SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Skautfold’,’Pendula Swing’, ‘Rumble Dragon’, Plus Today’s Other New Releases and Sales

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for February 11th, 2022. Today is a holiday in Japan, but I am working anyway because I am addicted to workahol. The list of new releases today is considerably shorter than yesterday, but there are still several games to check out. A couple of them are good. A couple of them are bad. We’ve got summaries of all of them anyway. A big sale started today, and we’ve got a curated list of the best games in the bunch, plus the discounts set to expire over the weekend. Let’s get it rolling!

New Releases Skautfold: Shrouded in Sanity ($9.99)

SwitchArcade Highlight!

A somewhat short but certainly sweet action adventure game with some clear inspiration from the likes of Bloodborne. Explore a mansion and engage in challenging melee-focused battles with all kinds of nasty opponents. The whole thing is done up in pixel art and is played from a beat-em-up style skewed perspective, adding the invaluable third dimension to combat. It has its fair share of rough edges, but Skautfold should appeal greatly to Soulsborne fans on a budget.

Pendula Swing – The Complete Journey ($9.99)

Warning: this game contains a lot of highly-relevant social commentary that may frighten or confuse some. Give it a wide berth if you don’t like that kind of thing. Okay, so this is an adventure game set in a typical fantasy world where you are a dwarven heroine that defeated the evil monster boss. After, you retired to an island for a few centuries to relax. One day someone steals your treasured axe, bringing you back into the world at large. There have been a lot of changes in your absence, and dealing with the new reality is pretty much what this game is about. Most of the gameplay involves talking to the right people and navigating the world. It’s not a subtle game by any means, but its intriguing world design, jazzy soundtrack, and generally good writing make it worth the trip.

Our After-School Playzone ($12.72)

Oh, a weird price. It must be… yes, it is. SAT-BOX, you’ve been very busy lately. Like some of the publisher’s other games, this is an assortment of mini-games featuring little eraser-like characters. Up to four players can join in locally on events such as bug-catching, racing RC cars, catching crayfish, skipping stones, and other such after-school amusements. There are twelve events in all, and I appreciate their creativity and authenticity. Just try to find another game with an event where the goal is to see who can kick their shoe off the farthest, I’ll wait. Actually I can’t wait, I need to move on to the next summary. But good luck anyway!

Pixel Game Maker Series Rumble Dragon ($11.99)

Here’s another title for the fictional Game Buddy console, this time paying homage to… well, you probably don’t me to tell you that this is heavily inspired by Double Dragon. A belt-scrolling beat-em-up with two playable characters and support for local multiplayer. It seems pretty generic as this sort of affair goes, but you might still get some kicks out of it anyway.

Blackberry Honey ($12.99)

This is a yuri-themed visual novel set in Victorian times. The protagonist, Lorina, is a newly-hired maid who quickly finds herself bullied by some of the other staff. She almost immediately gets off on the wrong foot with one of her fellow maids, a mysterious woman named Taohua who seems to have a lot of troubles of her own. Over the course of the story these two gradually grow closer, but the many gaps between them and the rest of society get in the way at almost every step. Will their love blossom? No choices in this one, so you’ll just be reading along with the story.

Pinball Frenzy ($3.99)

Pix Arts picked up this template from the Unity Asset Store for $53.90, where it is known as Pinball Creator. It actually would have allowed him to create his own tables, but he went ahead and rolled with the two included sample tables without making any changes whatsoever. Well, we can’t expect Pix Arts to put in any actual effort. He’ll probably make a profit on this, in spite of the fact that four bucks can buy you one or two far better pinball tables in Pinball FX3 or Zaccaria Pinball.

Word Chef ($5.99)

And here’s another template flip from Pix Arts. We saw this exact same template released under the name Chef Wordardee by Digital Game Group a few weeks ago. It costs $108.90 on the Unity Asset Store, where it goes by the name Word Search Cookies. Pix Arts once again does the bare minimum here, using the template’s 540 prebuilt levels and not bothering to implement button controls, which of course means this a handheld-only game.

Sales

(North American eShop, US Prices)

A very, very big sale started today. Not the biggest sale we’ve seen this year, but a big one. Somewhere near seven hundred games. As usual, I’ve gone through the list with a fine-toothed comb to keep things manageable. Not too fine, mind you: there are still over one hundred discounts for you to check out. The outbox is also somewhat hefty compared to normal. Check through both lists carefully and see what jumps out at you. I’d make some specific recommendations, but the whole list is technically my specific recommendations. Have fun!

