Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for June 21st, 2022. I had originally planned to have a review for you today, but I’m not feeling very good so I’ve had to rest rather than play games. Still, we have an unusually large list of new releases to look at for a Tuesday, and even a bit of news. We’ve also got the usual lists of new and expiring sales for you to have a gander at. Let’s get into today’s shenanigans!
‘Xenoblade Chronicles 3’ Nintendo Direct Announced for June 22nd
With everyone on tenterhooks waiting for Nintendo to announce an E3-esque Nintendo Direct presentation, one thing people perhaps weren’t anticipating was a Direct focused on a single game. But that’s what we’re getting, as Nintendo has announced a Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nintendo Direct for tomorrow morning. That would be 7:00 am PT or 9:00 am ET on June 22nd, to be very specific. It will be about twenty minutes long and will feature plenty of information about next month’s big first-party release. I guess we’ll have to continue to wait and see if Nintendo has a general Direct coming up soon, but it’ll be nice to get a deeper dive on this cool-looking JRPG.
SwitchArcade Highlight!
It feels like that in the time it took for this game to make its way to the Switch, the hype around it cooled a lot. I guess we’ll see if these console releases can give it a second wind. Anyway, the goal here is to go through a series of obstacle courses until only one character is left standing. You can technically play alone offline, but the real game is in joining the online multiplayer where up to sixty players can get in on the action. The multiplayer is cross-platform so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding people to play with. As the game is shifting to free-to-play with the launch of this version, we’ve yet to see exactly how the monetization will affect it. Probably just costume stuff, though.
SwitchArcade Highlight!
The three Harebrained Schemes-developed Shadowrun games come to Switch, and you can pick them up as a full trilogy for a sharp discount or separately as you see fit. They’re basically Western RPG-style games with tactical turn-based combat. Lots of choices to make, lots of character customization, and plenty of side quests to solve. I liked these games a lot when I first played them back in the day, and as long as these ports don’t have any nasty bugs or anything I think RPG fans will dig them.
Bugbear Entertainment’s over-the-top racing game Wreckfest makes its way to the Switch after releasing on many other platforms years back. It’s a pretty solid game, especially if you enjoy demolition derby-style affairs. I do worry a bit for this Switch port, as it is making its way over from beefier hardware and THQ Nordic has been very hit or miss with that kind of port. If the port is fine, then I think racing fans will have another enjoyable title to throw on the pile.
This is a survival-horror action game, and it certainly has a distinct look to it. You play as a detective with a dark past, which is pretty normal as video game detectives go. A teenage girl has been kidnapped during a live stream, and it falls to you to investigate the case. You’ve got a big clue, at least: her phone has been tracked to the middle of a nearby scary forest. Better head there with no back-up. You get some puzzles to solve, enemies to fight, and a victim to find. It’s apparently the work of a solo developer, so that’s something.
Here’s a visual novel-style game about a tempestuous romance where the closer the two get, the more unstable the relationship becomes. It’s a semi-autobiographical game based on the creator’s experience with a borderline partner, and the idea is to try to navigate the ups and downs of such a situation. There’s a mechanic here where you have to choose which senses to use when interacting with your boyfriend, and your choices will help you learn more about him and hopefully strengthen your bond. If nothing else, it seems quite different from the usual romance game.
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Some decent games are hitting new low prices today. Grapple Dog, the Indiana Jones DLC for Pinball FX3, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, Shoot 1UP DX, and Commandos 2 HD Remaster. Thalamus Digital has pretty much all of its games on sale again, and if you’re into that classic microcomputer flavor you’ll find they really scratch that particular itch. Over in the outbox, the latest Onion Games sale is coming to a close. Check both of those lists carefully to make sure you’ve got everything you want.
