Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for October 25th, 2021. In today’s article, we’ve got a small slice of news before we head into a pack of reviews. Lots of games in the Comfy Chair of Evaluation today, including The Caligula Effect 2, Evertried, Monomals, No Longer Home, and The Sundew. We have a handful of new releases to check out, with Mainframe Defenders and Negative Nancy leading the charge. Finally, a rather lengthy list of new sales for you to sort through, along with a list of the discounts expiring tomorrow. There’s a lot to go through, so let’s get to work!
News
The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack Launches Today
It’s safe to say that reactions to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack have been mixed since the details were revealed during the Animal Crossing Direct. Some people are disappointed at the rather substantial price hike, others don’t see the value in the Animal Crossing DLC being part of it, and those with particularly good taste are simply wondering when Mischief Makers will be added to the Nintendo 64 line-up. Well, love it or hate it, the Nintendo Switch Expansion Pack arrives today. You will be able to upgrade your current subscription, it’s only available as a yearly subscription, and I’m afraid there is no cheaper Double Secret Probation version without the Animal Crossing DLC included. Your only choice is to take it or leave it, friends.
Reviews & Mini-Views
The Caligula Effect 2 ($49.99)
This game lives in a weird zone. I would hesitate to recommend the original game for various reasons, with its chief merit being its interesting story. The gameplay is a bit of a slog and I don’t think it’s quite worth putting up with it. The Caligula Effect 2 is a much better game to play. There’s more going on here, and the pacing is a lot better. Still not great, but passable. It also has a fairly good story, so everything should work out, right? The problem is that it’s really difficult to understand what is going on in the plot if you haven’t played the first game. You’ll at least want to read a summary of the original game’s story if you want to get the full effect. Oh, that was unintentional. Well, I’m keeping it.
The story nudges this one just above being a thoroughly average RPG. It explores some interesting topics and themes that I haven’t seen many other games attempt to address. By contrast, the gameplay is so average it could have fallen out of a kit. I suppose the key thing is that it’s not bad to play, so if you have room on your plate for an RPG with bland mechanics but a good plot, you’ll want to check out The Caligula Effect 2. Just make sure you either play the first game or read up on its story and characters before you dive in.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
Evertried ($19.99)
A good roguelike or roguelite needs to get its core rules right, but that’s only the first part of the equation. Evertried nails that. You’re hopping around on small grid-based levels, using your techniques and tricks along with the level’s gimmicks to defeat all of the enemies. Each enemy you scrap will earn you some cash that you can use to pick up new perks from a shuffled selection. Once all of the enemies are dead, you’ll head to the next level. It looks good, and it feels fun to play. You really have to plan your moves carefully because you don’t have a lot of wiggle room to take hits, especially early on.
The other part of the equation for a solid roguelite/roguelike is in how it legs out over the course of many sessions and hours put in. Evertried doesn’t do quite as well there. It’s just a bit too random, shows a few too many of its cards too early, and seems caught between trying to provide a pure roguelike design and its more roguelite-ish metagame. If you love Into the Breach, you’ll want to give this a look. It has a similar vibe, and even if it doesn’t hold up in the long term quite as well, you’ll still get plenty of fun out of it.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Monomals ($19.99)
Monomals originally came out on Apple Arcade, and in some ways I think that is the better way to play it. While it has been adapted nicely for button controls, it feels like something built around playing on a touch screen. But if you prefer to play on your Switch, you’ll still have a great time here. There are two components to Monomals. You’ll mainly be playing levels as a fishing line/headphone jack thing in a unique puzzle-platformer type of deal. You need to reach the Monomal on each level and capture it, but that’s just the cap on what is often a brilliant series of varied challenges. The other part of the game is a surprisingly robust music synthesizer where you use the Monomals to create tunes, trying to climb the charts.
