SwitchArcade Round-Up: Hands-On with ‘SPYxANYA: Operation Memories’, Plus Today’s Releases and Sales

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for July 9th, 2024. Another quiet release day today, but don’t worry because Thursday is looking loaded with new games. Good new games? I guess we’ll see. For today, I have a detailed hands-on with the cute SPYxFAMILY game that came out recently. Our pal Mikhail will be reviewing the Steam version of the game soon, so do keep an eye out for that. There’s one new release to check out, and that’s a licensed thing too. Then we have the usual lists of new and expiring sales, because we can’t run the show without them. Let’s get to the games! I can use a plural because there are two!

Hands-On Impressions
SPYxANYA: Operation Memories ($49.99)

This is one of those games that is tough to score, so I’m not going to. I’ll leave that particular problem to Mikhail with his review of the Steam version. Anyway, that difficulty mostly comes down to some serious X factors. The biggest one is whether you’re a fan of SPYxFAMILY or not. If you have no or minimal investment in these characters, just keep on walking. You won’t get much of anything at all out of this game. Yeah, that isn’t a good sign, I know. But if you do love Anya, Yor, Loid, and the world they live in, this game treats all of that well. The lighter side of it, anyway.

The next factor is how you intend to play the game. Are you the sort that likes to camp on a single game, playing it in long sessions until it’s finished? That sort is going to find this game gets intensely repetitive if you try to chug it. The set-up of the game sees Anya trying to fill out her picture diary for a school assignment, and a huge chunk of that involves going to one of a small number of locations and taking photos. This is by leaps and bounds the least interesting part of the game because it comes down to doing the same thing again and again. It’s not so bad if you slowly digest it over time, but the game won’t stop you from trying to stuff it all in your mouth at once if you want to.

The highlight of Operation Memories turns out to be the various mini-games. Sure, they run the gamut in terms of how enjoyable they are, but it’s here where the madcap humor SPYxFAMILY excels at can be found. There’s a nice mix of the expected, homages, and mini-games that incorporate elements of the series to put an interesting spin on things. Fans are going to have a really good time with this part of the game, perhaps even more so than the interactions between the characters.

That part of Operation Memories is merely fine. The presentation is quite good, with graphics that do what they need to and a ton of voice acting from the Japanese anime cast. So, you know, everyone looks and sounds the way they should. There just isn’t much good dialogue between them, despite raising affection with several of them being a major goal in the game. None of them really feel alive, instead often coming off like cardboard cutouts with a limited voicebox attached. There are some decent moments, though. Anya and Damian’s interactions tend to be very amusing, and Yor’s brother gets his usual treatment, which I generally find to be kind of hilarious.

If you like SPYxFAMILY, and you are willing to take a game in small bites over a period of time, and you’re willing to put up with some routine gameplay to get to the really good bits, you might be the right person for SPYxANYA: Operation Memories. I don’t think this is a property that necessarily lends itself well to being a video game, so I’m personally willing to overlook some of this game’s flaws. One for the fans to be sure, but I think the fans will be satisfied if not thrilled. Stay tuned for Mikhail’s review of the Steam version to see what our official TouchArcade score will be.

Select New Releases
Naheulbeuk’s Dungeon Master ($29.99)

Here’s another game based on Naheulbeuk, and it’s something of a Dungeon Keeper-style affair. But there’s also an aspect where you’re raiding other dungeons, too. It’s all soaked in that usual Naheulbeuk humor, so if you’re into that then you’re all set. Otherwise, it’s a bit of a messy affair that is probably trying to do too many things to do any of them particularly well.

Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)

An interesting list this time, but the two games I really want to call out are Ziggurat and its sequel. Well-liked and rarely discounted, and thus worth considering. In the outbox, the latest sale from Atari and its subsidiaries Nightdive and Digital Eclipse is coming to a close. Plenty of great games there to think about buying.

