It’s one of those weeks where there’s bound to be something on the Switch eShop able to coax money out of your digital wallet – a pleasingly varied assortment of titles covering all genres imaginable, right down to a game where you play as a bar of soap.
For sports fans there’s the anticipated Nintendo Switch Sports – a modern take on Wii Sports, offering six events and support for an optional leg strap accessory – and the annual sporting update Cricket 22. At £53.99, we genuinely hope Cricket 22 is able to rival the recent PS4/Xbox One iterations – Switch games rarely break the £50 mark.
Reviews for Nintendo Switch Sports went live earlier today, resulting in a respectable 75% Metacritic. It’s yet to garner a single 9/10, but there are plenty of 8/10s being bandied about. That said, likely more 7/10s than Nintendo hoped to see, too.
“There’s some valid criticisms to be made over the shallow game roster and even shallower character customization, but at its core, Nintendo Switch Sports is an absolute blast and is simple enough for anyone who wants to give it a try,†said Screen Rant.
Zombie Army 4: Dead War seems to have left critics smitten, with reviews being full of praise for this content-heavy package. “There’s a ton of zombie Nazi-slaying sweetness to get stuck into here and, although the graphics have taken a hit and the frame rate has been halved in comparison to other platforms, what’s here is eminently playable in both docked and handheld modes. Whether you’re taking on Hitler’s undead hordes alone or with a few friends in tow, this one’s a ton of schlocky B-movie fun that gets a great big thumbs up from us,†was Nintendo Life’s verdict.
Bugsnax is another belated conversion on the agenda, originally being a PS5 launch title. It’s a comical critter capturing game, viewed from first person, and intertwined with an unfolding story that has a few unexpected turns. Although the characters are likeable and the dialogue is bound to make you chuckle, some of the mechanics are a little unrefined. While the jury is still out on this Switch iteration, we imagine it’ll be fun but flawed like the original.
Team17’s The Serpent Rogue – a medieval adventure centered around alchemy – has gained mixed reviews, meanwhile. Everything from Checkpoint Gaming’s 5/10 to Screen Rant’s 4.5/5. “While The Serpent Rogue may not be great as an entry-level crafting game, it is a fantastic and beautifully crafted fantasy adventure that is enjoyable and challenging from the second players embark on their journey,†said SR.
2013’s The Stanley Parable also returns this week in a new Ultra Deluxe package. It seems time hasn’t diminished the experience – you won’t have to look far to find a 9/10 review score. If you haven’t played it, it’s largely recommended to go in blind, so as not to spoil the experience.
RESEARCH and DESTROY is one we’ve spent a couple of hours with. It’s a third-person shooter that’s turn-based – each squad member has around ten seconds to move, aim and shoot. At the end of each turn, the enemies – ghouls and ghosts, mostly – then advance and attack. It’s backed by vibrant comic-book style visuals, and easy to get into, but we do fear it isn’t quite as tactical as the developers have led us to believe. Enemies have an irritating habit of spawning next to where you’re standing, and levels have a lot of open spaces.
Layer Section & Galactic Attack S-Tribute is this week’s retro-release – with Layer Section being the home version of Taito’s RayForce. New features include save states, online leaderboards, and the ability to rewind. Expect to pay just over £25.
Other notable new releases include Arise: A Simple Story – a narrative adventure with a time manipulation aspect – 2D action RPG Unsouled, the twisted corpse cooking management sim Ravenous Devils, and Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight – a 3D platformer collectathon with soft, pastel-colored, visuals. The Wii U gets a new release too, based on the board game Reversi.
New Switch eShop releases
Zombie Army 4: Dead War – £39.99
Includes all Season Pass One content FREE:
3 Additional Levels, 4 Character Packs, 9 Weapon Bundles, 5 Weapon Skin Packs, 4 Character Outfit Bundles
Hitler’s hordes are back for more in this spine-chilling shooter from the makers of Sniper Elite 4! Abominable occult enemies, epic weapons and a harrowing new campaign for 1-4 players await in 1940s Europe, as you fight to save humankind from undead Armageddon!
Playing as a mysterious alchemist known only as The Warden, you will craft, brew, boil & concoct potions all in your stead to protect the realm from the dreadful Serpent Rogue!
RESEARCH and DESTROY – £16.74
Take control of three brilliant scientists as you RESEARCH and develop strange new weapons and gadgets to DESTROY the Supernatural hordes that have all but crushed humanity!