I’m not much of a musician, but it’s fortunately not a big problem as far as making progress goes. All you really need to do to succeed in the charts is use a good variety of Monomals. You can do more if you like, and it would certainly be more aurally pleasing than my concoctions. But you don’t have to. If you’re just here for the excellent action stages, you can just do the minimum for the music bits and it will be fine. On the other hand, if you like the musical end of things, you’ll likely be satisfied with the audio and music-making portions of the game. Monomals is a clever little game, and that’s as true on the Switch as it was on Apple Arcade.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
No Longer Home ($14.99)
This is a deeply personal story made into a game, and that makes it very hard to review as though it is some kind of bag of potato chips. It’s brief and largely made up of conversation choices, with some very light puzzles. Very, very light. The presentation is cool, as scenes come together in components like someone is building each set as you enter it. There’s a lot of emotion in the game’s couple of hours, and I think its appeal entirely hinges on whether or not the situation and the struggles the characters face resonate with you. Personally, I couldn’t relate with a lot of it, but I could at least appreciate its sincerity. If nothing else, it’s a well-made window into a difficult time in the lives of two people.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
The Sundew ($14.99)
When I first started playing The Sundew, I had a rather good feeling from it. A cool premise, great pixel art visuals, and a nice friendly take on the point-and-click adventure model. It has a solid beginning, but it can’t quite keep it up. The biggest issue with the game is its length. I know this is a hotly-debated topic, and my stance has always been that a game should be as long as it needs to be. The Sundew has an incredible world and a rather complicated story, but it feels like it’s rushing the entire time. When the end of the game comes, it feels too sudden and lacking in satisfaction. It holds its end on the gameplay front, but it’s quite ordinary in that regard. But the story and setting are the brightest lights in this game, and the brevity simply doesn’t allow either of them to shine.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
New Releases
Mainframe Defenders ($11.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
This is a surprisingly deep and robust turn-based tactics game. You lead a squad of four robotic units in order to beat back the virus infecting the system and protect the mainframe. Combine items and abilities to create a wide array of strategies, something you’ll need to do because the enemies can be rather tricky. Levels are procedurally generated and there are a variety of mission conditions you’ll have to keep an eye on. This game was rather well-liked when it hit computers last year, and I imagine it will find a welcome audience on the Switch as well.
Negative Nancy ($14.99)
Another of what some folks have come to call ‘NO playing games’, Negative Nancy puts you in the role of a retail clerk named Nancy. This is a narrative adventure that is choice-based, albeit with a very particular quirk. In any given situation, you have a single choice. You can say nothing, or you can say no. Depending on your choices, you’ll end up following one of four story branches. It’s amusing, though as you would expect it’s not terribly lengthy. Probably for the best, that much disagreeing could get exhausting over time.
Zombo Buster Rising ($4.99)
If Zombo Buster Advance took a somewhat Plants Vs. Zombies-like approach to its undead mashing action, Zombo Buster Rising feels a lot more like a traditional fortress defense game. Use everything in your arsenal to fend off the hordes of shambling zombies before they reach your fort. Buy upgrades and new weapons to help you, and get ready to take on some truly huge bosses. Not my kind of thing, but it seems alright for what it is.
Crossroad Crash ($4.98)
I can’t quite get the measure of this game, even after checking all of the material available. It seems to just be a driving game where you avoid collisions and can rewind if you make a mistake, but is that really all there is to it? Well, I found its free version on the App Store, and the screenshots and video seem to be at odds with each other. The gameplay involves speeding up cars at intersections to try to keep them from crashing into each other, going as long as you can to get a high score and collect more coins. I’m not going to drop a fiver on this to see which part of its marketing is incorrect, so that’s really all I can give you right now.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Quite a lot popped up over the weekend. My highlights would include Burnout Paradise Remastered, Rigid Force Redux, and Zombies Ate My Neighbors & Ghoul Patrol, but there are plenty of games to pick from. Do comb through that list and see what jumps out at you. The outbox is also rather hefty, but mostly filled with games that go on sale at least once a month. Check it out as well, of course. There could be something there that you want, after all.
