I completely avoid phyisical. I just got a 512GB card or whatever size I ended up on, they aren’t very expensive, and I install games to it. The OLED has some solid internal storage as well which you can install to - and it’s easy to uninstall games you aren’t playing. I’m not about to go looking for my little thumbnail sized game card and insert it to swap what game I’m playing. Ugh. No thanks.
I actually find attaching the joycons to the sides of the device and holding it like a Vita or Steam Deck to be the best and it’s quite comfortable, and I even have big hands. I hold and play that in handheld mode for hours every night, though I do need to take a break now and then of course.
I played a decent amount of Hades and Speluny 2 and games like that, but I do try to avoid too many action games and tend to prefer rogues, strategy games, RPGs, that sort of thing. What you might want is the HORI split Pro - it’s an absolutlye amazing replacement for the joycons.
I kinda envisioned this replacing my (s)crappy old samsung tablet which I basically just use for Netflix/Plex. I did a (very) brief google around this late last night and dual boot with Android was mentioned - though looking at what @DaveLong posted this probably isn’t possible/worth the effort anyway. Disappointing, but it isn’t critical.
That’s great. I did have the OLED Switch marked out as what I’m gonna get (mostly cuz I like the Splatoon themed one).
They look neat - especially the compact version. I’ll probably get the Switch and get those later if the joycons don’t work out for me (shame they don’t do Splatoon colours tho!).
This is great news, I am tempted to pick it up. How clacky/loud are the buttons on it, compared the HORI (which was so loud I can’t use it upstairs when my wife and I watch TV, she gets super annoyed) or the built-in joycons, which are super quiet and I can play even fast paced games without her hearing the buttons?
I’ll say that this is my favorite part about traveling with a Switch on a plane. My setup allows me to go full-on sloth mode:
I bought this stand which is super flexible and can hook on or over the tray table in front of me, so the Switch is at eye level instead of me looking down at it at an angle
I detatch the joy-cons from the screen and just hold them in my hands
My hands are then free to go wherever most comfortable - on my side while my arms are on an arm rest, in my lap, wherever
In my experience with the Joy Cons, playing with them detached, one in each hand, comfort was never an issue and I never felt there was much benefit to using the plastic holder that just sticks them together.
What I did notice was that individual Joy Cons were more prone to brief connection disruptions. When sitting on the couch with the Switch off to the right of the TV, occasionally I’d notice my left Joy Con dropping inputs if I had my hands down by my side at an angle where my leg was blocking line of sight to the Switch. That sounds weird to describe, but it was a very natural feeling position when my hands were free to be separate.
I don’t know if the problem was that the Joy Con signal wasn’t as strong as a standard wireless controller, if it was the fact that the Joy Con was in a position I’d never hold a regular controller, or a combination. With the Joy Cons when I noticed it I’d just lean forward and hold both hands in front of me approximately where they’d be with a regular controller and the issue would go away, and I didn’t have the issue every time I used them in the first place.
But it’s an issue I never had at all with the wireless Pro controller.
This may never be an issue at all with your own setup and where you’re holding the controllers in relation to your Switch, but worth thinking about.
I love the concept of a split gamepad where each hand can be positioned independently for comfort, and am very disappointed that it hasn’t caught and been copied more widely. The joy-cons are okay, but they’re just so dinky in my giant hands and don’t stay in place as well without being able to brace against my palms. I bought some plastic grips that they snap into, but it could still be a lot more comfortable. And I’d love to have a way to use that control setup on platforms other than Switch. I keep hoping that 8bitdo or a similar company would just saw an Xbox controller in half and make the electronics work cross-platform, but so far I’ve been disappointed.
Good choice! I got one of those for my kid for Christmas, and it’s a really fun design. (actually, if you can’t find one, I have a second one still in the box that I’ve been trying to decide whether to use myself or to sell).
For those that want the standard joycon’s but with some extra surface to grip, these are a solid addition (joycons still work fine even without batteries):
I bought the Hori Split Pad, but after I got it I realized it made my Switch almost the exact same size as my Steam Deck.
I love my Steam Deck, but the portability of the Switch (including the ability to fit in a relatively compact case that fits easily in my bag) is more important to me.
Ended up returning it shortly after, just wasn’t worth the trouble for me.
Did we know that Etrian Odyssey HD re-releases were coming? Either way, thank goodness it’s not 'till June, we are in the middle of JRPG overload right now and I’m not sure that I could handle any more.
I don’t think so. We do know there is a new game in the series in development for Switch, but HD releases of the first three games are a (nice) surprise as far as I’m aware.
I actually do want to check out “The Minish Cap”, ever since I read that article that it’s the best Zelda game. And it will only be available with the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion, so I guess I have to get the expansion membership, but only when I’m ready to play the Zelda game. That’s going to be tough to time.
Metroid Prime remastered available today? Now that is a pleasant surprise. I guess they stopped waiting for Prime 4 to release it. (unless there’s an even bigger surprise at the end of this)
