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Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 5th, 2023. In today’s article, we mop up the remaining releases of the week. No lie, this might be the most dire Friday of new games I’ve seen in my whole time doing these articles. Not a lot of games, nothing particularly stand-out, and not even anything all that odd or notable. After summarizing those, we head into the list of new and expiring sales for the day. A few good ones in there, so make sure you check those out. Let’s go!
New Releases
Gruta ($4.99)
You know it’s a quiet day when I’m headlining a plain old Ratalaika release. Gruta is a platformer with an interesting art style that attempts to tell a story without any text at all. Seems like an okay five-dollar Switch platformer, at least. I like how you can use your sword to bat projectiles back at enemies.
Dessert DIY ($4.99)
I could have used a screenshot that showed the actual gameplay, but how can I not use this one? Anyway, this is one of those games where you use the various ingredients to make orders for customers. Sometimes they don’t want you to make something delicious. Sometimes they want you to help them poison their ex. Well, at least that’s something different for this kind of game.
Tiny Dragon Story ($12.99)
I’m not going to lie: that looks more like a hippo to me. Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter if it’s a dragon or a hippo. This game has fierce five-dollar Switch platformer energy, but it costs thirteen bucks instead. Since it’s Red Deer it will probably see frequent discounts to bring it down to a price that is easier to swallow. Much like this hippo main character can use its massive jaws to swallow all manner of foods. It’s a hippo!
Swordbreaker: Origins ($9.99)
I guess the first one did well enough to finally merit a follow-up. This is a choice-based narrative adventure, just like the first. Make your decisions and arrive at one of eight different endings. It picks up where the first game left off, so you should probably play that one first before moving on to this one.
Demon Skin ($9.99)
This came out a couple years ago on computer, and the reception was… not good. Some of that was down to bugs, some of that was down to design choices. I would hope the bugs are fixed for this Switch release, but I’m less confident those design elements have been significantly altered. Well, this is all second-hand information and speculation. I haven’t played this Switch port yet, so I really can’t say much about it. It’s an action-platformer with a focus on challenging combat, and some people eat those up like caramel popcorn. Mm, caramel popcorn.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man Of Medan ($19.99)
What do you get when you take a somewhat middling horror game and port it in rather rough form to the Switch? This, apparently. The framerate is in the low 20s, but maybe you can pretend it’s just being more cinematic? It features multiplayer support for up to five players locally and two online, so you can at least enjoy the experience with friends. Proceed with extreme caution, if at all.
Shape Neon Chaos ($30.00)
Publisher Isaias Game Dev seems to have a new business plan: grab decent, cheap indie games from Steam, port them to Switch, crank up the price by ten or fifteen times, and count on deep sales to trick people. Shape Neon Chaos is an alright little Geometry Wars-style twin-stick shooter. A very agreeable game for the two bucks it sells for on Steam. For thirty bucks? No. Come on now. I know it’s a tough market out there, but this is just rude behavior.
Virtual Families Cook Off: Chapter 2 Farm Life ($4.99)
Well, you can see the screen shot. You know exactly what kind of gameplay you’re in for here. There’s a little decoration component between stages where you can deck out your family house with your earnings, but otherwise this is the same as the thirty other games time management cooking games on the eShop.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Some great games on sale today, and I will call out a couple as usual. Meg’s Monster is an unforgettable game so despite its sale not being particularly deep, I am going to recommend it. If you somehow missed out on every single Star Wars game released on Switch so far, that new Star Wars Heritage Pack is an absolute steal for forty bucks. Kao the Kangaroo is at a new low price, and one where I can finally feel comfortable recommending what is a flawed but somewhat enjoyable 3D platformer. The weekend outbox sees the latest sale from Limited Run Games wrapping up, so feel free to check out those wares as well. Maybe you want a Night Trap? Perhaps a Cosmic Star Heroine? Have a gander.
