By Alex Donaldson
Switch – our favourite launch games
Nintendo Switch has been out for a while now, and while we had a bit of a lead-up thanks to Nintendo to sink our claws into Zelda and the machine itself, much of the launch line-up remained a mystery to us until launch day. On launch day, while most of you were probably playing Zelda, we sunk our teeth into everything else. A week later, we can report in.While people might say the Switch has no games, it actually launched with over 15 different titles – the catch being that many of them only launched on the eShop. Yes, many of them are also ports – but still. Games! They exist! And it’s not just, y’know, Just Dance.
Here we list our five favourite Switch launch games (including the obvious one, yes), plus the three most important ports on the system here at launch. There’s some stuff you might not know much about such as the F-Zero like Fast RMX and portable-only rhythm game Voez, so maybe you’ll learn something. Here goes…
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
$59.99 / £59.99Well, duh. I mean, I don’t think you need me to really write too much more about this one – I covered it in detail in our ridiculously long review, but the upshot of it is this: not only is this the best Switch launch game, but it’s actually a competitor for the best Zelda game ever made and also a strong competitor for one of the best video games ever made period.
Yeah. It’s that good.
The thing about Breath of the Wild is that it’s brave; it takes a Zelda formula that’s worked fine for Nintendo (even if it’s struggled to dazzle in recent years) and completely tosses it away for something different.
That different concoction takes influences not just from the original Legend of Zelda but also clearly has been developed with one eye closely trained on some of the best the industry has to offer. There’s the exploration antics of The Elder Scrolls and Assassin’s Creed clearly visible in its massive world, the sort of tight gameplay loop of Portal found in a great many shrines, the challenge and fear of survival games in its difficulty and weapon degredation.
Anyway, the point is, it’s excellent. It’s a special game. Read our full review for more.
Snipperclips: Cut it Out, Together
$19.99 / £17.99While Zelda is the perfect game to sit down and play on your own in massive nine-hour binges, Snipperclips offers the inverse experience: something small and bite-sized that’s ideal for multiplayer either on the TV or on the built-in Switch screen.
When I first played this at Nintendo’s pre-launch hands-on event for the Switch the game was set up that way – console out with the kickstand deployed, Joy-Cons detached and ready to go. This makes sense: Snipperclips is the perfect little example of how those controllers can be split by the machine and used by two players in simple games that are ideal for train journeys.
In many ways Snipperclips is a lot like some of the best 3DS download titles – a puzzler with a unique sense of style and a finite but good value set of puzzles to play through. It’s all about physics, and while things start out relatively simple it escalates in a brilliant fashion towards complex and rewarding puzzles – but without becoming frustrating.
Perhaps the best thing I can say about Snipperclips is that it feels such a natural fit for the Switch despite essentially being an indie game. This is an indie that caught Nintendo’s attention, prompting Nintendo to pick up the game – and the resulting product feels like it could’ve come out of Nintendo SPD in Japan. That’s a big complement.
1-2-Switch
$49.99 / £39.99The thing about 1-2-Switch is that, well… it isn’t exactly brilliant. It’s a game that undoubtedly should’ve been a pack-in, but if you get the opportunity to pick this one up at a reduced price even much later on in the Switch’s life span, it’s probably worth your attention. That’s why it places here on this list.
Like Snipperclips, 1-2-Switch is another perfect example of part of the Switch’s X-Factor – the fact this machine can do both such a sprawling Zelda and these simple Wii-like mini-games on the same devices comfortably is a great advantage.
The games vary in quality but they’re broadly speaking good, clean fun. I had guests over and after a fair amount of alcohol deployed 1-2-Switch – the resulting laughs were pretty much exactly what Nintendo likely envisaged. The game is fun, but that fun is almost entirely dependent on the company you keep while playing it.
1-2-Switch isn’t going to sell anybody on the machine, but it does make a compelling argument for the other, non-hardcore side of the Switch. If this game had launched at the height of the Wii it probably would’ve been enormous, and in that regard it’s another strong string to Nintendo’s bow and a good (if expensive) way to demo the machine to friends. So here it is – third on our list.
