Scrolling brawler revival Streets of Rage 4 has arrived in a ‘blaze’ of glory, gaining top marks from a handful of gaming sites as well as a coveted ‘essential’ award from Eurogamer. “Glorious artwork and a fan’s eye for detail combine for a sequel that manages to best its forebears,†reads their glowing verdict.
It also gained 9/10s from both Nintendo World Report and Nintendo Life. “Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games and Dotemu have managed to completely modernise the look and feel of Streets of Rage, expanding on the experience without losing sight of what made the original games so popular to begin with – and the handful of additions made to the action here serve only to enhance the classic core gameplay, resulting in one of the best side-scrolling beat ’em ups we’ve played in a long time,†was NL’s conclusion.
Visually appealing action RPG Indivisble has come out of nowhere. No, really – even the developer didn’t know it was due on Switch this week. Apparently, it holds up well but it’s missing some post-launch features due to being an earlier iteration. The PS4/Xbox One versions gained some impressively high review scores earlier this year, including an 8/10 from The Metro.
Reviews of Team17’s couch-based couch shifting sim Moving Out went live late last week. Following in the footsteps of Overcooked, it’s a calamitous cartoon-like affair requiring teamwork. “The single-player experience probably isn’t enough to justify a purchase, but if you can get multiple people together, Moving Out is another excellent local co-op title that you’ll want to bring out again and again,†said Nintendo World Report.
Arcade Spirits strikes us as the kind of game that will fare well on Switch. Part visual novel and part romantic comedy, it’s set in a bustling arcade full of lively characters. Speaking of arcades, Kairosoft’s arcade building sim Pocket Arcade Story and a SEGA AGES re-release of G-LOC AIR BATTLE are also on the cards.
Ninjala, one of the more prolific third-party releases, gets an online beta too. This online battler takes a hefty amount of inspiration from Splatoon, eager to become a free-to-play alternative.
This leaves us with the FMV investigative thriller Telling Lies, hellish holiday trip Dread Nautical – which combines turn-based role-playing with roguelike elements –the DIY platformer package LevelHead, and plenty of other games all of which you can discover below.
New Switch eShop releases
Indivisible – £26.99
Our story revolves around Ajna, a fearless girl with a rebellious streak. Raised by her father on the outskirts of their rural town, her life is thrown into chaos when her home is attacked, and a mysterious power awakens within her.
The game’s huge fantasy world, characters and aesthetic design are inspired by various cultures and mythologies. Throughout Ajna’s quest she’ll encounter many “Incarnationsâ€: people whom she can absorb and manifest to fight alongside her. There are many Incarnations to recruit, each with their own story and personality. By uniting people from faraway lands, Ajna will learn about herself, the world she inhabits, and most importantly, how to save it.
Farmer’s Dynasty – £39.99
More than just an agricultural simulation: in Farmer’s Dynasty, you have to rebuild your farm and develop your heritage, start a family, handle your relationships and, of course, manage your crops to prosper.
FLATLAND Vol.1 – £4.49
FLATLAND – Vol. 1 is a fast-paced hardcore platformer featuring hand-crafted levels and Lightning-fast respawns. Help Square survive his journey to the depths of Flatland, a minimalist neon-style 2D world.
Enchanted in the Moonlight – Miyabi, Kyoga & Samon – – £17.99
You’re an average girl of 25, working at the library to make ends meet and support your family’s shrine. However, that all changes when handsome men save you from malevolent spirits! It turns out, though, your saviors are more than they appear… They’re Ayakashi Spirits, too.
According to them, you’ve been blessed with magical blood which the demon world will stop at nothing to get their hands on.
These men offer you protection, but only in exchange for something priceless. Are you ready to enter into a forbidden deal with the Ayakashi?
Gates of Hell – £5.39
Prophesied through the ages, the end of the age of man is at hand. You are the Angel Cassiel, sent to Earth to destroy Satan’s Demon legions before they purge the land of all mankind.
Gates of Hell is a fast-paced first-person shooter where you must battle through relentless waves of Demonic terror!
There is nowhere to hide as you battle through Hell’s raging demon hordes. Keep on the move, find and equip powerful Angelic and Demonic weapons and stay alive as long as you can.
Telling Lies – £14.99
An investigative thriller game with non-linear storytelling, Telling Lies revolves around a cache of secretly recorded video conversations. Starring Logan Marshall-Green, Alexandra Shipp, Kerry Bishé, Angela Sarafyan and directed by Sam Barlow, creator of Her Story and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.