Select New Games on Sale

Mon Amour ($7.64 from $8.99 until 2/17)
BLACK BIRD ($13.29 from $18.99 until 2/17)
moon ($17.09 from $18.99 until 2/17)
Dandy Dungeon: Brave Yamada ($13.29 from $18.99 until 2/17)
Critadel ($14.99 from $19.99 until 2/18)
Spectacular Sparky ($9.99 from $14.99 until 2/18)
Graceful Explosion Machine ($6.49 from $12.99 until 2/18)
Blade Strangers ($19.99 from $39.99 until 2/18)
Umihara Kawase Fresh! ($19.99 from $39.99 until 2/18)
Tiny Barbarian DX ($19.99 from $29.99 until 2/18)
Code of Princess EX ($19.99 from $39.99 until 2/18)
The End is Nigh ($9.99 from $14.99 until 2/18)
RemiLore ($19.99 from $39.99 until 2/18)
Dungreed ($9.99 from $14.99 until 2/18)
Crystal Crisis ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/18)
Redout ($19.99 from $39.99 until 2/18)
Cave Story+ ($19.99 from $29.99 until 2/18)
The Forgotten City: Cloud Version ($22.49 from $29.99 until 2/20)
Overwatch: Legendary Edition ($19.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Diablo II Resurrected ($29.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)

Diablo Prime Evil Collection ($38.99 from $59.99 until 2/21)
Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled ($15.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Crash Team Racing NF Nitros Oxide ($23.99 from $59.99 until 2/21)
Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy ($19.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Crash Bandicoot 4 ($29.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Crash Bandicoot Quadrilogy ($41.99 from $69.99 until 2/21)
Crash Bandicoot Crashiversary ($59.99 from $9.99 until 2/21)
Blizzard Arcade Collection ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Blizzard 30-Year Celebration ($14.99 from $29.99 until 2/21)
Spyro Reignited Trilogy ($19.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 ($21.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Deluxe ($29.99 from $49.99 until 2/21)
art of rally ($17.49 from $24.99 until 2/21)
Kitaria Fables ($14.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Drawn to Life: Two Realms ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/21)
SUPERHOT ($14.99 from $24.99 until 2/21)
Everspace: Stellar Edition ($19.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Tales of the Tiny Planet ($5.99 from $14.99 until 2/21)
Horace ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/21)
Songbird Symphony ($5.60 from $16.99 until 2/21)

Nexomon ($7.99 from $9.99 until 2/21)
Nexomon: Extinction ($10.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Indivisible ($7.49 from $29.99 until 2/21)
Cat Quest ($6.49 from $12.99 until 2/21)
Cat Quest II ($5.24 from $14.99 until 2/21)
Bloodstained: RotN ($15.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Dice Legacy ($11.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Aggelos ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/21)
Root Film ($25.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Guns Gore and Cannoli ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/21)
Guns Gore and Cannoli 2 ($6.49 from $12.99 until 2/21)
Alwa’s Awakening ($5.99 from $9.99 until 2/21)
Alwa’s Legacy ($10.79 from $17.99 until 2/21)
Cathedral ($8.99 from $14.99 until 2/21)
Sine Mora EX ($5.99 from $29.99 until 2/21)
Hidden Through Time ($3.99 from $7.99 until 2/21)
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons ($2.99 from $14.99 until 2/21)
Limbo ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/21)
Inside ($1.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Lumines Remastered ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/21)

Tetris Effect: Connected ($26.79 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Reventure ($3.99 from $7.99 until 2/21)
Iron Crypticle ($2.99 from $9.99 until 2/21)
Aqua Kitty UDX ($2.69 from $8.99 until 2/21)
Astro Aqua Kitty ($5.99 from $14.99 until 2/21)
Rock Boshers DX: DC ($2.09 from $6.99 until 2/21)
Godstrike ($10.49 from $14.99 until 2/21)
Furi ($7.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger HD ($14.99 from $29.99 until 2/21)
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2 HD ($19.49 from $29.99 until 2/21)
Axiom Verge ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Axiom Verge 2 ($17.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
What The Golf? ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Among Us ($3.50 from $5.00 until 2/21)
Hob: The Definitive Edition ($3.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Torchlight II ($4.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Torchlight III ($9.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Alien: Isolation ($17.49 from $34.99 until 2/21)
GRID Autosport ($17.49 from $24.99 until 2/21)
Horizon Chase Turbo ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)

