THQ Nordic are currently knocking out Switch conversions left, right, and indeed centre. The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is the third from the publisher we’ve seen this year, being a fantasy point ‘n clicker first released in 2015.
Despite its age reviews are mostly positive, including 8/10 from GameSpew and 3.5/5 from Screen Rant. It seems like there was room for improvement, though. “The touch screen inexplicably cannot be used when the game is in handheld more, nor can the Joy-Con be used as a mouse pointer when the Switch is docked,†warned Screen Rant.
The Switch also gets the far newer RIOT – Civil Unrest, Away: Journey To The Unexpected, and Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 2, three titles also hitting PS4 and Xbox One this week.
We’ve spent some time with strategic rioting simulator RIOT – Civil Unrest. Like many critics, we haven’t been left too impressed. It’s very scrappy, and just like a real-life riot, it’s very hard to tell what’s going on.
Anime-influenced FPS Away: Journey To The Unexpected hasn’t been best received by the press either, despite the appealing visuals and the ‘feel good’ vibes. The Metacritic currently stands at 45% with The Metro dishing out its lowest score – a miserable 3/10. “The intentions are good, but cute graphics and some clever ideas can’t stop this ‘feel-good FPS’ from being anything but a downer,†was their verdict.
The first reviews of Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 2 on PS4 are more encouraging – even gaining a 9/10 from Gaming Trend – but we suggest waiting until reviews of the Switch iteration arrive. The original apparently had performance issues. Hopefully this sequel has received more attention.
City of Brass is a far safer purchase. This Arabian Nights-themed first-person roguelike ticks all the right boxes, coming from the creative minds behind Bioshock. Nintendo Life deemed it worthy of 9/10, calling it one of the most entertaining roguelikes on the Switch.
Then we have Observer, the cyberpunk horror mystery from the Layers of Fear devs. Being a visually demanding game some jiggery-pokery (downgrading) has occurred to get it running on Switch, but it has made the jump mostly intact. “Despite threatening to fizzle under the weight of its reverence for Blade Runner, Observer manages to craft an impressive and affecting horror experience on Switch that doesn’t outstay its welcome,†said Nintendo Life.
Nintendo World Report wasn’t quite as impressed however, opting for a 7/10. They praised the puzzle elements but felt like some areas were nothing more than filler.
Other games of note include Defense Grid 2 – one of the best tower defence games around – retro platformer Commander Keen in Keen Dreams, and Hamster’s re-release of Puzzle Bobble 2 on NeoGeo.
Odallus: The Dark Call also steps out of the shadows. This is another 8-bit style Castlevania alike, albeit one slightly more accomplished than most. Also: the protagonist is called Haggis. Nintendo World Report found it to be a “fun and challenging†throwback, which is about as much as you can ask for.
In addition to a Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn demo, the 3DS gains the very well received JRPG Etrian Odyssey Nexus too. Critics seem englamoured by this ‘greatest hits’ role-player package, with GameSpot handing out 8/10.
“Despite a few small stumbles, the grandiose adventure Etrian Odyssey Nexus delivers is a rewarding, engaging journey you’ll be glad to take,†their reviewer beamed.
You’ll find the full eShop line-up below. Good news Wii U owners – your ageing system hasn’t been forgotten either.
New Switch releases
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 – £26.99
Legend foretold it. Prophecies predicted it. Chosen ones chose to believe in it. Now the fantasy spoof adventure saga continues. Join Wilbur, Ivo, Nate and Critter in another classic point-and-click adventure in the wicked world of Aventasia. Help them fulfil their destiny. A destiny as yet unwritten.
Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 2 – £49.99
Live like a champion with the updated career mode and set weekly activities in your agenda: new challenges, sponsors and incredible prizes all await you! Train in the Compound. Ride freely or put your custom rider’s skills to the test, competing against rivals on four different tracks. Learn to control your bike when leaning, starting, braking, cornering and scrubbing.
RIOT – Civil Unrest – £12.74
RIOT – Civil Unrest is the highly anticipated real-time riot simulator that places the player right in the heart of some of the world’s most fractious clashes. Campaigns include: Indignados (Spain), Arab Spring (Egypt), Keratea (Greece) and NoTAV (Italy). Seventeen single level scenarios include Rome, Oakland, Paris, London and Ukraine.
BLAZBLUE CENTRALFICTION Special Edition – £43.99
Brace yourselves for the pinnacle of 2D fighting action – this is BlazBlue’s final and most hard-hitting chapter to date, with more stages, more moves, and more characters than ever before. Whether you’re a hardcore BlazBlue veteran, or a newcomer wanting to experience the HUGE single player mode, one thing is for certain – this is the ULTIMATE anime fighting experience!
