Despite Spike Lee going over to Netflix to reimagine his classic film She's Gotta Have It as a series, the cinema auteur has deep ties with Amazon. He created its first original film, the musical Chi-Raq, and has another project debuting on the strea… Engadget RSS Feed
Welcome to the latest SwitchArcade Roundup, where we are covering the latest in Nintendo Switch game announcements, releases, and sales! After a slow Monday, perhaps the industry resting up after GDC, Tuesday brings some fresh news and some new releases to brighten up the Switch-owner’s day. We’ve got some news about the intriguing multiplayer shooter Aftercharge, a new ARMS trial, and a horror experience in Outlast 2 among other games. Let’s jump in and see what’s new in the world of the Nintendo Switch:
News
Aftercharge coming to Switch this summer
The 3v3 objective-based shooter Aftercharge is not only releasing publicly this summer, but also the game is coming to the Switch…with full cross-platform multiplayer support. Here, you either play on a team that can turn invisible and attack the energy cores on the map, trying to destroy them all. The other team has guns and are invincible, trying to wipe out the other team in its entirety before they destroy all cores. It’s fast, frantic, and makes for some interesting matchups, as I saw at PAX South earlier this year.
I’m excited for this one on Switch, especially since it’s going to support cross-platform between the Xbox and Steam versions. If you have a PC, you can check out the next public alpha playtest on April 14th, ahead of the game’s release this summer. This sort of multiplayer shooter feels like an underrepresented genre on the Switch, so Aftercharge could be an intriguing fit.
ARMS is one of those games that I’ve been curious about, but haven’t wanted to drop the full price on the game without spending some time on it. Thankfully, a Global Testpunch is available this weekend, starting on Friday and running through Monday. You can download the Global Testpunch version from the eShop, and participate in this trial version this weekend, and see what the game is about. Perhaps there’s a future for this game if enough players pick this one up, especially with so many new Switch owners since Christmas?
One of the more fascinating mobile ports unfortunately saw a delay due to bugs with Switch software version 5.0. Deep Silver closed off preorders for the game until they can get the game ready for re-launch. Manticore is a paid-only Switch version of Galaxy on Fire 3, which controversially was a free-to-play title on mobile. Hopefully the bugs get fixed soon, or the recent Switch software update 5.0.1 clears up the bugs and makes this game ready for release soon. You can get a refund if you desire, though.
I’m a big fan of swinging/grappling hook mechanics in games, and Sling Ming looks like a swinging puzzle platformer I can dig into. Plenty of levels, a compelling visual style, and lots of swinging should make this an entertaining one. It hits Switch and Steam on April 5th.
Have you played the Metroid Prime-esque Morphite yet? If not, then now’s a great time to dive into the Switch version, as an update just added motion controls. I’m glad to see this control method starting to take off after Splatoon 2 reintroduced to the world just how powerful they can be. Combined with the joystick for large movements, pointing with the Joy-Con lets the player easily tack opponents and make subtle aiming moves. It just feels better once you get used to it. When Fortnite hits the Switch, I’m going to play a bunch with motion controls just to maybe finally rack up my first solo Victory Royale on people who will default to joystick controls at first. Joysticks are the past…motion is the future. Train on Morphite first. Also, this makes me want to bust out the Wii and give Metroid Prime 3 a fair shake, perhaps.
Are you recovered from the first Outlast and its DLC on Switch that released last month? Hope so, because Outlast 2 is out now, taking you into the Arizona desert to deal with a cult fearing the Anti-Christ, and plenty of supernatural horror elements. The game seems extremely messed up, and if you like that sort of theme in your games, you might want to check this out now that it’s on Switch!
Atelier Lydie & Suelle “The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings”
This is a new JRPG, the latest in the long-running Atelier series, and the close of the “Mysterious” series. I’m pretty sure this is one of those titles that has a built-in audience, since the trailer’s all in Japanese voiceover, and the eShop page doesn’t even have any screenshots of the game. This sounds like one of those games where if you know what it is, you know you what you’re getting into. If not, well, there’s always YouTube.
There’s only room for one “originally released on mobile by Fishbits port to the Switch” game today on the eShop, and that’s Warp Shift. You have to make it to the end of levels not just by manipulating your character, but through manipulating the layout of the mazes themselves. This is another mobile title that should hopefully see a fresh new audience on a more traditional console.
Robert Cook’s 1991 action-puzzler gets a modern revival with a look that combines retro appeal with more modern visuals. Also, the eShop page is totally unreadable due to the font and color choice. I’m glad that creators can revive titles that perhaps could use a fresh audience, especially with the change in tastes since 1991, and with console gamers having a wider palate than they were once perceived to have. But seriously, buy this one from Nintendo’s site, not from the on-device eShop lest you permanently sear your retinas.
Scribblenauts Showdown ($ 19.99 from $ 39.99 until April 1st)
Huh, this new Scribblenauts game went on sale really soon, isn’t it? The game avoids the traditional Scribblenauts structure to focus on a multiplayer party game experience centered around the series’ word-based mechanics. If this intrigued you, perhaps now’s a good time to check it out at this deep discount!
Sumo Digital updated one of the first Switch titles, Snake Pass with a new Arcade mode, adding a new speedrun element to the existing levels. And it’s half-off! But more importantly to some folks: the game includes a new icon that’s not just a giant snake face any more.
Ssso! Recap! New mode, 50% off for the next 2 weeks, Xbox One X Enhacements, performance improvements. Oh and did we mention – A NEW ICON 🤤🤤🤤
I’m not sure I see the appeal of horror titles on a system that costs $ 300 to replace if you get bad luck if you drop it in terror, unless you’re only playing horror games in TV mode. You do you, SwitchArcade readers. And hey, if you like sci-fi horror as opposed to Outlast‘s more contemporary theme, maybe check this one out while it’s under ten bucks. It also launched just last month, and this kind of half-off discount already seems a little worrying. Same with Scribblenauts Showdown, which launched three weeks ago. Not really a healthy sign, is it?
