SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Nuclear Blaze’, ‘Varney Lake’, ‘Fran Bow’, Plus Today’s Other Releases and Sales

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for April 28th, 2023. In today’s article, we mop up the remaining releases of the week. There are quite a few, as is seemingly the norm for Fridays of late. After that, we have a very healthy batch of sales to check out. And that’s pretty much the lot for today, friends. Let’s get to it and wrap up our week!

New Releases

Nuclear Blaze ($14.99)

This game’s claim to fame is that one of the people behind Dead Cells is behind it. It’s a game where you’re a firefighter sent into the mother of all blazes that has started at a secret military facility. You have to combat the fire, look for survivors, and maybe even figure out what caused it while you’re at it. There are a few different modes to play just in case you want a lighter or zestier challenge. I’ll have a review of this one soon in case you need more to go on.

Dormitory Love ($34.99)

Visual novel time! Six handsome hunks to romance, and as you can guess it’s a dormitory theme. The heroine is a dorm manager to a group of international students, allowing a wide array of looks and personalities for the eligible bachelors. It’s a fairly bland premise as these things go, but maybe you are in the mood for something a little plainer than the usual fare.

Skinny & Franko: Fists of Violence ($18.99)

So this is apparently the sequel to a 1994 Amiga game that was fairly popular in its home country of Poland? Well, that’s what the internet tells me. It’s a side-scrolling beat-em-up with eight stages, lots of weapons to use, plenty of enemies to fight, and even a couple of minigames that change up the gameplay. Okay, now I believe it’s the sequel to an Amiga game. Play alone or pull in a friend for some local co-op multiplayer. I’m sure some people reading this are very excited.

Varney Lake ($9.99)

Hey, is that Morbius? Oh, it is a vampire. Well, maybe he’s a friend of Morbius. Anyway, this game is a follow-up to Mothmen 1966, so it’s another horror-tinged adventure game with a cool pulp vibe. Suffice it to say, if you enjoyed that game then you’ll want to pick up this one. And if you didn’t? Well, you can probably do the math. But vampires!

Chernobyl: Origins ($14.99)

An adventure game set in what I think is a fictionalized alternate take on the Chernobyl disaster. You play as a scientist who is trying to escape the facility, and based on your choices you’ll end up at one of three endings. There are some puzzles to solve and some decisions to make as you make your way through the game’s six chapters.

The Companion ($19.99)

Play as a fox spirit and explore several different locations, searching for items that will supposedly help you solve some puzzles. There seem to be a rather large number of 3D exploratory games where you play as a fox. I guess this is some kind of subgenre that I hadn’t noticed forming. At any rate, here’s one more. It’s Red Deer Games so expect some very regular discounts from here on out.

Fran Bow ($19.99)

Oh, I’ve heard about this one before via its computer release. It’s a point-and-click style adventure game with a really sharp art style. There are seventy locations to explore, tons of strange characters to meet, and lots of puzzles to solve. The whole thing is wrapped in a dry sense of humor, so don’t expect it to be too grim. While critic reviews for the computer version were a bit hot-and-cold, the reception from players seems to have been a lot warmer. I suspect it will find an equally sunny reception on Switch.

Gematombe ($14.99)

Here’s a competitive puzzle game where you need to launch a ball from the bottom of the screen at the gems at the top. Hit gems of the same color consecutively to rack up combos and attack your opponent. There’s a story mode with six different characters to play as, plus some extra modes to have fun with. Of course, you can also play against another human via local multiplayer. No online play, unfortunately. I’m into games like this, so I’ll be checking into it to see how it fares.

Super Alloy Ranger ($14.99)

Oh hey, a rare case of a game that directly name drops its references in the eShop description. Mega Man and Metal Slug, in this case. So yes, that’s probably enough to let you know about the basic outline here. Run and gun action platformer, colorful graphics, and lots of interesting locations to battle enemies in. Oh, and some big bosses for good measure. It seems to have a fine reputation over on Steam, so I imagine fans of this type of game will want to give it a proper look.