Ninjala Exclusive Ninja Club – £0.00
Take part in Battle Royale-style matches of up to 8 players and vie for supremacy with ninja around the world. The player who earns the most points over the course of the match will be declared the winner. Score points by defeating your opponents, obtaining items, destroying drones positioned across the stage, and more. Earn extra points by taking down your opponents with an IPPON—impressive finishing techniques.
Dread Nautical – £17.99
A tactical turn-based RPG with roguelike elements, Dread Nautical combines immersive gameplay with a cartoonish—yet captivatingly eerie—tone. Supernatural forces have overwhelmed a cruise liner called Hope with mysterious malevolent monstrosities. Fight them off as one of four unlikely heroes. Manage your scarce resources effectively, and convince scattered survivors to fight alongside you. You’ll need them for any hope of escaping this “vacation†alive.
Active Neurons – Puzzle game – £4.49
By controlling the power of thought, you must charge the neurons. The more the neurons are charged, the healthier the brain becomes. The healthier the brain becomes, the more of a fully-fledged life the person will live.
It may seem simple, but it won’t be as simple as it seems. To choose the direction of movement, the power of thought should be at rest, so it is important for you to correctly use the obstacles presented on every level.
Think, make a decision, and look for the right path to the neurons in order to charge them.
StarCrossed – £7.99
StarCrossed is an action arcade game with a magical girl aesthetic and a cooperative twist! Join our cast of 5 space-faring heroes as they travel across the stars, working together to strengthen their bond and defeat a looming evil that threatens the Nova galaxy! It’s time to team up, get sparkly, and take out the bad guys!
Fairy Knights – £8.99
Here begins the journey of a boy and a girl.
Slay the Devil and bring back the rain to the barren Kingdom of Vadelle!
Pocket Arcade Story – £11.69
Here comes a new challenger: it’s the arcade simulation game you’ve been waiting for!
Build your very own gaming paradise packed with heaps of game machines and more!
If some of your customers become regulars, you can test their mettle in fighting game tournaments. Crush the competition with crazy combos and knock out your opponents with a flurry of fists! If you rise from the fray victorious, more and more customers will pile into your arcade!
My Secret Pets! – £13.49
This is a romance game for women where you live with your pets who have suddenly transformed into attractive men. You’ll spend seven days with your pets, who love you devotedly. Are they your pets or are you becoming the pet?! Your exciting reverse-harem cohabitation with these animal men is about to begin!
Streets of Rage 4 – £22.49
Amongst the best beat’em up series ever created, jammin’ ‘90s beats and over the top street beating, the iconic series Streets of Rage comes back with a masterful tribute to and revitalization of the classic action fans adore.
The all-time classic Streets of Rage, known as Bare Knuckle (ベア・ナックル Bea Nakkuru) in Japan, is a beat ‘em up series known for this timeless gameplay and electronic dance influenced music. Streets of Rage 4 builds upon the classic trilogy’s gameplay with new mechanics, beautiful hand-drawn visuals and a God tier soundtrack.
LevelHead – £15.49
EMPLOYEEEEEE! The Bureau of Shipping is the galaxy’s premiere package delivery corporation. For hundreds of years our customers have trusted us to deliver their goods, real good. And now you get to be part of that delivery magic.
As a new Employee to the Levelhead Division, you are responsible for training your very own GR-18 delivery robot for every possible delivery scenario. Create L.E.V.E.L.s, or “Limited Exercises for eValuating employEe Limitations”, with the intuitive Level editor in the Workshop, then publish them for the whole world to experience.
Ministry of Broadcast – £13.49
Ministry of Broadcast is a narrative-driven single player cinematic platformer mixing Orwell’s 1984 with modern reality TV. Rife with dark humor, sarcastic quips, and the absurdity of the system.
Seemingly built overnight, The Wall has divided both a country in two and a man from his family. To see them again, our ginger-haired protagonist has decided to become a contestant on “The Wall Showâ€, a Regime-organized TV show allowing competitors the opportunity to escape to freedom on the other side. However, as he progresses through the camp, our contestant soon realizes exactly how the Regime and the show operate. The promise of freedom is not exactly what it seems.
SEGA AGES G-LOC AIR BATTLE – £5.99
Take flight, lock on, and fire your missiles in the classic flight simulator, SEGA AGES G-LOC Air Battle.
Experience this retro title with the SEGA AGES spin, in AGES mode, everything is ramped up, get more enemies, more missiles and a more powerful lock-on system! Take a trip back to the past with a moving cabinet display that recreates the arcade experience, including atmospheric arcade sounds, in the comfort of your own home.
