Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for November 8th, 2021. In today’s article, we’ve got a small assortment of reviews for you to check out. Saber Interactive’s port of World War Z leads the pack, with a few decent titles from QUByte following just behind it. We’ve also got a look at the rather dubious new releases that hit the eShop over the weekend, plus the usual lists of new and expiring sales to consider. Let’s get going!
Reviews & Mini-Views
World War Z ($39.99)
Based loosely on the TV series and book of the same name, World War Z‘s gameplay seems pretty clearly inspired by the likes of Left 4 Dead. Four survivors try to survive a zombie apocalypse by blasting their way through a variety of locales, taking advantage of defenses both natural and otherwise wherever they can. Those four survivors can be controlled by humans or the CPU as needed, with full online play support. The main gimmick that separates this game from Left 4 Dead is the sheer number of undead that can pile up on-screen at once. It’s certainly eye-catching in a way few zombie games can offer. Unfortunately, it’s also the only really special thing about the game.
Well, the Switch version does have one more special thing about it. This is a really terrific port of a game that feels like it should be difficult to pull off on the system. Saber Interactive is known for their quality ports, and with this being one of their own I suppose it isn’t too surprising that it runs with fewer sacrifices than one would expect. Online play worked well for me, though depending on the time of day it could be tough to fill all the seats. You’ll get the usual resolution and framerate hits, but all things considered it’s a fine way to play World War Z.
World War Z is another impressive notch in Saber Interactive’s Switch port belt. The game itself is somewhat middling, but the conversion is as good as you would expect from the developer that brought The Witcher 3 to the platform. You’ll have a particularly good time if you can get some friends to play through it with you, though it never quite takes wing the way you might hope. It’s no Left 4 Dead, but as that series has yet to make its way to the Switch, I suppose it doesn’t have to be. It just needs to offer some enjoyable multiplayer undead carnage, and I suppose it handles that well enough.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Milli & Greg ($3.99)
Milli & Greg feels like the store-brand version of Celeste. Basically, separate each screen into its own level, strip out the story, and imagine slightly less fluid mechanics, and that’s about where this is at. Your goal on each stage is to reach your cat, with optional cherries and cat portraits to pick up on the way. There are more than one hundred stages broken into four different worlds, and it turns up the heat fairly early on. For your character’s part, she can jump, cling to walls, and do a single dash in any direction. You can air dash, but you need to plant your feet on the ground before you can bust out another one. You know, like in Celeste.
While not the most unique of affairs, Milli & Greg offers a reasonably substantial and enjoyable slice of platforming fun for a very competitive price. You get plenty of well-designed levels to play through, solid enough controls, and a decent presentation. If you enjoy your challenging single-screen platformers, you’ll probably have a fine time with Milli & Greg.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
Head Over Heels ($3.99)
This is a port of a remake of the classic British microcomputer game Head Over Heels. It’s an isometric action-adventure game where you control two different characters. Each of them has their own unique abilities, and you’ll need to take full advantage of them to solve the challenging puzzles in the hundreds of rooms the game has to offer. I can’t pretend I’m overly familiar with the original game, but the consensus seems to be that this remake is faithful where it counts and makes mostly positive changes. Provided you’ve got the warm and fuzzies for Head Over Heels, I don’t think you’ll regret plunking down your four bucks here.
Games of this sort tend to be love it or hate it affairs, but I will say that as far as isometric action-adventure games go, Heads Over Heels is very good. Sure, the usual frustrations apply. It can be hard to judge depth and distances, and basic controls take some getting used to thanks to the camera view. There is a lot of trial-and-error involved in the puzzles, and you have limited lives to work with. It can be incredibly vexing. But the puzzles themselves are well-designed, and the bizarre universe the characters inhabit is fun to explore. I don’t typically get into games like this, but I had a decent time with Head Over Heels.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
QUByte Classics The Immortal By Piko ($7.99)
It’s an interesting bit of chance that QUByte launched its new QUByte Classics line with a pair of isometric adventure games. The Immortal doesn’t force you to do a whole lot of tricky jumping, but it is no less dedicated to seeing you get killed on a regular basis. You play as a wizard who is exploring a dungeon to find his missing master. There are lots of items to find, puzzles to solve, traps to avoid, and enemies to defeat. Combat plays out on a separate screen and is action-based, requiring you to dodge and counter-attack carefully. You get two versions of the game in this set: the 8-bit NES version that can presently be found on Nintendo Switch Online, and the similar yet distinct 16-bit Genesis version.
