Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for January 4th, 2023. It’s a quiet one today, folks. Only one new release and very few new sales to look at. Sure, there’s a big list of expiring sales, but that’s not very fun to look at. So I’ve put together a couple of brief reviews for you to enjoy. They’re both very new games, too. It’s about the best I can do for you given that it seems like everyone is still waking up from their New Year’s hangover. Let’s go!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Guntech 2 ($14.99)
I really dig what Guntech 2 is laying down. I’m a sucker for games with thrust mechanics. You know, Asteroids, Gravitar, and so on. I also enjoy a good twin-stick shooter. Put the two together, and we’re probably going to get along at least a little. And I certainly do get along with Guntech 2, at least a little. There’s a lot here to like, with plenty of stages to play (including some very amusing Holiday-themed ones), a ton of weapons to unlock and upgrade, a variety of enemies to fight, and even some additional ships to pilot. There are online leaderboards to compete on for each and every stage. You can also rope in a few extra players for some ridiculously amusing couch co-op.
There are some things here I’m less thrilled with. Performance is up and down, with noticeable issues when things get complicated. Sometimes it’s really hard to see enemies and bullets against the backgrounds. It’s sometimes hard to know where the boundaries of objects are, which is a problem since you take collision damage. Many of the levels are rather big and the targets aren’t always obvious, leading to some wandering around trying to figure out where you should be going. While the large number of levels is a plus, some elements are used often enough that it can sometimes get a little repetitive.
I’d imagine Guntech 2 comes off a little better on other platforms where performance and visibility issues would be less of a problem, but even on Switch this is still a pretty good time. You’ve got a lot of elements to play around with, and the basic gameplay mechanics are snappy and enjoyable. It calls back to a particular time and place in gaming history in a very comfortable way, and those who enjoy more deliberately paced action games will get their fill here.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Pixel Boy – Lost in the Castle ($11.99)
Well, looks aren’t everything. I suppose neither is originality. Pixel Boy is pretty plainly inspired by the likes of Sokoban and Chip’s Challenge, and in terms of its presentation it certainly doesn’t blow past either of those decades-old games. But hey, we don’t come to puzzle games for the good looks. We’re here for the puzzles, and Pixel Boy has some good ones. Ninety-six stages in total, and the complexity of those stages often translates to a few mini-puzzles in each to solve. The goal in each stage is to push the red crate to the specified goal and then head into the exit that appears. You’ll have to deal with gimmicks like locked doors, pits, fire, and more. Things unfold nicely as you play, and it will take quite a while to make your way through all of the stages.
If you dislike crate-pushing puzzlers, Pixel Boy isn’t going to change your mind. But if you enjoy that particular brand of brain teaser, Pixel Boy will give you what you crave. Sokoban clones are a dime a dozen on the Switch, but ones that add in extra elements in a manner similar to Chip’s Challenge are a rarer beast. Pixel Boy doesn’t have very appealing graphics. The UI feels cheap. Its soundscape is fairly barren. But it has a bunch of devilishly-designed mental knots to untangle, and that’s enough for me to recommend it.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
New Releases
Extreme Snowboard ($7.99)
You know it’s slim pickings when the only game on deck is a Pix Arts release that was probably cobbled together from a Unity Asset Store template. It’s a snowboarding game, and it somehow looks worse than literally any 3D snowboarding game I have ever played. You can suffer alone or with a friend in local splitscreen play.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
I really have nothing to say about those new sales. That’s all of them. All three of them. The outbox has a lot more in it to consider, so give that a careful look-through to make sure there’s nothing in there you want. I’d imagine we’ll see more action on the sales front later this week, so enjoy the break for your wallet while it lasts.
