Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 19th, 2023. In today’s article, we’ve got a couple of news items, one from yours truly and another from our pal Mikhail, to go through before we head into the new releases of the day. Said new releases aren’t as numerous as those of yesterday, but there are a couple of interesting ones in the lot. We’ve got summaries of all of them as usual. After that, it’s time for some sales! The new ones and the expiring ones, as we do. Let’s get to it!
News
A Trio of Mario Games Will Hit the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass Next Week
Yes, I was wondering when or if we would hear anything about the Nintendo Switch Online retro apps this month. Well, here we go: Super Mario Advance, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, and Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3 will be arriving in the Game Boy Advance app for Expansion Pack subscribers next week on Friday, the 26th of May. They’re joining the fourth game in the Super Mario Advance series, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, which launched with the service. Sure, they’re all slightly enhanced, altered, and sometimes downgraded versions of games already on Nintendo Switch Online, but it’s still neat to have them.
Humble Games Showcase 2023 Reveals Many Interesting Games and Updates
Humble Games had its Humble Games Showcase 2023 yesterday revealing new titles and also giving updates on existing announcements. The event also had new developers announcing partnerships with Humble Games for publishing their titles. One thing to note is that the games revealed either had no platforms announced or only PC mentioned. Humble Games’ titles almost always come to Switch, so I’m going to just assume that they will show up at some point in the future or be revealed for Switch in a Nintendo Indie World Showcase or a Nintendo Direct. The full presentation is available above, but the highlights include the reveal of co-op survival adventure game Lost Skies from Bossa Games. This one looks gorgeous, and I hope it has cross platform play support when it releases. Wizard of Legend 2 was also announced, but development for this one is being handled by Dead Mage. It will be a 3D game with 4 player online co-op.
Cataclismo from Moonlighter developer Digital Sun is a fortress building game featuring Jim Guthrie. Out of the remaining announcements, I’m really hoping Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical ends up on Switch at some point. If it doesn’t, my trusty Steam Deck is always here for indies. The showcase also saw first person Metroidvania Supraland Six Inches Under get released on PS5, PS4, and Xbox platforms. The Switch version will follow in the future. Hopefully 2023 sees more releases from Humble Games hit Switch and also mobile. Games like Unpacking are not only amazing on Switch, but they’d also be brilliant on iOS. -Mikhail Madnani
New Releases
Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril ($9.99)
New NES games are a dime a dozen these days, but back in 2010 it was a lot rarer of a happening. The first time I remember seeing a modern release for Nintendo’s 8-bit console with my own eyes was when I stumbled across Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril in a shop in Tokyo. And here it is! You can play it on your Switch! It’s a bit like Mega Man but blended in with a rage platformer, and that isn’t going to be for everyone. But for those who like to keep bashing their head against a brick wall of difficulty, it’s fine. The real issue with this release is that it offers next to none of the options we usually see with emulated games, up to and including save states. So, uh, have fun clearing this in one sitting.
Cyber Citizen Shockman ($5.99)
I just want to say how amazing it is that we are enjoying a time where a relatively obscure PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 game can get picked up, translated, and officially released globally on modern consoles. Cyber Citizen Shockman originally came out in 1989, and it really feels like it. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is an exercise best left to the reader. It’s been tossed in the usual Ratalaika wrapper here, but there are actually a few little extras here like manual scans and production art. If you’re in the mood for a platformer that is TurboGrafxCore as heck, here you go.
Puzzle by Nikoli S Numberlink ($4.99)
Hamster’s got another puzzler for us this week. This time, it’s Numberlink. If you remember games like Pathpix on mobile, it’s somewhat similar to that. Draw lines to link the matching numbers, don’t cross over any lines, and don’t go out of bounds. You get a bunch of puzzles to play, so if you dig this type of thing it’s a pretty safe fiver to spend.
HEXAPODA ($12.99)
This is a really decent-looking bullet-hell vertical shooter. You take to the skies to battle an army of giant mutated insects across twelve different stages. You can choose from four different aircraft, and there’s an online leaderboard for each of the three levels of difficulty. Oh, and you can play with up to four players via local multiplayer. That’s kind of neat. The presentation is both easy to read and distinctive, and the audio is quite cool. Shooter fans, you’ll want to look into this one.
Mechanic 8230: Escape from Ilgrot ($14.99)
Hmm. This is a point-and-click style adventure game, and it’s decent while it lasts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last all that long and seems to be a story in progress. A couple of hours carries you through the end of the episode, and that seems to be all you get for now. I don’t really like games that release with incomplete stories that have no guarantee of anything else coming, but your purchase is your business.
Legendary Tales: Stolen Life ($6.99)
Okay, look. Yesterday I said that the hidden object puzzle game that came out would have to last you a week. I’m going to have to walk that back. It only had to last a day. Here’s another one. I’m not sure how long before the next one. Could be a couple days, could be a week. Harrowing times. Regulate yourself as needed.
Sudoku: Casual Board Game ($9.99)
As basic a sudoku game as it gets, and wildly overpriced for what it offers. But it’s Megame, so what can you expect?