Select New Sales

Dakka Squadron ($4.99 from $19.99 until 7/15)

Orten Was The Case ($11.24 from $14.99 until 7/15)

Pinball FX Star Trek Pinball ($11.24 from $14.99 until 7/16)

Pinball FX Charlie Brown Xmas ($4.11 from $5.49 until 7/16)

Army of Ruin ($5.99 from $7.99 until 7/16)

Ziggurat ($7.49 from $14.99 until 7/16)

Ziggurat 2 ($12.49 from $24.99 until 7/16)

Cats Hidden in Cozy Places ($2.99 from $3.99 until 7/22)

Undead Horde ($5.94 from $16.99 until 7/22)

Undead Horde 2: Necropolis ($5.94 from $16.99 until 7/22)

DYSMANTLE ($6.99 from $19.99 until 7/22)

Trine Enchanted Edition ($3.44 from $14.99 until 7/23)

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger ($3.99 from $19.99 until 7/29)

Figment 1 + Figment 2 ($5.99 from $39.99 until 7/29)

Sakura Succubus ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/29)

Beach Bounce Remastered ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/29)

Moorhuhn Remake ($3.49 from $6.99 until 7/29)

Starlight Drifter ($13.39 from $19.99 until 7/29)

Summer Daze: Tilly’s Tale ($3.99 from $14.99 until 7/29)

Lucy Got Problems ($5.35 from $7.99 until 7/29)

Please Fix The Road ($6.99 from $9.99 until 7/29)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ($7.49 from $29.99 until 7/30)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – New Edition ($8.74 from $34.99 until 7/30)

XIII ($4.99 from $19.99 until 7/30)

Sales Ending Tomorrow, July 10th

Asteroids Recharged ($4.49 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Atari 50: The Anniversary ($27.99 from $39.99 until 7/10)

Atari Flashback Classics ($17.99 from $39.99 until 7/10)

Atari Mania ($11.24 from $24.99 until 7/10)

Berzerk Recharged ($7.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Black Widow Recharged ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Blade Runner Enhanced Edition ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Breakout Recharged ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Bubsy Paws on Fire ($12.49 from $24.99 until 7/10)

Caverns of Mars Recharged ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Centipede Recharged ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Days of Doom ($16.49 from $29.99 until 7/10)

Ebenezer & the Invisible World ($15.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

F-117A Stealth Fighter ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/10)

Gravitar Recharged ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Haunted House ($13.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

Head over Heels ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Kombinera ($6.74 from $14.99 until 7/10)

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story ($26.99 from $29.99 until 7/10)

Lunar Lander Beyond ($23.99 from $29.99 until 7/10)

Missile Command Recharged ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Mr. Run and Jump ($13.74 from $24.99 until 7/10)

My Child Lebensborn Remastered ($5.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

PO’ed: Definitive Edition ($17.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

Pong Quest ($6.74 from $14.99 until 7/10)

PowerSlave Exhumed ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

qomp2 ($15.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

Quantum Recharged ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition ($13.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 CE ($13.49 from $29.99 until 7/10)

RollerCoaster Tycoon Adv. Deluxe ($31.99 from $39.99 until 7/10)

Shadow Man Remastered ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

Snow Battle Princess Sayuki ($4.50 from $15.00 until 7/10)

Spirits of Xanadu ($2.49 from $4.99 until 7/10)

Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster ($20.99 from $29.99 until 7/10)

Strife: Veteran Edition ($2.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

Swords & Soldiers 2 ($4.49 from $14.99 until 7/10)

Tempest 4000 ($5.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

The Making of Karateka ($17.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

Turok ($5.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

Turok 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/10)

Turok 3 Remastered ($26.99 from $29.99 until 7/10)

Wizardry ($35.99 from $39.99 until 7/10)

Yars Recharged ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/10)

That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, perhaps some news, and if I’m feeling frisky maybe even a review. I took a bit of a day off today, and it felt nice. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading.