SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Pokemon Sword & Shield: The Crown Tundra’ Dated, Today’s New Releases, the Latest Sales, and More

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 30th, 2020. In today’s article, we’ve got a bunch of news items to look at. Lots of updates, mostly. There are a couple of new releases to look at, though nothing wildly exciting. I mean, it’s Wednesday. We finish things up by looking at the incoming and outgoing sales, as we tend to around these parts. Let’s go for it!

News

‘Pokemon Sword & Shield’ Expansion ‘The Crown Tundra’ Coming Oct 22nd

Well, it looks like my initial assumption yesterday was a safe one. The release date was revealed for the second part of the Pokemon Sword & Shield Expansion Pass, The Crown Tundra. The expansion will arrive on October 22nd, bringing a new story, Legendary Pokemon from past games, and the Galarian Star Tournament with it among many other improvements and additions. If you don’t own Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield yet, a special bundle containing the game and the Expansion Pass will be available from November 6th at retail.

‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Fall Update Now Available

It’s just about time for October, and although there are much scarier things going on this month than vampire and witch costumes, the world of Animal Crossing remains a fine escape from reality. The planned Fall Update has arrived, and after you’ve downloaded and installed it you’ll find things have taken a slightly spooky turn on your island. Only slightly, mind you. It’s mostly preparation work at this point, along with some cool new decorations and such to enjoy. At any rate, there’s no time like the present to start getting ready for the big Halloween event, so grab the update and dive in.

‘Trials of Mana’ Update Incoming with New Difficulty Mode

Didn’t find Square Enix’s lovely remake of Trials of Mana hard enough? Well, the developers have something coming just for you. An update is on the way which will add two new difficulty settings to the game. If you manage to clear the game on the hardest mode, you’ll get some spiffy Rabite Slippers for your characters to wear. These modes are only available in New Game+, so you’ll have to prove yourself before you can tackle these ultimate challenges. The update contains a few other smaller improvements and additions, but nothing too game-changing. You can look forward to the arrival of this latest version on October 14th.

The Next ‘Super Smash Bros.’ Event is for the Lightweights

Another week, another event in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This time around, players can look forward to another tournament event. Kicking off on Friday and running for three days through the weekend, this new tournament focuses on the lighter side of the roster. And by ‘light’, I mean the ones that don’t weigh all that much. Pichu. Olimar. Kirby. Zero Suit Samus, apparently? Mewtwo. Well, you get the idea. Grab your favorite character that doesn’t make the scales tip and see what you can make of it.

‘Jump Rope Challenge’ Isn’t Going Anywhere, Pal

Originally scheduled to be pulled from the Nintendo eShop at the end of today, Jump Rope Challenge has gotten a reprieve from Nintendo. As so many players have been enjoying it, the game will now be available until further notice. Just as well, in my opinion. Unlike with some other limited items, there’s nothing here to monetize through limited availability. There was really no reason to have it available for a limited time no matter what angle you look at it from. Will we eventually see a similar stay of execution for Super Mario Bros. 35, which is launching tomorrow? I sure hope so!

New Releases

Detective Case and Clown Bot in: Murder in The Hotel Lisbon ($9.99)

This game feels like a blast from the past in a lot of ways. It’s a classic-style point-and-click adventure game featuring a detective and his sidekick clown robot who serves as an almost endless supply of terrible jokes. The humor in this game runs the gamut from stupid to crass, and depending on your mood and inclinations you’ll either find it wildly hilarious or kind of offensive. Well, that’s comedy for you. In terms of the nuts and bolts, it’s a soundly-designed example of the genre. The price is quite fair as well.

Unlock The King 3 ($0.99)

Some companies have trouble counting to three, but QUByte sure isn’t one of them. Unlock The King 3 is, as you would guess, the third game in this series of chess puzzles. The new twist this time around is that the boards are three-dimensional, making it that much trickier to sort out the solutions to the stages. There are 50 levels in total here, which means even if you grab the game at full-price you’re paying about two cents a stage. I appreciate that they threw the new mechanic in the game, as I’m not sure I’d really have been up for a third one without it. If you’re looking for a cheap puzzler, this won’t fail you.

Sales

(North American eShop, US Prices)

The folks at Oddworld have announced an October 13th release date for the Switch version of Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, and to go with that the previously-released Oddworld games are on sale. Aside from those games, there’s not a lot of action in the inbox today. The outbox is quite a bit bigger, with Circle Entertainment’s latest sale coming to a close, the pre-order discount on Ys Origin ending, and a number of other cool titles going back to their regular prices soon. Do the usual thing and check through to make sure there’s nothing there you want.