Theft Ride Legacy ($19.99)
Wow, twenty dollars? Okay. That’s bold but I guess you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. This is a really, um, modest bicycle game that allows you to play splitscreen with another player. If it were cheap it might be good for a laugh or two with a buddy but I can’t under any circumstances recommend it as-is.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Apparently that Justice League: Cosmic Chaos is alright, so superhero fans might want to pick that up at its discounted price. Shooter fans should peep Graze Counter GM and Sophstar, and there are some rock-bottom prices on the Holy Potatoes games if you’ve got an eye for the quirky. Over in the outbox, there isn’t much going on. Check both of those lists as ever.
Select New Games on Sale
Beacon Pines ($13.99 from $19.99 until 5/25)
Paradise Killer ($7.99 from $19.99 until 5/25)
Neo Cab ($2.99 from $19.99 until 5/25)
Citizen Sleeper ($13.39 from $19.99 until 5/25)
Arcane Vale ($4.79 from $7.99 until 5/26)
Velocity Noodle ($8.44 from $12.99 until 5/26)
Marlon’s Mystery ($8.99 from $9.99 until 5/26)
Graze Counter GM ($10.49 from $14.99 until 5/26)
DC’s Justice League Cosmic Chaos ($34.99 from $49.99 until 5/29)
Peppa Pig World Adventures ($31.99 from $39.99 until 5/29)
Gigantosaurus Dino Kart ($29.99 from $39.99 until 5/29)
Heidelberg 1693 ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/29)
EA Sports FIFA 23 Legacy ($19.99 from $39.99 until 5/29)
Slime Rancher Plortable ($12.49 from $24.99 until 5/30)
Taxi Driver The Simulation ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Forklift The Simulation ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/30)
Delivery Driver The Simulation ($8.99 from $17.99 until 5/30)
Sophstar ($6.49 from $12.99 until 6/2)
Golazo 2 Pixel Soccer ($7.99 from $15.98 until 6/2)
Afterimage ($22.49 from $24.99 until 6/2)
The Pinball Wizard ($3.19 from $7.99 until 6/2)
SturmFront: The Mutant War ($2.99 from $).99 until 6/2)
Horror Tale 1 Kidnapper ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/5)
Bumblebee Little Bee Adventure ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/5)
The Testament of Sherlock Holmes ($19.99 from $24.99 until 6/8)
Wavetale ($22.49 from $29.99 until 6/8)
The Copper Canyon Dixie Dash ($2.24 from $7.49 until 6/8)
Lunch A Palooza ($4.79 from $15.99 until 6/8)
Source of Madness ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/8)
Togges ($13.99 from $19.99 until 6/8)
Far: Changing Tides ($6.99 from $19.99 until 6/8)
Mercenaries Rebirth CotWL ($15.99 from $19.99 until 6/8)
Cursed to Golf ($13.99 from $19.99 until 6/8)
Flipping Death ($1.99 from $19.99 until 6/8)
Stick It to The Man ($1.99 from $11.99 until 6/8)
Broken Mind ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/8)
Package Inc ($3.59 from $4.99 until 6/8)
Curious Expedition 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/8)
Paper Cut Mansion ($13.99 from $19.99 until 6/8)
LEGO Bricktales ($20.99 from $29.99 until 6/8)
Firegirl: Hack n Splash Rescue ($7.19 from $17.99 until 6/8)
SteamWorld Quest HoG ($7.49 from $24.99 until 6/8)
Lonely Mountains: Downhill ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/8)
Holy Potatoes A Weapon Shop?! ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/8)
Holy Potatoes We’re in Space?! ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/8)
Holy Potatoes What The Hell?! ($3.00 from $15.00 until 6/8)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Boyfriend Dungeon ($13.99 from $19.99 until 5/20)
Demon Skin ($7.99 from $9.99 until 5/20)
Pupperazzi ($13.99 from $19.99 until 5/20)
Strike! Ten Pin Bowling ($3.00 from $9.99 until 5/20)
Chronicles of Albian ($9.59 from $11.99 until 5/21)
Clutter 12 ($11.24 from $14.99 until 5/21)
Death’s Gambit ($11.99 from $19.99 until 5/21)
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus ($11.99 from $14.99 until 5/21)
Finding America: The Heartland ($6.99 from $9.99 until 5/21)
First Time in Rome ($8.39 from $11.99 until 5/21)
I Love Finding MORE Pups ($3.99 from $9.99 until 5/21)
Ki11er Clutter ($3.99 from $9.99 until 5/21)
Match Ventures ($8.99 from $11.99 until 5/21)
Montgomery Fox & TCotDN ($10.49 from $14.99 until 5/21)
Montgomery Fox & TCotMB ($10.49 from $14.99 until 5/21)
Montgomery Fox & TRoVD ($10.49 from $14.99 until 5/21)
Overcooked! All You Can Eat ($15.99 from $39.99 until 5/21)
Puzzle Vacations Ireland ($8.39 from $11.99 until 5/21)
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/21)
Smile For Me ($11.99 from $14.99 until 5/21)
Tankorama ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/21)
Yooka-Laylee ($3.99 from $39.99 until 5/21)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. We’ll be back next week with more new games, more sales, some reviews, and a bit of news if things line up that way. I’m going to do my last push on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom this weekend, so you can look forward to my review early next week. I hope you all have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!