This sixth year of Switch has seen me very happy with what has come for it. It’s not often it happens, but a game has been released in three of my four core franchises across this year. And I’ve played all three on the Switch. Pokémon Scarlet finally brought the open world Pokémon adventure I’d always wanted, but it was a rough start to the ninth generation. The same could be said of Sonic Frontiers, which evolved the series forward while showing some of the limitations of previous 3D entries.
As for LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, it lived up to my expectations of being an evolution of the TT LEGO game formula. A huge galaxy to explore, plenty of fun levels, and a Star Destroyer full of references. Sure, a few parts fell short, but it has given me hope that the next game will be even better. In fact, all three of them have given me that hope. Each of the next games in these series (most likely the start of generation ten for Pokémon) will be the best for me. I’m certain of it.
There were plenty of smaller games I’ve looked at across the year, and these have been a bit of a mixed bunch. I loved the relaxing nature of Bunny Park, and had some good karting fun with Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart. Chef Life was everything I’d expected it to be, getting its culinary hooks into me. But then there’s Miraculous: Rise of the Sphinx, which I hoped could be better than it turned out to be. Or Delivery Driver – The Simulation, which was a blown engine of a game.
It was a year in which there were a few surprises that I very much enjoyed as the Switch slowly started becoming the dominant gaming machine for me. Wreckfest’s arrival meant my second-best realistic racing game now had a portable way to play it. Sure, a few cuts had been made to make it happen. The maximum number of racers had been dropped to sixteen. The visuals and resolution had taken a bit of a hit. Certain track elements were no longer active. But aside from those, it was the same rough-housing racing game that I’d fallen in love with on the Xbox.
Once again, the time had come. I was getting the urge to once again see how I felt about the pseudo-turn-based combat of select RPGs. You know the ones. Knights of the Old Republic. Dragon Age. The types of games where you remain in control of the character with them automatically attacking during battles while you wait for the best opportunity to use some special moves. That urge came close to the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
When the release of that game came, I bought it to see whether I could put up with its combat. And I did. Sort of. I had fallen in love with the world and its characters. I wanted to see what happened to them. But that meant dealing with the combat, which really isn’t that bad. As I progressed through the game, I started to let go of my handling it like real-time combat. As such, I became more tolerant of it and even started to enjoy it. By the end of the story, I was completely happy to have stuck with it. When I feel there’s enough of a gap in releases to put time toward another time-consuming RPG, I want to give the previous games in the series a run.
BIG-Bobby-Car – The Big Race was put on a BIG discount, so naturally I decided to see what it was about. Pretty much a my first racing game, it features a small open world to mess around in with a story to guide you through everything. Time is split between tag, collection, time trial, and races, with the game making sure you can handle everything it throws at you. Some of those collection challenges see you do so on the track the next race takes place on, allowing the route of it to be learnt. While I couldn’t recommend it at full price, at just five quid it’s a nice way to spend a few hours.
A lovely little business management game, Parkasaurus sees you running a dinosaur park in various scenarios. Using a time portal to dig up fossils to then turn into dinosaur eggs, it is your job to keep them happy. Or let them break out and eat all the guests for your entertainment. With a lovely retro charm and building made easy via the isometric grid-based system it uses, I was happy to give this my time through all the scenarios it offered.
Ah, Nintendo Switch Sports. Bought just for bowling. And then barely used for that. To be fair, much like VR, it requires some space to get the most out of it. Of the sports I have played, I enjoy having a bit of a go on tennis, and an occasional bout of badminton. When golf arrived, I was as terrible as ever but still having a good time. The best of the sports for me are chambara – or sword fighting, and bowling. Most of my hours have gone to them.
Get the chaos of ink ready for another Splatoon! I was ready for it. Five years after Splatoon 2, I was interested to see what new things the series would bring. While staying mostly the same in terms of mechanics, the change up to the weapons and abilities had me taking some time to adjust to the fact my trusty Splattershot Jr no longer had a shield that would travel with me. When new weapons arrive, I’m giving them a try. And once again the only time I seem to play is during Splatfests. Should probably give that new event a go and even just play regularly more.
The first full 3D platformer for Kirby had me in delight all throughout. I loved the opening with that cutscene where Carby (as he affectionately became known as by the internet) drove along admiring this new world he finds himself in while that vocal song plays. And the love just continued, across all the levels and to the end, where it takes a brilliantly weird turn. Kirby really does love proving he is the ultimate being by destroying all other ultimate beings.
I was curious about this next one. A big celebration of a game where you can live with your favourite characters. Animal Crossing, but Disney. Dreamlight Valley separates itself from Animal Crossing in that there’s plenty of quests to be doing. Both as part of the main story and the various character stories. Decorate the village how you want, with numerous areas to give distinctly different styles. Fish, mine, forage, grow crops, just take in the scenery, or chat to the Disney characters across all eras. This is another life sim that has got its hooks into me. And it is continuously growing in content.
80’s Overdrive is a retro delight, taking inspiration from OutRun with design while doing something new. A racing competition where you start from the bottom and rise to the top, everything has a cost. Each race has a buy-in, giving incentive to do well. Fuel and damage need to be managed. Upgrades will allow you to handle the car better. And when you have enough, new cars to buy will provide a greater improvement in that handling. And speed. Which, with the OutRun-style handling, means reactions are everything.
The final one I’ll talk of is House Flipper. A construction game where you deal in houses. While you get jobs to earn money, the main goal is buying, refitting, and selling houses. The controls are easy enough to use, with skill points being earned for each action performed. Cleaning, painting, tiling and plastering, mounting radiators and plumbing, and more are tasks to perform on the quest to sell all the property you can buy. Very relaxing time.
This coming year of the Switch has a lot of games coming for it. The major one being The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It’s finally coming. As is Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp. And Pikmin 4. Hmm… Seems there’s a lot of games we’ve all been waiting for coming out this year. Expansions for the generation nine Pokémon games and Sonic Frontiers will keep both of those active this year, and I’ll likely consider the expansion for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 once all of that is out.
For smaller games, Train Life finally comes this month to the Switch. Having already played that on the Xbox Series S, being a conductor on a handheld will be such a joy. And hey, the next Farming Simulator is coming to the Switch! It might still be the mobile one, but it seems to be taking plenty of ideas from the console versions. Including the ability to wander around on foot. Last year was brilliant, but even without releases in my core franchises, I think this one might just about beat it.
Images Taken From:
Wreckfest | Original Screenshot
Parkasaurus | Original Screenshot
Disney Dreamlight Valley | Original Screenshot
