Say farewell to your free time – no less than five social life sapping RPGs hit the Switch this week. Perhaps it’s for the best that the Switch iteration of The Outer Worlds – due next week on PS4 and Xbox One – is still a few months away.
As you’ve no doubt heard by now, The Witcher 3: Complete Edition holds up well on Switch. It isn’t the best way to experience it, and there are framerate drops and blurry textures to contend with, but nevertheless CD Projekt Red has managed to cram the whole experience onto a Switch cart.
“The Switch port of The Witcher 3: Complete Edition certainly isn’t how I’d recommend you experience CD Projekt Red’s epic fantasy masterpiece for the first time, but it’s serviceable if you’re unable to play on PC or a more powerful console — or prefer to do your monster hunting away from a TV. On a full-size screen, however, it suffers to the point where it looks more reminiscent of the 360 generation than the current one,†said IGN before handing out an 8.0.
The Metro opted for a lofty 9/10, meanwhile: “The Switch is clearly not the game’s natural home and yet even with the graphical downgrade The Witcher 3’s innate quality shines through,â€
Then we have two classic RPG double packs, both loaded with new features such as additional party members. Nintendo Life reviewed both Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale: Enhanced Editions and Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Editions, as they’re cumbersomely known.
On the former collection: “Icewind Dale is probably as good as old-school combat ever got and is still an absolute gem for fans of epic dungeon-crawling who don’t mind the brutal difficulty involved in getting the hang of its action. Planescape: Torment, on the other hand, is a narrative masterclass which still feels fresh as a daisy and is as bizarre, funny and endlessly replayable as it’s ever been. Together, these two make for a pretty essential addition to your Switch’s RPG library.â€
On the latter: “[…] these are still classics of the genre that are absolutely worth persisting with. Once you get to grips with some of their more antiquated ways you’ll be handsomely rewarded with some of the deepest combat, best writing, voice-acting and characters you’re likely to find in the genre. The Switch really is turning into an RPG-lover’s dream machine.â€
As for something somewhat newer, there’s the colourful JRPG Little Town Hero from GameFreak, which features music from Toby Fox. Sadly, it isn’t match made in heaven – simplified mechanics leave a lot to be desired, resulting in a lukewarm reception.
IGN’s 7.0 is one of the higher scores it has received. “Little Town Hero’s combat can frustrate at times, but the battle system behind it is still full of charm and creativity,†was their verdict.
GameSpot only deemed it worthy of 5/10, stating that “Little Town Hero finds some success in avoiding some of the complex systems and tedious menus that can bog down other card games and RPGs, but it ends up suffering for it.“
Stepping away from RPGs, there’s Blizzard’s unstoppable Overwatch. As per The Witcher 3, critics claim that it’s a decent conversion but it’s far from being the ideal way to experience it. It’s also lacking the level polish Diablo III on Switch had despite the presence of new motion controls. Â
The Metro dished out a solid 7/10, noting that “Overwatch is still an excellent title, even this far from launch, but the Switch version is notably inferior in terms of online performance.â€
VideoGames Chronicle enjoyed it a tad more, awarding the team-based shooter 4/5. “Overwatch may not feel as definitive an experience on Switch like last year’s Diablo III Eternal Collection, but another place to play one of the best team shooters of this generation is by no means a bad thing.â€
Then there’s Felix the Reaper, a comical puzzle game that entails creating shadowy paths to traverse. Scores for this one aren’t quite as high as we hoped. “Felix the Reaper is a respectable game that unfortunately stagnates after the first couple of chapters. None of its puzzles are bad; they’re just tough and don’t change much,†said ScreenRant before handing out a 3/5.
The Switch also receives Return of the Obra Dinn, the monochrome adventure which went down a storm of PC. That’s accompanied by the stylish platformer A Hat in Time, the giant robo brawler Override: Mech City Brawl, and two re-releases from SEGA – Columns II: A Voyage Through Time and the mini-game collection Ichidant-R.