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe – £19.99
You will play as Stanley, and you will not play as Stanley. You will make a choice, and you will have your choices taken from you. The game will end, the game will never end. Contradiction follows contradiction, the rules of how games should work are broken, then broken again. You are not here to win. The Stanley Parable is a game that plays you.
Ping Pong Arcade tests your skills with a variety of challenging game modes and customisation options. Go from novice to pro with five difficulty levels to suit any player’s skill. Conquer the campaign mode by beating opponents in five different locations including an arcade, a stadium and a Japanese garden. Unlock eleven “super-powers†as you play and use skills such as “Ultra Hitâ€, “Giga Paddle†and “Soap Bubbleâ€, to outwit and overpower you opponent.
Play against a friend with either the local or online multiplayer options or prove your prowess in Ping Pong Arcade’s World Cup Championship. Have you got what it takes to go from your local school gymnasium, through the regional sports halls in the nationals and onto the international arenas where the ultimate prize of becoming the World Champion awaits?
Parkasaurus is a dinosaur tycoon management simulation where you take care of your dinosaurs by constructing well-designed exhibits, researching specialized technologies, and maximizing profits to expand into the ultimate dinosaur theme park. Do you favor development for guests or your dinosaurs?
Classic Reversi game also known as Othello now comes to fully 3d! Play as a Bunny against AI or against your couch friend in split-screen mode.
Play with one of the 4 characters to develop logical and strategic thinking, to anticipate the moves of your opponent and evaluate your moves and their consequences.
WAIFU IMPACT is a third person shooter, immersive single-player game in a paradisiac deserted island.
Equip yourself with a watergun and unlock all the waifus!
It’s so hot, so why don’t you come to Waifu Island?
The cutest girls are waiting for you, let’s have some fun!
Watergun in hand, find all the stars and unlock the 8 beautiful girls! Increase your affinity with the girls defeating your enemies with them and then check out the gallery to see what they have for you!
Catie in MeowmeowLand – £9.99
Catie in MeowmeowLand is a beautiful traditional point-and-click adventure game set in a bizarre world of cats and ludicrous characters.
As Catie follows a strange white cat in her garden she suddenly finds herself in a mysterious world of MeowmeowLand, where she has to undergo a journey to find her way back home. Your task is to help Catie get there!
Threaded is a puzzle game that’s all about putting together pixel art pictures!
Draw colourful links between different points, and complete lots of different original pixel artwork.
Experience simple yet rewarding gameplay, soothing visuals and music, and even in-game trivia and fun facts — all in Threaded!
TASOMACHI: Behind the Twilight – £15.09
Yukumo is a young girl traversing the world in her beloved airship. Upon arriving at a particular Far Eastern town to run some errands, her airship suddenly breaks down. She decides to explore the town to search for parts for repair; however, the town has fallen silent with no trace of the people who live there, the only inhabitants being a strange cat-like species…
Tasomachi is an independently developed adventure game that lets you freely explore the beautiful world created by designer nocras. Assuming the role of young female protagonist Yukumo, fix your beloved airship by exploring the mysterious town covered by the Twilight Mist to collect hidden Sources of Earth and help restore the town’s lost brilliance. Enjoy this unique world with an Eastern fantasy twist, complemented perfectly by composer Ujico*’s mystical soundtrack.
Nintendo Switch Sports – £30.99
Wing, kick and spike your way to victory in Nintendo Switch Sports for Nintendo Switch!
Grab a Joy-Con controller and use real-world movements to take part in a variety of sporting activities that’ll get your body moving. Gather your friends and family to join in the fun on the same Nintendo Switch console, or seek out new competitors in online multiplayer!
Feral Flowers is a lightning-fast romp through 92 levels of botanical platforming mayhem.
Playing as Quigley the Gardener, you’ll battle hordes of pollen-spewing flowers. Owing to his rather unfortunate pollen allergy, you’ll need to battle against the clock to beat them before the air gets too dense and you sneeze yourself all the way back to the first stage. In other words: if you don’t move fast, you’ll be fighting through bullet hell!
Be warned, Game Overs will feature heavily for most players – but for those who venture far enough, you’ll find ways of quickly recouping your progress…
The end has come and gone. Or so you thought…
You have been living alone for a long time.