I’m not the biggest fan of The Immortal, but I know it has its fans and they should be pleased with this release. The two versions of the game have many differences, so having both of them included here is nice. You get a standard set of options for each game, including save states and video options. The emulation is good, though NES and Genesis emulation isn’t exactly the most challenging of feats at this stage. Those without any existing attachment to The Immortal will want to tread carefully, as the game certainly shows its age. Those who have happy memories of dying, dying, and dying some more in this game back in the day should grab this set immediately, though.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
New Releases
.dog ($9.99)
From the people behind .cat and .cat Milk comes this exciting view of the other side of the debate. Play as a dog and jump on things like turtles and mushrooms. I imagine it will be selling for two bucks within a month, so unless you are a mega-fan of .cat, patience will surely pay off.
Gravity Light ($4.99)
Big five-dollar Switch platformer energy in this one. It’s a very floaty platformer, but floaty by design. You control a square hero who can blast away the enemies that attack as it makes its way through the game’s forty-five stages. I’m not the biggest fan of floaty platformers, but if you are you might want to look at this.
Dungeon Adventure ($0.99)
Gametry has a trio of releases that came over the weekend, and I’m not sure which of them is the worst. This is a bland platformer that is almost certain derived from a mobile template. I believe that because it requires touch controls and will not work docked. It is a dollar and I think that is the entire sales pitch.
Plumber Puzzles ($3.99)
Another probable mobile template with no support for docked play from Gametry. It might seem like a Pipe Dreams rip-off, but it’s not even that complicated. All the pieces are in place, you just need to rotate them to make the liquid flow. 400 levels of this, somehow.
Battle Bundle: Stickman: Far East Battle and Battle of Archers ($4.99)
Now that Gametry has several games on the eShop, it has started bundling them. This, as the title says, collects Stickman: Far East Battle and Battle of Archers. Again, probable templates. Presumably a cheaper way to grab these two games if you want them, but that is a big ‘if’.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Well, let’s see what we have in today’s list. Rainbow Billy is quite a good time, and this is the first sale on the game since its launch. Circa Infinity has its launch sale going on, and that’s a nice game to own. In the expiring list, the Alwa games and Cathedral are all cool. Other than those, it seems like a lot of the usual stuff both in the inbox and the outbox. Check the lists as usual, of course. You might find something worth grabbing that I’ve missed.
Select New Games on Sale
Rainbow Billy: Curse of Leviathan ($20.99 from $29.99 until 11/13)
The Game of Life 2 ($23.99 from $29.99 until 11/14)
Miners Races ($1.99 from $2.99 until 11/15)
The Skylia Prophecy ($3.49 from $6.99 until 11/16)
Dyna Bomb ($1.99 from $3.99 until 11/16)
Metaloid Origin ($3.49 from $6.99 until 11/16)
Rusty Spout Rescue Adv. ($3.49 from $6.99 until 11/16)
Ghost Sweeper ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/16)
Captain Backwater ($7.99 from $9.99 until 11/16)
Red Rope: Don’t Fall Behind+ ($3.89 from $12.99 until 11/16)
Circle of Sumo ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/16)
Mainlining ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/17)
The Count Lucanor ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/17)
Spirit of the North ($12.49 from $24.99 until 11/17)
Bounty Battle ($7.49 from $24.99 until 11/17)
Cast of the Seven Godsends ($3.89 from $12.99 until 11/17)
Stranded Sails: EotCI ($9.99 from $24.99 until 11/17)
Horned Knight ($3.49 from $5.99 until 11/19)
The Snake King ($5.35 from $7.99 until 11/20)
Motif ($2.00 from $2.99 until 11/20)
Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/22)
Son of a Witch ($6.99 from $14.99 until 11/22)
Quest for the Golden Duck ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/22)
Rogue Bit ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/22)
Watermelon Party ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/22)
Go! Fish Go! ($1.99 from $3.99 until 11/22)
Switchy Road ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/22)
Seeders Puzzle Reboot ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/22)
Windmill Kings ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/22)
Lots of Slots ($3.99 from $7.99 until 11/22)
The Game is ON ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/22)
The Sinking City ($12.49 from $49.99 until 11/24)
A Pretty Odd Bunny ($4.49 from $4.99 until 11/25)
Circa Infinity ($6.66 from $9.99 until 11/26)
Stilstand ($2.19 from $2.99 until 11/26)
Emergency Driver Simulator ($10.49 from $13.99 until 11/26)
Lydia ($1.99 from $3.99 until 11/26)
A Night at the Races ($5.99 from $9.99 until 11/26)
EQQO ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/26)
Infini ($1.99 from $12.00 until 11/26)
Journey of the Broken Circle ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/26)