Select New Games on Sale
Grapple Dog ($10.49 from $14.99 until 6/27)
Pinball FX3 Indiana Jones DLC ($13.49 from $14.99 until 6/27)
Pinball FX3 Jurassic World DLC ($3.99 from $9.99 until 6/27)
Wuppo: Definitive Edition ($3.99 from $14.99 until 6/27)
Caveblazers ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/27)
Brunch Club ($2.89 from $14.49 until 6/27)
Drink More Glurp ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/27)
Landflix Odyssey ($4.89 from $6.99 until 6/27)
Buissons ($4.95 from $7.99 until 6/28)
Rover Mechanic Simulator ($3.59 from $11.99 until 6/30)
Ludo Game: Just Chill Out ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/30)
Tax Fugitive ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/30)
Broken Blades ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/30)
Cyber Fight ($2.09 from $6.99 until 6/30)
Pocket Slimes ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/30)
Blandville ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/30)
Darkest Hunters ($2.12 from $5.30 until 6/30)
Hundred Fires: TRoRS ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/30)
Bus Driver Simulator Countryside ($4.49 from $14.99 until 6/30)
Car Mechanic Simulator PE 2 ($7.74 from $15.49 until 6/30)
Undead & Beyond ($3.29 from $10.99 until 6/30)
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising ($11.99 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Shoot 1UP DX ($2.39 from $5.99 until 7/4)
Pig Eat Ball ($5.99 from $14.99 until 7/4)
Weapon of Choice DX ($2.39 from $5.99 until 7/4)
Explosionade DX ($2.39 from $5.99 until 7/4)
Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars ($13.99 from $39.99 until 7/11)
Commandos 2 HD Remaster ($14.99 from $29.99 until 7/11)
Ftaghn! Tales of Creeping Madness ($2.49 from $7.99 until 7/11)
In My Shadow ($8.40 from $12.00 until 7/11)
The Unexpected Quest ($6.75 from $15.00 until 7/11)
10 Second Ninja X ($1.99 from $11.99 until 7/11)
Cecconoid ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/11)
Lumo ($1.99 from $19.95 until 7/11)
Bezier: Second Edition ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/11)
Death Ray Manta SE ($1.99 from $10.00 until 7/11)
Rogue Aces ($1.99 from $12.99 until 7/11)
LOVE: A Puzzle Box ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/11)
Railway Empire ($19.99 from $39.99 until 7/11)
Filament ($5.94 from $16.99 until 7/11)
LIMBO ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/11)
INSIDE ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/11)
LIT: Bend the Light ($6.40 from $8.00 until 7/11)
Fingun ($3.34 from $4.99 until 7/11)
Knights & Guns ($2.29 from $14.99 until 7/11)
Cardful Planning ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/11)
Pode ($12.49 from $24.99 until 7/11)
Destructivator SE ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/11)
Millie & Molly ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/11)
Word Forward ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/11)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 22nd
Arise: A Simple Story DE ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/22)
Aspire: Ina’s Tale ($5.19 from $12.99 until 6/22)
Badland: GotY Edition ($2.03 from $5.99 until 6/22)
Beautiful Desolation ($2.99 from $19.99 until 6/22)
Black Bird ($13.29 from $18.99 until 6/22)
Crysis Remastered ($11.99 from $29.99 until 6/22)
Crysis Remastered Trilogy ($32.49 from $49.99 until 6/22)
Dandy Dungeon: Brave Yamada ($13.29 from $18.99 until 6/22)
Encodya ($2.99 from $29.99 until 6/22)
Golf Club Wasteland ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/22)
Leisure Suit Larry WD Saga ($9.74 from $64.99 until 6/22)
Mon Amour ($6.29 from $8.99 until 6/22)
moon ($16.99 from $18.99 until 6/22)
Murder Mystery Machine ($12.99 from $19.99 until 6/22)
Suicide Guy Collection ($4.39 from $10.99 until 6/22)
The Hong Kong Massacre ($3.99 from $19.99 until 6/22)
Warhammer 40k Mechanicus ($11.99 from $39.99 until 6/22)
What Lies in the Multiverse ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/22)
Where’s Samantha? ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/22)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, potentially some news, and if I’m feeling better, that review I was supposed to put up today. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
News
‘Xenoblade Chronicles 3’ Nintendo Direct Announced for June 22nd
With everyone on tenterhooks waiting for Nintendo to announce an E3-esque Nintendo Direct presentation, one thing people perhaps weren’t anticipating was a Direct focused on a single game. But that’s what we’re getting, as Nintendo has announced a Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Nintendo Direct for tomorrow morning. That would be 7:00 am PT or 9:00 am ET on June 22nd, to be very specific. It will be about twenty minutes long and will feature plenty of information about next month’s big first-party release. I guess we’ll have to continue to wait and see if Nintendo has a general Direct coming up soon, but it’ll be nice to get a deeper dive on this cool-looking JRPG.