Scavenge and fight your way through the desolate town of West Water!
Loot, fight, survive! Eat food, use Bandages to heal wounds, Disinfectant to heal infections. Search the town for supplies and deliver the excess back to your Home Base while fighting for your life.
Your LIFE will constantly calculate and tick down based on your Heat, Immunity and the Weather. Different combinations of items and clothes will help decrease the rate at which your LIFE will decrease and ensure that you can explore deeper into the town and find higher TIER items.
Cardful Planning is an action puzzle game with a twist, as you take on the role of a brave little playing card on an epic adventure through a dangerous dungeon.
Do you have what it takes to battle your way through 100+ levels and take down “The Bad Hand” to save your beloved card companion?
Use the four unique suit abilities to solve puzzles and outwit your enemies, and collect modifier cards to boost your value and advance through the dungeon.
Featuring retro-inspired 8-bit graphics and five challenging zones, Cardful Planning will take you on an adventure like never before.
A horror cooking simulator where the secret ingredient is crime. Improve your shops by buying new tools and serving your customers.
Manage a tailor shop and corpse-cooking business in a city where crime, corruption and poverty are commonplace. Percival and Hildred have just moved here with nothing but a dream: to get extremely rich.
Take control of Percival to manage the tailor shop, wait for the arrival of clients looking for new suits, kill them when the moment is right, throw them down the trap door leading to the kitchen and use the outfits you steal from them to make new ones: waste not, want not!
Take care of Hildred’s pub and customers. Feed them delightful corpse-based meals, manage resources effectively and make sure not to run out of ingredients.
Increase the renown of their business by buying new tools and upgrading the shops, but beware… someone knows their secret.
Dandy and Randy is a 2D top-down old-school game featuring two of the worst archaeologists that have ever graced the Earth.
Dandy and Randy are a couple of archaeologists who are in a pickle.
They owe a ton of money to their bank, and they need a way to pay it back, or they are done for!
Luckily, they have just received the information about a mysterious, fabled precious stone showing up on a faraway island.
Can they find it, pay back their debts, and at the same time become rich? It’s up to you to find out!
Lost Grimoires: Stolen Kingdom – £13.49
An alchemist’s apprentice returns home from university to finish her training under a great master. Little does she know a real paranormal adventure has only just begun.
EXPERIENCE A FANTASTIC TALE OF DECEPTION AND INTRIGUE!
Connecto is a game about making connections.
Tap the dots on the edge of the playing field to shoot them in the direction of their arrow.
If two dots with the same number meet, they establish a connection. Chain at least two twos, three threes or four fours to make a match.
– Play 200 hand-crafted puzzles, from 5×5 to 25×25
– Beautiful colorful and monochrome images
– Random puzzle generator for infinite fun
There’s no time to rest in space – non-stop action through a unique 5 levels, each topped off with a boss fight! In battle, you can earn upgrades and new weapons that will help you along the way!
The Sorrowvirus – A Faceless Short Story – £13.49
Follow the journey of Wyatt Heyll, a young man stricken with a multitude of ailments from an early age. On the verge of death, Wyatt’s parents administer a paranormal substance known as the Sorrowvirus, which contaminates the human soul and prevents it from passing on to the afterlife. This causes a subject to fall into Purgatory instead, where they can heal and return to life. However, every time Wyatt comes back, his cancers and illnesses return more quickly than before.
Wyatt’s parents allow him to continue dying over and over while they perform research on organic particles found in Purgatory that may cure him once and for all. Having died so many times, Wyatt simply wants to let go. Your objective is to set Wyatt free from his everlasting torment. Navigate haunting environments in first person, solving puzzles and discovering clues to unravel Wyatt’s tragic tale. With four endings in sight, only one is the true path.
SOTANO – Puzzle Escape Room – £3.59
Sotano is a first person 3d escape room puzzle adventure, similar to games you may have played in the ’90’s or similar to a virtual escape rooms you may have played. An indoor immersive world that you explore and an inventory where you can collect and use items you find along the way to solve puzzles and escape the rooms.
Explore areas, collect hidden objects and take in your surroundings to solve puzzles. You will need all of your puzzle solving and logic skills to put together a plan to make your way through the house, solving riddles and through the many rooms to escape the house of Sotano.
How you tackle the puzzles is down to you. Each puzzle has a logical solution, so take your time, there is no rush and enjoy the process of understanding what you have to do to escape.