Observer – £26.99
Observer is a cyberpunk, detective thriller set in the year 2084 in Krakow, Poland. The world lies in ruins with corporations seizing power after the fall of governments. You do their bidding. No lie will remain hidden from you, as you hack into the minds of those you interrogate. When your past catches-up, you must act on your own and unravel the mystery of your son’s disappearance. Your name is Daniel Lazarski, you’re an Observer.
Avenger Bird – £1.79
Oh No! Someone had kidnapped your little birds! You must go on an epic adventure to rescue them! Avenger Bird is a platform side-scroller game with pixel-art graphics, but your hero isn’t just a regular hero. You are playing a bird that can flap it’s tiny wings to fly and glide for limited distances. It’s a retro-inspired 16-bit era game with innovative and challenging fly/glide mechanic.
Ping Pong Trick Shot EVOLUTION – £4.49
This is an action puzzle game in which you throw ping pong balls into a cup. Control your character, position, angle and power when you throw the ping pong ball. This game includes 4 modes – Challenge, Score Attack, VS, and 50 Cup.
The Path of Motus – £10.79
Will you let other people stop you from pursuing your dreams? For generations, a village of goblins has been trapped inside a mysterious forest; anyone who attempts to leave returns hopeless and defeated. Determined to break new ground, a young goblin named Motus plans to build a series of bridges through the forest. However, his perseverance will soon be tested, as he meets bullies that use their own words to stop him. Will you find a way through life’s forest, or like others be lost in its depths with no will to continue?
Warhammer Quest – £19.99
Based on the classic tabletop game, Warhammer Quest is an addictive mix of role-playing and strategy. Lead your group of brave adventurers through the perilous dungeons of the Warhammer World in the search for wealth and glory!
ACA NEOGEO PUZZLE BOBBLE 2 – £6.29
“PUZZLE BOBBLE 2†is an action puzzle game released by Taito in 1995 as the second sequel of PUZZLE BOBBLE. Bub and Bob, the bubble spitting dragons from the action game are back again to take on new challenges! Skilfully bounce bubbles off the walls, make chains, and erase them! Aim for even greater chains with the new Star Bubbles and Metal Bubbles!
Away: Journey To The Unexpected – £14.99
Welcome to a feel-good FPS! A colourful adventure combining action, negotiation and rogue-lite elements. You play as a kid that is neither a hero nor a warrior. Yet with the power of friendship, you will overcome every obstacle in your way! Choose your path through the levels, uncover the light-hearted story, and above all, recruit allies. All the wacky and powerful characters you meet can be played in first person, and it’s up to you to find the right answers to get them to join your team!
Commander Keen in Keen Dreams – £8.99
Billy Blaze, eight-year-old genius, working diligently in his backyard clubhouse has created an interstellar starship from old soup cans, rubber cement, and plastic tubing. While his folks are out on the town and the babysitter has fallen asleep, Billy travels into his backyard workshop, dons his brother’s football helmet, and transforms into…
Defense Grid 2 – £14.99
A horde of enemies is invading and stealing your cores, now it’s up to you to stop them by strategically building towers at your base. The controls are intuitive, the gameplay is deep, and you’ll find yourself refining your strategies for hours on end.
Estiman – £1.79
Estiman is an original, engaging arcade game based on one of the processes our minds work with every day – estimation. With combos, you can keep going forever (if you have the skills!). The sweet, minimal visuals will appeal to your aesthetic sense, and an adaptive difficulty level turns this simple concept into a compelling and satisfying game.
Evoland Legendary Edition – £17.99
Evoland is a journey through the history of action/adventure gaming, allowing you to unlock new technologies, gameplay systems and graphic upgrades as you progress through the game. Inspired by many cult series that have left their mark in the RPG video gaming culture, Evoland takes you from monochrome to full 3D graphics and from active time battles to real time boss fights, all with plenty of humour and references to many classic games.
Gnomes Garden: New Home – £4.49
After defeating the sorcerer collector, the gnomes returned the castle to its old form. But it still stood in the grey wasteland, and there nothing could grow. The princess was worried that her people would soon run out of food and start to starve. So she makes the decision to set off on a journey to find the secret Green Recipe.
KYUB – £3.59
The puzzle game “KYUB” that fascinated the world now available on Nintendo Switch! Move the cubic object “KYUB” and solve the mysterious problem using its ability! Switch between action and puzzle phases where you manipulate other cubes to climb walls and destroy obstacles with lasers or activate switches to trigger new paths. The atmosphere of mysterious and exciting “KYUB” is waiting for you!
