Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for December 22nd, 2023. It’s the final edition before Christmas, and I’ll likely be running a special of some kind on Monday so I can spend the day with my family. As you might expect given the calendar date, today’s new releases aren’t particularly fancy. But they are here, and we have summarized them as we do. There’s also a massive holiday special going on. As usual, I’m doing a separate feature with the best of the best, but I’ll also be listing some here in case you’re looking for a few deeper cuts. Let’s get to it!
New Releases
Moorhuhn Invasion – Crazy Chicken Invasion ($6.99)
There are lots of different kinds of Moorhuhn games, but it all started with a chicken shooting gallery game. This is another one of those, I suppose with a UFO/invader theme. Shoot as many chickens as you can in a minute and a half, try to uncover secrets, get the highest score possible, and then do it all again. Reasonably priced for your chicken blasting needs.
Synthetic Lover ($24.99)
A visual novel where the protagonist is a synthetic humanoid designed for the specific task of working in an adult entertainment center called Dollhouse. It’s set in the year 2066, which I guess shows where the yardstick is now for “far enough in the future for things to be pretty different, but not so far that it’s unrecognizable”. Anyway, make your choices and arrive at multiple endings with two possible love interests. The usual business, really.
ONE. ($69.99)
Before the legendary visual novel team Key was founded, many of its important staff members worked at a company called Tactics. It mostly made adult visual novel games, and its most famous was the 1998 release One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e. It tells the tale of a young man who is slowly disappearing into another world and can only anchor himself in reality by forming a solid connection with others. In this case, the others are cute young ladies. That’s how it goes, I guess. This is an enhanced remake of that game, naturally with the saucy scenes removed, and I believe it represents the first official English release of One. Gosh, that pricing though. Over on Steam it is releasing today at $19.99. Well, unless you are here in Japan, where it is releasing on Steam at the approximate equivalent of $69.99. Which I suppose explains this Switch price. I think it’s a hard sell at this price. A very hard sell. It’s not even that long of a game, clocking in at under ten hours. Do what you will.
Dungeons & Doomknights ($19.99)
This is an emulated version of a somewhat recent release for the NES. It’s an action-adventure game with top-down and side-scrolling bits, and it seems to have been rather well-received when it came out in actual cartridge form a few years back. It’s always nice to see these games make their way to modern platforms for those who aren’t into keeping their old consoles around and maintained.
B.O.O.L: Master Labyrinth Puzzles ($19.99)
Pretty much a selection of sliding block puzzles. You know, like the ice puzzles in the Zelda games. Try to get the box to the exit in more than one hundred and twenty stages. You have a limited number of moves, and there are a fair number of gimmicks and obstacles that should keep things spicy. The price feels a bit high for what you get here, but if you love this type of puzzle and don’t need fancy production values, you might enjoy it.
Jinshin ($14.99)
Got time for one more KEMCO/EXE-CREATE joint before the end of the year? The theme of this one is ancient Japan with a fantasy twist, but otherwise it’s incredibly familiar if you’ve played any of this developer’s RPGs before. Maybe the somewhat uncommon theme is enough to sway you.
The Bin Bunch
Christmas Bubble Puzzle ($9.99)
Roman Empire Simulator ($14.99)
Military Combat Shooter Desert War ($6.99)
Dungeon Defence Simulator 2024 ($14.99)
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
The Holiday Hits sale is on from today, and that means there are thousands of new sales to look at. I’ve made up a separate article with our favorite picks, but I’ll throw in a few more here to get you started. This list is nowhere near comprehensive. Check the eShop and your wishlist to see if the games you’re looking for are discounted, because they very well may be.
