Come on everyone, let’s have a big lads’ night in. SEGA’s sci-fi horror Alien: Isolation is now available on Switch, and it might just be the system’s most impressive conversion so far.
Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry makes the bold claim that it even looks superior to the PS4 version, running in 1080p and boasting smoother visuals. It remains an excellent game too, of course – it’s a real labour of love.
Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection is another big one for the Switch, bringing together fan-favourite AC IV and its spin-off Rogue, complete with all single-player DLC. Let’s hope they’re shipshape – the Assassin’s Creed III remaster was considerably wonky on Switch.
The exceedingly colourful Must Dash Amigos also makes the leap from Xbox One. This one-foot party racer felt like it was made with the Switch in mind, using a simple two-button control scheme, so expect it to go down well. We really enjoyed the Xbox One version, even though the lack of AI-powered opponents was a concern.
Then there’s the FMV horror Simulacra, a sequel to Sara is Missing – an investigative story told via a missing girl’s smartphone. God is a Geek dished out a solid 7/10 earlier this week. “If you can overlook the voice acting, there’s a fun, unnerving experience to be had,†they said.
Hand-painted roguelike runner EarthNight is going down well too, gaining an 8.5 from NintendoWorldReport and an 8/10 from Nintendo Life.
“EarthNight stands as a shining example of what an auto-runner can be, combining rewarding feedback loops, fun gameplay, and excellent presentation into one compelling package,†said the latter outlet.
Reviews of the theme park-set RPG Heroland are equally full of praise, including an 8/10 from Destructroid. “It’s incredibly funny, the characters are some of the most charming I met all year, and its unique take on turn-based battles made a strategist out of me. I just wish I didn’t need to do so much grinding to see the game through to the end,†they said.
It gained an 8/10 from Pure Nintendo too. “Heroland enters the fold as the ultimate “sit back and relax†JRPG. Even though the game has hands-off combat and long-winded dialogue sections where your participation is questionable, you have charm oozing from every pixel. The self-aware humor and quirky characters make up for most of the shortcomings,†was their verdict.
Others to consider include the RPG re-release Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition, Square-Enix’s SaGa SCARLET GRACE: AMBITIONS, pixel art horror romp Breathing Fear, and Tools Up! – a couch party game based around home renovation. Unless mistaken, the last game to tackle DIY was Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit! on Super Nintendo.
New Switch eShop releases
Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection – £39.99
Get two action-packed games and all past single-player DLC with Assassin’s Creed®: The Rebel Collection. Become the most feared pirate in the Caribbean in Assassin’s Creed® IV: Black Flag then transform into the ultimate assassin hunter in Assassin’s Creed® Rogue.
Includes both Assassin’s Creed® IV: Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed® Rogue, and all past single-player DLC.
Experience enhanced features – Handheld mode, HD Rumble, touch screen interface, and motion control aiming.
Alien: Isolation – £29.99
Engage in a terrifying quest for survival as you navigate the labyrinthine Sevastopol station. Unprepared and underequipped, you will need all your wits and daring to get out alive.
Loaded with all seven DLCs including ‘Last Survivor’, a recreation of Ellen Ripley’s final mission on board the Nostromo.
From gyroscopic aiming to HD rumble, Nintendo Switch features will keep you immersed in the horror.
Must Dash Amigos – £14.99
Experience a Loco top-down Battle Racer filled with Piñata Stampedes, Avocados and mayhem for up to 4 Players! Must Dash Amigos is a humorous, family friendly fun-fest with controls so simple that anyone can play!
Tick Tock: A Tale for Two – £4.99
In Tick Tock: A Tale for Two you and your friend find yourself trapped in an eerie world created by the skilful clockmaker Amalie Ravn. Your mission is to escape! But to do so you need to navigate a mysterious, sinister clockwork world filled with secrets and cryptic puzzles. To find the truth and ultimately escape this place, you must combine the information on both players’ screens.
Big Pharma – £26.99
What if you had it in your power to rid the world of disease, to improve the lives of millions, to ease suffering and cure the sick and earn a tidy profit? As the head of your own Pharmaceutical Conglomerate you have this power resting in your hands. Will you use it for good? Being totally altruistic may not be the best business plan. The uncomfortable truth (is there an ointment for that?) is that some remedies are more profitable than others and illness is good for business. Welcome to the world of Big Pharma!
Defenders of Ekron: Definitive Edition – £11.69
Defenders of Ekron features fast-paced 360° shooting and dungeon-crawling style adventuring. Upgrade and customize your Akim to suit your playstyle and face ever more challenging enemies and bosses. How far will you be able to progress and uncover the dark secrets within?
March to a Million – £11.69
Become the boss of a talent agency in this management simulation game!
Hire up-and-coming unique talent by advertising and scouting!
Start by deciding on a record company. Give your new artists lessons and steady training, and if they can dazzle the judges in the auditions, they’ll get the chance to debut as a professional singer!
NekoMiko – £7.39
The main character is an unfortunate man who can’t do anything well.
