Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for April 10th, 2024. It’s that slow day of the week where not much is going on, and we’re not bucking the trend this time. I’ve got a Mini-View for you of a little puzzler called StoryBlocks: The King, summaries of a few new releases, and the usual lists of new and expiring sales. Don’t worry, tomorrow will more than make up for this quiet day of releases. I’m already dreading it. Let’s enjoy today!
Reviews & Mini-Views
StoryBlocks: The King ($4.99)
You know, I’m never particularly bothered when poorly thought-out controls drag down a Switch port of a middling game. No, it’s when they wreak havoc on a game that I would otherwise probably enjoy a fair bit that I get peeved. That is unfortunately what has happened with StoryBlocks: The King. This should be a relaxed game of placing pieces and enjoy the branching story, even if it’s not the greatest of tales. But trying to position the pieces and get them to attach is incredibly frustrating due to the skittish stick controls and required precision. It’s unpleasant to play.
StoryBlocks: The King would probably be a decent time on a platform where you can use the mouse controls it was clearly designed for. Over here on Switch, more care needed to be taken to make the game comfortable to play on a controller. Nothing the game does is especially worth the agitation of merely trying to perform the basic functions of the gameplay. Shame, as it seems like it would otherwise be an enjoyable, chill puzzler.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
New Releases
SokoFrog ($4.99)
Well, that’s the kind of day Wednesdays are. It’s a Sokoban-style crate-pusher with a little frog doing the work. You get a respectable 150 stages to play, and for what it’s worth it does throw in some gimmicks every once in a while to try to keep you on your toes. I think if you like Sokoban games, you’ll enjoy this. And if you don’t, this isn’t going to change your mind.
Bakery Simulator ($16.99)
This one comes from the same publisher as Electrician Simulator, and you can more or less expect that same attention to detail here. You know, except applied to baked goods. You should also expect similar issues with the port, like an awkward interface and some hard-to-read text. This doesn’t seem to have gone over particularly well on any other platform, and it’s certainly not shining its brightest here.
The Bin Bunch
Leafy Trails Collection ($9.99)
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Hmm. Seven bucks for Chasm: The Rift is starting to feel like a good jump-in price for those who like boomer shooters and can forgive or even love a bit of jank. That’s my main recommendation for today from the inbox, but there’s plenty to enjoy in the outbox as well, including the recently updated Double Dragon Gaiden. Have a look through and see if there’s anything you want to pick up, especially from the ININ sale.
Select New Sales
Bang-On Balls: Chronicles ($9.99 from $24.99 until 4/30)
Everdream Valley ($12.49 from $24.99 until 4/30)
Chasm: The Rift ($6.99 from $19.99 until 4/30)
ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree ($1.99 from $14.99 until 4/30)
Flame Keeper ($4.99 from $11.99 until 4/30)
Gamedec: Definitive Edition ($2.99 from $29.99 until 4/30)
Arise: A Simple Story DE ($2.99 from $19.99 until 4/30)
What Lies in the Multiverse ($1.99 from $14.99 until 4/30)
Aspire: Ina’s Tale ($1.99 from $12.99 until 4/30)
Badland: GotY Edition ($1.99 from $5.99 until 4/30)
Metamorphosis ($1.99 from $24.99 until 4/30)
Beautiful Desolation ($1.99 from $19.99 until 4/30)
Tools Up! ($1.99 from $19.99 until 4/30)
Blazing Beaks ($1.99 from $14.99 until 4/30)
Last Bloody Snack ($2.99 from $9.99 until 4/30)
Golf Club Nostalgia ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/30)
Red Wings: Aces of the Sky ($1.99 from $19.99 until 4/30)
Red Wings: American Aces ($1.99 from $11.99 until 4/30)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, April 11th
A Perfect Day ($15.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Afterimage ($14.99 from $24.99 until 4/11)
Air Twister ($19.99 from $24.99 until 4/11)
Aquadine ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Astro Miner Complete ($2.69 from $6.99 until 4/11)
Avenging Spirit ($2.99 from $5.99 until 4/11)
Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince ($8.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Bubble Bobble 4 Friends ($15.99 from $39.99 until 4/11)