Select New Games on Sale

Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath ($19.99 from $29.99 until 10/13)
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee ($19.99 from $29.99 until 10/13)
Projection: First Light ($15.99 from $19.99 until 10/13)
Dude, Stop ($10.49 from $14.99 until 10/2)
The Dresden Files Card Game ($8.49 from $16.99 until 10/6)
Black The Fall ($4.49 from $14.99 until 10/12)
Klondike Solitaire ($0.49 from $9.99 until 10/18)
Super Battle Cards ($0.05 from $5.99 until 10/19)
Unlock The King 3 ($0.49 from $0.99 until 10/19)
They Came From the Sky ($0.74 from $2.99 until 10/19)
Urban Flow ($8.99 from $14.99 until 10/20)
Croc’s World 3 ($0.99 from $4.99 until 10/20)

Sales Ending Tomorrow, Thursday, October 1st

A Dark Room ($1.04 from $6.99 until 10/1)
AER Memories of Old ($4.99 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Arrest of a Stone Buddha ($11.24 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Artifact Adventure Gaiden DX ($6.99 from $9.99 until 10/1)
Bite the Bullet ($11.99 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Boom Ball: Boost ($1.29 from $12.99 until 10/1)
Brawlout ($4.99 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Button Button Up! ($5.99 from $11.99 until 10/1)
Chaos on Deponia ($6.79 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Cycle 28 ($1.39 from $6.99 until 10/1)
Death’s Hangover ($3.99 from $4.99 until 10/1)
Deponia ($3.99 from $39.99 until 10/1)
Deponia Doomsday ($6.79 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Dominate: Board Game ($7.41 from $9.89 until 10/1)
Double Cross ($4.99 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Drag Racing Rivals ($7.99 from $9.99 until 10/1)

Edna & Harvey: New Eyes ($6.79 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Edna & Harvey: The Breakout ($13.39 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Elemental Knights R ($0.75 from $22.75 until 10/1)
European Conqueror X ($5.99 from $9.99 until 10/1)
Farm Builder ($7.99 from $9.99 until 10/1)
Felix the Reaper ($6.24 from $24.99 until 10/1)
Flying Soldiers ($14.39 from $17.99 until 10/1)
Goodbye Deponia ($6.79 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Hand of Fate 2 ($14.99 from $29.99 until 10/1)
Ice Cream Surfer ($1.60 from $2.00 until 10/1)
Incredible Mandy ($8.99 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Joggernauts ($3.74 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Koi DX ($1.00 from $5.00 until 10/1)
Late Shift ($6.49 from $12.99 until 10/1)
Liberated ($13.39 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Liege Dragon ($13.49 from $14.99 until 10/1)

Lost Artifacts: Golden Island ($2.99 from $9.99 until 10/1)
Mable & The Wood ($3.74 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Maitetsu: Pure Station ($24.49 from $34.49 until 10/1)
Maria the Witch ($0.99 from $4.99 until 10/1)
Mercenaries Saga Chronicles ($7.49 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Mini Motor Racing X ($15.99 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Moero Crystal H ($33.99 from $39.99 until 10/1)
Morphies Law ($3.99 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Nevaeh ($10.39 from $12.99 until 10/1)
Pan-Pan ($1.00 from $5.00 until 10/1)
Paper Dolls Original ($11.89 from $16.99 until 10/1)
Quest of Dungeons ($4.49 from $8.99 until 10/1)
Resolutiion ($15.99 from $19.99 until 10/1)
REZ PLZ ($11.99 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Shadows of Adam ($10.49 from $14.99 until 10/1)

Shelter Generations ($7.99 from $19.99 until 10/1)
Shift Happens ($3.74 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Silence ($7.99 from $39.99 until 10/1)
Singled Out ($3.74 from $4.99 until 10/1)
Solstice Chronicles MIA ($8.99 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Speedway Racing ($5.99 from $9.99 until 10/1)
State of Mind ($7.99 from $39.99 until 10/1)
Stone ($10.49 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Super Crush KO ($9.99 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Super Korotama ($2.99 from $4.99 until 10/1)
Sydney Hunter & Curse of Mayan ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/1)
Tallowmere ($3.49 from $6.99 until 10/1)
The Forgotten Land ($7.49 from $14.99 until 10/1)
The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa ($10.49 from $14.99 until 10/1)
The Jackbox Party Pack ($13.74 from $24.99 until 10/1)

The Jackbox Party Pack 5 ($22.49 from $29.99 until 10/1)
The King’s Bird ($4.99 from $19.99 until 10/1)
The Long Dark ($31.49 from $34.99 until 10/1)
The Long Journey Home ($7.49 from $29.99 until 10/1)
The Savior’s Gang ($2.99 from $4.99 until 10/1)
WILL: A Wonderful World ($8.99 from $14.99 until 10/1)
Working Zombies ($13.99 from $19.99 until 10/1)
World Conqueror X ($3.99 from $9.99 until 10/1)
Ys Origin ($15.99 from $19.99 until 10/1)

That’s all for today and this month, friends. Tomorrow is the first day of a new month, and one with plenty of new releases to get things started properly. Super Mario Bros. 35 will be launching, along with other notable games like Ys Origin, Warsaw, Orangeblood, and many more. We’ll have summaries of all of them, plus whatever sales and pressing news come along in the next 24 hours. I’m hoping Nintendo doesn’t drop big news out of the sky again without warning, but that seems to be a fool’s errand these days. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday, and as always, thanks for reading!