One fateful day, he meets 2 cat-eared shrine maidens by the name of Ayame and Kaede at an old shrine, and ends up living with them! Set in Akihabara, enjoy this adventure game of the slightly dirty-minded and eventful cohabitation life with 2 cat-eared shrine maidens.
Wizards of Brandel – £11.69
The young wizard Darius loses his house after he fails to make a loan repayment, and ends up living for free in the house of a wanted sorcerer! As he meets a female swordsman who has absolutely no sense of direction, and a plant girl who shrivels up immediately if she doesn’t drink enough water, fate decrees to end up traveling together. Where will the quarrels over differing principles lead to?
Smash Rush – £8.99
Rush, hit and smash your way through futuristic alien crystal glass tunnels, avoiding laser beams, traps and other alien obstacles! Explore colourful dimensions in a galaxy far away! Your task is to navigate monumental alien structures, smashing all crystal panels and score bubbles while avoiding deadly obstacles, and laser beams! The procedurally generated levels ensure every run is different!
Space Blaze – £26.99
Space Blaze taps into that old-school sideways scrolling shoot’em up, by leading you through 7 challenging levels filled with action. There are three different weapon systems with a single mega-weapon for each and don’t forget that classic 80s games feature – a giant boss to shoot it out with at the end of each level.
Breathing Fear – £4.49
Embark on a nonlinear and scary survival-adventure game. Why are you in this abandoned house in the woods? Is it fate? The only thing you know for sure is that strange things need to be solved – disturbing letters, objects, recordings, paranormal events… They drive you crazy but you need to keep a clear mind and shed some light on those mysteries.
Space Pioneer – £8.99
Discover new planets, chart incredible worlds and reveal ancient secrets.
Explore strange new worlds with your trusty robot sidekick. Make your way
across fantastical planets from the icy tundra to the lush jungles brimming with
flora and fauna.
Immortal Planet – £10.99
On the icy surface of a forgotten planet stand ruined tombs where immortals sleep. While sleepless warriors roam the halls with their minds eroded by eternity, a lone Awakewalker emerges from cryosleep. With no memory of their past, it’s up to them to forge their future, discover the planet’s mysteries, and find a way out of this icy hell.
JigSaw Solace – £3.59
6 different themes to choose from
4 different difficulty size to adjust any time during playing
30 high quality puzzle images.
EarthNight – £12.59
EarthNight is an illustrated epic 2D platformer about the dragon apocalypse, and a love letter to classic arcade games. Humans have been exiled to space, forced to live in orbit above the planet. But Sydney and Stanley have had enough! They’ve decided to skydive back to Earth, taking out as many dragons as they can along the way.
Tools Up! – £17.99
Home renovation has never been so much fun!
It is hard, messy work. But you don’t have to work alone in this crazy couch co-op! Join up to three friends, sit down (or not) and start a wild renovation party!
Meet a crew of renovators eager to get their job done. But most accidents happen at home: can you work effectively when there’s spilled paint on the floor and a pool of lava around the apartment?
SIMULACRA – £9.99
From the creators of Sara is Missing, SIMULACRA is an interactive FMV horror experience of exploring a missing woman’s phone.
You found the lost phone of a woman named Anna. In it, you see a desperate cry for help in the form of a video message. The phone behaves strangely as you dive deeper into it. You talk to her friends and they have no idea where she is. Her texts, emails and photo gallery provides fragments of information. It’s up to you to piece it together.
SaGa SCARLET GRACE: AMBITIONS – £24.99
The Firebringer, a fallen god and bane of humanity, has wrought havoc on the world since his exile. Mankind constructed an Empire with a singular purpose: engage the Firebringer and his fiends in battle to defend humanity. After a millennia of fighting, the Firebringer has finally been defeated, and the Empire is left without purpose, spurring rebellion.
Farming Simulator 20 – £39.99
In Farming Simulator 20, take control of vehicles and machines faithfully recreated from leading brands in the industry. For the first time on Nintendo Switch, this includes John Deere, the largest agriculture machinery company in the world. Drive other famous farming brands such as Case IH, New Holland, Challenger, Fendt, Valtra, Krone, Deutz-Fahr and many more.
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition – £39.99
Return to the Forgotten Realms in this bestselling Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Combines all the content of Neverwinter Nights Diamond Edition with all-new enhanced features. Includes 100+ hours of award-winning adventures and the tools to create your own!
Get Me Outta Here – £4.49
Get ready intensive action-packed retro gameplay! You play as a middle-aged farmer who wakes up to find that you have been abducted by aliens. Wearing only a hospital gown and a pair of boxers you manage to get a hold of one of the alien weapons. Can you last long enough for rescue to arrive while taking out as many enemies as you can build combos for an insanely high score? Get Me Outta Here is a title action fans and retro enthusiasts will love!
Next week: Dead End Job, Riverbond, Call Of Juarez: Gunslinger, Fishing: Barents Sea Complete Edition, Shovel Knight: King of Cards, SuperEpic: The Entertainment War, Jamestown, and Event Horizon: Space Defense.