Fast RMX
$19.99 / £16.99Whenever he’s asked about F-Zero, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto always seems a bit confused. I read an interview with him once where he expressed confusion that people would want a new F-Zero without the series finding a significant new gimmick to change things up – he’s not so much about the samey sequels. So there’s no F-Zero on Switch, or at least not yet. Enter Fast RMX.
Fast RMX is exactly what you’d expect, basically: it’s an F-Zero or Wipeout style racer to its very core. If you owned a Wii U you might be familiar with FAST Racing NEO on that machine; RMX is actually a remastered, Remixed version of that game – thus the RMX.
It’s a more aracade-like feel and isn’t anywhere near as punishing as the harder elements of the excellent F-Zero GX, but as an approximation of that style of game it’s a decent, worthy contender from an indie studio.
It’s pretty too, and mostly runs as smoothly as you’d want for a racer with this speed – 60fps is occasionally rocky, but not by much. There’s split screen plus online multiplayer – for its tiny eShop price this one is easy to recommend.
Super Bomberman R
$49.99 / £49.99Coming off the back of Fast RMX’s tiny retail price Super Bomberman R is… difficult. Bomberman is 33 years old (as the box proudly proclaims), but he really hasn’t changed much. Simplicity can be a good thing, but one does have to wonder if Bomberman is in dire need of a Pac Man Championship Edition style kick up the backside to really rejuvenate the franchise – especially if they want full retail price for these games.
Super Bomberman R is a difficult package to recommend in terms of value, but the actual game itself is a pretty compelling Switch experience when divorced from its price. In many ways Bomberman is the perfect 4-player local multiplayer game, and this is a deliberately stripped-back experience that harks back to the classic entries of the series, with superfluous and more ridiculous power-ups removed from the game.
While there is online, Bomberman is really all about that local play, sat around a TV or huddled around the Switch itself somewhere. The controls are simple enough that the small Joy-Cons aren’t an issue as they might end up being in some games (I look forward to seeing how Street Fighter 2 holds up on those things) – making it another perfect game to break out to show off the Switch.
But, man – that price. There’s a single-player mode complete with cutscenes and the like, but none of this makes the sting any lighter considering we’re all attracted to Bomberman for much simpler, basic pleasures – the sorts of experiences that feel like they’d be better off as a cheap download. Still, Super Bomberman R is pretty tempting, but be aware of what you’re getting for your full-whack price tag.
Honorable Mentions
The Switch launch has been focused for the most part on Zelda and 1-2-Switch for good reason, but scattered among the launch are a selection of other games that are worth a look, most of them ports that you may have played elsewhere. Here’s a quick run-down of the best ones:I Am Setsuna
This little gem was released on PS4 and PC last year, but it’s now cropped up here on Switch – which seems an appropriate place for it given its inspriations. Setsuna is basically a modern attempt to recapture the magic of SNES-era Japanese RPGs such as Chrono Trigger, and while it can be a little one note it’s a pretty excellent first attempt from new Square Enix studio Tokyo RPG factory. (£29.99 / $39.95)Shovel Knight
Shovel Knight is already an indie darling, and it’s already one that’s closely associated with Nintendo – the titular character even has an amiibo! Switch has two Shovel Knight experiences available – the complete package or the new Specter of Torment standalone add-on. Both are excellent call-backs to the 16-bit glory days… which is becoming a bit of a theme on the Switch already. (Treasure Trove: £22.49 / $24.99 | Specter of Torment: £8.99 / $13)Voez
Voez has been out on mobile phones for a while, but there’s a fair chance you’ve never heard of it. It’s the first handheld-only Switch game – it requires the touch screen, so can’t be used at all in docked mode. This is basically a cute rhythm action game with some story stuff layered on top. The artwork is some standard anime stuff, and rhythm games are tactile and fun to play on the Switch screen. If you’re commuting with the machine, this is a decently-priced eShop pick.
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