Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for June 6th, 2022. In today’s article, we’ve got a few reviews for you to read through. We’ve got a pair of titles from QUByte in the form of Underland: The Climb and Jim Power: The Lost Dimension Collection, plus a quirky shooter from Ratalaika named Remote Life. After that, we look at the new games that dropped on the eShop over the course of the weekend, then head on over to the ever-present lists of new and outgoing sales. Let’s get moving!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Underland: The Climb ($3.99)
Like the first game, Underland: The Climb presents you with thirty stages of physics puzzles to solve with the items and machinery you have at hand. Your goal on each stage is to reach the elevator that will bring you up to the next level. You can take control of devices like doors, trucks, platforms, and so on. You can also use tools like a pickaxe to do various actions like digging. There are often multiple ways to get the job done, and I’d imagine that no two players will find exactly the same solution for some of the more open puzzles.
I found the puzzle designs a little more interesting this time around, and the game communicated its intentions a lot better. The game still has a somewhat cumbersome interface and despite having a rather modest number of stages it recycles ideas a little more often than I would optimally like. Underland: The Climb isn’t a must-have by any means, but I think people who like poking at puzzles will be reasonably satisfied with what they get for their pocket change.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Remote Life ($18.99)
Remote Life is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up, which is about as conventional a genre as you can find. But Remote Life is rather unconventional as such things go, and whether or not you like the game is going to depend on how open you are to that. You control the direction of your fire with the second stick. You can shoot down the bullets that enemies fire at you. There is no score, which I imagine will be a big blow for many fans of the genre. The environments themselves are more of a hazard than of the enemies, and most of the challenge in the game comes from navigating their many hazardous passages. You can unlock some extra ships, and there are many extra weapons you’ll find scattered about that you can make use of until they run out of ammo.
While the port is decent enough, I have to give a little warning to handheld players. The text is positively tiny and very hard to read on a small screen, and some of the details can also be difficult to make out. That is fatal in this game, because it’s already pretty hard to see which bits of the background can or can’t kill you. This game can be rather difficult in that regard, as the smallest graze of the many solid bits of each stage will cost you a life and your ship’s hit box is really chunky.
Remote Life is a odd shooter, and I imagine its quirks are going to push away as many players as they attract. A high level of difficulty is par for the course with this genre, but the deaths in this game are sometimes really cheap because it’s so hard to see what can kill you. The lack of a scoring system also deeply hurts the replay value of Remote Life, and given that you can find an absolute king’s riches of endlessly replayable shoot-em-ups on the Switch at or around a similar price, that’s a big strike against it. A looker to be sure, and it evokes those R-Type vibes quite nicely, but it’s hard to recommend Remote Life with much vigor.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
QUByte Classics – Jim Power: The Lost Dimension Collection By Piko ($9.99)
This is certainly the most unusual QUByte Classics set yet. Thus far the classic status of the games included in this series is somewhat questionable, and Jim Power won’t be breaking that streak. But it carries it forward in more than one way. Jim Power: The Lost Dimension is a deeply troubled game in its original form, but both of the versions in this set are actually recent releases, strictly speaking. The Super NES original that came out back in the day isn’t in this collection, but the Genesis version that was shelved in a near-finished state and put out a year or two ago by Piko is. The other game here is the newly-made NES version of the game built from the ground up by Piko.
The good news is that both of these versions are better than the Super NES game. The Genesis version is slightly more lenient than its 16-bit cousin, and given that excessive difficulty is one of the biggest issues with Jim Power, that’s a good thing. It’s still an absolute pain in the butt, but you might see your way through the first stage. The top-down stages from the Super NES game have been switched out for some side-scrolling escape sequences on your jetpack. It’s miserably cheap game in almost every respect, but there’s something about its cruel nature that has me coming back now and then. Would that save states worked a little quicker in QUByte’s wrapper.
Over to that new NES interpretation. It’s somewhat impressive in some regards, with smooth animation on Jim’s relatively large sprite. The challenge is is a bit more manageable here but still rather high. It really is a completely different game, though. The level layouts are different, the enemy and boss patterns are new, and the music… well, that’s about the same, albeit through the NES’s sound chip. A great game? No, but it’s not bad. Worth a go. Use those save states.