Magic Scroll Tactics – £8.99
Magic Scroll Tactics is a side-scrolling tactical RPG where height is key. But be warned, simply holding the high ground won’t ensure victory! Raining arrows down on your hapless foes is only one part of this simple yet deep strategy game; you’ll need to master a wide variety of abilities and units if you wish to conquer your perilous foes.
Mercury Race – £7.99
Mercury Race is a shooting & racing game set in a retro-futuristic world. Finish each circuit in time to obtain the badge and achieve ranking number one. The game will challenge not only your driving skills but also your shooting accuracy.
Percy’s Predicament Deluxe – £4.69
Percy’s Predicament Deluxe is a casual title for all to enjoy! Percy’s Predicament Deluxe is a single player game in which you control Percy Penguin, who has become trapped within a magical orb. You must navigate the course and collect all the fish before the time runs out! 100 Levels and six different environments each with their own musical themes means the fun never stops!
Pizza Parking – £3.59
Pizza Parking is a challenging arcade parking simulator. You are a pizza delivery driver, and your goal is to park precisely and fast! Time is running out and the road is winding and full of obstacles.
Pocket Academy – £8.99
School got you down? Wish you could change a few things? Well, now’s your chance to create the ultimate dream school in this simulation smash-hit! Tailor your personal academy as you see fit, erecting classrooms, making clubs–even deciding this week’s hot couple!
Pumped BMX Pro – £11.99
Pumped BMX Pro puts you back on the seat for another high adrenaline, fast-paced trickathon where chaining massive combos could put you at the number one spot on the global leaderboards. Pump your way through 60 levels of ever-increasing difficulty, making sure you’re racking up those platinum medals by completing Trick Challenges along the way.
Reverie: Sweet As Edition – £11.99
With restless spirits threatening the safety of Toromi Island’s inhabitants, Tai must venture through dangerous dungeons and across a variety of environments to put the spirits to rest. All in a summer holiday! Reverie is an action adventure game set on a fictional island in New Zealand, inspired by the legend of Maui and the Giant Fish where the demigod himself fishes up the North Island with a powerful fishhook.
Sky Gamblers – Afterburner – £15.29
Get into the cockpit and prepare to take-off. Unlock, upgrade and customize the weapons and defences of more than 100 planes. Paint your favourite jet fighter, customize patterns and badges for the ultimate looks. Become the master of the skies!
Solstice Chronicles: MIA – £12.32
In a dead colony on Mars a corporate marine is left far behind enemy lines. With the unlikely help of an insurgent drone, he faces a battle for survival against an army of murderous, mindless mutants… and worse things. This isometric action shooter includes key strategic decisions. Your drone has vital abilities and you need to strategize as you fight; should you scavenge for supplies or push forward to face the enemy?
Surfingers – £4.04
Surfingers is an arcade game with controls based on up-and-down movement. The player must change the height of the wave in a dizzying pace, bypassing many obstacles (ships, balloons, rocks, trees, bones, pyramids etc.) and try to get as long as possible without touching anything. The game offers surfing through various worlds, including: ocean, snow, desert or hell. There are over 20 characters available to choose from!
The Rainsdowne Players – £2.99
Nobody said that opening a theatre on the wrong side of the river was going to be easy! The roof may be leaking, and the audience may be armed to the teeth, but nothing is going to stop the Rainsdowne Players from becoming the premier (and only!) theatre troupe in town!
The Stillness of the Wind – £8.49
One by one, everyone left the once bustling village for the city. Everyone, except Talma. Now approaching the end of her days, she maintains a simple, solitary way of life, surviving, subsisting, tending to her homestead and her goats. Develop your own personal routine as you care for your farm and your animals. Tend to your goats, make cheese with their milk, collect eggs and cook meals, grow vegetables and barter with the travelling merchant who brings increasingly disturbing letters from your family in the city.
Guacamelee! 2 Complete – £15.51
Get the complete Guacamelee! 2 experience by picking up the game and both DLC packs together! The celebrated metroidvania is here in its ultimate form. Punch and suplex your way through the entire story in the game-changing costumes of the ‘Three Enemigos’ character pack, and enjoy the savage challenges and rewards of the ‘Proving Grounds’ challenge level.
