SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Mario Party Superstars’, ‘Panorama Cotton’, ‘Dollhouse’, and Today’s Other Releases and Sales

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for October 29th, 2021. In today’s article, we cover the rest of the releases for the week. Leading the pack is Nintendo’s own Mario Party Superstars, and backing it up is a mix of retro rereleases, horror games, and various other odds and ends. We’ve got summaries of all of them, as we always do. Some very brief, but they are there. Then there are the lists of new and expiring sales, of which the former is quite robust today. Let’s get started!

New Releases

Mario Party Superstars ($59.99)

SwitchArcade Highlight!

Some people didn’t get into Super Mario Party for various reasons, even though they really enjoyed the old Mario Party games. Well, vive le choix, as with Mario Party Superstars you can enjoy some greatest hits of the series. You get five classic boards from the Nintendo 64 Mario Party games, one hundred classic minigames from the Nintendo 64 and GameCube entries, seven different modes, and multiplayer support both online and offline for up to four players. Yes, they did bring back a couple of the palm-shredding stick-spinners from the first Mario Party. Play responsibly, friends.

Panorama Cotton ($14.99)

SwitchArcade Highlight!

There are a few common elements among the Cotton games. They all involve a witch who is obsessed with candy, they all have plenty of shooting action, and they all cost an arm and a leg on the second-hand market. Because of the latter aspect in particular, it has been really nice to see almost the entire series get reissued in the last year or so. Here’s another treat coming out of the vault: Panorama Cotton, a technical showcase originally released on the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive. It’s a behind-the-character shooter, like Space Harrier or, I don’t know, Burning Force. Quite lovely for the hardware. I’ll be doing a review of this one soon, but do note that it was handled by a different developer from the somewhat disastrous Saturn Tribute Cotton games. It runs a lot better.

Cotton 100% ($14.99)

Panorama Cotton isn’t the only expensive Cotton game coming out of the vault today, either. Cotton 100%, the installment of the series that dropped on Nintendo’s 16-bit console, is a lot more of a traditional entry in the series. Indeed, it’s very similar in terms of mechanics and structure to the original game. I find its presentation isn’t quite as vibrant as the first game, but it plays well enough. The emulation here is as as good as that of Panorama Cotton, which means it is a lot better than the Saturn Tribute games. Extra features are minimal but it has the basics you would want. I will also be reviewing this one soon.

Ghosts and Apples ($9.99)

This is kind of an arcade puzzle game where you need to turn ghosts into apples by catching them and matching ones of the same color. It’s stage-based, and there’s a local two-player mode you can dig into. I wish I could tell you more about this one, but the way it uses flashing lights was giving me a bad headache. That isn’t something that happens to me terribly often, so suffice it to say you may want to give this one a pass if you’re photosensitive.

HOLY COW! Milking Simulator ($9.99)

Well, that’s an attention-grabbing title. You play as a cow, and on each level you need to eat all of the grass. That allows you to milk yourself? And you can use the milk to buy cosmetic goodies to customize your cow with? Four players can get in on this one via local multiplayer. It looks weird, but I’m not sure if it looks good. I do know you can shoot a flamethrower out of your cow’s butt, and for many people that will be ten dollars well-spent.

Shinrai – Broken Beyond Despair ($14.99)

Ten friends come to an isolated mountain resort for a cool Halloween party. It’s all well and good until one of them turns up dead. The potential suspects are limited, and they’ll only get more limited if you can’t find out who the killer is. This text-heavy adventure game offers up five different endings, and which one you get depends on how well you do your detective work. I’ll give you a heads-up: only one of those endings is a good one. I wish you luck.

Dollhouse ($29.99)

This is a film noir-themed horror game. You need to find the secrets of your past by traveling through your memories, one by one. You can use a special ability to see through the eyes of your pursuer, which will hopefully help you stay alive. It seems to be more substantial than we usually see with this kind of thing, as there is a full upgrade system with more than forty abilities and passive skills to use. The maps are procedurally-generated, which seems to be the trend in horror games this week. Please look forward to lots of scary accusations written on walls. It’s just how things are done. Multiple endings, too. Have fun!

PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night ($39.99)

This is probably a familiar refrain by now, but I don’t know much about PJ Masks. No little ones running around in my house anymore, and the brands are different from country to country anyway. But I guess they are kid-friendly superheroes? That’s cool. This game lets you play as three characters, each with their own abilities, as you make your way through eight locations that are supposed to be familiar to PJ Masks fans. It seems to be a mix of behind-the-vehicle traversal sections and some side-scrolling platforming bits, so it shouldn’t be too complicated for younger kids. Perhaps give it a look if there’s a little superhero patrolling your home who might be interested.

Halloween Snowball Bubble ($5.99)

This is a follow-up to Snowball Collections Bubble, and it works in much the same way. Basically a mild twist on Puzzle Bobble/Bust-A-Move, you shoot bubbles to make matches that will reveal a picture. Halloween themed, naturally. What with the whole event coming in a couple of days and all. I didn’t really get into the first one and I don’t think they’ve changed a whole lot here, but if you did then this seems like an easy pick-up.

Lost Dream ($4.99)

This is a short game where you play as a fox trying to rescue its friend from the humans that took her. It aims for a chill vibe, but it doesn’t have a save feature. That’s not very chill at all. The game is really brief though, so it may not matter.

Archery Club ($11.99)

BoomBit takes a break from driving games to deliver an archery game. If you really like firing arrows in the Zelda games, maybe you will like firing arrows here. Maybe not. There are various matches to compete in, an upgrade system for your bows, and a bunch of different locations. It seems a little thin as a concept, but I’m sure it will go on sale for half-price soon enough and may be worth considering then.

Composer ($14.99)

If you had Mario Paint for the Super NES back in the day, you probably remember its rather interesting music-making tool. And you’re probably looking at the screenshot for Composer and thinking it looks rather familiar. It’s a bit more fully-featured, but the core idea and how it works is similar. Don’t come to it expecting a game, of course. It’s just a tool for making tunes, and in that respect it does exactly what it promises.

Horror and Adventure Pinball ($14.99)

Another bundle of those so-so pinball tables, with this exact configuration containing Halloween Pinball, Werewolf Pinball, Mummy Pinball, Dragon Pinball, Titan Pinball, and Pirates Pinball. Assuming this bundle goes on sale as often as the others, this is an even cheaper way to pick up all of these tables if that is a thing you want to do.

City Pipes ($3.49)

Benjamin Kistler has knocked together what looks like another Android template from the Unity Asset Store. It’s Pipe Dream, more or less. Connect the pipe pieces to clear the level. Handheld mode only because Benjamin gives no figs. Don’t buy this crap.

Sales

(North American eShop, US Prices)

A nice healthy Friday list of sales as always, friends. But what’s interesting in it? Plenty. My picks include Garden Story, Shantae & the Pirate’s Curse, and Kentucky Route Zero. But there are a lot of great games in there, so have a careful look through with your own eyes. Fortunately, there is almost nothing in the weekend outbox that is catching my attention, but again I encourage you to check it yourself.

Select New Games on Sale

Garden Story ($15.99 from $19.99 until 11/1)
Artifact Adventure Gaiden DX ($6.99 from $9.99 until 11/1)
Stela ($6.99 from $19.99 until 11/1)
Treachery in Beatdown City ($8.99 from $19.99 until 11/1)
World for Two ($9.79 from $13.99 until 11/1)
Unreal Life ($16.09 from $22.99 until 11/1)
The Wanderer: Frankenstein ($4.79 from $15.99 until 11/2)
Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle ($4.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)
Battery Jam ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/2)
Spooky Ghosts Dot Com ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/2)
Volta-X ($1.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)
The Mummy Demastered ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)
Damsel ($3.49 from $6.99 until 11/2)
Talisman Digital Edition ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)
Deathtrap Dungeon Trilogy ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/2)
Fighting Fantasy Legends ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/2)
Billion Road ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)
Save Your Nuts ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/2)
Grandia HD Collection ($19.99 from $39.99 until 11/2)
Mystic Vale ($10.99 from $21.99 until 11/2)
Rivals of Aether ($14.99 from $29.99 until 11/2)
Pine ($4.99 from $24.99 until 11/2)
The World Next Door ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/2)
Hob: The Definitive Edition ($2.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)
Torchlight II ($5.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)

