New on Switch: Deadly Premonition 2, Friends of Mineral Town, Catherine: Full Body, Curse of the Moon 2, CrossCode and Vigor

With so many big-name releases on Switch this week, it’s hard to know where to begin. Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise is probably the best place to start, as not only is it the most anticipated new release but it’s also the most talked about.

For those unaware, the original Deadly Premonition was a low-budget horror adventure buckling under its own ambition. Ropey to the extreme, yet it went on to achieve cult status thanks to its cast of memorable characters, compelling story, obscure TV show references, and warped sense of humour. Review scores were wildly diverse – everything from 1/10 to 10/10.

That was back in 2010. For this sequel, director Swery65 has, amazingly, managed to pull off the same trick. Scores are once again as low as 1/5 (US Gamer), to 5/5 (Digitally Downloaded), and everything between. The Metacritic currently stands at 56%, not that it means much when scores are this far apart.

Swery65 has purposely kept some elements and assets a little rough and low-poly so that it matches the look and feel of the original. Many critics approved of this. However, it’s hindered by other issues; the kind hard to forgive, dragging the experience down. An iffy framerate is the biggest culprit, making the experience as a whole feel unpolished and unfinished. Glitches are common too.

So once again, Deadly Premonition 2 takes the accolade as being the ‘best worst game’ ever. Judging by his Twitter interactions, Swery65 is pleased as punched by this, but also rather disgruntled about the state the game shipped in, which seems to be out of his control and down to the publisher. Buyer beware? Maybe not. Deadly Premonition fans already know what to expect.

Indie RPG CrossCode has received glowing reviews across the board, meanwhile. It may even make ‘GOTY’ lists when 2020 (finally) draws to a close. “To describe CrossCode as the best indie game of the year is to do it a disservice; this is one of the best action role-players of any kind and deserves to be mentioned amongst the genre’s very best,” said The Metro before awarding it a 9/10.

Despite the original being almost ten years old, Catherine: Full Body is going down a treat too. Like Deadly Premonition, this too has a cult following, being part puzzle game and part visual novel. An adult visual novel, we should note – it’s very…lusty. Scores are mostly clocking in at 8/10. “The Switch is a perfect system for his game, and this port is the definitive version of a great re-release,” said Nintendo Insider.

Whereas Catherine is a re-release, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a full-on remake. It takes a GBA classic and gives it a 3D makeover while adding modern enhancements.

Scores are almost as mixed as Deadly Premonition 2, believe it or not. GameSpot (5/10) found it shallow and tedious, while Indie Game Website opted for an even lower 4/10. On the other end of the scale, it gained a stonking 9.5 from Pure Nintendo to an 8.0 from God is a Geek.

We awarded it 7/10 yesterday, calling it faithful to a fault. It sticks to the original closely, providing a trip down memory lane, but some mechanics feel outdated and needed modernising.

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is currently review shy, likely because it isn’t out until Friday. The original offered a decent slice of Castlevania-flavoured pie. Unless the team was stuck for new ideas, it’s hard to imagine this sequel sucking. Sorry.

The Switch also gets Vigor, the online looter shooter which made a name for itself on Xbox One, and Superliminal – a puzzle adventure based around optical illusions. Shooter fans are well-catered for as well with both Gradius and the lost Amiga shooter 1993 Shenandoa (demo available) both due. Take a look at the full list below.

New Switch eShop releases

Catherine: Full Body – £44.99

Our indecisive protagonist, Vincent, has been with his long-time girlfriend, Katherine, for five years. But instead of taking the next step into marriage, Vincent finds himself in an affair with the provocative blonde bombshell, Catherine! Thrown into discord by his own infidelity, he finds solace in the innocent Rin – further complicating matters. Adding to Vincent’s dilemma, he begins having nightmares that force him to climb for his life… Will he survive the trials and tribulations of love, or fall to temptations?

Laraan – £4.49

Created with a minimalist low poly style. Accompanied by a splendid movie soundtrack.

You’re about to enter an old world of computer entertainment. Laraan bridges the gap between Cinema and Action/Adventure games with a completely old style of fluid, cinematic storytelling.

Using a completely old graphic system of cinematic zooms, pans, close-ups, and cuts, Laraan gets you involved in a breathtaking story of inter-dimensional travel.

You’ll have to run, fight, investigate, solve puzzles and ride futuristic bikes. The complete musical score and realistic, digitized sound effects will make you feel like you’re on a movie sound stage.

Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise – £39.99

Set both nine years after and five years before the original game, Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise features not one, but two protagonists. Lead them to discover an astonishing truth that will send both to the brink of madness.

In the present, unravel a cold case as Special Agent Davis through questioning, presenting evidence and reviewing key testimonies that reveal long-buried secrets.