As a fun added feature, you can also activate the Sortie Count, allowing you to change the number of credits per coin when you start up the game. It can help you with the challenging missions ahead!
Mushroom Heroes – £5.50
Mushroom Heroes brings back the look and feel of the very best classic platformers from the 90’s, introducing refreshed and engaging gameplay mechanics. If you miss platformers from the 16-bit era, and think games nowadays aren’t that good anymore, think twice! Mushroom Heroes is for you.
War-Torn Dreams – £6.29
WAR-TORN DREAMS is a 2D Story-Rich, Side Scrolling Action Game, set in the wasteland of USA, plagued with constant war. Following the collapse of the economy, government, and society, you must brave heavily armed militia, lawless gangs, dangerous streets, desolate buildings and underground bunkers on your quest to escape this post-apocalyptic wasteland alive. The road to a new life is paved with danger, hope and constant reminders of everything that’s been lost.
You will engage in combating the gangs and militia in order to survive and may choose to help other survivors who are full of their own personal misery, hopes and dreams, where everyone is trying to see the next sunrise in this chaotic wasteland.
Book of Demons – £19.99
Book of Demons is a Hack & Slash Deck-building hybrid in which you decide the length of quests. Wield magic cards and slay the armies of darkness in the Old Cathedral dungeons. Save the terror-stricken Paperverse from the clutches of the Archdemon himself!
Arcade Spirits – £19.99
What if the 1983 video game marketing crash never happened? Set in 20XX, Arcade Spirits is a visual novel romantic comedy with a different history, where arcades still reign supreme as the ultimate place to play. After a period of turbulent employment, your character starts an exciting new job at the Funplex: a popular local arcade with a team of staff that are as eccentric as the customers.
From fierce pro-gamers and dedicated high-score chasers, to creative cosplayers and tinkering programmers, the neon lights and buzzing atmosphere of the Funplex is a welcome home to many. But where will this new-found employment opportunity take you? Who will you meet along the way? And will you finally find the romance you’ve been seeking?
Swapperoo – £5.99
The rules are simple: tap an arrow to move it in the direction it faces. Make a row of 3 tiles of the same color and the tiles disappear.
If that sounds too easy, don’t worry – you’ll find yourself in situations that require clever manipulation of the game board. There’s an assortment of objectives to keep you on your toes: tiles that chase you, tiles that must be matched within a few moves, tiles that must be protected, and lots more.
911 Operator Deluxe Edition – £19.99
In 911 Operator, you take on the role of an emergency dispatcher, who has to rapidly deal with the incoming reports. Your task is not just to pick up the calls, but also to react appropriately to the situation – sometimes giving first aid instructions is enough, at other times a police, fire department or paramedics’ intervention is a necessity. Keep in mind, that the person on the other side of the line might turn out to be a dying daughter’s father, an unpredictable terrorist, or just a prankster. Can you handle all of this?
Gun Crazy – £4.99
Gun Crazy is a fast paced and hectic arcade style action shoot em’ up in this homage to classic old school classics!
Become the fiercest lady on the police force! Take out the bad guys through 4 unique levels filled with challenging bosses and powerful special guns.
Moving Out – £19.99
Are you ready for an exciting career in furniture? As a newly certified Furniture Arrangement & Relocation Technician, you’ll take on moving jobs all across the town of Packmore.
Smooth Moves may not be the biggest moving company, but there’s no task too dangerous or strange for this busy team of go-getters. Grow your business to brave new heights, recruit colourful customizable characters, and save your town from furniture peril!
Bubble – £8.09
Bubble is an easy and fun to play arcade puzzle game where you have to shoot coloured bubbles to complete levels.
If three or more bubbles of the same colour are next to each if you shoot any one of them they will burst and the bubbles above drop down.
Bubbles contains more than thirty handcrafted levels, four power ups and lots of different balls, some with special effects that will help you to complete levels quicker.
At the end of every level you will receive 50 bonus coins, that can be used to unlock power ups, and help you to complete the harder levels in the game
Next week: Lonely Mountains: Downhill, STONE, Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl, Highrise Heroes: Word Challenge, Tonight We Riot, Cloudbase Prime, Fledgling Heroes, Relic Hunters Zero: Remix, Spirit of the North, The Bullet: Time of Revenge, Void Bastards, Dark Burial, Fury Unleashed, SuperMash, and Megabyte Punch.