New Switch eShop releases
Zombieland: Double Tap- Road Trip – £34.99
With its own unique story, set between the events of the first movie, Zombieland: Double Tap- Road Trip is a ridiculously fun top-down twin-stick shooter featuring local co-op multiplayer for up to four players. Play as your favorite heroes from the original — Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock — as well as new unlockable characters from the upcoming sequel. The game embraces the game-like elements seen in the film by incorporating everything from the “Rules†to “Zombie Kill of the Weekâ€. Use your special abilities, an arsenal of weapons and the essential Zombieland rules for survival to stay alive against huge numbers of uniquely grotesque and dangerous undead monstrosities in Zombieland: Double Tap- Road Trip’s story-based campaign mode, wave-based horde mode, and boss battles.
A Hat in Time – £25.19
In A Hat in Time you play as a tiny space-travelling girl with a big top hat. Her adventure is halted when all her fuel, the Time Pieces, is lost and scattered across a nearby planet. Hat Kid must now jump, fight and stitch new hats to make her way into every nook and cranny of this new world in order to restore her fuel and resume her journey.
Arcade Archives VS. CASTLEVANIA – £6.29
The demonic Count Dracula has awakened from his 100-year slumber. Play as Simon, as he sets out for Dracula’s castle of evil in order to defeat him. With the whip handed down through his family and a variety of weapons, control Simon to defeat the children of the night standing in his way. The “Arcade Archives” series has faithfully reproduced many classic Arcade masterpieces.
Return of the Obra Dinn – £TBA
In 1802, the merchant ship Obra Dinn set out from London for the Orient with over 200 tons of trade goods. Six months later it hadn’t met its rendezvous point at the Cape of Good Hope and was declared lost at sea.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition – £49.99
Winner of over 250 Game of the Year awards, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a story-driven, open world adventure set in a dark fantasy universe, where you play as Geralt of Rivia, mercenary monster slayer.
At your disposal is every tool of the trade: razor-sharp swords, lethal mixtures, stealthy crossbows, and powerful combat magic. Before you stands a war-torn, monster-infested continent you can explore at will. Your current contract? Tracking down the Child of Prophecy, a living weapon that can alter the shape of the world.
The Complete Edition contains every piece of downloadable content released for the game, including two massive story expansions: Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine. It’s the perfect opportunity to enter this world for the first time or relive the adventure – on the go!
Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale: Enhanced Editions – £39.99
Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment are award-winning classics of the isometric RPG genre. “Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale: Enhanced Editions” contains the entirety of Icewind Dale (including the Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster expansions) and Planescape: Torment.
The Eyes of Ara – £11.69
Lose yourself in this award-winning puzzle adventure as you explore a vast, mysterious castle riddled with secret vaults and hidden rooms. Experience stunning 3D environments and weave your way through a complex tapestry of thought-provoking puzzles to unravel a mystery bridging the scientific and the arcane.
Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Editions – £39.99
Running on an upgraded and improved version of the Infinity Engine, Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition includes the original Baldur’s Gate adventure, the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion, and all-new content including three new party members.
Override: Mech City Brawl – Super Charged Mega Edition – £34.99
Override: Mech City Brawl is a 3D mech-based brawler. Control gigantic robots and duke it out in fantastic cityscapes. Epic battles await with distinctive mechs in 1v1 brawls, 4-person online free-for-all, or 2 to 4-player party co-op – where each player controls one part of two skyscraper-sized mechs. The game also features a single-player campaign to go it alone.
ZikSquare – £6.29
ZikSquare brings you a new concept !
Each musical note is played by the game and is a block that your character has to slide on, to jump on or to dodge. Don’t want to compose a music but want to create some game levels ?
Little Town Hero – £22.49
The story is set in an isolated village on the edge of the world. The only gate leading outside is heavily guarded by a castle, and the villagers are not allowed to leave. Most of the villagers don’t give it a thought, and happily go on with their everyday lives. However, the protagonist is a little different from the others – he wants to see the world outside.
