SwitchArcade Round-Up: We Love Katamari, The Red Lantern, and Other Reviews

Introduction

Welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up, a weekly article that provides you with reviews, latest releases and sales in the gaming industry. In today’s edition, we have some interesting reviews lined up. Mikhail Madnani reviews The Case of the Golden Idol and Maquette, while Shaun Musgrave shares his evaluation of the remake of We Love Katamari. We also take a look at some new releases, including Smushi Come Home, Square and Flannel Amethyst, among others. Lastly, we’ll highlight some ongoing sales on the Nintendo eShop.

Reviews

The Case of the Golden Idol

The Case of the Golden Idol is a unique deduction puzzler detective experience that recently arrived on the Nintendo Switch. Its paid DLC is also available from day one. The touch controls are perfect, but the touch targets can be a bit small on Switch Lite. Hence, on that system, playing with button controls is recommended. The developers have done a fantastic job with the controller support for The Case of the Golden Idol, which makes it a joy to play on Switch with touch controls.

SwitchArcade Score:

5/5

Maquette

Maquette is an indie game that mixes a first-person puzzler with a love story. The puzzles vary in quality, but its aesthetic shines throughout. The game needed a bit more optimization work, especially for the Nintendo Switch. The game has a runtime of around three hours, assuming you don’t get stuck in some of the more obtuse puzzles.

SwitchArcade Score:

3.5/5

We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie

We Love Katamari is a unique game that utilizes a tank-like controller scheme using both analog sticks, with the goal of rolling around in the levels, scooping up bits that are smaller until your katamari gets bigger, which allows you to pick up bigger bits and grow more. The humor and absurdity of the situation make the game fun to play. The added Royal Reverie drills deeper on the story of its main character, adding more value to the overall experience.

SwitchArcade Score:

4/5

New Releases

Smushi Come Home

Smushi Come Home is a wholesome 3D platformer with some wholesome light puzzles about a wholesome little mushroom trying to find its way back to its wholesome home. It’s a cute game, and the chill vibes are certainly real, which may be just the tonic for some readers.

Sqroma

Sqroma is a puzzle action game that has sixty-nine nice levels in which the gamer needs to reach the exit by any means possible. It’s an excellent choice for those gamers who just sort of want to cruise through a game in a night or two.

Flannel Amethyst

Flannel Amethyst is a 3D platformer with ten different levels to explore. It feels floaty and relies on an awkward air dash for a lot of its challenges.

Bloo Kid

Bloo Kid is a single-screen elimination platformer that will be familiar to anyone who played games like Bubble Bobble or Rodland. With 96 levels spread across eight different worlds, it offers good bang for your buck.

The Sin

The Sin is a pure kinetic visual novel. The topic is not the usual fare, however, as it is a horror tale set in a Russian village and deals heavily in folklore.

Sales

Select New Games on Sale

Some interesting sales are available for gamers on the North American Nintendo eShop. You can avail yourself of discounts on:

– IGS Classic Arcade Collection
– The Lost Child
– La-Mulana 1 & 2 Bundle
– Labyrinth of Galleria: Moon Society
– Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk
– Touhou Genso Wandered Reloaded
– Makai Kingdom/ZHP: Unlosing Ranger
– Void Terrarium
– Void Terrarium 2
– Penny Punching Princess
– Lapis x Labyrinth
– Labyrinth Legend
– Saviors of Sapphire