tiny Derby ($3.34 from $4.99 until 6/12)
.cat ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/13)
Firework ($9.74 from $14.99 until 6/13)
Hero Express ($3.24 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Purrs in Heaven ($2.02 from $6.99 until 6/13)
Super Toy Cars 2 ($3.99 from $11.99 until 6/13)
The Unholy Society ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/13)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. We’ll be back next week with… well, with E3 stuff. There should be lots of news, buckets of sales, some reviews, and a bunch of new releases. It may well be one of the busier weeks of the year overall. I’m going to try to rest up this weekend in preparation. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend yourselves, and as always, thanks for reading!
New Releases
Game Builder Garage ($29.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
I swear, the folks at Nintendo can make just about anything fun if they put their minds to it. Here’s Nintendo’s attempt at teaching the basics of programming a game, in as simple and straightforward a manner as you could hope. Now, it obviously has its limitations. In particular, you don’t really get a lot of visual elements to work with. But you can do quite a bit with it, and between the joy of creation and checking out other people’s efforts, you’ll probably get your thirty bucks’ worth out of it. I should have a review for you early next week after I invest a bit more time into this quirky release.
Wave Break ($29.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
One of the better games in the Stadia line-up makes its way to the Switch, complete with its episodic single player campaign and ranked online multiplayer. This game describes itself as a skateboating game, drawing inspiration from the likes of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. There are two big differences, however. First, you’re on the water. Second, everyone has guns. Yeah, it’s weird. It works, though. There are a number of game modes to play, lots of customization options for the characters, a park creator, and a really great soundtrack. It takes a bit of time to get into, but once you have the hang of it, it’s quite fun whether you’re playing by yourself or digging into the multiplayer.
League of Champions Soccer ($5.99)
Pix Arts isn’t going to miss a chance to cash in on something like Euro 2020, of course. Here’s a soccer fan that alleges to have been made by soccer fans for soccer fans. Doubtful. Very, very doubtful. You can play solo or pull in another victim for the two-player local multiplayer mode. Normally I’d say something about how the low price makes up for the poor quality, but let’s be real: you can find far better soccer games at or around this price on Switch, and it’s not even difficult to do so.
Inexistence Rebirth ($8.99)
Hald and his sister are Keepers, dedicated to keeping order in the world. An evil force casts a spell on Hald’s sister, sending her into a deep sleep and putting the balance of peace in jeopardy. Hald must track down the culprit and release his sister from the dark magic that afflicts her. This is a Metroidvania-style game with a look inspired by 16-bit classics. It features RPG elements like stats, equipment, and quests to complete. Reviews on this one are a little mixed on other platforms, but it assuredly has its fans. I’ll be doing a review of this one as soon as I can make my way through it.
Sun Wukong VS Robot ($4.99)
This is a short Metroidvania-style game where the legendary hero Sun Wukong wakes up in a mechanical maze, imprisoned by some sort of mind control device placed on his head. To earn his freedom, he has to defeat four robots. There are a few upgrades to find, some abilities to unlock using experience points, and so on. The game last about two hours, and it’s not a bad romp for the price. Essential? No, I wouldn’t say so. But if you’re looking for a quick game of this sort to spend an evening fooling around with, you’ll likely be satisfied with this game.
The Solitaire Conspiracy ($11.99)
You know all those cheap solitaire games on the Switch that have no-frills presentations? This is pretty much the opposite of those. This is a solitaire game with such lush production values that you’ll be wondering why they put all of that effort into what is essentially yet another solitaire game. Here, the games of solitaire are battles between spies in life or death struggles for the fate of the free world. It’s an odd mix and I’m not sure it really works for me. I don’t play solitaire because I want to pay attention to something, you know? And if I want to follow a story, I’m not sure I want the stuffing between the story bits to be as mindless as solitaire. But you certainly might feel differently.
Multilevel Parking Driver ($11.99)
Oh I recognize that genre, UI, and price point. This is another port of a free-to-play mobile driving game, isn’t it? Yes, it is. The original title is Multi Floor Garage Driver. Well, you probably know what to expect with these by now. The theme of this one is parking. Parking in all kinds of parking lots. Very challenging parking challenges, the description assures us. There are ten different cars to drive, fifty different missions to complete, and a free roam mode so you can mess around and take a break from the missions. You can give it a try on your mobile device for a free taste before making a decision about whether or not you want to pay to have it on your Switch.
Super Soccer Blast: America VS Europe ($9.99)
Ah, that most classic of soccer battles: America against Europe. Okay, don’t worry. I think they mean America as in North and South America here. I mean, Brazil is in the screenshot and everything. Anyway, this is a follow-up to Super Soccer Blast, and it looks to offer another helping of arcade sports fun for up to four players via local multiplayer. You can customize your characters and build your dream team, then head to the field for some fun footie. Those who want to play solo will find a reasonably substantial World Tour mode on offer. It seems fine enough, I suppose.
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.
Four Kings: Video Poker ($1.99)
There are some games today that I really can’t say very much about. This is one of them. This may be the worst of them, even counting Notes. It’s video poker. No frills. Apparently tied in with a popular online video gambling brand. There’s practically nothing separating this from the several other video poker games on the Switch, except that this one is about as cheap as it gets.