100animalease ($6.99)

An odd little adventure game where you play as a girl who is trying to escape from a mysterious facility. The only way she can do so is by befriending one hundred different animals and using their unique skills to solve various puzzles. Doesn’t look like the fanciest of productions, but it might be decent enough to kill a quiet evening with.

Minabo – A Walk Through Life ($14.99)

An odd simulation game where you raise a turnip character through its life from sprouting to the very end. No two lives will go the same way, with various interactions and events happening as you play. At the end of each turnip’s life, you’ll get a nice little summary of how things went. Certainly an unusual little experience, if that’s what you’re after today.

Dig Deep ($4.99)

QubicGames has a handful of releases today, and at least a couple of them give off some… well, not-so-high-effort vibes. It’s pretty much an idle digging game, and it looks like it crawled out of the basement of the App Store. You can play with a friend if you want to, or just not play at all. Idle games are like that.

AMAZE! ($3.99)

A really simple game where you need to paint all the squares of the maze by rolling over them. It offers up hundreds of levels in its base package, with more available via extra purchases. I don’t really have much more to say about this one. It seems like something you would download for free on your phone and then delete the next day.

LOUD: My Road to Fame ($7.99)

This is a rerelease of LOUD, the decent little rhythm game I reviewed last summer. It has more songs, and it also has some DLC. If you bought the original game you should see a very sharp discount on this one, and if you didn’t then this offers more game for less money. I’m not sure why they didn’t just update the old game, but I’m sure they had their reasons.

Chef ($9.99)

Aw heck, it’s Sabec. And with the plainest-butt take on a time management cooking game you could possibly imagine. Nothing to say about this. There are a dozen or two games exactly like it on the eShop and there is zero reason to pay ten bucks for this one.

Galaxy Revo: Remake ($0.99)

Look, I know this is only a dollar. But I have to believe you can find a few more coins in the sofa cushions to get one of the literal dozens upon dozens of significantly superior shoot-em-ups the Switch has to offer. Do what you must, of course.

Sales

(North American eShop, US Prices)

And that’s a bunch more sales today. Some highlights from the lot are The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe, Transiruby, and Onion Assault, but it’s best if you have a look through the list yourself just to be sure. The outbox is pretty small this time, so feel free to spend your hard-earned cash on those new sales instead.

Select New Games on Sale

Chasm ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/4)
The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe ($12.49 from $24.99 until 5/5)
Don’t Starve Together ($1.99 from $14.99 until 5/5)
Don’t Starve ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/5)
Griftlands ($10.99 from $19.99 until 5/5)
Invisible Inc ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/5)
Mark of the Ninja ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/5)
Dungeons of Dreadrock ($2.49 from $10.00 until 5/7)
Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris DE ($62.99 from $89.99 until 5/8)
Digimon World Next Order ($41.99 from $59.99 until 5/8)
Ace Angler Fishing Spirits ($27.99 from $39.99 until 5/8)
Super Dragon Ball Heroes WM ($8.98 from $59.99 until 5/8)
Dragon Ball FighterZ ($8.99 from $59.99 until 5/8)
Dragon Ball The Breakers ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/8)
God Eater 3 ($8.99 from $59.99 until 5/8)

Doraemon Story of Seasons: FotGK ($34.99 from $49.99 until 5/8)
Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/8)
Disney Magical World 2 EE ($19.99 from $49.99 until 5/8)
.hack//G.U. Last Recode ($19.99 from $49.99 until 5/8)
The Wreck ($15.99 from $19.99 until 5/9)
Cytus Alpha ($24.99 from $49.99 until 5/11)
VOEZ ($12.50 from $25.00 until 5/11)
Lode Runner Legacy ($5.99 from $11.99 until 5/11)
Ambition of the Slimes ($2.50 from $5.00 until 5/11)
Slime Tactics ($4.99 form $9.99 until 5/11)
Dark Witch Music Episode Rudymical ($3.99 from $7.99 until 5/11)
Ninja Striker ($1.99 from $3.99 until 5/11)
Fairune Collection ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/11)
Witch & Hero ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/11)
Witch & Hero 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/11)
SubaraCity ($2.50 from $5.00 until 5/11)