New Releases
Fall Guys (Free)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
It feels like that in the time it took for this game to make its way to the Switch, the hype around it cooled a lot. I guess we’ll see if these console releases can give it a second wind. Anyway, the goal here is to go through a series of obstacle courses until only one character is left standing. You can technically play alone offline, but the real game is in joining the online multiplayer where up to sixty players can get in on the action. The multiplayer is cross-platform so you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding people to play with. As the game is shifting to free-to-play with the launch of this version, we’ve yet to see exactly how the monetization will affect it. Probably just costume stuff, though.
Shadowrun Trilogy ($39.99)
Shadowrun Returns ($19.99)
Shadowrun: Dragonfall – Director’s Cut ($19.99)
Shadowrun: Hong Kong – Extended Edition ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
The three Harebrained Schemes-developed Shadowrun games come to Switch, and you can pick them up as a full trilogy for a sharp discount or separately as you see fit. They’re basically Western RPG-style games with tactical turn-based combat. Lots of choices to make, lots of character customization, and plenty of side quests to solve. I liked these games a lot when I first played them back in the day, and as long as these ports don’t have any nasty bugs or anything I think RPG fans will dig them.
Wreckfest ($39.99)
Bugbear Entertainment’s over-the-top racing game Wreckfest makes its way to the Switch after releasing on many other platforms years back. It’s a pretty solid game, especially if you enjoy demolition derby-style affairs. I do worry a bit for this Switch port, as it is making its way over from beefier hardware and THQ Nordic has been very hit or miss with that kind of port. If the port is fine, then I think racing fans will have another enjoyable title to throw on the pile.
Broken Mind ($9.99)
This is a survival-horror action game, and it certainly has a distinct look to it. You play as a detective with a dark past, which is pretty normal as video game detectives go. A teenage girl has been kidnapped during a live stream, and it falls to you to investigate the case. You’ve got a big clue, at least: her phone has been tracked to the middle of a nearby scary forest. Better head there with no back-up. You get some puzzles to solve, enemies to fight, and a victim to find. It’s apparently the work of a solo developer, so that’s something.
Milky Way Prince – The Vampire Star ($14.99)
Here’s a visual novel-style game about a tempestuous romance where the closer the two get, the more unstable the relationship becomes. It’s a semi-autobiographical game based on the creator’s experience with a borderline partner, and the idea is to try to navigate the ups and downs of such a situation. There’s a mechanic here where you have to choose which senses to use when interacting with your boyfriend, and your choices will help you learn more about him and hopefully strengthen your bond. If nothing else, it seems quite different from the usual romance game.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Some decent games are hitting new low prices today. Grapple Dog, the Indiana Jones DLC for Pinball FX3, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, Shoot 1UP DX, and Commandos 2 HD Remaster. Thalamus Digital has pretty much all of its games on sale again, and if you’re into that classic microcomputer flavor you’ll find they really scratch that particular itch. Over in the outbox, the latest Onion Games sale is coming to a close. Check both of those lists carefully to make sure you’ve got everything you want.