Notes ($9.99)
Well, this was inevitable I guess. People gave Sabec’s Calculator app tons of attention, so it was bound to get imitators looking to get in on some of that sweet viral attention. Here is Notes, a note app for your Switch. Take notes. Write whatever you want. Almost like that handy 3DS app except you have to exit whatever game you’re playing to access it. Uh, what else can I say about this? It auto-saves? That’s about it.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
As mentioned above, Nintendo has announced a big sale that will start on Tuesday. I’d imagine that’s the reason why today’s list of new sales isn’t as big as it might have been. Still, it’s not as though there isn’t anything worth looking at in the current batch. Heck, Blossom Tales has never been so cheap. The weekend outbox is positively tiny by contrast. Not too much to concern yourself with in there, but check it just to be safe.
Select New Games on Sale
Torchlight III ($19.99 from $39.99 until 6/18)
Torchlight II ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/18)
OlliOlli: Switch Stance ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/18)
Hob: The Definitive Edition ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/18)
Through the Darkest of Times ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/18)
Neighbors Back From Hell ($9.99 from $14.99 until 6/18)
Silver Falls Episode Prelude ($5.99 from $7.99 until 6/18)
Luciform ($4.49 from $4.99 until 6/18)
Gaokao.Love.100Days ($6.99 from $11.99 until 6/21)
Youkai Poetry ($5.59 from $6.99 until 6/21)
Soulslayer ($5.49 from $9.99 until 6/21)
CrunchTime ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/21)
Lily of the Hollow: Resurrection ($4.89 from $6.99 until 6/21)
Stikbold! A Dodgeball Adv. ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/24)
Clumsy Rush ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/24)
OMG Police: Car Chase TV Sim ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/24)
Pineview Drive ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/25)
Joe’s Diner ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/25)
Daylife in Japan: Pixel Jigsaw ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/25)
Spooky Chase ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/25)
Forestry: The Simulation ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/25)
Half Dead ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/25)
Mountain Rescue Simulator ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Mad Games Tycoon ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Mad Tower Tycoon ($11.99 from $29.99 until 6/25)
Vasara Collection ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/25)
Space Elite Force ($1.99 from $2.99 until 6/25)
Firefighters: Airport FD ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Firefighters: The Simulation ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Firefighters: Airport Heroes ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Professional Construction: The Sim ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Professional Farmer ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Professional Farmer: American Dream ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
TheNightfall ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
Happy Animals Bowling ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/25)
Space Blaze ($11.99 from $29.99 until 6/25)
Gnomes Garden: Lost King ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/25)
Soccer, Tactics & Glory ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/25)
The Adv. of 00 Dilly ($5.99 from $14.99 until 6/25)
Tinker Racers ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/25)
Animal Doctor ($15.99 from $19.99 until 6/25)
War Solution: Casual Math Game ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/25)
Vesta ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/28)
Life of Fly 2 ($6.99 from $9.99 until 6/28)
Legendary Eleven ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/30)
Notes ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Kirakira Stars Idol Project Ai ($8.00 from $10.00 until 7/1)
Sable’s Grimoire ($11.99 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Shieldwall Chronicles: SotN ($5.59 from $7.99 until 7/1)
Battle Axe ($23.99 from $29.99 until 7/1)
Kuukiyomi 3: Father to Son ($3.74 from $4.99 until 7/1)
Oceanhorn 2: KotLR ($22.49 from $29.99 until 7/1)
Piczle Lines DX Bundle ($3.99 from $19.99 until 7/1)
Mushroom Heroes ($2.09 from $5.99 until 7/1)
Slayin 2 ($2.99 from $11.99 until 7/1)
Yoga Master ($17.49 from $24.99 until 7/1)
Piczle Cross Adventure ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Gunma’s Ambition ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Robots Under Attack! ($1.99 from $5.99 until 7/1)
FUZE4 Nintendo Switch ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/1)
Venture Kid ($2.50 from $10.00 until 7/1)
Divine Ascent ($2.99 from $4.99 until 7/1)
Kiai Resonance ($2.99 from $4.99 until 7/1)
Shmubedi Boo ($3.39 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Ghoulboy ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
Monster Boy & the Cursed Kingdom ($15.99 from $39.99 until 7/1)
Toridama: Brave Challenge ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/1)
Piczle Colors ($2.40 from $12.00 until 7/1)
Six Sides of the World ($3.50 from $10.00 until 7/1)
Piczle Lines DX 500 More Puzzles! ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/1)
The Gardens Between ($4.59 from $19.99 until 7/1)
Football Manager 2021 Touch ($19.99 from $39.99 until 7/1)
Oceanhorn: MoUS ($5.99 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Piczle Lines DX ($2.99 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King ($3.74 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Ice Cream Surfer ($2.80 from $8.00 until 7/1)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Bargain Hunter ($8.74 from $12.49 until 6/12)
Demon’s Tilt ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/12)
Time Tenshi ($10.49 from $14.99 until 6/12)
Tiny Derby ($3.34 from $4.99 until 6/12)
.cat ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/13)
Firework ($9.74 from $14.99 until 6/13)
Hero Express ($3.24 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Purrs in Heaven ($2.02 from $6.99 until 6/13)
Super Toy Cars 2 ($3.99 from $11.99 until 6/13)
The Unholy Society ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/13)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. We’ll be back next week with… well, with E3 stuff. There should be lots of news, buckets of sales, some reviews, and a bunch of new releases. It may well be one of the busier weeks of the year overall. I’m going to try to rest up this weekend in preparation. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend yourselves, and as always, thanks for reading!