Bustafellows ($29.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Pawarumi ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/21)
Life is Strange: True Colors ($44.99 from $59.99 until 2/21)
Finding Teddy 2: DE ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/21)
Terraria ($14.99 from $29.99 until 2/21)
Darkest Dungeon ($9.99 from $24.99 until 2/21)
King’s Bounty II ($41.99 from $59.99 until 2/21)
Guardians of the Galaxy Cloud Vers. ($38.99 from $59.99 until 2/21)
Hot Wheels Unleashed ($32.49 from $49.99 until 2/21)
Foodtruck Arena ($4.79 from $15.99 until 2/21)
Saints Row The Third ($13.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Saints Row IV Re-Elected ($13.99 from $39.99 until 2/21)
Teslagrad ($4.49 from $14.99 until 2/21)
Demon’s Tilt ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/22)
Gekido Kintaro’s Revenge ($2.96 from $9.89 until 2/25)
Vaporum: Lockdown ($10.99 from $21.99 until 2/25)
SturmFront: The Mutant War ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/25)
Crisis Wing ($5.19 from $7.99 until 2/25)
Soul Axiom Rebooted ($9.09 from $12.99 until 2/25)
Typoman ($5.19 from $12.99 until 2/25)

Infectious Madness of Dr Dekker ($6.49 from $12.99 until 2/25)
Mail Mole ($9.99 from $14.99 until 3/3)
Piczle Puzzle & Watch Collection ($3.99 from $7.99 until 3/3)
Overcooked Special Edition ($4.99 from $19.99 until 3/3)
Overcooked! 2 ($6.24 from $24.99 until 3/3)
Moving Out ($6.24 from $24.99 until 3/3)
The Escapists: CE ($2.99 from $14.99 until 3/3)
The Escapists 2 ($4.99 from $19.99 until 3/3)
The Survivalists ($6.24 from $24.99 until 3/3)
Golf With Your Friends ($4.99 from $19.99 until 3/3)
Totally Reliable Delivery Service ($7.49 from $14.99 until 3/3)
Yooka-Laylee ($9.99 from $39.99 until 3/3)
Monster Sanctuary ($6.79 from $19.99 until 3/3)
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl ($24.99 from $49.99 until 3/3)
Nickelodeon Kart Racers ($9.89 from $29.99 until 3/3)
Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2 ($19.99 from $39.99 until 3/3)
Yoku’s Island Express ($4.99 from $19.99 until 3/3)
Worms W.M.D ($5.99 from $29.99 until 3/3)
Worms Rumble ($3.74 from $14.99 until 3/3)
My Time at Portia ($7.49 from $29.99 until 3/3)

Neon Abyss ($9.99 from $19.99 until 3/3)
Streets of Rogue ($9.99 from $19.99 until 3/3)
Party Hard ($7.49 from $14.99 until 3/3)
Party Hard 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 3/3)
Blasphemous ($6.24 from $24.99 until 3/3)
Mr. Shifty ($3.74 from $14.99 until 3/3)
Strikey Sisters ($2.99 from $9.99 until 3/3)

Sales Ending This Weekend

A Normal Lost Phone ($2.39 from $5.99 until 2/12)
Accidental Queens Collection ($5.99 from $14.99 until 2/12)
Air Strike: WW2 Fighters SC ($2.79 from $6.99 until 2/12)
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure ($13.99 from $19.99 until 2/12)
Alt-Frequencies ($3.19 from $7.99 until 2/12)
Anarcute ($4.49 from $14.99 until 2/12)
Another Lost Phone: Laura’s Story ($2.39 from $5.99 until 2/12)
Astria Ascending ($31.99 from $39.99 until 2/12)
Astrologaster ($5.99 from $9.99 until 2/12)
Away: Journey to the Unexpected ($3.39 from $16.99 until 2/12)
Before I Forget ($5.99 from $7.99 until 2/12)
Best Sniper Legacy: Dino Hunt ($2.79 from $6.99 until 2/12)
BlackJack Math ($1.99 from $3.99 until 2/12)
Bombslinger ($2.99 from $11.99 until 2/12)
Brakes Are For Losers ($2.00 from $4.99 until 2/12)
Burly Men At Sea ($3.99 from $9.99 until 2/12)
Bury me, my Love ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/12)
Children of Zodiarcs ($7.19 from $17.99 until 2/12)
Chroma Squad ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/12)
Dead in Vinland True Viking ($11.19 from $27.99 until 2/12)

Detective Di: Silk Rose Murders ($3.99 from $12.99 until 2/12)
Double Kick Heroes ($13.19 from $21.99 until 2/12)
DragoDino ($2.99 from $9.99 until 2/12)
Dungeon Rushers ($2.99 from $14.99 until 2/12)
Dyna..