Gleaner Heights – £8.99
“Today is another typical day in Gleaner Heights. I got up, went to the general store, bought some seeds, planted them. Cooked some spaghetti bolognese, went out to chop wood. Milked my cows, fed them too. Got in my boat, went underwater with my diving suit. Found a cave entrance, fought a giant crab, grabbed some treasure. Got back up, went to the showroom for a drink. I think the hotel owner’s daughter is throwing funny glances at me. I shouldn’t have gifted her that boot I fished out the other day…”
Kine – £17.99
Kine is a 3D narrative puzzle game about three daring machines that aspire to be musicians. Embark across a theatrical dreamscape by solving a wide variety of increasingly difficult 3D puzzles. Guide Euler, Quat, and Roo as they struggle to form a band and find their big break!
Where the Bees Make Honey – £7.99
Where the Bees Make Honey tells a story about reflecting on different moments from a childhood, which are played and experienced from an adult perspective. At its core Where the Bees Make Honey is a puzzle adventure game, but gameplay variation is filtered throughout.
Ice Age Scrat’s Nutty Adventure – £34.99
Ice Age’s favorite sabre-tooth squirrel, Scrat, is at it again in an all-new adventure! A mysterious mechanism in an ancient Scratazon Temple, has locked away his prized possession – and the only way to get it back is an epic quest to find four legendary Crystal Nuts, scattered across the land.
Megaquarium – £19.89
Over 100 different objects to place including filters, skimmers, nitrate reactors, chillers, heaters, food boxes, equipment stations, doors, gates, food and drink dispensers, balloon stands, decorations, paint and more!
Plan staff talks down to the subject, time and frequency to increase your point income even further!
Raging Loop – £24.99
Immerse yourself in a thrilling psychological horror story taking place in the secluded Japanese village of Yasumizu. A heavy mist surrounds the place, preventing everyone from ever leaving. Ancient gods have come back to hunt the villagers down one by one. The feast has begun, can you escape the village alive?
StarBlox Inc. – £8.19
Welcome to the team at StarBlox Incorporated – where sorting cargo is a contact sport!
Load your rocket resource blocks quickly and efficiently to beat the competition. But watch out – the shipping world is fierce! Your opponent can sabotage your work by stealing blocks, delivering punches or throwing you in the incinerator!
Safari Pinball – £2.69
Get ready for Safari Pinball, a pinball machine where you’ll try to photograph and record many animals through Africa. Elephants, Lions, Zebras, and many more are waiting for you on this table.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition – £54.99
With engaging storylines, classic turn-based battles, and tons of Digimon to collect, Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition delivers everything fans loved about Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth and Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory.
Just Ignore Them – £4.99
Growing up we all knew that one kid who was absolutely terrified of the dark and convinced that there were monsters hiding beneath his bed, but what if it were true?
Just Ignore Them is a Point and Click game that revolves around boy named Mark, who is locked in a never ending chase to escape the monsters that pursue him.
Worbital – £10.74
Break the Space!
Worbital is space war in real-time with tension-filled gameplay and gravitational destruction.
Make your opponents scream with perfectly-timed attacks and defenses, and hope they’re still your friends the next day.
Pig Eat Ball – £12.59
King Cake, the dessert-headed monarch, has decided it’s time for his daughter to get married, but she has other plans!
The King has devised “The Royal Games†in which the winner will marry Princess Bow. Since she can’t talk her father out of it, Bow decides to put on a disguise and enter the competition herself. Along the way, she discovers a nefarious plot that threatens all life aboard the Space Station Kingdom.
Can she get to the bottom of things before it’s too late… and win the Royal Games at the same time?
Domiverse – £12.99
Face off against up to 3 friends locally in this fun and frenetic arena fighting game. A single mistake can be fatal, and there’s no room for mercy in Domiverse. Your friends are obstacles you must destroy in order to get the power crown. So go for it and become the ultimate champion!
Summer Sweetheart – £17.00
In the game, the player, in the first view, encounters with multiple heroines. This is a brand-new love story. The main line has multiple story-choices and endings. In addition, there are some personal stories about other branch-line girls.