Select New Games on Sale
Blood Will Be Spilled ($1.99 from $14.99 until 1/24)
Feudal Alloy ($1.99 from $16.99 until 1/24)
Tyd wag vir Niemand ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/24)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Thursday, January 5th
A Juggler’s Tale ($8.99 from $17.99 until 1/5)
A Place for the Unwilling ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Ace Attorney Turnabout Collection ($34.99 from $59.99 until 1/5)
Advent Calendar ($4.99 from $24.99 until 1/5)
Arsonist Heaven ($3.49 from $4.99 until 1/5)
Ball laB ($2.49 from $4.99 until 1/5)
Bear’s Restaurant ($9.09 from $12.99 until 1/5)
Blow & Fly ($3.49 from $4.99 until 1/5)
Bravery and Greed ($15.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium DLC ($29.99 from $39.99 until 1/5)
Capcom Arcade Stadium 1+2+3 DLC ($19.99 from $39.99 until 1/5)
Capcom Fighting Bundle ($38.99 from $59.99 until 1/5)
Choices That Matter: ATHWL ($1.99 from $5.99 until 1/5)
Choices That Matter: ATSWE ($1.99 from $5.99 until 1/5)
Choices That Matter: ATSWO ($1.99 from $5.99 until 1/5)
Crown Trick ($4.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Demonaica: Everlasting Night ($8.99 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Desktop Soccer 2 ($5.60 from $8.00 until 1/5)
Dusk Diver 2 ($39.99 from $49.99 until 1/5)
Dustoff Heli Rescue 2 ($1.99 from $8.00 until 1/5)
Endless Memories ($16.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Enter Digitron: HoC ($3.19 from $7.99 until 1/5)
Epic Chef ($6.24 from $24.99 until 1/5)
Feather ($3.59 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Flying Neko Delivery ($16.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Forklift Extreme ($3.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Galactic Wars EX ($3.99 from $7.99 until 1/5)
Gibbon: Beyond the Trees ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Golf With Your Friends Deluxe ($8.,09 from $26.99 until 1/5)
Hokko Life ($13.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Kao the Kangaroo Bundle ($20.99 from $34.99 until 1/5)
King of Seas ($6.24 from $24.99 until 1/5)
Kirakira Stars Idol Project Memories ($14.00 from $28.00 until 1/5)
Kwaidan Azuma Manor Story ($4.99 from $24.99 until 1/5)
Lacuna ($1.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
LootLite ($3.49 from $4.99 until 1/5)
Lucid Cycle ($3.49 from $6.99 until 1/5)
Mad Bullets ($4.49 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Marco and the Galaxy Dragon ($13.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Mercenaries Blaze: DotTD ($11.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Mercenaries Saga Chronicles ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Milk inside a bag of milk… ($6.39 from $7.99 until 1/5)
Mixolumia ($11.25 from $15.00 until 1/5)
Mokoko X ($5.74 from $11.49 until 1/5)
Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak ($39.99 from $69.99 until 1/5)
Monster Sanctuary ($6.79 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Moving Out Deluxe ($8.24 from $32.99 until 1/5)
Murder on the Marine Express ($2.49 from $4.99 until 1/5)
My Time at Portia Deluxe ($9.59 from $31.99 until 1/5)
Narita Boy ($6.24 from $24.99 until 1/5)
Neon Abyss Deluxe ($11.19 from $27.99 until 1/5)
Oceanhorn 2: KotLR ($17.99 from $29.99 until 1/5)
Oceanhorn: MoUS ($3.74 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Orbital Bullet ($13.39 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Our Fantasy Quest ($4.20 from $14.00 until 1/5)
Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire ($3.59 from $5.99 until 1/5)
Pretty Girls Speed ($4.19 from $5.99 until 1/5)
Rabi-Ribi ($17.99 from $29.99 until 1/5)
Resident Evil 4 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Retro City Rampage DX ($5.99 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Rise of the Slime ($3.74 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos ($5.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Run Box Run ($1.99 from $4.99 until 1/5)
School Race GP ($3.00 from $10.00 until 1/5)
Seven Pirates H ($31.99 from $39.99 until 1/5)
Shadows of Adam ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Shakedown: Hawaii ($5.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Sky Rogue ($4.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Square Keeper ($2.49 from $4.99 until 1/5)
Sumire ($1.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Superola CE ($3.49 from $4.99 until 1/5)
Surface Rush ($2.49 from $4.99 until 1/5)
Sword of the Necromancer ($3.74 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Table of Tales: TCC ($7.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
The Battle of Polytopia ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/5)
The Serpent Rogue ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Thunder Kid II: Null Mission ($4.79 from $7.99 until 1/5)
Thunder Kid: HftRE ($4.79 from $7.99 until 1/5)
To Be Or Not To Be ($1.99 from $6.99 until 1/5)
Ultimate ADOM: CoC ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Voodoo Detective ($11.99 from $14.99 until 1/5)
Waifu Impact ($2.49 from $4.99 until 1/5)
Wind of Shuriken ($5.59 from $7.99 until 1/5)
XEL ($9.49 from $18.99 until 1/5)
Yoku’s Island Express ($3.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Yonder: Cloud Catcher Chronicles ($11.99 from $29.99 until 1/5)
Yooka-Laylee ($3.99 from $39.99 until 1/5)
Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair ($4.49 from $29.99 until 1/5)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with summaries of several new releases as the eShop slowly thaws out, plus whatever new and expiring sales are on tap for the day. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday, and as always, thanks for reading!