Select New Games on Sale
No Straight Roads ($24.99 from $39.99 until 10/26)
Art Sqool ($1.99 from $12.99 until 10/29)
Ghosts and Apples ($7.99 from $9.99 until 10/29)
City Driving Simulator ($5.99 from $11.99 until 10/29)
4×4 Dirt Track ($5.99 from $11.99 until 10/29)
Car Driving School Sim ($6.99 from $13.99 until 10/29)
Carnage: Battle Arena ($4.49 from $14.99 until 10/29)
Negative Nancy ($12.74 from $14.99 until 10/31)
Door Kickers: Action Squad ($5.99 from $14.99 until 10/31)
What The Zombies?! ($2.79 from $3.99 until 11/1)
Lost in Random ($24.89 from $29.99 until 11/1)
Demon’s Tilt ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/1)
Plants vs Zombies: BfN Complete ($11.99 from $39.99 until 11/1)
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit ($24.79 from $39.99 until 11/1)
Burnout Paradise Remastered ($14.99 from $29.99 until 11/1)
Unravel Two ($3.39 from $19.99 until 11/1)
Demon Hunter: Riddles of Light ($8.99 from $14.99 until 11/1)
Rack N Ruin ($3.24 from $12.99 until 11/2)
Silver Falls Episode Prelude ($5.99 from $7.99 until 11/2)
AeternoBlade ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/2)
AeternoBlade II: Director’s Rewind ($5.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)
Wanderjahr TryAgainOrWalkAway ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/2)
Crazy Strike Bowling EX ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/2)
Gordian Rooms ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/2)
Farm for Your Life ($4.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)
Bamerang ($5.24 from $6.99 until 11/3)
Clue: The Classic Mystery Game ($14.99 from $29.99 until 11/5)
Battleship ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/5)
Vampire: The Masquerade CoNY ($5.99 from $19.99 until 11/5)
Vampire: The Masquerade SoNY ($6.49 from $12.99 until 11/5)
The Gardener & the Wild Vines ($8.99 from $9.99 until 11/5)
Pippu: Bauble Quest ($2.67 from $3.99 until 11/5)
Zombies Ate My Neighbors/Ghoul Patrol ($10.04 from $14.99 until 11/5)
Off The Road Unleashed ($4.79 from $15.99 until 11/6)
Fly Punch Boom! ($7.49 from $14.99 until 11/7)
Lamentum ($11.99 from $15.99 until 11/8)
Animal Pals Bubble Pop ($3.99 from $7.99 until 11/8)
Tardy ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/8)
Pixel Gladiator ($1.99 from $6.99 until 11/8)
Cupcake Match ($3.99 from $7.99 until 11/8)
Yuppie Psycho: Executive Edition ($6.66 from $16.66 until 11/8)
Pocket Soccer ($1.99 from $2.49 until 11/8)
Speed 3: Grand Prix ($14.99 from $39.99 until 11/9)
Mickey Storm & the Cursed Mask ($13.49 from $17.99 until 11/9)
Taxi Chaos ($19.99 from $34.95 until 11/9)
WeakWood Throne ($2.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Super Street: Racer ($12.49 from $39.99 until 11/9)
Marbles Rush ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/11)
Word Crush Hidden ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/11)
Mahjong Masters ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/11)
Color Dots Connect ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/11)
Find 10 Differences ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/11)
Solitaire Card Games ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/11)
Knights & Guns ($7.49 from $14.99 until 11/12)
The Last Survey ($5.99 from $14.99 until 11/12)
City Stunt Driver ($8.99 from $11.99 until 11/12)
Truck Simulator ($5.99 from $11.99 until 11/12)
Bot.vinnik Chess ($2.39 from $2.99 until 11/12)
Wild Pinball Bundle ($5.39 from $8.99 until 11/12)
Reminiscence in the Night ($3.99 from $4.99 until 11/12)
Puzzle Box 3 in 1 ($1.99 from $2.99 until 11/12)
Shieldwall Chronicles: SotN ($4.49 from $7.99 until 11/12)
Power Racing Bundle 3 ($7.49 from $24.99 until 11/12)
Crossbow: Bloodnight ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/12)
A Day Without Me ($2.99 from $5.99 until 11/12)
Chess Royal ($1.99 from $2.99 until 11/12)
OctaFight ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/12)
Demon’s Rise: War for the Deep ($1.99 from $6.99 until 11/12)
Tunche ($16.99 from $19.99 until 11/12)
Car Driving Simulator ($3.99 from $19.99 until 11/12)
Offroad Driving Simulator 4×4 ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/12)
Rally Racer ($5.99 from $19.99 until 11/12)
GraviFire ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/13)
Active Neurons ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/13)
