It’s that time of the year where game sales find themselves running rampant. For us gamers that means there’s an opportunity to save some money on the hottest titles around. Nintendo doesn’t exactly have the most generous past when it comes to winter sales but this year seems to be a little different.
With literal hundreds of titles on sale right now on the eShop, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. I’m here to break down the sale and show off the best deals available. So that this list doesn’t go on forever we’ll make it my top 10 recommended pickups from this winter sale. Let’s get right to it!
#10 Clustertruck
50% OFF, $7.49/£6.74 — 74 Metascore
Kicking off our list is Landfall Games’ classic Clustertruck. This is a platform indie game with a twist. Here you are tasked with leaping from truck to truck in order to avoid obstacles and reach the end of each stage. There’s definitely an element of learning the optimal approach to each level involved.
Clustertruck can suffer from some of its clunky controls and lack of replayability but at this very fair price that can be overlooked. The distinct art style and overall very clean presentation are particular highlights. It’s a really fun, easy to get into game where you can burn a quick half an hour of your time without realizing. Well worth a purchase at 50% off.
#9 Mantis Burn Racing
50% OFF, $9.99/£7.49- 77 Metascore
A more niche release of summer 2016. Most will probably have never even heard of Mantis Burn Racing but those who have played it should know what a fine title it can be. This isometric racer takes inspiration from classics like Micro Machines and applies a more realistic handling model to them. There’s actually a surprising skill ceiling present when trying to get the best time trial runs.
You get to work through a nice and lengthy career mode coupled with plenty of vehicles to buy and upgrade. Even on Switch, you get a solid 60 FPS too in all modes outside of split screen where it can fluctuate between 30 and 60. It’s not flawless and it doesn’t do anything too special but Mantis Burn Racing will still provide one of the best racing game experiences on Switch. At this price range, it’s worth picking up.
#8 Nine Parchments
70% OFF, $19.99/£5.39- 66 Metascore
Unfortunately, if you live in the US this deal isn’t worth looking at. Why? Because for some reason there is no deal. At its full retail price of $19.99, Nine Parchments is not worth it and you would be better served looking elsewhere. However, here in the UK, it’s 70% off bringing it down to a very tempting £5.39. If you are still interested and you live in the US it’s worth noting that you can buy it for $4.99 on Steam instead. Since Nine Parchments isn’t a demanding game either, you will hardly need all that impressive a PC to run it well.
What you’re getting for your money is a very competent twin-stick action RPG. There’s one thing you’ll want to consider before going ahead and buying this. As a single player game, it is not very good. You are really going to want either a friend or family to play with in order to get the best experience. Whilst online works fine too, it’s Parchment’s local co-op where it shines. I mean no exaggeration when I say this title offers possibly the best local co-op experience on Switch right now. Well maybe other than Smash Ultimate I suppose but alas, that sadly did not make the sale.
#7 Unbox Newbie’s Adventure
80% OFF, $5.99/£4.99- 52 Metascore
I know what you’re thinking. Why is a game with such a sub-par Metascore ranked 7th on a top 10 recommended list? Simply put, I think other critics were wrong about this one. Unbox is a delightful little collect-a-thon 3D platformer symbolic of personal classic favorites like Banjo Kazooie and Spyro. So charming in nature, Unbox was my biggest surprise when I reviewed it a couple years ago.
I went in honestly expecting nothing after skimming through the promotional art and trailers. I left that game feeling happy and honestly that’s not something games provide to me all that often. It’s easy enough to get excited or invested into a title, but pure happiness? That requires a special kind of game. At its initial retail of $29.99, this was flat-out overpriced. However, at 80% off this is an easy recommendation from me.
#6 de Blob
50% OFF, $14.99/£13.59- 72 Metascore
Honestly, de Blob 2 is a better game and if you can afford to spend that little extra to get it, go ahead. That will set you back $20.09/£24,29 instead. The reason I’m putting the original here though is that it’s just a better deal given the price gap. de Blob is undoubtedly one of the most underappreciated titles from the Wii era and I was very happy to see it get remastered earlier this year.
A truly gorgeous title, de Blob is all about painting a city that has had its color stolen. On a platform where many third party titles just don’t live up to expectations, de Blob feels as polished as the finest Nintendo first party works. Make no mistake, this is a really damn good 3D platformer that can compete with the best out there. If you’ve never played it at least once you are doing yourself a disservice by not picking it up in this sale.
That will be all for part 1 of my top 10 eShop sales. Expect part 2 to follow shortly where I’ll be showcasing the absolute best of this sale and the must buys for Switch library.
