Finally got a Switch. At least 50% of the reason is for work (or so I keep telling myself). Picked up Splatoon 2 (that’s the “research”) and Zelda. Will need to start crawling for this thread for more recos.
Zelda could be at least 60-100 hours. You have time. :)
I just finished Rayman Legends and I’m looking to switch gears and get a good RPG on Switch. Was looking at Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Should I pick this up, or is there another RPG that I should look at first? Also, have the patches improved Xenoblade Chronicles 2 much since launch?
Xenoblade is fine, good while not really being life-changing. It’s got a lot of good stuff and a lot of flaws, but if you’re after a JRPG on the Switch, it’s likely to be the consensus choice. (Note that it’s REALLY LONG, even by JRPG standards. 60+ hours if you straight line the main quest, and probably closer to 100+ for an ‘average’ play style that hits up side quests, looks for the different Blades, etc.) The patches have helped with some quality of life stuff as well as added some DLC, but honestly the game played pretty well even at launch. Performance was noticeably better docked vs mobile (though not unplayable), and I believe that is still true.
In terms of the other options, it’s mostly games that have been out on other platforms for a while that are also kind of just fine at this point (I Am Setsuna, South Park, an Atelier game, Lost Sphear, Skyrim of course, probably some others). West of Loathing is an indie that just came out on Switch and is better than fine, if you missed it on PC. There are so many re-releases for the platform that I’m almost certainly forgetting something.
The most interesting candidate is actually not out for another month: Octopath Traveler, scheduled for mid-July, has quite a bit of hype from the demo, the early looks, and the Square Enix heritage. Hard to say when it’s not out yet, but the style and the details that have come out all look great.
I’ve been playing through Battle Chasers: Nightwar the last week or so and am really enjoying it. It’s another one that is available on other platforms, but works great for the portability on Switch.
I enjoyed Xenoblade but I didn’t love it. It becomes very linear about halfway through which took away a lot of what I enjoy about that series. Still saw it through to the end, which isn’t that common for me for such a long game. Patches also addressed a lot of the QoL annoyances I had.
Xenoblade got boring and tedious eventually, but it was still cool, and I got a ton of gameplay out of it.
Mario was… I know I’ll get crucified for this, but whatever… just not a fun game. It just wasn’t interesting to me. I tried really hard to like it, but I just couldn’t get into it.
Zelda was a masterpiece though. One of the greatest games ever.
I beat Mario, so I did get into it. But, I just had no interest in revisiting the worlds after the first time through them.
Mario v Rabbids is a popcorn and beer XCOM style strategy romp. I quite enjoyed it for the presentation.
Atelier Lydie and Suelle is charming and fun, but you have to be willing to accept and even embrace the sweet and rather childish attitude the game has. I didn’t finish Xenoblade; it just didn’t interest me as much in this iteration. Perhaps I will try it again sometime.
I beat it too, but like you, I just wasn’t that into bothering to go back and look at anything. Maybe some day I’ll go back to it.
Same. I actually really enjoyed it early on when a lot of elements were fresh and exciting but my interest waned as I started to recognise the beats and rhythm of the game. By the time I reached the end I was ready to move on, not go back for more.
My favourite Switch game is Mario + Rabbids, which I never expected to say. Definitely worth considering if you’re a fan of TBS. As I’ve said in a few places, I think it’s the best and most surprising thing to happen to the Mushroom Kingdom since karts and it’s so damn charming and amusing.
Damn, where is that DK expansion? Unlike Odyssey, I couldn’t get enough of Mario + Rabbids.
If you have other people to play with, Mario Kart 8 is my favorite Switch game. The addition of a 200cc class makes it much more single-player friendly than previous Mario Karts as well. Golf Story is a great indie golf-RPG.
I still have not bought any switch titles that were on Wii U yet. I just can’t justify plunking down that cash again for the same game. make MK8 20 bucks and now we’re talking.
I bought Mario Kart again but that’s the only one. Battle Mode is a nice addition.
I totally understand not wanting to buy the same game twice. I never owned a Wii U, so Mario Kart 8 and Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze are new to me.
It is, though I was a bit surprised at how few courses there were. It just kind of ends, right when it gets going.
I’m frightened to get into this, but I hear that Stardew Valley is ideal on the Switch, since you can take your obsession wherever you go. If that’s what you’re into.
I think Switch game preference will vary depending on how one uses the Switch. It seems to break down to:
- Is it just another console to you that will be perma-docked?
- Is it just a Nintendo device to you and you will prefer to get games on other platforms when you can?
- Is it a way to play console or PC level games on a TV and also when NOT at a TV?
I land in the third category and sort of feel like those that are in 1 or 2 are “doing it wrong.” I have read a lot of complaints about spaced out Nintendo releases, “Switch Tax”, or grumblings about it being an indy box, but all of these seem (to me) to be ignoring the best feature of the Switch.
As such I tend to really get mileage out of games that work well binged or with bit size play, but with short game loops that make returning to them easy. As such I really enjoy rogue likes (such as Has Been Heroes, Iron Clad, Immortal Redneck), Battle Chasers, or Mario vs Rabbids. However, I don’t really get much use out of more traditional heavy couch time games like Zelda or Xenoblade. Not that you CAN’T do the latter in bite sized play, actually my main beef with Zelda is that it is so puzzle-ish with it’s staged encounters or trials over every hill or behind every rock (which is just fine in bite sized play). I just find it less to my liking to play these epic narrative games on something that I keep in my bag when I am away on a trip or on a lunch break.
It’s pretty great for 2, as long as you didn’t have a Wii-U.
For me, it will be category 1 and 2 when I eventually get it.
I already fooled myself into thinking I’d somehow like handheld gaming if I bought a handheld device, but it turned not to be true. (Thank you Vita, for that valuable and expensive lesson). I’m not going to suddenly like gaming on the go because of the Switch.