Active Neurons 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/13)
Active Neurons 3 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/13)
Arkan: The Dog Adventurer ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/13)
Mind Maze ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/13)
Escape from Life Inc ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/13)
Escape from Tethys ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/13)
Breeder Homegrown ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/13)
7th Sector ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/13)
Rift Keeper ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/13)
Stellatum ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/13)
A Winter’s Daydream ($2.99 from $5.99 until 11/13)
The Tower of Beatrice ($2.99 from $5.99 until 11/13)
Blood Waves ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/13)
Drowning ($2.00 from $2.99 until 11/13)
The Mooseman ($3.49 from $6.99 until 11/13)
North ($2.00 from $2.99 until 11/13)
Rigid Force Redux ($6.66 from $19.99 until 11/14)
Pumpkin Jack ($13.49 from $29.99 until 11/14)
The Coma: Recut ($5.99 from $14.99 until 11/14)
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters ($5.99 from $14.99 until 11/14)
Slime-San ($4.79 from $11.99 until 11/14)
Vambrace: Cold Soul ($8.24 from $24.99 until 11/14)
SteamWorld Heist Ultimate ($4.99 from $19.99 until 11/14)
SteamWorld Dig ($2.49 from $9.99 until 11/14)
SteamWorld Dig 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 11/14)
SteamWorld Quest: HoG ($9.99 from $24.99 until 11/14)
Anthill ($3.99 from $9.99 until 11/14)
Decay of Logos ($7.99 from $19.99 until 11/14)
Curious Expedition ($7.49 from $14.99 until 11/14)
Curious Expedition 2 ($14.99 from $19.99 until 11/14)
Lonely Mountains: Downhill ($11.99 from $19.99 until 11/14)
Dead End Job ($4.24 from $16.99 until 11/14)
Conga Master Party! ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/14)
Liberated ($5.99 from $19.99 until 11/14)
Earth Atlantis ($1.99 from $14.99 until 11/14)
Ninja Showdown ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/14)
88 Heroes – 98 Heroes Edition ($5.99 from $29.99 until 11/14)
Stick It to The Man ($2.39 from $11.99 until 11/14)
Bridge Constructor Portal ($5.99 from $14.99 until 11/14)
Bridge Constructor TWD ($3.99 from $9.99 until 11/14)
Silver Chains ($9.99 from $24.99 until 11/14)
Say No! More ($9.99 from $14.99 until 11/14)
Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/14)
Holy Potatoes! We’re In Space?! ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/14)
Holy Potatoes! What The Hell?! ($7.50 from $15.00 until 11/14)
Doodle Derby ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/14)
RICO ($7.99 from $19.99 until 11/14)
Safety First! ($1.99 from $2.99 until 11/14)
Giga Wrecker Alt. ($9.99 from $24.99 until 11/14)
Truberbrook ($9.89 from $29.99 until 11/14)
The Inner World ($2.39 from $11.99 until 11/14)
The Inner World: Last Wind Monk ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/14)
In Between ($1.99 from $11.99 until 11/14)
Flipping Death ($3.99 from $19.99 until 11/14)
Super Blackjack Battle 2 Turbo ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/14)
Toby: The Secret Mine ($1.99 from $11.99 until 11/14)
Tied Together ($1.99 from $14.99 until 11/14)
Trailblazers ($5.99 from $29.99 until 11/14)
Super Treasure Arena ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/14)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 26th
#RaceDieRun ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield ($8.99 from $11.99 until 10/26)
Aery Little Bird Adventure ($3.49 from $6.99 until 10/26)
Aery Sky Castle ($4.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Akane ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Akuto: Showdown ($1.99 from $7.99 until 10/26)
Among Pipes ($1.99 from $7.99 until 10/26)
AnimaLudo ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Arcane Arts Academy ($3.19 from $7.99 until 10/26)
Badland: GotY Edition ($3.99 from $5.99 until 10/26)
Barbarous: Tavern of Emyr ($1.99 from $7.99 until 10/26)
Big Dipper ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
BIT.TRIP, Assorted ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Blazing Beaks ($1.99 from $14.99 until 10/26)