Cosmic Top Secret ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/26)
Mythic Ocean ($9.99 from $14.99 until 11/26)
.cat Milk ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/26)
Soul Searching ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/26)
Encodya ($23.99 from $29.99 until 11/26)
The Prince of Landis ($6.39 from $7.99 until 11/26)
Speed Truck Racing ($3.49 from $9.99 until 11/26)
Dull Grey ($2.99 from $4.99 until 11/27)
Norman’s Great Illusion ($2.99 from $4.99 until 11/27)
My Aunt is a Witch ($5.99 from $9.99 until 11/27)
Liberated: Enhanced Edition ($8.99 from $19.99 until 11/27)
I, AI ($5.99 from $9.99 until 11/27)
Dungeons & Bombs ($2.99 from $4.99 until 11/27)
Mask of Mists ($8.99 from $14.99 until 11/27)
Steam Tactics ($5.99 from $9.99 until 11/27)
Aircraft Evolution ($5.99 from $9.99 until 11/27)
Need a Packet? ($4.19 from $6.99 until 11/27)
Rally Rock ‘N Racing ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/28)
NecroWorm ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/28)
Purrs in Heaven ($1.99 from $6.99 until 11/28)
Touchdown Pinball ($1.99 from $2.99 until 11/28)
Horror Pinball Bundle ($2.24 from $8.99 until 11/28)
Slash Ninja ($2.49 from $4.99 until 11/28)
Fire & Water ($2.09 from $2.99 until 11/28)
Werewolf: The Apocalypse HotF ($6.74 from $14.99 until 11/28)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 9th
16-Bit Soccer ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Airfield Mania ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/9)
Alwa’s Awakening ($5.99 from $9.99 until 11/9)
Alwa’s Legacy ($10.79 from $17.99 until 11/9)
Among Pipes ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/9)
AnimaLudo ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/9)
Ary & the Secret of Seasons ($9.99 from $39.99 until 11/9)
Atomic Heist ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/9)
Bear With Me: The Lost Robots ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Birds and Blocks ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Boom Blaster ($3.49 from $6.99 until 11/9)
Breathing Fear ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/9)
Cathedral ($8.99 from $14.99 until 11/9)
Checkers for Kids ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/9)
Clan N ($7.49 from $14.99 until 11/9)
Colorfall ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Croc’s World ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Croc’s World Run ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/9)
Crossbow Crusade ($3.49 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Curved Space ($12.99 from $19.99 until 11/9)
Dark Burial ($1.99 from $3.99 until 11/9)
Dead Dungeon ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Dead Dust ($3.49 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Die With Glory ($4.89 from $6.99 until 11/9)
Fall Gummies ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/9)
Fantasy Checkers ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/9)
Fantasy Tower Defense ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Gangsta Paradise ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/9)
Jewel Fever 2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Jewel Rotation ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/9)
Karma. Incarnation 1 ($8.39 from $11.99 until 11/9)
Mad Carnage ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Mickey Storm & the Cursed Mask ($13.49 from $17.99 until 11/9)
Morphite ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/9)
Ninjin: Clash of Carrots ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/9)
One Person Story ($1.99 from $2.99 until 11/9)
Overpass ($21.99 from $54.99 until 11/9)
Pacific Wings ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Perfect Traffic Simulator ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/9)
Projection First Light ($7.99 from $19.99 until 11/9)
Puzzle 9 ($4.79 from $5.99 until 11/9)
Remothered: Broken Porcelain ($9.89 from $29.99 until 11/9)
Royal Tower Defense ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/9)
SGC Short Games Collection 1 ($15.99 from $19.99 until 11/9)
Shaolin vs Wutang ($6.99 from $9.99 until 11/9)
Skully ($7.49 from $29.99 until 11/9)
Speed 3: Grand Prix ($14.99 from $39.99 until 11/9)
Storm Boy ($2.03 from $5.99 until 11/9)
Super Street: Racer ($12.49 from $39.99 until 11/9)
Swordbreaker The Game ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Taxi Chaos ($19.99 from $34.95 until 11/9)
The Legend of Ninja ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
The Wardrobe: Even Better ($6.79 from $19.99 until 11/9)
Water Balloon Mania ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
WeakWood Throne ($2.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Whipseey & the Lost Atlas ($2.03 from $5.99 until 11/9)
Yellow Fins ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/9)
Yoko & Yuki: Dr Rat’s Revenge ($3.49 from $6.99 until 11/9)
Zoo Dentist ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/9)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more reviews, more new releases, more sales, and maybe even a bit of news. I have a dentist appointment tomorrow morning, but it’s just for a cleaning. I should live. Anyway, I hope you all have a cool Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