Select New Sales
Rakuen: Deluxe Edition ($19.99 from $24.99 until 1/4)
MythForce ($14.99 from $29.99 until 1/4)
Cult of the Lamb: Cultist Edition ($17.99 from $29.99 until 1/4)
Sonic Superstars ($41.99 from $59.99 until 1/4)
DUSK ($11.99 from $19.99 until 1/4)
Return to Monkey Island ($14.99 from $24.99 until 1/4)
Unpacking ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/4)
Pizza Possum ($5.59 from $6.99 until 1/4)
It Takes Two ($19.99 from $39.99 until 1/4)
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove ($19.99 from $39.99 until 1/4)
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ($19.99 from $29.99 until 1/4)
Sifu ($19.99 from $39.99 until 1/4)
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line ($29.99 from $49.99 until 1/4)
Diablo III Eternal Collection ($19.79 from $59.99 until 1/4)
Nobody Saves The World ($9.99 from $24.99 until 1/4)
Rogue Legacy 2 ($14.99 from $24.99 until 1/4)
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration ($27.99 from $39.99 until 1/4)
Romancing SaGa 2 ($4.99 from $24.99 until 1/4)
NEO: The World Ends With You ($23.99 from $59.99 until 1/4)
Tactics Ogre: Reborn ($24.99 from $49.99 until 1/4)
NieR: Automata The End of YoRHa ($23.99 from $39.99 until 1/4)
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion ($29.99 from $49.99 until 1/4)
Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection ($47.99 from $79.99 until 1/4)
Kingdom Eighties ($8.99 from $11.99 until 1/4)
Akka Arrh ($11.99 from $19.99 until 1/4)
Doraemon Story of Seasons ($9.99 from $49.99 until 1/4)
Axiom Verge ($4.99 from $19.99 until 1/4)
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk ($31.99 from $39.99 until 1/4)
Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & Secret Hideout ($23.99 from $59.99 until 1/4)
DC’s Justice League Cosmic Chaos ($13.99 from $39.99 until 1/4)
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/4)
Voice of Cards Trilogy ($34.99 from $49.99 until 1/4)
Firewatch ($4.99 from $19.99 until 1/4)
AEW Fight Forever Elite Edition ($63.99 from $79.99 until 1/4)
Jack Jeanne ($39.99 from $49.99 until 1/4)
Gloomhaven: Gold Edition ($39.99 from $49.99 until 1/4)
Klonoa: Phantasy Reverie Series ($9.99 from $39.99 until 1/4)
Samba de Amigo: Party Central ($23.99 from $39.99 until 1/4)
DOOM 2016 ($7.99 from $39.99 until 1/4)
Andro Dunos II ($3.99 from $19.99 until 1/4)
Banner of the Maid ($4.24 from $16.99 until 1/4)
Valkyria Chronicles ($4.99 from $19.99 until 1/4)
Wonder Boy Asha in Monster World ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/4)
Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection ($24.99 from $49.99 until 1/4)
The Rumble Fish 2 ($14.99 from $29.99 until 1/4)
Super Bomberman R 2 ($34.99 from $49.99 until 1/4)
Star Renegades ($6.24 from $24.99 until 1/4)
Among Us ($3.00 from $5.00 until 1/4)
Chained Echoes ($18.74 from $24.99 until 1/5)
CrossCode ($5.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Spelunky ($4.99 from $9.99 until 1/5)
Spelunky 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/5)
Curse Crackers: For Whom the Belle Toils ($9.00 from $15.00 until 1/5)
Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition ($29.99 from $59.99 until 1/6)
Red Dead Redemption ($34.99 from $49.99 until 1/6)
LEGO 2K Drive ($19.79 from $59.99 until 1/6)
Adore ($13.99 from $19.99 until 1/11)
Oceanhorn 2 ($14.99 from $29.99 until 1/11)
Shakedown Hawaii ($3.99 from $19.99 until 1/11)
Sales Ending This Holiday Weekend
Cats and the Other Lives ($16.99 from $19.99 until 12/23)
Elderand ($9.99 from $19.99 until 12/23)
The Unexpected Quest ($2.25 from $15.00 until 12/23)
Titanium Hound ($10.50 from $15.00 until 12/23)
Batora: Lost Haven ($9.99 from $24.99 until 12/24)
Before We Leave ($3.99 from $19.99 until 12/24)
Going Under ($3.99 from $19.99 until 12/24)
Greak: Memories of Azur ($3.99 from $19.99 until 12/24)
Narita Boy ($2.49 from $24.99 until 12/24)
The Escapists: GotY Edition ($4.04 from $26.99 until 12/24)
The Survivalists: Deluxe ($2.69 from $26.99 until 12/24)
Thymesia: Cloud Version ($14.99 from $29.99 until 12/24)
Worms Rumble: Digital Deluxe ($2.19 from $21.99 until 12/24)
Yoku’s Island Express ($3.99 from $19.99 until 12/24)
A Short Tale ($2.99 from $5.99 until 12/25)
Age of Sokoban ($2.09 from $2.99 until 12/25)
Alone Music ($3.49 from $4.99 until 12/25)
Astebros ($9.09 from $12.99 until 12/25)
Ferris Mueller’s Day Off ($2.99 from $5.99 until 12/25)
FX Unit Yuki ($6.29 from $8.99 until 12/25)
Jigsaw Tetra ($3.49 from $4.99 until 12/25)
Minepull ($2.09 from $2.99 until 12/25)
Octopath Traveler II ($41.99 from $59.99 until 12/25)
Retro Space Fighter ($3.49 from $4.99 until 12/25)
Snow Madness ($2.09 from $2.99 until 12/25)
Super Cyborg ($2.09 from $6.99 until 12/25)
The Forgotten Room ($2.99 from $5.99 until 12/25)
Veritas ($5.99 from $11.99 until 12/25)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. We’ll be back next Tuesday to resume the regular articles, and we’ll probably have some kind of Christmas treat for you on Monday. I hope everyone who celebrates it has a Merry Christmas, and to everyone else, enjoy the long weekend! As always, thanks for reading!