Bloo Kid 2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Brawl ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Bridge Constructor Ultimate ($5.99 from $14.99 until 10/26)
Bridge Strike ($1.99 from $6.99 until 10/26)
Checkers for Kids ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Chop ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Coffee Crisis ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Colorfall ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Colt Canyon ($5.99 from $14.99 until 10/26)
Damn Dolls ($2.99 from $3.99 until 10/26)
Death’s Hangover (41.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Dex ($1.99 from $19.99 until 10/26)
Door Kickers ($4.79 from $11.99 until 10/26)
DungeonTop ($4.19 from $13.99 until 10/26)
Epistory: Typing Chronicles ($7.49 from $14.99 until 10/26)
Escape Doodland ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Eyes: The Horror Game ($1.99 from $2.49 until 10/26)
Fall Gummies ($1.99 from $7.99 until 10/26)
Fantasy Checkers ($1.99 from $7.99 until 10/26)
Fantasy Tower Defense ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Fates of Ort ($10.49 from $14.99 until 10/26)
Forest Guardian ($2.74 from $10.99 until 10/26)
Funny Bunny Adventures ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Gangsta Paradise ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Good Night, Knight ($5.99 from $11.99 until 10/26)
Gravity Rider Zero ($1.99 from $6.99 until 10/26)
Hyper Sentinel ($1.99 from $7.99 until 10/26)
Into a Dream ($6.99 from $13.99 until 10/26)
Jumping Joe & Friends ($1.99 from $2.49 until 10/26)
Koloro ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Lost Words: Beyond the Page ($9.74 from $14.99 until 10/26)
Mana Spark ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Merrily Perilly ($2.49 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Mini Trains ($1.99 from $5.99 until 10/26)
Mushroom Savior ($2.24 from $4.99 until 10/26)
No Straight Roads ($24.99 from $39.99 until 10/26)
Not Not: A Brain Buster ($1.99 from $2.49 until 10/26)
One Strike ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Outbuddies DX ($7.19 from $17.99 until 10/26)
Override: Mech City Brawl ($9.89 from $29.99 until 10/26)
Party Treats ($1.99 from $2.49 until 10/26)
Perfect Traffic Simulator ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Pocket Mini Golf ($1.99 from $2.49 until 10/26)
Potion Party ($4.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Push-Ups Workout ($2.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Puzzle Book ($1.99 from $3.99 until 10/26)
Regency Solitaire ($9.59 from $11.99 until 10/26)
REKT! High Octane Stunts ($1.99 from $5.99 until 10/26)
Retro Tanks ($2.99 from $5.99 until 10/26)
Rimelands: Hammer of Thor ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Robonauts ($1.99 from $3.99 until 10/26)
Robot Car War: Transform Machines ($6.99 from $17.99 until 10/26)
Royal Tower Defense ($1.99 from $7.99 until 10/26)
Shipped ($1.99 from $5.99 until 10/26)
Silk ($1.99 from $12.99 until 10/26)
Space Pioneer ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Stencil Art ($1.99 from $3.99 until 10/26)
Super Hero Fight Club ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Tanky Tanks ($2.99 from $5.99 until 10/26)
Techno Tanks ($2.49 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Tharsis ($2.99 from $11.99 until 10/26)
The Legend of Ninja ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
The Mystery of Woolley Mountain ($1.99 from $12.99 until 10/26)
Timothy & the Mysterious Forest ($3.99 from $7.99 until 10/26)
Tiny Lands ($2.99 from $5.99 until 10/26)
Trine Ultimate Collection ($9.99 from $49.99 until 10/26)
Unit 4 ($1.99 from $14.99 until 10/26)
Utopia 9 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Welcome to Primrose Lake ($1.99 from $7.99 until 10/26)
Wondershot ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Wreckin’ Ball Adventure ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/26)
Zombie Blast Crew ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
Zoo Dentist ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/26)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with some new releases including Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cloud Version, a review or two, plus whatever news and sales come along in the interim. I hope you all have a marvelous Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