Ashland Dossier is an espionage thriller packed with elements of turn-based stealth tactics and role-play adventure. Use your cunning, agility, and wit to finish off the Nazi plague for good this time. Ahead of you lies a deadly confrontation as the enemy threatens to drive the world into the depth of dreadful and pointless war once again.
Abyss Memory Fallen Angel and the Path of Magic – £14.99
A curious, little angel named Mariel spent all her days reading through the vast collection of books in the grand library.
One day, while browsing the library’s collection, she came across a very peculiar book with naught but the title, “Abyss†printed on its cover. The pages within were blank.
In truth, Mariel had heard the name, “Abyss†from the elder angels before. It was the name of the world below the heavens.
Intrigued by the notion, her curiosity grew until she couldn’t resist any longer. She ventured out to the heavenly bridge to sneak a peek over the edge, into the world known as “Abyss.â€
Marco & The Galaxy Dragon – £14.89
The game will have multiple cartoon-style animation scenes incorporated into it. The fusion between visual novel story-telling and animation will allow you to experience the game in a whole new way.
This emotional story filled with both laughter and tears will surely carve a place for itself in your heart.
A cutie in a maid uniform prepares to tackle her dirtiest job yet! In this puzzle ball adventure, you’ll control the adorable maid as she rolls around a larger-than-life estate and clears away the dust bunnies plaguing each room. Chase down and eliminate at least 3 dust bunnies and roll to the goal before time is up, and you’ll clear the stage!
Marble Maid offers a hardcore challenge that makes you work hard for its unlockables. Fill a gallery with images as you progress through more than 50 stages across worlds themed for different parts of the mansion, from living rooms and kitchens to bathrooms and darkened halls! Every 10 stages will also lead to an exciting showdown with your nemesis and frenemy, Nega Maid! Are you willing to get a little dirty to clean things up?
OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos + Loveï½¥orï½¥die – £35.99
Two games bundled into one!
Experience the story of Akuru Hayahoshi and Ren Furutachi, from when they first meet in OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos, to what happens after their happy ending in OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos ~Loveï½¥orï½¥die~.
Cricket 22 The Official Game Of The Ashes – £53.99
Cricket 22 delivers the most robust, substantial game of cricket that fans have ever seen. Enjoy the full licensed Ashes contest – the pinnacle of the long-standing rivalry between Australia and England. In addition, contest Australia’s big-hitting Big Bash T20 competition, the hugely innovative The Hundred in England, the tropical party of the CPL in the Caribbean, and take to the international field of battle with fully-licensed teams from Australia, England, The West Indies, New Zealand and Ireland.
Purgatory has been invaded by an unholy threat. A group of fallen angels called “The Watchers†now seek to transform it into a new hell. Lost souls must unite or face utter annihilation…
Fast Skill Based Combat – Challenging but fair souls-like combat with tight and finely tuned controls. Dodge, block, and slice your way through enemies.
Large Interconnected World – Explore every crack of a purgatorial realm filled with secrets and game changing loot in a non-linear fashion.
Local Co-op Multiplayer – Take on the entire game in local co-op with a friend! Single joy-con mode supported!
“Transiruby” is a metroidvania game where you explore the world as a cyborg protagonist named Siruby. Slash and shoot your way to reveal its hidden secrets!
A strange continent from a different dimension has suddenly appeared… and Siruby, a young cyborg traveling space just happens to pass by. Taking her trusty AI partner “Ne-com†with her, she sets out to explore this unknown land.
Meet other characters such as “Yamatoâ€, an unusual cyborg girl and “Douglas†the treasure hunter as you follow Siruby through her adventure.
A new metroidvania game by Skipmore, the creators of “Kamiko†and “Fairuneâ€!
Expect the same high quality action… with a dash of adventure and puzzle-solving.
Bugsnax takes you on a journey to Snaktooth Island, home of the legendary half-bug half-snack creatures, Bugsnax. Invited by intrepid explorer Elizabert Megafig, you arrive to discover your host nowhere to be found, her camp in shambles, and her followers scattered across the island alone… and hungry!
It’s up to you to solve the mysteries of Snaktooth Island: What happened to Lizbert? What are Bugsnax and where do they come from? But most of all, why do they taste SO GOOD?