Select New Games on Sale
Grapple Dog ($10.49 from $14.99 until 6/27)
Pinball FX3 Indiana Jones DLC ($13.49 from $14.99 until 6/27)
Pinball FX3 Jurassic World DLC ($3.99 from $9.99 until 6/27)
Wuppo: Definitive Edition ($3.99 from $14.99 until 6/27)
Caveblazers ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/27)
Brunch Club ($2.89 from $14.49 until 6/27)
Drink More Glurp ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/27)
Landflix Odyssey ($4.89 from $6.99 until 6/27)
Buissons ($4.95 from $7.99 until 6/28)
Rover Mechanic Simulator ($3.59 from $11.99 until 6/30)
Ludo Game: Just Chill Out ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/30)
Tax Fugitive ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/30)
Broken Blades ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/30)
Cyber Fight ($2.09 from $6.99 until 6/30)
Pocket Slimes ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/30)
Blandville ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/30)
Darkest Hunters ($2.12 from $5.30 until 6/30)
Hundred Fires: TRoRS ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/30)
Bus Driver Simulator Countryside ($4.49 from $14.99 until 6/30)
Car Mechanic Simulator PE 2 ($7.74 from $15.49 until 6/30)
Undead & Beyond ($3.29 from $10.99 until 6/30)
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising ($11.99 from $14.99 until 7/1)
Shoot 1UP DX ($2.39 from $5.99 until 7/4)
Pig Eat Ball ($5.99 from $14.99 until 7/4)
Weapon of Choice DX ($2.39 from $5.99 until 7/4)
Explosionade DX ($2.39 from $5.99 until 7/4)
Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars ($13.99 from $39.99 until 7/11)
Commandos 2 HD Remaster ($14.99 from $29.99 until 7/11)
Ftaghn! Tales of Creeping Madness ($2.49 from $7.99 until 7/11)
In My Shadow ($8.40 from $12.00 until 7/11)
The Unexpected Quest ($6.75 from $15.00 until 7/11)
10 Second Ninja X ($1.99 from $11.99 until 7/11)
Cecconoid ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/11)
Lumo ($1.99 from $19.95 until 7/11)
Bezier: Second Edition ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/11)
Death Ray Manta SE ($1.99 from $10.00 until 7/11)
Rogue Aces ($1.99 from $12.99 until 7/11)
LOVE: A Puzzle Box ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/11)
Railway Empire ($19.99 from $39.99 until 7/11)
Filament ($5.94 from $16.99 until 7/11)
LIMBO ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/11)
INSIDE ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/11)
LIT: Bend the Light ($6.40 from $8.00 until 7/11)
Fingun ($3.34 from $4.99 until 7/11)
Knights & Guns ($2.29 from $14.99 until 7/11)
Cardful Planning ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/11)
Pode ($12.49 from $24.99 until 7/11)
Destructivator SE ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/11)
Millie & Molly ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/11)
Word Forward ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/11)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 22nd
Arise: A Simple Story DE ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/22)
Aspire: Ina’s Tale ($5.19 from $12.99 until 6/22)
Badland: GotY Edition ($2.03 from $5.99 until 6/22)
Beautiful Desolation ($2.99 from $19.99 until 6/22)
Black Bird ($13.29 from $18.99 until 6/22)
Crysis Remastered ($11.99 from $29.99 until 6/22)
Crysis Remastered Trilogy ($32.49 from $49.99 until 6/22)
Dandy Dungeon: Brave Yamada ($13.29 from $18.99 until 6/22)
Encodya ($2.99 from $29.99 until 6/22)
Golf Club Wasteland ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/22)
Leisure Suit Larry WD Saga ($9.74 from $64.99 until 6/22)
Mon Amour ($6.29 from $8.99 until 6/22)
moon ($16.99 from $18.99 until 6/22)
Murder Mystery Machine ($12.99 from $19.99 until 6/22)
Suicide Guy Collection ($4.39 from $10.99 until 6/22)
The Hong Kong Massacre ($3.99 from $19.99 until 6/22)
Warhammer 40k Mechanicus ($11.99 from $39.99 until 6/22)
What Lies in the Multiverse ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/22)
Where’s Samantha? ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/22)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, potentially some news, and if I’m feeling better, that review I was supposed to put up today. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!