A curious package of “new" versions of an old game, QUByte Classics – Jim Power: The Lost Dimension Collection may be of interest to those who like to venture off the well-traveled road of vintage games. It presents an alternate history of sorts, and while the games themselves are heavily flawed I can’t say there isn’t something compelling about them.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
New Releases
Boxerpunk Stories ($9.99)
I’m not sure what to make of this one, but I haven’t been very fond of the publisher’s other stuff on Switch so far. I would think it would be a beat-em-up, but all of the screenshots just show the guy by himself in front of very similar backdrops. The description makes references to quests, NPCs to talk to, hints, and so on. The video on the eShop just has the guy walking around various dark places, with some Japanese signs placed around in such a way that it seems like the designers don’t understand the language at all. I don’t know. Absolutely nothing I see here makes me want to drop a tenner to find out for sure. If nothing else I suppose this shows the importance of a good eShop description.
Secrets of Magic 3: Happy Halloween ($9.99)
Did you play either of the previous Secrets of Magic games? This is basically the same thing, but with a Halloween theme. I believe that is literally as out-of-season as it could be, but that’s fine. I appreciate a slice of anarchy now and then, after all. If nothing else, it’s a bunch of new levels to play. Like the other games, there are some decorations you can buy with the gold you collect by playing. Play it for free on your mobile device if you want to give it a try first.
Car Racing Trials ($12.99)
Yes, it’s another one of those driving games from BoomHits, this one with a racing focus. There are ten cars, fifty missions to complete, and a variety of tracks to race on. Largely forgettable stuff, likely to be deeply discounted soon, but there will be four or five more of these by the time that happens.
Casino Golf ($9.99)
Part Casino. Part Golf. All game. Basically this is a side-on view golf game with one twist: you can place a bet on your ability to make good shots. Build up your multiplier by making multiple holes and rack up a high score. Single-player only. That’s pretty much it.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
A bunch of Ratalaika games have some new low prices to offer, and I’ll recommend Gynoug and Gleylancer in particular for fans of classic shooters. Well, have a gander. In the outbox, some Capcom titles are wrapping up their latest sales. Grab some Ace Attorney and Devil May Cry games while the getting is good. Check both lists as always!
Select New Games on Sale
City Driving Simulator ($5.59 from $13.99 until 6/10)
Car Driving School Simulator ($6.39 from $15.99 until 6/10)
The Prince of Landis ($3.99 from $7.99 until 6/13)
Takorita Meets Fries ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Don’t Touch This Button! ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Reminiscence in the Night ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Dojoran ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Love Choice ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Virtuous Western ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Orbibot ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Bouncy Bullets 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
One-Eyed Lee & the Dinner Party ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Kinduo ($2.99 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Mages and Treasures ($2.99 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Kansei: The Second Turn HD ($4.79 from $7.99 until 6/13)
Dungeons of Dreadrock ($4.00 from $10.00 until 6/13)
Blackberry Honey ($9.09 from $12.99 until 6/13)
The Song Out of Space ($3.49 from $4.99 until 6/13)
A Year of Springs ($2.99 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Super Onion Boy 2 ($2.99 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Forgotten Hill Delusion ($2.99 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Gardener’s Path ($2.99 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Quest for Infamy ($6.99 from $9.99 until 6/13)
Moto Roader MC ($4.89 from $6.99 until 6/13)
Shinrai Broken Beyond Despair ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/13)
6Souls ($4.79 from $7.99 until 6/13)
Night Lights ($2.99 from $4.99 until 6/13)
Gynoug ($4.89 from $6.99 until 6/13)
Gleylancer ($4.89 from $6.99 until 6/13)
Klang 2 ($10.49 from $14.99 until 6/13)