An exotic puzzle based on the Aztec culture, players can avoid the dangers lurking all over the stage by manipulating Fla. Solving puzzles by overcoming the stages and can utilize the characteristics of ‘Totems’ to break through difficulties.
Get Packed: Couch Chaos – £9.99
When a greedy salt mining company takes over Ditchlington, Last Ditch Removals must handle the hostile eviction. With little time and even less caution, your ragtag removals team gets to work rapidly relocating the entire town…leaving a trail of destruction, explosions, and debris in your wake! Couch Chaos is a truck load of fun with its story-driven campaign, destructive game modes, and selection of mini games, hosted at Drillbyland.
Light Fairytale Episode 1 – £8.99
Light Fairytale is a turn-based Japanese-style RPG series set in a dying underground world ruled by an evil empire.
The goal of this project is to bring back the immersion and emotion of 90’s era JRPGs on current platforms with the expected evolution in both design and technique.
Episode 1 is the start of the adventure. Play as Haru and his childhood friend Kuroko as they fight a dark empire in the underground ‘Lower City’.
Whisper Trip is a fast cooperative action side-scroller with a touch of cyberpunk. You’re a newly recruited TPF agent. Who just learned that TPF stands for Tactical Police Force – an anti-terrorist squad with an obvious mission to eliminate criminal groups…
Katanas… Who does not like those curved blades? Especially the thermal katanas ready to slash anyone or anything in a split second? But beware of your enemies; they aren’t stupid and they are unique in their own pecular way. You will learn to treat them as equals; and invent a special approach to each.
Arise: A Simple Story – Definitive Edition – £17.99
Embark on an emotional journey of losing the love of one’s life in the critically acclaimed Arise: A simple story, a 3D adventure game enhanced for Nintendo Switchâ„¢, as The Director’s Cut.
Manipulate time, solve puzzles, and reshape surroundings as you push forward into the bittersweet recollections of a past life. This is a story about happiness and hardship, joy and sorrow. A story that all of us will one day experience.
You play as the wind guiding the Pupils, a tribe that must reach the center of the world. You’ll have to manage their resources, their buildings, and their lives. Help them grow wiser through agriculture, crafting, scientific and mystical research before the world is submerged. Be careful though, you have to manage your tribe perfectly and make sure they’re not starving or taken by surprise by the waters.
The legend goes that in each generation a child is born, a sentinel, bound to the land of Panmorphia and the four elements that govern it. The sentinels have the ability to wield each element and transform themselves into an animal that best represents it. With the use of the amulet they are able to combine all four elements and travel through the aether. They are called upon for help in times of need.
In the first adventure, you transformed into a cat, bird and fish, and saved the four trapped elements! In your second adventure, you visited the Lost Temple and upgraded the amulet to enable you to swap freely between the four elemental forms!
In your third adventure, you are heading back to Panmorphia!
Gems of Magic: Dwarf’s Destiny – £7.99
Having lost his home, the young dwarf Axel embarks on a journey looking to discover the world and to find a new place to call home. After weeks of travel, Axel finds himself in the city of the Forest Dwellers. Their village has been destroyed by the Goblins who rampaged through the forest. The Forest Dwellers desperately need your help!
Team up with Violet the Dryad to rebuild the village and learn the true story of why the Goblins have taken over the forest…
LOST BUBBLES: Sweet mates – £2.39
Control the soap, move, and dash to get to the soap holder. However, each time the soap is moved, its durability is reduced by friction with the floor. Please reach the soap holder before it loses its durability.
Layer Section & Galactic Attack S-Tribute – £25.19
Released in 1995 by Taito, Layer Section is the home console version of the arcade game RayForce, a vertical shooting game.
Players control X-LAY, a mobile weapon equipped with lock-on lasers and battle against the Con-Human system for the survival of humankind.
You can also play Galactic Attack, the overseas release of Layer Section.
Enjoy the enhanced BGM of the home console game in stereo sound in this title.
The remixed main melodies are tastefully different from their arcade versions!
New useful features like game rewind, slow mode, and quick save have been added.
Compare scores with others in the new online ranking mode!
New on Wii U eShop
Play Reversi (32 piece style) on the Wii U GamePad against a friend or Bigley.
Next week: Wildcat Gun Machine, Citizen Sleeper, War Mines Collection, Chefy-Chef, RiffTrax: The Game, Football Drama, and Slap the Rocks.
