‘Freedom Planet 2’, ‘The Gap’, ‘Doll Explorer’, Plus Today’s Other Releases And Sales

Republished By Plato

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Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for April 4th, 2024. It’s Thursday, and that means we have a big bag of new releases to check out. Some downright decent titles in the mix today, such as Freedom Planet 2, The Gap, Sushi Soul Universe, and more. After we go through all of the new games, we take a look at the lists of new sales and expiring discounts for the day. You know, the usual thing. Well, that’s enough of a preamble. Let’s get to it!

New Releases

Freedom Planet 2 ($24.99)

Freedom Planet was a very cool Sonic-inspired platformer, perhaps one of the best such affairs outside of the official games featuring the World’s Most Famous Hedgehog. At the time, it couldn’t break fully free from its origins as a Sonic fan game. Freedom Planet 2 is more confidently its own thing, and I think it will please both fans of the first game and anyone that likes a good action-platformer. We’ll have a review of this early next week, so do look forward to that.

Tengoku Struggle -Strayside- ($49.99)

Here’s the latest visual novel from Idea Factory and Aksys. It follows the story of Rin Enma, the adopted daughter of the ruler of the underworld. She’s off on a mission to recover some escaped sinners, and she’s bringing a team of four sinners hand-picked by her father to support her. Will there be smooching? Yes. That much seems certain. But who will smooch? When will they smooch? How will they smooch? These are the burning questions! Questions I may or may not answer in my review of this game when I finish it up. Stay tuned.

The Gap ($19.99)

Another one of those adventure games that aims to deliver a psychological thriller-style experience. You’re a scientist trying to cure a family disease that causes memory loss and other issues, and you’ll do that by diving into your own psyche and trying to sort through your consciousness. But wait, what if… what if everything is not as it seems? That would be something, wouldn’t it? But surely the developers wouldn’t play such a trick. Our pal Mikhail will be reviewing this game for us. Perhaps he will shed some light on the situation.

Korean Rail Driving Tour – LRT Uijeongbu ($29.99)

You’ve probably seen at least a few train sims based on Japanese railway lines. Well, here’s one based on the Uijeongbu Light Rail line in Seoul, South Korea. This is one of the ones that uses real footage to display what you see as you drive, and if you somehow happen to have the special MasCon controller Zuiki made for the Switch release of Densha de Go, you can use it here too. A very niche game, but those who love this sort of thing will surely be happy to see it.

Arcade Archives Exvania ($7.99)

Okay, we’re trying to be nice to one of Japan’s first and biggest game publishers here, so no one mention how this 1992 release is basically just a variant on Bomberman. No one! Exvania is totally its own thing. Up to four players move around on a single screen with various objects blocking pathways, and can put down explosive orbs to clear those objects and destroy the other players or monsters. But be careful where you put your explosive orb, as if you trap yourself you can get done in by your own bo… explosive orb! How fun, and also very fresh!

Retro Mystery Club Vol.2: The Beppu Case ($9.90)

In hindsight, the “Vol.1” in the title of the first game was a clear sign a sequel was on the way. Anyway, this is another Japanese-style murder mystery adventure, this time set in the city of Beppu in Oita Prefecture. An event for bamboo craftspeople ends in tragedy, and it’s up to you to sort things out and find the truth. It probably goes without saying, but if you had a good time with the first one then you’ll likely want to check this one out, too.

Sushi Soul Universe ($9.99)

Sushi is very serious business at the best of times, but in this game it is a matter of life and death. The very existence of sushi is being threatened across the multiverse, and you have to eat it all for great justice. You run around in 3D spaces trying to collect all the sushi pieces, all while a relentless stream of absurd jokes plays out around you. It’s a bizarre game to be sure, but one with a great deal of charm. Bakage extraordinaire.

Savage Age ($14.99)

A stage-based action-adventure game about a warrior trying to recover a magical artifact. The game features a variety of elements, including a crafting system, tower defense, base building, and direct combat across more than twenty story stages. There are a couple of extra modes to extend the game, too. Something about this game is putting me off of it, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Well, it doesn’t really matter in the end. If it looks cool to you, by all means investigate further.

Doll Explorer ($10.99)

It’s another deckbuilding turn-based strategy game. Are there roguelite elements in here too? Let me check. Hm, a few. The broad strokes of the gameplay mechanics here are going to be very familiar to many players out there. A witch, a doll, and a demon queen head into dungeons in search of treasure. You’ll have to guide them through their explorations and battles, putting together combos and making the most of your limited resources. It’s a relatively simple affair, and the difficulty level isn’t all that high, but there’s a certain charm to it.

Storyblocks: The King ($4.99)

A short and simple narrative-focused puzzle game. You get a piece of the story, then have to lay down blocks to create a route to the next piece. The story will change based on the specific way you go about this, promoting replay value. It certainly sounds like a neat idea, but I haven’t had the chance to play it yet so I don’t know if it delivers on that promise.