In the past, help Special Agent Morgan investigate a spate of brutal murders. Explore Le Carré on foot or via skateboard, interact with its citizens, uncover clues and dabble in voodoo to discover the darker side of this seemingly peaceful town…

The Great Perhaps – £8.99

The Great Perhaps tells the story of an astronaut returning to Earth destroyed by natural cataclysms.

There, among the ruins he finds an unusual artifact — an old lantern, in the light of which you can see glimpses of another time and travel to the past.

Experience constant time traveling between an empty, melancholic scenery of the post-apocalyptic Earth and its vivid days gone by.

The hero will face the danger in the post-apocalyptic present, as well as in the past. Help him on his journey to find out the true cause of the disaster and save the planet!

Gas Station: Highway Services – £10.79

Buckle up and get ready for the trip of your life! When you cruise on an open highway, the safety and convenience of your trip depend on the services provided along the road. This is a game that lets you explore them!

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 – £13.49

Curse of the Moon 2 brings classic 2D action and a dark, 8-bit aesthetic together with modern playability. The multiple-scenario structure of the previous title returns with an epic new story supervised by IGA (Koji Igarashi) himself.

Players take control of Zangetsu, a swordsman from the far east who bears a deep grudge against demonkind and the alchemists who summoned them. Zangetsu must battle his way to the demonic stronghold, but he doesn’t have to do it alone! Zangetsu can ally himself with a brand new cast of characters he meets along the way and add them to the playable roster.

Three brand-new playable characters appear in Curse of the Moon 2, including the exorcist Dominique. All characters from the original Curse of the Moon game are playable, too! Each new character adds a variety of gameplay options, abilities, and ways to complete the games’ many stages.

Players can also create demon hunting duos in 2-player local co-op, available for the first time in the series! Work together with a friend, mix and match the strengths of two different characters, and conquer stages in tons of new and exciting ways.

Creepy Tale – £8.99

While walking with your brother, everything turns into horror and drags the hero into a series of terrible events.

Your brother has been taken by inhuman beings, and you are left face-to-face with an ominous forest filled with dangers and strange creatures.

Solve the puzzles that you meet on the way, do not let yourself be caught, and save your brother!

Find out the dark story that befell the once-calm and peaceful forest, turning it into a terrifying place filled with otherworldly evil.

Perhaps it is you who will solve all the secrets of the forest and restore the peace… but don’t get your hopes up.

DISTRAINT 2 – £6.19

Redemption… Hope… Are these things that one can hope to acquire again after selling your soul in your haunting past?

You are Price, a man who sold his humanity to get a partnership from a leading company: McDade, Bruton & Moore. Collect items and solve puzzles to progress through the story and find out if Price can reclaim his lost soul

DISTRAINT 2 follows on from the events of the first game. It is a sinister tale about restoring hope and finding your purpose.

My Universe – My Baby – £35.99

Play with your newborn baby, witness their first steps and their evolution through dozens of minigames. Watch your child grow up in size and personality along the way!

Dangerous Relationship – £13.49

Will your passionate romance come to light?! “My boyfriend’s a celebrity!” In this romance game for women, enjoy dangerous romance with an idol, an actor, and other celebrities.

Available in Japanese, English, and Simplified Chinese.

You finally land a job in show business, which you had only ever known about through TV and magazines. In a single day, you end up meeting an idol, an actor, a model, a musician, and a comedian, and from that day on, you suddenly change from being an ordinary citizen to being a celebrity’s girlfriend.

Demon’s Rise – War for the Deep – £6.29

Enter the depths of the ancient city of Angor and prepare for battle. Form a mercenary party of adventurers, sellswords, rogue sorcerers, and assassins, and enlist with an army of dwarves trying to retake their ancient homeland.

Demon’s Rise is a turn-based tactical game where players must lead a party of six heroes through the bowels of an underground city. Battles are intense affairs where the proper use of terrain and cover is as important as the choice of spell or attack.

Superliminal – £16.19

As you fall asleep with the TV on at 3AM, you remember catching a glimpse of the commercial from Dr.Pierce’s Somnasculpt dream therapy program. By the time you open your eyes, you’re already dreaming – beginning the first stages of this experimental program. Welcome to Superliminal.

Superliminal is a first-person puzzle game based on forced perspective and optical illusions. Puzzles in this game give you a sense of the unexpected. Players need to change their perspective and think outside the box to wake up from the dream.

Gerty – £11.69

Gerty is a top-down rogue-lite twin-stick shooter with fully destructible environment. Carve your own path through replayable procedurally generated levels and create tactically advantageous situations to eliminate the alien threat in intense, tough but fair, action packed gameplay. Mine Juice crystals to upgrade your gear, discover alien structures, and eliminate the source of the alien threat in singleplayer or local co-op mode.

