VGamingBargains: Nintendo Switch March 2021

So readers – let’s address the elephant in the room… the huge February Nintendo eShop sale that we didn’t cover…

I’m sorry. I built you up with a promise of glittering bargains galore and I didn’t deliver. I only hope you can forgive me, because below we do have such glittering bargains, albeit not as many as we could have had!

Let’s be honest – there were so many games in that last sale that any old schmuck could’ve put his hand on a winner! But not this time friends – I’ve scoured the eShop so you don’t have to, and pulled together a list of games worth throwing your pennies at. In a strange turn of events, and entirely by accident, Level 1 seems to be dominated by turn-based games, Level 2 by puzzlers, and Level 3 with more narrative games – check them all out below.

As always, the games are split into three levels, based around their price points:

Level 1 – games in Level 1 cost between £7.50 and £10.00 and tend to be the larger titles available in our price range – they’ll take most of your budget here but offer the most full-game experience for a small amount of money

Level 2 – costing between £3.50 and £7.49, games at level 2 give you a little more flexibility on how to spend your money but might be a little shorter or perhaps a little older than games in the top level

Level 3 – rounding out the list are our cheapest games, from those that are absolutely free up to a cost of £3.49. These games tend to be made by independent developers and are often a shorter experience, but make no mistake – while they might only be a few hours long, the games in Level 3 still offer a lot of enjoyment – even better, you can mix-and-match a few for your money

 

VGamingBargains is a monthly feature, published near the start of each month to highlight a few good deals available on the eShop soon after each pay day. Keep an eye out for future editions and we’ll do our best to put you onto a couple of great games that won’t break the bank!

 

Level	Title	Cost	On Sale Until
Level 1	One Way Heroics Plus	£9.44	10/03/21
	Here Be Dragons	£7.91	27/03/21
Level 2	Evan’s Remains	£4.19	16/03/21
	Bridge Constructor: Portal	£5.39	24/03/21
	Archaica: The Path of Light	£3.57	04/04/21
Level 3	Goetia	£0.89	31/03/21
	My Brother Rabbit	£1.34	31/03/21
	The Way	£0.89	28/03/21
	In Between	£1.65	10/03/21
	Subsurface Circular	£2.39	24/03/21
	Lumo	£1.99	17/03/21

Level 1

Turn-based apocalyptic side-scrolling roguelike, One Way Heroics Plus, sprints onto the list and takes the highlight spot this month. In a universe being overrun by the darkness of the Demon Lord, you must outrun the perpetual wall of evil and defeat him in order to save the dimension. You’ll run through procedurally generated pixel art environments and slay hordes of RPG monsters, all-the-while having to stay ahead of the onrushing wall of darkness that’s consuming the world. You can use XP and Dimensional Gold Coins to level up your heroes between runs and progress to new worlds in need of your help. The learning curve will have you dying a lot early on before making some headway, but in a game chock-full of replay value, you’ll get plenty of hours for your money here, particularly if you’re a completionist. Much like the game, you’ll have to act fast to grab this one, as it’s only on sale until Weds 10/03/21!

Another turn-based affair rounds out Level 1, with the naval strategy romp Here Be Dragons coming in at a shaving under eight quid. Before the great Christopher Columbus could set sail to discover the Americas in 1492, the player must take charge of a ragtag group of crazy ship captains to clear the oceans of countless mystical menaces like the kraken, ghost ships and Leviathan. I can’t lead off this recommendation with anything other than the incredible art style, with Red Zero Games giving late-1400s exploration a quirky ‘living map’ feel and brings the monster to life with some awesome imagery. The well-rounded dice-based mechanics and tricky level design will offer you plenty of challenge for the price tag, and with some fun characters and dialogue thrown in, you’re definitely onto a winner.

Level 2

Physics-puzzler Bridge Constructor: Portal headlines Level 2, offering a peek into the dubious experiments conducted by the sadistic GLaDOS in the name of science. Use bridges, ramps, and towers to safely guide automatically moving vehicles across a myriad of real-physics obstacles before moving onto the next experiment. Fans of previous Bridge Constructor games will find all of their favourites here, with the added confusion of portals and other Aperture Laboratories inventions that require even more ‘out of the box’ thinking. The graphics are crisp and clean; a nice soundtrack and for Portal fans, Ellen McLain returns as the ever-dry voice of GLaDOS. 

Evan’s Remains is a beautifully depicted platform puzzle game centring around the mystery disappearance of boy-genius, Evan. You play as Dysis, who must run and leap her way through platform-based riddles that rely on having on having a sharp mind rather than quick reactions or precise jumps. More mechanics are introduced every few levels, and eventually combined, to ease up the difficulty and keep you thinking. Although rather short, the nicely told story and the stunning pixel art make this one worth purchasing for fans of the genre, for sure.

The final game in Level 2 is Archaica: The Path of Light, an atmospheric puzzle game revolving around the use of light, crystals, and mirrors to solve ancient mysteries and save the world from disaster. The realms are beautifully crafted, and the puzzles offered are unique and well thought out. Puzzle fans looking for a quick fix should enjoy this one for only a few pounds.

Level 3

I’m not exaggerating when I say that The Way might be my favourite bargain that I’ve ever stumbled across – it’s an absolute masterpiece. For less money that a bottle of Pepsi, you can play through a stunning pixel art adventure that sees an explorer head to an alien world in search of a way to bring back his beloved, without whom he is crushed. Inspired by retro classics like Another World and Flashback, The Way has an immersive sci-fi setting and storyline, driven by rich locations and head-scratching puzzles. Can you solve the alien enigmas and revive your lover? You should most definitely spend 89 pence (!) to find out.

In Subsurface Circular you play as a robot stationed on an underground railway car in order to investigate the sudden disappearances of a number of working-class robots, and the threads of fate that lead to something more sinister. A revamp of old-school text-based games, you have to talk with other commuters and collect words; you then use these words as points of interest that allow you to broach new subjects with other people in order to progress the plot. It’s undoubtedly short, but for only a few pounds you get a really nicely constructed sci-fi-mystery, with some polished graphics, enjoyable riddles and an intriguing plotline. 

Rounding up the offers we have In Between, a gravity-based puzzle-platformer set inside the mind of a man struggling with illness. It’s a thoughtful, and oftentimes bleak look, at struggle and self-belief with a physics-based mask on it – sound and graphics aren’t the main event here, but the thought-provoking monologue. Goetia is a point-and-click puzzler set inside the rotting mansion of a Victorian family, whose estate is haunted by Abigail Blackwood, the once-youngest member of the household, now risen from the grave. As Abigail you must float through walls and possess objects to interact with them, in order to solve the mysteries of your father’s estate. 

Another point-and-click adventure, My Brother Rabbit, is conjured from the imagination of siblings going through a tough time together. As rabbit you must solve puzzles, find hidden objects, and play mini games to help your unwell friend recover, all set in a land of incredible landscapes and strange and fantastic characters. Beautifully drawn and with a wonderful soundtrack, this is a must for point-and-click fans. Last, but certainly not least we have Lumo, an isometric platformer that harkens back to classics such as Land Stalker, but with a vibrant, new coat of paint. After being sucked into a malfunctioning computer at a videogames expo, you must explore over 400 rooms, discover secrets, and even play a few mini games to escape! It’s only short, but old-school fans might want to try out this self-professed love letter to the ‘golden age of gaming’.

*Game requires Nintendo Switch Online membership to play online

The recommendations made in this article do not come from any paid promotion and are solely influenced by our enjoyment of the games highlighted and their perceived value for money

Prices accurate at the time of publication