Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for March 22nd, 2023. In today’s article, we’ve got a little slice of news to get things started. After that, a pair of Mini-Views await for some less-than-stellar titles. Then, it’s new release time! We all love that time. Finally, we wrap things up with a look at the latest sales and outgoing discounts. Let’s get to work!
News
‘Fire Emblem Engage’ Arrives in the Next ‘Tetris 99’ Maximus Cup
We don’t get Tetris 99 Maximus Cup events all that often anymore, but I suppose that is to be expected after all this time. Even when one does show up, it feels like it’s late to whatever party it was supposed to come to. Anyway, there’s a new one coming up this weekend. It’s a Fire Emblem Engage themed event, and as usual you’re tasked with earning one hundred event points to permanently unlock the theme. It kicks off on Friday and runs through the weekend.
Reviews & Mini-Views
Flame Keeper ($11.99)
This game isn’t finished yet. It is up front about that in its description, so it’s not hiding it or anything. But is very much what you would call Early Access, and that amounts to a roguelite action game with considerably less meat on its bones than similarly-priced competitors. There are some neat ideas in here. I like how you have to manage your fire, as it serves both as your health and a valuable resource for moving forward. The combat is decent, and I like the tower defense elements. There just isn’t enough here, though. What is here gets old fast as a result.
Flame Keeper may eventually end up being a great example of the roguelite genre, but in this unfinished form it’s just too slight to give too much attention to. You can easily see everything worth seeing in a couple of hours, and while that’s not bad bang for the buck, it’s not great relative to other games of this sort that you can pick up for a similar price. As I say from time to time, I can’t review an unknown future. I can only look at what is here in front of me now, and in that context Flame Keeper is just okay.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
Mato Anomalies ($39.99)
The premise of this game sounded so cool and the screenshots looked so interesting that I was excited to play it. That’s not something that happens often with me. Sure, it looked more than a little inspired by the modern Persona games, but I don’t think that’s actually a hard target to aim for even on a limited budget. Atlus itself made its games on shoestring budgets until very recently, after all. Unfortunately, Mato Anomalies just isn’t very good. It’s not any one thing, either. It just seems to unilaterally come up short in everything it does. Severe technical issues. Awkward writing. A card game that just isn’t very well-designed. The overall plot is interesting, the art design is solid, and the combat system is fine. That’s about all the nice things I have to say.
With a lot of great RPGs on the Switch to choose from, Mato Anomalies really shouldn’t be on anyone’s radar. That’s unfortunate, because there are a lot of promising elements here that could have added up to something neat. Execution is key, however, and that is where Mato Anomalies seems to fail in every category. Even without the significant performance issues, the underlying design flaws result in something that I really can’t recommend to anyone except those who enjoy picking apart misfires.
SwitchArcade Score: 2.5/5
New Releases
Have A Nice Death ($24.99)
You’re the old Grim Reaper himself, Death. Normally you’d be kicking back and enjoying a break at the driving range, but your employees are getting rebellious and making a real mess of the balance of souls. Time to do the boss thing and knock some sense into them, it seems. This is a roguelite action game, and it’s a rather fun one. The combat is really flashy, and the presentation is superb. There’s a gimmick where if you take too many abilities you’ll be punished by the labor board or something like that, which is pretty funny. I’ll be doing a review of this one soon.
Saint Maker ($13.99)
Wow, this is one of those rare Switch visual novels that has nothing to do with romance whatsoever. It’s a horror game set in a haunted convent. Yes, that sounds rather neat. You’ll be called in to make choices here and there, and if you pick the right answers you’ll get a bonus scene in the ending. Reviews on other platforms are quite positive, so if you’re hankering for a good read, this might be your ticket for today.
Puppy Cross ($4.99)
Used to be that you’d be lucky to see one or two Picross-style games on a console. Puppy Cross is probably the Switch’s fiftieth or sixtieth. It’s mainly focused on dogs, but it also has some cat stuff if you want to go that way. You get more than one hundred puzzles in a variety of sizes, and four garden areas you can decorate if you need a break from poking away at them.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Some really good sales in the list today. Blossom Tales II, Demon Turf, and Bullets Per Minute are at new low prices. Those are all really great games. There are other excellent deals in the list, so give it a good look. The outbox is fairly large, with a lot of indie sales wrapping up. Check that list carefully too. This… I command.