99Moves – £2.69
99Moves, a retro arcade game where you will have to survive with just 99 Movements. Without a heading in the galaxy, all was lost because your energy was about to run out… gravity would chart the course of your destiny… Suddenly, V-99 entered a zone called Shaders, which provided energy… It was a new opportunity to survive. However, it was not all good news, as you only have 99 energy pulses to move through the Shaders zone.
Access Denied – £3.99
Calling all safe-crackers and lovers of puzzle games! The time for testing your brain, whilst listening to rain and thunder has arrived, as try your hand at a series of puzzles that are playable across 36 levels. From rotating dials, imputing numbers and other commands, your work will be cut out for you, but in the event, your mental puzzle-solving prowess comes through for you, you will get the chance to have your cake and eat it too!
City of Brass – £13.49
Become a daring thief in City of Brass, a first-person action adventure from senior BioShock developers. Armed with scimitar and a versatile whip, you’ll lash and slash, bait and trap your way to the heart of an opulent, Arabian Nights-themed metropolis – or face certain death as time runs out.
Doom & Destiny – £10.49
Doom and Destiny is a turn-based hilarious JRPG where you take control of a party of four everyday friends. Journey through an unpredictable story filled with parodies and cameos. Start your adventure in a classic dungeon with dragons, save the princess with the help of green-dressed elf and then fly to manga-themed city with the help of a famous Italian plumber. This is Doom and Destiny, the flying-spaghetti fantasy adventure!
Food Truck Tycoon – £4.49
Test your skills and talent as the owner of a busy food truck! Your only job is to take orders, prepare food and serve to as many customers as possible. Be careful not to burn the food! Fulfil your dream of becoming the tycoon of the best food trucks in the city!
Glass Masquerade – £8.63
Welcome to Glass Masquerade – an artistic puzzle game inspired by Art Deco and stained-glass artisans of the 20th century. Combine hidden glass pieces to unveil clocks and themes exhibited by various cultures of the world at the ‘International Times Exhibition’ – an interactive electronic show.
Mimic Hunter – £4.49
Playing as legendary Mimic Hunter Ratimousse, the task is now yours to face a mysterious threat that emerged long after the end of the Witches’ Wars. To unveil the secrets and save the mortal world, you’ll have to overcome the puzzles, traps, and mind-bending cylindrical labyrinths of the Seven Towers of the Unbound, master your fencing skills and occult powers, and defeat the corrupt minions of a terrible adversary.
Odallus: The Dark Call – £9.71
The old gods have forgotten this land… Odallus is an exploration/action game and loving homage to the 8-bit genre classics. You play as Haggis – a battle-weary warrior who must wield his sword once more to rescue his son from Darkness.
Oniken: Unstoppable Edition – £8.09
In a post-apocalyptic future controlled by a sinister corporation, ninja mercenary Zaku is the last hope for humanity. Inspired by the demanding gameplay of 8-bit action/platformers, Oniken pits your agility and swordplay against a gauntlet of enemies, traps, and challenging bosses.
Stunt Kite Party – £8.99
Choose from eight playable characters and fly your kite in four scenic settings, where you can challenge your friends in either predefined matches or your own custom created tournament. You can also face off against AI controlled characters in the single-player experience, framed by a lighthearted story mode that allows you to learn more about the joyful world of Stunt Kite Party.
New Switch demos
The Path of Motus Demo
Pocket Academy
New 3DS releases
Etrian Odyssey Nexus – £35.99
With more classes, characters, gameplay systems, and labyrinths than any other game in the series, Etrian Odyssey Nexus is the ultimate dungeon-crawling adventure. Create and customize characters from 19 playable classes, then take on the dangerous creatures of Lemuria’s labyrinths with your perfect party! With the ability to swap between four difficulty settings, auto-mapping settings, and a grand standalone story, series newcomers and experienced veterans alike are welcome.
New Wii U releases
Sinister Assistant – £3.59
You are Emuela, a master wizard who likes to hold back her own strength to give her foes a “fighting chance.†She is on a quest. For what? No one knows. But we do know there will be (minor) destruction and property damage along the way. In this world, encounter familiar and new enemies that will stand in your way on your quest for… Goddess knows what! Travel through different worlds and encounter dangerous creatures in Sinister Assistant.
Next week: OlliOlli: Switch Stance, TOUHOU SKY ARENA -MATSURI- CLIMAX, Iron Crypticle, Minesweeper Genius, The King’s Bird, The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince, Tokyo School Life, NEKOPARA Vol.2, LOVE, Astrology and Horoscopes Premium, Alvastia Chronicles, Cinders, Ghoulboy, Strikey Sisters, Hexa Maze, and Space Lift Danger Panic!