Rabi-Ribi – £26.99
There never quite seem to be enough bunny girls in the world, so here is another for you aficionados out there. This 2D sidescrolling exploration platformer follows the adventure of Erina, whose humdrum life as a regular rabbit is turned upside-down when she finds herself in an unknown world and turned into a human (with rabbit ears)!
SEGA AGES Columns II: A Voyage Through Time – £5.99
Match jewels, fossils, and disks as you jump through time! Control the falling pieces and aim for three-in-a-row to clear the screen before they stack to the top! Switch between multiple game modes, like Flash Columns where you target flashing jewels and unlock secret Jewel Case characters, or Versus Columns where you challenge your friends. Want to level up your game? Challenge online mode to encounter players from all over the world!
Battle Planet – Judgement Day – £13.49
Battle Planet – Judgement Day is a planetary rogue-lite top-down shooter. You are one of the universe’s 3 most wanted criminals on the run, fighting your way through hordes of aliens, military and police units. There is only one way to reclaim your freedom – destroy them all…
Sublevel Zero Redux – £13.49
Sublevel Zero Redux is a roguelite six-degree-of-freedom shooter set in a universe where reality is falling apart. With your gunship, fight in zero-g through a vast, procedurally-generated underground facility to recover the technology you need to escape the many dangers hidden around every corner.
Sublevel Zero Redux on includes the Redux expansion that adds hours of new content, the action is more intense than ever along with exclusive motion aiming and look controls exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version of the game.
Felix The Reaper – £22.49
Felix works at The Ministry of Death and is in love with Betty The Maiden from The Ministry of Life. He believes that going to the human world as a field reaper will enable him to one day meet her. Hence he’s taken the job of making sure people die – and taught himself to dance to impress the love of his life.
Since Felix only moves in the shadows, he needs to manipulate his surroundings to find his way through the world. Luckily reapers like Felix are able to turn the sun and move shadowing objects around. This enables him to create the necessary shadow paths. He does so to solve the adventure plots, that makes people die according to the ministerial plans.
SEGA AGES Ichidant-R – £5.99
Releasing in the West for the first time, Ichidant-R, the wacky series of timed puzzle mini-games, is now available in the SEGA AGES series for Nintendo Switch.
Push the limits of your brain and your coordination by hunting for hidden vampires, conducting an orchestra, warping your way through mazes, shooting down UFOS, and much more across 20 wildly varied mini games!
Stranded Sails – Explorers of the Cursed Islands – £19.99
Stranded Sails – Explorers of the Cursed Islands is an open world, exploration and farming adventure full of quests and discovery! You’re ship-wrecked on a mysterious archipelago. It’s up to you to survive and solve the mysteries deep in the heart of the islands, then finally escape!
Alchemist’s Castle – £2.29
Discovering the philosopher’s stone turned the wise and kind alchemist into a power hungry, selfish tyrant. Task of stopping him falls upon you, the former apprintice of the alchemist. Discover the secrets of the Alchemist’s Castle, survive and destroy the philosopher’s stone!
Billy Bomber – £4.49
Your goal is to transport Billy’s pyrotechnic to the exit using dynamites and springs. You can place them on the map wherever you want, then watch your TNT explode and send Billy into space! Billy Billy is not going to move anywhere, but the explosive dynamite should be the right motivation for him. The game contains 25 different stages, each of which can be completed in many ways. Will you only use TNT, or maybe you’ll build a complicated spring sequence? Just be creative and help Billy Bomber, a TNT specialist at his work!
Miniature – The Story Puzzle – £3.59
The Miniature is a unique 3D Story-based puzzle game, a stunning visual world, fascinating music and original game mode.
New on 3DS eShop
Maze Breaker – £5.99
The goal of Maze Breaker is to hit and break all the blocks to clear a level, while avoiding obstacles, and getting the highest score possible.
Next week: Into the Dead 2, Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers, Dusk Diver, Street Outlaws: The List, Day and Night, Skullgirls 2nd Encore, Tangle Tower, Mary Skelter 2, Lethis – Path of Progress, Creepy Brawlers, Cat Quest II, 〇× LOGIC PUZZLE 1000 !, Dark Devotion, and Anthill.