Super Mario Odyssey is just a week away. If you’re looking for something to tide you over, then you’re in luck – fourteen new games hit the Switch this week, many of which have a whiff of ‘short but sweet’ about them.
Good luck to anybody planning to beat Fire Emblem Warriors (£49.99 – Switch, £39.99 – New 3DS) before Mario’s arrival, though. Indeed, Nintendo’s timing on their latest Dynasty Warriors crossover is open to criticism. It seems casually thrown in alongside other their other big releases.
Reviews went live yesterday, and scores probably aren’t quite as high as Nintendo hoped – the Metacritic currently stands at 74%, with the clear majority of reviewers opting for 7/10. The Metro stands out as an exception – they felt it was only worthy of a 4/10, and called it “painfully simplisticâ€. If you struggle to enjoy the Dynasty Warriors games, you probably aren’t going to get much enjoyment from this.
We also have a couple of time-consuming JRPGs out this week – Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth (£34.99) on 3DS and Kemco’s Revenant Saga (£11.69) on Switch. Revenant Saga launched on a whole host of other formats, including the humble PS3, earlier this but the only review we can find is for the mobile version. It doesn’t even have enough Steam user reviews to aggregate a verdict. Odd.
The 3DS also receives demos of Nintendo presents: New Style Boutique 3 – Styling Star and Kirby Battle Royale, while the Wii U gains a single new release – the match-three puzzler Swap Blocks (£3.99).
Here’s a round-up of the rest of the week’s Switch releases. All thirteen of ‘em.
The LEGO NINJAGO Movie Videogame – £49.99
The movie itself is apparently a bit rubbish, and this tie-in isn’t much better – Nintendo Life could only muster up a mediocre 5/10 review score, claiming that it definitely feels like a movie tie-in.
Spelunker Party! – £24.99
Square-Enix invites you to explore underground caverns with friends, either online or offline. It recieved a retail release elsewhere in the world, hence the £25 price tag.
Syberia – £26.99
This cult-classic adventure really is a golden oldie, dating back to 2002. Syberia II is currently pencilled in for a 1st December release, incidentally.
ACA NEOGEO ROBO ARMY – £6.29
Contrary to beliefs, the NeoGeo didn’t have a huge amount of scrolling brawlers. Sadly, this early release wasn’t up to much despite the appealing art direction.
The Count Lucanor – £10.79 until 25th October (£11.99 thereafter)
This 2D pixel art adventure went down well on PC, becoming something of a sleeper hit. This Switch release also beats the PS4 version out the door by a good month or so.
Don’t Knock Twice – £7.99 until 14th November (£9.99 thereafter)
This horror game didn’t fare too well on PS4 and Xbox One back in September, criticised for a lack of originality and a short length.
Elliot Quest – Price TBC
This Zelda II/Metroid hybrid is deserving of a second lease of life, having passed many by.
The Jackbox Party Pack 4 – £19.99
Fibbage 3, Survive the Internet, Monster Seeking Monster, Bracketeering and Civic Doodle feature in this five-strong party game compendium. What, no tiddlywinks?
Jydge – £12.99
It’s a tad amusing that this top-down shooter launches on Switch the same week as Rogue Trooper Redux, as there’s a hint of 2000 AD about it.
Party Golf – £13.49
Viewed from a side-on perspective, this four-player party game offers Procedurally-generated terrain with a psychedelic twist.
Rogue Trooper Redux – £19.99
Rebellion’s PS2-era shooter gets a digital dust-off. Despite vastly improved visuals and improvements to the cover system, many critics claim that it’s still showing its age.
Putty Pals – £7.50
Not to be confused with System 3’s Putty Squad, which is apparently receiving a Switch release in December, Putty Pals is a 2D puzzle/adventure intended to be played via couch-based co-op.
Super Ping Pong Trick Shot – £4.49
An inexpensive, but simplistic looking, puzzler. With balls.
This week’s discounts are also worth a mention. On Switch the Resident Evil alike Vaccine falls to £6.29 while Astro Bears Party can be had for £4.49. Then on Wii U the enjoyable Stick it to The Man is down to £4.19, while Gunman Clive HD Collection sees a drop to £1.79.
Alternatively, Gunman Clive and Gunman Clive 2 on 3DS can be yours for 99p and £1.25 respectively. It was hard to argue with the original’s £2 asking price, so 99p is certainly a steal.
Next week: Super Mario Odyssey and Just Dance 2018.