Torchlight III ($9.99 from $39.99 until 11/2)
Shantae: Risky’s Revenge DC ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/2)
Shantae & the Pirate’s Curse ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)
Glyph ($13.99 from $19.99 until 11/2)
Catlateral Damage: Remeowstered ($11.99 from $14.99 until 11/2)
Flipon ($3.59 from $5.99 until 11/4)
Telling Lies ($7.99 from $19.99 until 11/4)
Children of Zodiarcs ($7.19 from $17.99 until 11/4)
PictoQuest ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
Iris & the Giant ($8.99 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Linelight ($5.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
Out There: The Alliance ($5.99 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Healer’s Quest ($9.99 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Astrologaster ($5.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
NoReload Heroes ($2.49 from $24.99 until 11/4)
Amnesia: Collection ($2.99 from $29.99 until 11/4)
Sayonara Wild Hearts ($7.79 from $12.99 until 11/4)
The Last Door: Complete ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Anarcute ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Old School Musical ($5.19 from $12.99 until 11/4)
NeuroVoider ($4.19 from $13.99 until 11/4)
Steredenn: Binary Stars ($5.19 from $12.99 until 11/4)
Brain Meltdown: Into Despair ($7.19 from $7.99 until 11/4)
Splasher ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/4)
BAFL Brakes Are For Losers ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/4)

Kill The Bad Guy ($2.09 from $6.99 until 11/4)
Bad North ($5.99 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Hover ($7.49 from $24.99 until 11/4)
Burly Men at Sea ($3.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
A Normal Lost Phone ($2.39 from $7.99 until 11/4)
Another Lost Phone: Laura’s Story ($2.39 from $7.99 until 11/4)
Gorogoa ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Boom Ball: Boost Edition ($1.99 from $12.99 until 11/4)
Dungeon Rushers ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Bombslinger ($2.99 from $11.99 until 11/4)
Momonga Pinball Adventures ($1.99 from $5.99 until 11/4)
DragoDino ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
GoNNER ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
GONNER2 ($7.79 from $12.99 until 11/4)
If Found… ($7.79 from $12.99 until 11/4)
Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition ($5.24 from $14.99 until 11/4)
My Farm ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
My Exotic Farm 2018 ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
My Arctic Farm 2018 ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
My Jurassic Farm 2018 ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
Shape of the World ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Gone Home ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/4)
The Next Penelope ($2.59 from $12.99 until 11/4)
Knights of Pen & Paper 2 ($3.89 from $12.99 until 11/4)
Piczle Cross Adventure ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)

Donut County ($3.79 from $12.99 until 11/4)
Chroma Squad ($4.49 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Bury Me, My Love ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/4)
What Remains of Edith Finch ($5.99 from $19.99 until 11/4)
Dead in Vinland: True Viking ($11.19 from $27.99 until 11/4)
Transcripted ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/4)
Uurnog Uurnlimited ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
Super Rocket Shootout ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
Zombie Night Terror ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Away: Journey to the Unexpected ($3.39 from $16.99 until 11/4)
White Night ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Lethis: Path of Progress ($7.99 from $19.99 until 11/4)
Yono & the Celestial Elephant ($4.99 from $19.99 until 11/4)
Skelittle: A Giant Party! ($2.49 from $9.99 until 11/4)
Lost in Harmony ($2.09 from $6.99 until 11/4)
Ashen ($15.99 fom $39.99 until 11/4)
ScourgeBringer ($10.99 from $16.99 until 11/4)
Last Stop ($19.99 from $24.99 until 11/4)
Melbits World ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
Kentucky Route Zero ($14.99 from $24.99 until 11/4)
Night Call ($7.99 from $19.99 until 11/4)
Florence ($2.99 from $5.99 until 11/4)
Double Kick Heroes ($13.19 from $21.99 until 11/4)
West of Dead ($11.99 from $19.99 until 11/4)
Before I Forget ($5.99 from $7.99 until 11/4)