Bud Spencer & Terence Hill S&B 2 ($14.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Cannon Dancer Osman ($9.89 from $29.99 until 4/11)
Caveman Ransom ($3.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Chinese Parents ($6.49 from $12.99 until 4/11)
Christmas Tina ($13.49 from $26.99 until 4/11)
City of Beats ($1.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Clockwork Aquario ($2.99 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Clouzy! ($1.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Coromon ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Cotton 100% ($2.99 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Cotton Fantasy ($11.99 from $39.99 until 4/11)
Cotton Reboot ($11.99 from $39.99 until 4/11)
Cris Tales ($3.99 from $49.99 until 4/11)
Darius Cozmic Collection Arcade ($22.49 from $44.99 until 4/11)
Darius Cozmic Collection Console ($17.99 from $59.99 until 4/11)
Dariusburst: Another Chronicle EX+ ($11.99 from $39.99 until 4/11)
Double Dragon Gaiden: RotD ($14.99 from $24.99 until 4/11)
Dr. Frank’s Build a Boyfriend ($3.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Everyday Today’s Menu for Emiya ($24.99 from $49.99 until 4/11)
Fairy Elements ($9.74 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Funtasia ($1.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
G-Darius HD ($14.99 from $29.99 until 4/11)
Gleylancer ($3.49 from $6.99 until 4/11)
Golf Guys Complete ($2.79 from $7.99 until 4/11)
Gordian Quest ($11.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Gynoug ($3.49 from $6.99 until 4/11)
Hammerwatch Anniversary Ed. ($13.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Hammerwatch II ($17.49 from $24.99 until 4/11)
Helix Jump Complete ($2.44 from $6.99 until 4/11)
Lost Epic ($8.99 from $17.99 until 4/11)
Lost Words: Beyond the Page ($1.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Luna the Shadow Dust ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope ($19.79 from $59.99 until 4/11)
Mob Control Complete ($2.44 from $6.99 until 4/11)
Monorail Stories ($1.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Moto Roader MC ($3.49 from $6.99 until 4/11)
Move or Die: Unleashed ($4.49 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Necrobarista: Final Pour ($10.99 from $21.99 until 4/11)
Ninja JaJaMaru: Retro Collection ($5.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Ninja JaJaMaru: TGYB + Hell ($7.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
Ninja JaJaMaru: TGYB + Hell Deluxe ($9.89 from $29.99 until 4/11)
Ninja JaJaMaru: The Lost RPGs ($4.93 from $12.99 until 4/11)
Onigo Hunter ($9.74 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Override 2: SML ($2.99 from $29.99 until 4/11)
Paleo Pines ($20.99 from $29.99 until 4/11)
Panorama Cotton ($2.99 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Prisonela DX ($3.49 from $4.99 until 4/11)
Pronty ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! ($27.99 from $39.99 until 4/11)
Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move 16-Bit ($5.99 from $7.99 until 4/11)
Ray’z Arcade Chronology ($34.99 from $49.99 until 4/11)
Raystorm X RayCrisis HD Collection ($19.99 from $39.99 until 4/11)
Regency Solitaire ($2.99 from $11.99 until 4/11)
Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break ($2.99 from $29.99 until 4/11)
Rustler ($2.99 from $29.99 until 4/11)
Space Invaders Forever ($9.89 from $29.99 until 4/11)
Space Invaders Invincible Collection ($17.99 from $59.99 until 4/11)
Spelunker HD Deluxe ($4.99 from $24.99 until 4/11)
Suhoshin ($5.99 from $14.99 until 4/11)
Taito Milestones ($11.99 from $39.99 until 4/11)
Taito Milestones 2 ($27.99 from $39.99 until 4/11)
The Adv. of Panzer Legacy Collection ($6.29 from $8.99 until 4/11)
The Ninja Saviors: RotW ($7.99 from $19.99 until 4/11)
The World According to Girl ($8.49 from $9.99 until 4/11)
Turrican Anthology Vol I ($13.99 from $34.99 until 4/11)
Turrican Anthology Vol II ($13.99 from $34.99 until 4/11)
Turrican Flashback ($11.99 from $29.99 until 4/11)
Yohane the Parhelion Numazu in Mirage ($26.99 from $29.99 until 4/11)
That’s all for today, friends. Tomorrow is Thursday, and it’s a very, very, very large one. There are at least twenty-nine games on the schedule so far, and there are always more. Always. We’ll do our best to have summaries of all of the games worth summarizing, plus whatever sales and big news roll in during the next day. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday, and as always, thanks for reading!