Crowdy Farm Puzzle – £5.49

The Crowdy Farm needs your smart head! As farm manager you will have to solve many brain-teasers to bring order to this place. Sort, organize and match.

Plan, fit in and deduce in five different puzzle types! Cover grass fields with colors, set animals in matching rows, and learn the work of shepherd dog. But be precise: your thinking needs accuracy, if you want to meet the challenge!

Solitaire TriPeaks Flowers – £5.49

In Solitaire TriPeaks Flowers you can play hundreds of levels filled with the most addictive version of solitaire there is! And you can do that along with your trusty cat companion that shall help you along the journey of filling your greenhouses with the most beautiful flowers of all colors! Playful and relaxed experience awaits!

TroubleDays – £5.89

The creatures of the demon world known as “succubus” use a male’s sexual energy, his “technoforce” as their nourishment.

One day, one such succubus known as “Lovelia” appears suddenly before the main character to steal the power of his lust, known as his “technoforce”.

Considered to be one of the greatest beauties in 1000 years, Lovelia may look bewitching, but the truth is that this is her first ever work assignment and she is very naive when it comes to men.

Lovelia tries again and again to steal away his technoforce, but her innocence gets in the way of any real progress.

Unless Lovelia succeeds in harvesting the technoforce of the one she has chosen to possess, she can’t return home to the demon world, nor can she possess another man. …Lovelia finds herself stuck living together with the main character.

Elden: Path of the Forgotten – £14.99

Guide Elden on a mission across a blighted land to save their mother from ancient horrors. Engage in brutal, technical combat and master eldritch magics as you walk the Forgotten Path. Elden explores non-traditional storytelling through indirect methods – like reading an illustrated book in a language you don’t understand. The combat is based on reaction rather than action. Strategically, you will need to manage your stamina and position in order to master the art of parry or to find the perfect time to strike. Visually inspired by classic 16 and 8 bit games, Elden: Path of the Forgotten is a stunning, encapsulating, dark world waiting to be explored.

1993 Shenandoah – £11.69

Towards the end of the Interstellar Wars, chaos spread and one band of elite mercenaries acted more like pirates and looters than actual soldiers. The leader of this group was the notorious and infamous Colonel Nestor.

Without a doubt the biggest prize of their looting was the Shenandoah, a device designed to terraform barren planets. With this device Nestor and his men started to build an army that now poses a great threat to the known star systems.

Your mission: Take down Nestor and bring back the Shenandoah.

CrossCode – £17.99

This retro-inspired 2D Action RPG might outright surprise you. CrossCode combines 16-bit graphics with butter-smooth physics, a fast-paced combat system, and engaging puzzle mechanics, served with a gripping sci-fi story.

CrossCode is all about how it plays! Take the best out of two popular genres, find a good balance between them and make a great game. That’s what CrossCode does. You get the puzzles of oldschool Action Adventure dungeons and are rewarded with the great variety of equipment you know and love from RPGs. During the fast-paced battles you will use the tools you find on your journey to reveal and exploit the enemies’ weaknesses and at the same time will be able to choose equipment and skills for a more in-depth approach in fighting your enemies.

STORY OF SEASONS: Friends of Mineral Town – £42.99

Your farming life begins in Mineral Town, a charming village surrounded by nature. You’ve returned after many years to restore your late grandfather’s farm to its former glory. Care for crops, livestock, and more as your very own story of seasons unfolds.

Vigor – £17.99

Shoot and loot in tense encounters

Build your Shelter and vital equipment

Challenge others in various game modes

Play on your own or fight together

void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium – £22.49

In a world contaminated with toxic fungi, a discarded maintenance robot finds a lone human girl among the discarded junk in a scrapyard. To ensure her survival, the robot and a decommissioned AI known as factoryAI must create a refuge for her within a terrarium.

Robozarro – £6.29

Robozarro is a physics-based 2D action game where robots B0-3 and 0-Ramatron embark on an epic quest through the outskirts, underbelly and rooftops of Mech Angeles to uncover the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Dr. Zarro.

Retro Game Pack – £4.49

This bundle contains a collection of our favorite retro games. Games that we grew up playing or wanting to play as a child.

All games contain a challenging CPU and local two-player modes. Travel back in time into the middle of a retro room, when we spent hours playing these games.

Play on the go, on the TV, or with others locally.

Next week: Paper Mario: The Origami King, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus, Neon Abyss, Pangeon, REZ PLZ, BOSSGARD, #Funtime, Explosive Dinosaurs, Radical Rabbit Stew, Starlit Adventures Golden Stars, Caretaker, We should talk, Never Breakup, and Neversong.

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