Select New Games on Sale
Blossom Tales II: TMP ($10.49 from $14.99 until 3/28)
Lil Gator Game ($13.99 from $19.99 until 3/28)
Demon Turf ($14.99 from $24.99 until 3/28)
BPM Bullets Per Minute ($17.49 from $24.99 until 3/28)
A Little Golf Journey ($11.99 from $19.99 until 3/28)
Biped ($5.24 from $14.99 until 3/29)
The Uncertain: Last Quiet Day ($5.24 from $14.99 until 3/29)
Time Loader ($5.24 from $14.99 until 3/29)
Overlord: Escape from Nazarick ($17.99 until 29.99 until 3/29)
Death Coming ($2.44 from $6.99 until 3/29)
Crysis Remastered ($11.99 from $29.99 until 4/10)
Crysis Remastered Trilogy ($27.49 from $49.99 until 4/10)
Reknum DX ($3.49 from $4.99 until 4/10)
Reknum Cheri Dreamland ($1.99 from $6.99 until 4/10)
Ploid ($2.09 from $2.99 until 4/10)
Ploid Saga ($1.99 from $11.99 until 4/10)
Nape Retroverse Collection ($4.89 from $6.99 until 4/10)
Super Mabus Mania ($5.52 from $7.89 until 4/10)
FerroSlug ($3.96 from $5.67 until 4/10)
Right and Down ($5.99 from $9.99 until 4/10)
Ken Follett’s the Pillars of the Earth ($14.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Destropolis ($2.39 from $5.99 until 4/11)
Nova-111 ($3.99 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Primal Light ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/11)
One True Hero ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Splashy Cube ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Tanuki Justice ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Pirates: All Aboard ($1.99 from $5.99 until 4/11)
Make War ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Picklock ($1.99 from $7.99 until 4/11)
Steve Jackson’s Sorcery ($12.49 from $24.99 until 4/11)
Cyjin The Cyborng Ninja ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Golden Force ($3.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Will You Snail? ($5.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Okinawa Rush ($3.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Wallachia Reign of Dracula ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Flippin Kaktus ($4.89 from $11.99 until 4/11)
Master Spy ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Thursday, March 23rd
A Good Snowman is Hard to Build ($4.99 from $9.99 until 3/23)
A Monster’s Expedition ($13.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Age of Heroes: The Beginning ($9.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Airborne Kingdom ($12.49 from $24.99 until 3/23)
Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX ($6.79 from $19.99 until 3/23)
All-Star Fruit Racing ($1.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Anuchard ($4.94 from $14.99 until 3/23)
Baldo the Guardian Owls ($17.49 from $24.99 until 3/23)
Beacon Pines ($15.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Bonfire Peaks ($13.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Cape’s Escape Game 4th Room ($2.00 from $9.80 until 3/23)
Cape’s Escape Game 5th Room ($2.00 from $9.80 until 3/23)
Citizen Sleeper ($13.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Cosmic Express ($4.99 from $9.99 until 3/23)
Criminal Expert ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/23)
Dark Deity ($9.99 from $24.99 until 3/23)
Everybody’s Home Run Derby ($2.50 from $5.00 until 3/23)
Finding Paradise ($9.59 from $11.99 until 3/23)
Front Mission 1st: Remake ($31.49 from $34.99 until 3/23)
Happy’s Humble Burger Farm ($7.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Hellpoint ($13.99 from $34.99 until 3/23)
Jack Move ($13.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Let’s Get Changed: Escape Game ($14.80 from $19.80 until 3/23)
Like No Other: TLotTB ($8.99 from $14.99 until 3/23)
Monster Harvest ($4.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
My Downtown ($5.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Outbuddies DX ($4.49 from $17.99 until 3/23)
Paradise Killer ($7.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Pirated Code: Admin Edition ($8.79 from $10.99 until 3/23)
Pixel Heroes: Mega Byte & Magic ($3.74 from $14.99 until 3/23)
Queen’s Garden: Sakura Season ($5.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Rhythm Sprout ($11.99 from $14.99 until 3/23)
Rigid Force Redux ($4.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Secrets of Magic 4 PM ($5.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Secrets of Magic 5 BtS ($5.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Silver Chains ($2.99 from $24.99 until 3/23)
Sokobond ($4.99 from $9.99 until 3/23)
Sparklite ($4.99 from $24.99 until 3/23)
Splatter: Zombiecalypse Now ($1.99 from $7.99 until 3/23)
Streets of Rogue ($7.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters ($3.74 from $14.99 until 3/23)
The Coma: Recut ($3.74 from $14.99 until 3/23)
The Lost Labyrinth ($5.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
To the Moon ($9.59 from $11.99 until 3/23)
Totally Reliable Delivery Service ($5.99 from $14.99 until 3/23)
Trash Sailors ($7.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Truberbrook ($3.59 from $29.99 until 3/23)
Tyrant’s Blessing ($9.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Undungeon ($4.99 from $19.99 until 3/23)
Xenon Racer ($1.99 from $14.99 until 3/23)
That’s all for today, friends. Tomorrow is Thursday and while it isn’t big as some other recent Thursdays for sheer numbers of titles, there will still be plenty to dig into. We’ll have summaries of those, along with whatever sales and big news roll in during the course of the day. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday, and as always, thanks for reading!