Don’t Be Afraid ($5.49 from $9.99 until 6/13)
Wingspan ($11.79 from $19.99 until 6/17)
SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off ($3.99 from $14.99 until 6/20)
Shmup Collection ($4.49 from $14.99 until 6/20)
Armed 7 DX ($2.09 from $6.99 until 6/20)
Wolflame ($2.09 from $6.99 until 6/20)
Satazius NEXT ($2.09 from $6.99 until 6/20)
Gigantic Army ($2.69 from $8.99 until 6/20)
Finding Teddy 2: DE ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/20)
Guns of Mercy RE ($2.69 from $8.99 until 6/20)
One Gun Guy ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/21)
Golf Club Wasteland ($2.99 from $9.99 until 6/22)
What Lies in the Multiverse ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/22)
The Hong Kong Massacre ($3.99 from $19.99 until 6/22)
Aspire: Ina’s Tale ($5.19 from $12.99 until 6/22)
Beautiful Desolation ($2.99 from $19.99 until 6/22)
Badland: GotY Edition ($2.03 from $5.99 until 6/22)
TEN ($3.99 from $4.99 until 6/24)
Emergency Driver Simulator ($5.59 from $13.99 until 6/24)
Monster Truck XT Airport Derby ($5.59 from $13.99 until 6/24)
Monster Truck Arena ($5.59 from $13.99 until 6/24)
Secrets of Magic 3: Happy Halloween ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/25)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 7th
Ace Attorney Turnabout Collection ($39.59 from $59.99 until 6/7)
Aery Early Birds Bundle ($17.49 from $24.99 until 6/7)
Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot ($22.49 from $29.99 until 6/7)
Asterix & Obelix Slap Them All! ($22.49 from $29.99 until 6/7)
Asterix & Obelix XXL 3 ($5.99 from $29.99 until 6/7)
Asterix & Obelix XXL Romastered ($11.99 from $29.99 until 6/7)
Beyond a Steel Sky ($29.99 from $39.99 until 6/7)
Bridge Strike ($1.99 from $6.99 until 6/7)
Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Death Park 2 ($4.89 from $6.99 until 6/7)
Devil May Cry ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Devil May Cry 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Devil May Cry 3 SE ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Far: Changing Tides ($15.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Flashback ($3.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Garfield Kart Furious Racing ($5.99 from $29.99 until 6/7)
Gear.Club Unlimited ($2.98 from $14.90 until 6/7)
Gear.Club Unlimited 2 ($5.99 from $39.99 until 6/7)
Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection ($19.79 from $29.99 until 6/7)
Gibbous A Cthulhu Adventure ($4.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Infliction: Extended Cut ($5.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Johnny Turbo’s Arcade, Assorted ($1.99 from $7.99 until 6/7)
Johnny Turbo’s Heavy Burger ($2.49 from $9.99 until 6/7)
Jurassic World Evolution CE ($20.99 from $59.99 until 6/7)
Kung Fu Kickball ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Little Bug ($1.99 from $12.99 until 6/7)
Marsupilami: Hoobadventure ($20.99 from $29.99 until 6/7)
Nirvana Pilot Yume ($1.99 from $4.99 until 6/7)
Okami HD ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Onimusha Warlords ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Phoenix Wright AA Trilogy ($14.99 from $29.99 until 6/7)
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 CE ($10.49 from $29.99 until 6/7)
Shinsekai Into the Depths ($14.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Siegecraft ($5.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Skulls of the Shogun BAF Edition ($4.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Speedway Racing ($2.49 from $9.99 until 6/7)
Struggling ($5.24 from $14.99 until 6/7)
Super Mombo Quest ($7.95 from $15.90 until 6/7)
Super Street: Racer ($9.99 from $39.99 until 6/7)
Syberia ($2.98 from $14.90 until 6/7)
Syberia 3 ($4.99 from $49.99 until 6/7)
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles ($24.79 from $39.99 until 6/7)
The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf ($29.99 from $39.99 until 6/7)
Weaving Tides ($14.99 from $24.99 until 6/7)
YesterMorrow ($5.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more reviews and sales, plus any unexpected new releases and news that roll in. I’m pretty tired today, but I think I’ll find some time to play some Assassin’s Creed III Remastered. It’s my first time really getting into a game of this series, and I’m having a surprisingly good time. Yes, I know, mail those impressions to ten years ago. I hope you all have a great Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
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