Select New Games on Sale
Rain on Your Parade ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/9)
The Church in the Darkness ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/11)
Neo Cab ($2.99 from $19.99 until 5/11)
Think of the Children ($2.59 from $12.99 until 5/11)
Kraken Academy!! ($7.19 from $17.99 until 5/11)
Suzerain ($5.39 from $17.99 until 5/11)
Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between ($8.44 from $12.99 until 5/11)
Paradise Killer ($7.99 from $19.99 until 5/11)
Super Mutant Alien Assault ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/11)
Genesis Noir ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/11)
Beacon Pines ($13.99 from $19.99 until 5/11)
Citizen Sleeper ($13.39 from $19.99 until 5/11)
In Other Waters ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/11)
Framed Collection ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/11)
The Stillness of the Wind ($2.07 from $12.99 until 5/11)
Meg’s Monster ($12.74 from $14.99 until 5/11)
No Longer Home ($5.99 from $14.99 until 5/11)
Star Wars Heritage Pack 2023 ($39.99 from $79.99 until 5/11)
Star Wars The Force Unleashed ($12.99 from $19.99 until 5/11)
Star Wars Republic Commando ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/11)
Star Wars Jedi Outcast ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/11)
Star Wars KotOR ($9.74 form $14.99 until 5/11)
Star Wars KotOR II: The Sith Lords ($9.74 from $14.99 until 5/11)
Star Wars Episode I Racer ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/11)
Star Wars Pinball ($14.99 from $29.99 until 5/11)
Horizon Chase Turbo ($3.99 from $19.99 until 5/11)
Repit ($2.09 from $2.99 until 5/12)
Needy Streamer Overload ($11.99 from $19.99 until 5/12)
Overloop ($10.49 from $14.99 until 5/18)
Terror of Hemasaurus ($9.74 from $14.99 until 5/18)
Golazo! 2 ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/19)
Cyber Velocity Run ($2.79 from $7.99 until 5/19)
Scramballed ($2.79 from $7.99 until 5/19)
MotoGP 21 ($4.49 from $29.99 until 5/19)
Live by the Sword Tactics ($2.99 from $14.99 until 5/19)
Depth of Extinction ($3.44 from $14.99 until 5/24)
Kao the Kangaroo ($14.99 from $29.99 until 5/25)
Panzer Dragoon: Remake ($2.49 from $24.99 until 5/25)
Sunwards ($10.50 from $15.00 until 5/25)
Fishing: North Atlantic ($16.74 from $24.99 until 5/25)
Yeah! Fighting Girl ($10.50 from $15.00 until 5/25)
Kamikaze Veggies ($1.99 from $12.99 until 5/25)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Just Dance 2023 Deluxe ($31.49 from $69.99 until 5/6)
LIT: Bend the Light ($5.20 from $8.00 until 5/6)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle ($19.99 from $39.99 until 5/6)
Milky Way Prince: Vampire Star ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/6)
Phoenotopia Awakening ($8.99 from $19.99 until 5/6)
SnowRunner ($23.99 from $39.99 until 5/6)
A Fox and His Robot ($41.99 from $59.99 until 5/7)
Alfonzo’s Arctic Adventure ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/7)
Before We Leave ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/7)
Blasphemous ($6.24 from $24.99 until 5/7)
Chippy&Noppo ($17.99 from $19.99 until 5/7)
Commander Keen in Keen Dreams ($1.99 from $4.99 until 5/7)
Corpse Killer 25th Anniversary ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/7)
Cosmic Star Heroine ($3.72 from $14.99 until 5/7)
Cthulhu Saves Christmas ($2.49 from $9.99 until 5/7)
Double Switch 25th Anniversary ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/7)
Dungeons of Dreadrock ($2.49 from $10.00 until 5/7)
Exertus Redux ($2.01 from $4.39 until 5/7)
Greak: Memories of Azur ($5.99 from $19.99 until 5/7)
Hazelnut Hex ($2.39 from $7.99 until 5/7)
Moving Out Deluxe ($8.24 from $32.99 until 5/7)
My Time at Portia Deluxe ($7.99 from $31.99 until 5/7)
Narita Boy ($4.99 from $24.99 until 5/7)
Neon Abyss Deluxe ($9.79 from $27.99 until 5/7)
Night Trap 25th Anniversary ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/7)
Pictooi ($2.49 from $9.99 until 5/7)
Revenge of the Bird King ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/7)
Saturday Morning RPG ($2.49 from $9.99 until 5/7)
Save Me Mr Tako: Definitive ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/7)
Ship of Fools ($11.99 from $14.99 until 5/7)
The House in Fata Morgana ($29.99 from $39.99 until 5/7)
The Knight Witch ($15.99 from $19.99 until 5/7)
The Serpent Rogue ($7.99 from $19.99 until 5/7)
Thymesia Cloud Vers. ($22.49 from $29.99 until 5/7)
Yoku’s Island Express ($3.99 from $19.99 until 5/7)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. We’ll be back next week with more new releases, more sales, more reviews, and some news. Some kind of Zelda thing coming out next week, I’ve heard. You won’t know it by reading it, but there was a behind-the-scenes crisis that almost resulted in this article not being finished. It all resolved peacefully, however. A bunny and their robot fox saved me, and that’s all I can say about that. I hope you all have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!
English (US)