I Am Dead ($11.99 from $19.99 until 11/4)
Best Friend Forever ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/4)
Star Renegades ($14.99 from $24.99 until 11/4)
Out of Space: Couch Edition ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/4)
Alt-Frequencies ($3.19 from $7.99 until 11/4)
Ghost of a Tale ($14.99 from $24.99 until 11/4)
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure ($13.99 from $19.99 until 11/4)
Mosaic ($11.99 from $19.99 until 11/4)
Atomicrops ($7.49 from $14.99 until 11/4)
Strange Brigade ($13.99 from $19.99 until 11/5)
80’s Overdrive ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/5)
Zombie Army Trilogy ($13.99 from $19.99 until 11/5)
Wildbus ($11.04 from $12.99 until 11/5)
Soul Axiom Rebooted ($9.09 from $12.99 until 11/5)
Late Shift ($7.14 from $12.99 until 11/5)
The Infectious Madness of Dr Dekker ($6.49 from $12.99 until 11/5)
The Bunker ($6.49 from $12.99 until 11/5)
Unspottable ($8.39 from $11.99 until 11/5)
Moonfall Ultimate ($6.49 from $12.99 until 11/5)
Five Dates ($11.04 from $12.99 until 11/5)
Typoman ($5.19 from $12.99 until 11/5)
I Saw Black Clouds ($11.04 from $12.99 until 11/5)
Secret Files: Tunguska ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/6)
Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/6)
Secret Files 3 ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/6)

Secret Files Sam Peters ($1.99 from $6.99 until 11/6)
Lost Horizon ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/6)
Lost Horizon 2 ($2.99 from $14.99 until 11/6)
Buissons ($6.39 from $7.99 until 11/8)
Ethan: Meteor Hunter ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/8)
Inside My Radio ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/8)
Shaolin vs Wutang ($6.99 from $9.99 until 11/9)
SGC Short Games Collection 1 ($15.99 from $19.99 until 11/9)
Adventures of Chris ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/11)
Superliminal ($13.99 from $19.99 until 11/11)
Blue Fire ($9.99 from $19.99 until 11/11)
REZ PLZ ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/11)
Bite the Bullet ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/11)
Mable & the Wood ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/11)
The King’s Bird ($4.99 from $19.99 until 11/11)
Double Cross ($4.99 from $19.99 until 11/11)
Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion ($9.74 from $14.99 until 11/11)
Joggernauts ($3.74 from $14.99 until 11/11)
Cyber Hook ($5.24 from $14.99 until 11/11)
Shing! ($8.99 from $19.99 until 11/11)
Jetboard Joust ($6.99 from $9.99 until 11/12)
The Town of Light: Deluxe ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/12)
Lost Artifacts: Golden Island ($2.99 from $9.99 until 11/12)
Krystopia: A Puzzle Journey ($5.59 from $7.99 until 11/12)
Depixtion ($1.99 from $7.99 until 11/15)
The Lost Light of Sisu ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/17)

Toridama: Brave Challenge ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/18)
Gunma’s Ambition ($1.99 from $9.99 until 11/18)
Red Siren: Space Defense ($2.49 from $9.99 until 11/18)
Mad Bullets ($4.99 from $).99 until 11/18)
Sudoku Relax 2 Summer Waves ($1.99 from $4.99 until 11/18)
Paper Train ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/18)
Nyan Cat: Lost in Space ($4.99 from $9.99 until 11/18)
Smash Rush ($2.49 from $9.99 until 11/18)
Dead Z Meat ($2.49 from $9.99 until 11/18)
Bullseye ($2.59 from $12.99 until 11/18)
Zumba Aqua ($2.39 from $2.99 until 11/18)

Sales Ending This Weekend

Alteric ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/30)
Basketball Pinball ($2.00 from $2.99 until 10/30)
Collapsed ($7.50 from $15.00 until 10/30)
Colsword ($1.99 from $3.99 until 10/30)
Energy Cycle Edge ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/30)
LocO-SportS ($1.99 from $5.99 until 10/30)
Save the Ninja Clan ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/30)
Spiral Splatter ($1.99 from $4.99 until 10/30)
Where Are My Friends? ($2.39 from $5.99 until 10/30)
Between Time Escape Room ($7.49 from $9.99 until 10/31)
Door Kickers: Action Squad ($5.99 from $14.99 until 10/31)
Football Drama ($4.99 from $9.99 until 10/31)
Gnome More War ($1.99 from $2.99 until 10/31)
Grand Guilds ($4.99 from $19.99 until 10/31)
High Noon Revolver ($1.99 from $2.99 until 10/31)
Negative Nancy ($12.74 from $14.99 until 10/31)
Toroom ($7.49 from $14.99 until 10/31)
Towertale ($1.99 from $9.99 until 10/31)

That’s all for today, this week, and this month, friends. We’ll be back on Monday to kick off November with a few new releases, some reviews, and whatever other things show up over the weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://toucharcade.com/2021/10/29/switcharcade-round-up-mario-party-superstars-panorama-cotton-dollhouse-and-todays-other-releases-and-sales/