Pixel Game Maker Series Cat & Tower ($3.99 from $4.99 until 5/11)
Pixel Game Maker Series Loplight ($3.99 from $4.99 until 5/11)
Alchemic Dungeons DX ($3.99 from $7.99 until 5/11)
Super Metboy! ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/11)
Kamiko ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/11)
Transiruby ($10.49 from $14.99 until 5/11)
DEEMO ($14.99 from $29.99 until 5/11)
Light Tracer ($2.99 from $14.99 until 5/11)
Shirone the Dragon Girl ($11.99 from $14.99 until 5/11)
Dead or School ($8.99 from $29.99 until 5/11)
Smilemo ($7.99 from $9.99 until 5/12)
Neko Navy Daydream Edition ($8.70 from $12.99 until 5/12)
KURSK ($1.99 from $9.99 until 5/12)
Flashout 3 ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/12)
A Maiden Astrologer Divines the Future ($4.35 from $8.70 until 5/12)

Ten Dates ($13.59 from $15.99 until 5/12)
Virtual Maid Streamer Ramie ($4.90 from $7.01 until 5/12)
Hopping Girl Kohane Jumping Kingdom ($3.99 from $19.99 until 5/12)
Eternal Radiance ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/18)
Demon Hunter: New Chapter ($1.99 from $14.99 until 5/18)
Gibbon: Beyond the Trees ($5.09 from $14.99 until 5/18)
A Place for the Unwilling ($1.99 from $14.99 until 5/18)
The Legend of Dark Witch ($3.49 from $6.99 until 5/18)
Brave Dungeon + Dark Witch Story ($4.49 from $8.99 until 5/18)
Kwaidan Azuma Manor Story ($4.99 from $24.99 until 5/18)
Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection ($31.99 from $39.99 until 5/18)
Exitman Deluxe ($3.99 from $4.99 until 5/18)
Onion Assault ($6.39 from $7.99 until 5/18)
Dungeon Village ($7.00 from $14.00 until 5/18)
Station Manager ($8.40 from $14.00 until 5/18)

Hot Springs Story 2 ($8.40 from $14.00 until 5/18)
Pool Slide Story ($7.00 from $14.00 until 5/18)
Cafeteria Nipponica ($8.40 from $14.00 until 5/18)
Sword of the Vagrant ($7.99 from $9.99 until 5/18)
Gamedec Definitive Edition ($4.99 from $29.99 until 5/18)
Murder on the Marine Express ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/18)
Last Beat Enhanced ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/18)
Cube Life: Island Survival ($11.24 from $14.99 until 5/18)
Blocky Farm ($6.69 from $9.99 until 5/18)
Crime Secrets: Crimson Lily ($1.99 from $14.99 until 5/18)
Ancient Islands ($5.62 from $12.49 until 5/19)

Sales Ending This Weekend

APICO ($11.99 from $19.99 until 4/29)
Dorfromantik ($13.49 from $14.99 until 4/29)
Rytmos ($10.00 from $15.00 until 4/29)
Zodiakalik ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
BIT.TRIP Collection ($3.79 from $9.99 until 4/30)
Gunman Clive HD Collection ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/30)
Let’s Build a Zoo ($10.99 from $19.99 until 4/30)
Mechstermination Force ($2.15 from $11.99 until 4/30)
Spy Bros. ($6.39 from $7.99 until 4/30)
Super Punch Patrol ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/30)
The Unexpected Quest ($4.50 from $15.00 until 4/30)

That’s all for today, this week, and this month, friends. We’ll be back next week with more new releases, more reviews, more sales, and perhaps a splash of news for good measure. I hope you all have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!