The Brazil ($3.99)

A game about digging from Japan to Brazil. Or to a lot of other countries, too. There are a few other secrets buried here for the adventurous and sharp-eyed player. This developer has made some off-beat but entertaining games before, and I’d imagine this will fall in a similar bucket.

Make It! Ikayaki ($3.00)

Following almost exactly in the footsteps of SAT-BOX’s other little cooking games, this one sees you trying to fry up the perfect ikayaki. That’s fried squid. Not something I care for, but many people love it. Anyway, if you’re salty over losing too much in Splatoon, this might give you some relief.

Nudel Tag ($6.49)

A party game for up to four players locally where you play as waiters and compete to see who can serve the most customers. Apparently anything goes, so beware of other players messing with you. Alternatively, you can be a little stinker and mess with other players. Rascally! This doesn’t look super fancy, but who knows? It’s at least fairly affordable.

Empires Shall Fall ($12.99)

This is a pretty naked clone of Advance Wars, but we see those so infrequently these days that I’d imagine it will still be of interest to some anyway. It’s relatively well-made, and I think if you have some affection for Advance Wars and don’t mind that this game isn’t really bringing much of its own to the table, it’s worth the asking price.

The Bin Bunch

Hentai Girls: Sakura Romance ($5.99)

Deadland Chronicles ($7.99)

Cats Organized Neatly ($2.99)

WWII Airplane Fight – Battle War Squad ($12.99)

Sugar Tanks 2 ($9.99)

CrashOut Xtreme ($9.99)

Erogods: Mirage ($7.30)

Colony Defense – The Ultimate Minimalist Tower Base Defense Game ($9.98)

Sales

(North American eShop, US Prices)

As always, I will recommend titles like Donut Dodo, Galacticon, and Murtop. I’ll also gesture wildly at Spirittea, Blue Fire, and Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion as they hit new low prices. Not too much in the outbox, but you might want to think about Shotgun King. It doesn’t seem to be on sale all that often. Well, I’ll leave those lists to you.

Select New Sales

Treachery in Beatdown City ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/10)
Treachery in Beatdown City UR ($6.49 from $9.99 until 4/10)
Chronicles of 2 Heroes ($5.99 from $19.99 until 4/15)
Giant Wishes ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/19)
Dreamcutter ($10.79 from $14.99 until 4/19)
Synthetic Lover ($14.99 from $24.99 until 4/19)
Cake Invaders ($1.99 from $5.99 until 4/19)
RedRaptor ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/19)
Restless Soul ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/24)
Lila’s Sky Ark ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/24)
Ugly ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/24)
Spirittea ($15.99 from $19.99 until 4/24)
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion ($3.74 from $14.99 until 4/24)
Blue Fire ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/24)
Adventures of Chris ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/24)

Bite the Bullet ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/24)
Nira ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/24)
Cyber Hook ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/24)
Alchemist Adventure ($2.99 from $19.99 until 4/24)
Retro Machina ($2.99 from $19.99 until 4/24)
The King’s Bird ($3.99 from $19.99 until 4/24)
Double Cross ($3.99 from $19.99 until 4/24)
Mable & The Wood ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/24)
Broken Lines ($3.74 from $24.99 until 4/24)
REZ PLZ ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/24)
Donut Dodo ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/25)
Murtop ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/25)
8-Colors Star Guardians + ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/25)
Jinshin ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/25)
Looking Up I See Only A Ceiling ($1.99 from $2.99 until 4/25)
Sentry City ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/25)
Isekai Rondo ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/25)
Lambs on the Road ($1.99 from $2.99 until 4/25)
Infinite Links ($9.74 from $14.99 until 4/25)
Galacticon ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/25)
Favela Zombie Shooter ($2.99 from $7.99 until 4/25)

Sales Ending Tomorrow, April 5th

Enter Digiton: Heart of Corruption ($2.79 from $7.99 until 4/5)
Fur Squadron ($3.49 from $6.99 until 4/5)
Lily in Puzzle World ($3.24 from $4.99 until 4/5)
Mugen Souls ($26.79 from $39.99 until 4/5)
Orion Haste ($4.79 from $5.99 until 4/5)
Power of Ten ($9.59 from $11.99 until 4/5)
Pretty Girls Panic ($2.39 from $5.99 until 4/5)
Saga of the Moon Priestess ($4.49 from $5.99 until 4/5)
Shivering Stone ($3.49 from $4.99 until 4/5)
Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate ($8.74 from $12.49 until 4/5)
The Traveler’s Path ($3.24 from $4.99 until 4/5)
Under the Warehouse ($2.99 from $5.99 until 4/5)
Wall World ($6.99 from $).99 until 4/5)

That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with the remaining releases of the week, plus whatever sales and big news items roll in during the course of the day. I’m super sleepy today and am basically running on caffeine at this point. Where’s Mikhail’s coffee when you need it? I hope you all have a great Thursday, and as always, thanks for reading!