The setup of being dropped into a surprisingly-dangerous test chamber facility with only a special gun to help you sure seems familiar! Here, you use the eponymous color-shooting gun to shoot red, blue, and yellow through different test chambers, mixing colors and trying to survive the deadly traps that are set. The game has a demo if you want to check this out while you wait for Valve or some publisher to release Portal on the Switch!
Keep an eye out every weekday for more SwitchArcade Roundups! We want to hear your feedback on Nintendo Switch coverage on TouchArcade. Comment below or tweet us with your thoughts!
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I have to admit I have a new addiction. Well, not an addiction so much as a way to while away my time during on-demand NBC television show commercials you can’t fast forward through even though Comcast owns NBC. The game is called Word Flow (free with in-app purchases).
When I got the eval code, I was pretty sure it was going to be one of two types of games I get asked to review. A non-engaging derivative, or a super deep labyrinth that I don’t have time to master. I was wrong. Word Flow is kind of a Goldie Locks game, in that its just right for the way I pass the time.
Basic game play is pretty simple. Make some words out of tiles and win. Bigger words, tiles with crowns, and words that incorporate blaster tiles (tiles that take out entire rows or columns of letters) earn more points. Theh bigger the words and the fewer the moves the better.
The game offers a simple linear path of levels; just follow the path. As you move up the levels, the game, of course, gets harder. Well, the goals get harder and the obstacles more challenging. You still have to spell words, but some of the letters must be released from harrowing circumstances before they can be employed. Letters arrive trapped in ice so you have to spell words using adjacent letters to break them free. Once liberated, those letters can be used to free letters near them. Ducks also end up in the puzzles. Their emancipation comes from scrolling them down rows by solving for words below them. So far I’ve broken a lot of ice cubes to unleash their letters and freed a number of rubber duckies. Each level starts with a set number of plays, when they run out, you can either buy more turns or start over.
If you go back to play a level, you are greeted with new letters; so game play isn’t the same, even if the general obstacles to overcome remain. Restart a level too often and you have to buy additional keys to unlock it (I think the game would be better if it allowed for play without keys on previously solved levels). Some of the levels can be a little daunting to figure out, so you might need a restart or two. Puzzles within puzzles.
Yes, I have trophies for things like unique word choice (not just spelling out the same short words over and over.) And from the looks of the trophy list, I have plenty of work ahead of me on the couch, in an airplane seat, or on a conference call where the team forgets I dialed in.
The one thing I would love to see is a legend that describes the various tools in the bag. The game does run through orientation levels, but if you don’t use the tools, you tend to forget what they are for.
The tools also fail you. I recently used the word speller tool, the one that punches out a good word on your behalf (you get a few at the start, and then have to buy more of any tool once you spend your initial allocation), and it spelled out a great word;, but it broke my ability to break ice cubes, so I had to start over. Good word, bad strategy.
Grandleaf has so far released a few updates, so they seem to be squashing bugs and improving game play incrementally. I hope they keep at development with the same vigor they hope game players burn through virtual gold coins.
Final Verdict
Word Flow is a new game that I’m having fun with, and you should too. Like most iOS games, it’s free; but also like most games, it offers various add-ons, such as the elimination of ads, a beginner pack that loads you up on gold and goodies, and more. If you like solitary word play, it may be a good game to help you fill up your time on your iPhone doing something other than filling up your time on your iPhone.
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A total of three new Huawei phones were unearthed by the Chinese TENAA. All of them look to have 18:9 screens and metal backs with dual cameras. The first two are the FLA-AL00 and FLA-TL10, which could turn out to be the Nova 3 and Nova 3 Plus, successors to the Nova 2 and Nova 2 Plus. Both have a dual camera on the back as well as a dual camera on the front. At first glance there doesn’t seem to be a visual difference between the two models, although logic points to different screen sizes, at least. Next up is the serial number LDN-TL00, which could prove to be either a…
Google Classroom first showed up on the Play Store in 2015, as an organization tool for teachers and students. The YouTube for Android TV app is a bit older, as it first showed up in 2014, just one day after the Nexus Player went on sale. Now both apps have passed 10 million installs on the Play Store.
YouTube for Android TV’s Play Store listing
Google Classroom’s Play Store listing
Classroom currently has a 4.2-star average rating on Google Play, but YouTube for Android TV has a much lower average rating of 2.3 stars.
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Despite Spike Lee going over to Netflix to reimagine his classic film She's Gotta Have It as a series, the cinema auteur has deep ties with Amazon. He created its first original film, the musical Chi-Raq, and has another project debuting on the strea…
CMgames@GDC (@CM_Games) 
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Weeks ago, Sling TV added NBA League Pass as a $ 30 monthly additional package subscribers can purchase to follow out-of-market games. But if they only care about one team, the over-the-top provider has them covered now, too. Today, users can add on t…
A day after Sling TV revealed that it counts 2.2 million subscribers, the over-the-top internet service announced that it's added new add-on options to watch NBA games. Users can access NBA League Pass today to watch out-of-market games, and in the c…
Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow couldn't just toss away his New South Wales transit pass even after he found out that it got deactivated while he was on a trip to the US. See, Meow-Meow (yes, that is his legal name) cut the chip out of the travel car…
It's almost time to head to Hope County, Montana. In addition to Far Cry 5's American vibes, there will be more to explore if you pony up for the game's season pass. The trio of adventures will have you battling the undead in "Dead Living Zombies," t…