Nintendo Switch - Games You Can Play Right Now

hbi2k wrote:

one really cool Bowser's Castle level that was clearly using every trick in the game design handbook to make the level SEEM intimidating while actually making it almost impossible to actually die. Things like lava monsters that leap out at you while never actually clearing ground level, stuff like that.

That was the guest level from Naughty Dog.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
hbi2k wrote:

one really cool Bowser's Castle level that was clearly using every trick in the game design handbook to make the level SEEM intimidating while actually making it almost impossible to actually die. Things like lava monsters that leap out at you while never actually clearing ground level, stuff like that.

That was the guest level from Naughty Dog.

IMAGE(https://i.giphy.com/media/WuGSL4LFUMQU/giphy.gif)

Do we have a way to friend people here on GWJ so we can play each other's levels, or is it just already existing Switch friends?

garion333 wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
hbi2k wrote:

one really cool Bowser's Castle level that was clearly using every trick in the game design handbook to make the level SEEM intimidating while actually making it almost impossible to actually die. Things like lava monsters that leap out at you while never actually clearing ground level, stuff like that.

That was the guest level from Naughty Dog.

IMAGE(https://i.giphy.com/media/WuGSL4LFUMQU/giphy.gif)

IMAGE(https://i.giphy.com/media/WuGSL4LFUMQU/giphy.gif)

Vrikk wrote:

Do we have a way to friend people here on GWJ so we can play each other's levels, or is it just already existing Switch friends?

I would love to try to make some levels and have other GWJers play them. I have no idea how to make switch friends or exchange levels though...I've never tried adding people on Switch.

I'm pretty pleased with the single player story mode of Mario Maker 2. In the first one, the levels in the single player mode were quick, simple, and gimmicky. Here, they've so far all felt like fairly complete levels, albeit ones still built to showcase a single mechanic. I wouldn't feel slighted if any of these had shown up in a proper 2D Mario release, and apparently there are 100 of them? I'm happy with that.

If you want to play some GWJ levels, there are some "maker codes" being exchanged over in the Mario Maker thread: https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/...

(I haven't yet spotted a way to find levels made by folks on your Switch friends list, and/or by other user profiles on the same physical Switch system.)

ProTip: Follow Farscry. He made some really great levels for SMM1! (Quite a few GWJers actually made high-quality levels in SMM1, but I remember in particular Farscry's "complete game" of 8 4-level worlds done in the SMB1 style.)

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I'm pretty pleased with the single player story mode of Mario Maker 2. In the first one, the levels in the single player mode were quick, simple, and gimmicky. Here, they've so far all felt like fairly complete levels, albeit ones still built to showcase a single mechanic. I wouldn't feel slighted if any of these had shown up in a proper 2D Mario release, and apparently there are 100 of them? I'm happy with that.

Oh that’s cool to hear. I’m interested in playing levels but don’t really get much of a kick out of making them.

I'm thinking about buying Mario Maker 2 now, but I'm thinking about getting it on cartridge. I'm not sure how long I'll hang with it. Thoughts?

That seems like the ideal situation for buying a cart of a game. You'll probably be able to sell or trade it for $30-$40 for the next couple years.

What downside are you envisioning?

Are there any quirky handheld style games for the Switch yet?

I took my 3DS on vacation this week to play Animal Crossing and Fantasy Life and ended up playing Rhythm Heaven, Layton, Mario vs Donkey Kong, Nintendogs and some other games for which there’s just no analog on the Switch yet. Or none that I’m aware of.

Am I missing something or has the merging of the platforms come at the expense of the true handheld games. The bite sized games.

There are so so so many indie games that I’d call bite sized.

Knowing how you feel about the GBA I’d recommend Golf Story. It is a golf RPG I quite liked, looks like a game from that era, and is written by cheeky Australians. It had some minor but annoying technical issues when it released but I’d imagine they’ve been ironed out now.

Wizard of Legend is my favorite rogue-lite game. Might be a little too twitch for your tastes.

Gato Roboto is a solid Metroidvania with graphics somewhere between the NES and SNES. It’s the definition of bite sized at $7 and about 5 hours long. You play as a cat that uses his/her cat powers and a mech suit to explore a space station, so I think that qualifies as quirky.

Minit is an adventure/puzzle game that’s reminiscent of Links’s Awakening with one caveat: you get one minute to play before the game ends. What you do in each minute goes forward to subsequent plays.

Nintendo hasn't released many of their smaller titles to Switch yet, so that may be why you're getting that impression, DSG. Snipperclips might be up your alley though.

Golf Story is a great recommendation. Snake Pass might be worth a look, if you haven't picked it up elsewhere.

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is rad and has bite sized levels.

Blind_Evil wrote:

There are so so so many indie games that I’d call bite sized.

This.

The eShop is lousy with (a) recent indie games, whose target platforms are defaulting to "PC & Switch", and (b) ports of games that pre-date the Switch by 1 to 34 years (there's a port of a ZX Spectrum game on there).

Problem is finding them - the eShop is a UI disaster.

r013nt0 wrote:

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker is rad and has bite sized levels.

Good suggestion. I own this and had actually forgotten about it. I just got off of finishing BOTW, so I was ignoring most of the rest of my pile. That's 1. I'll happily take more suggestions.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Knowing how you feel about the GBA I’d recommend Golf Story. It is a golf RPG I quite liked, looks like a game from that era, and is written by cheeky Australians. It had some minor but annoying technical issues when it released but I’d imagine they’ve been ironed out now.

This is a good suggestion too. As are the others. Thanks.

Jonman wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

There are so so so many indie games that I’d call bite sized.

This.

The eShop is lousy with (a) recent indie games, whose target platforms are defaulting to "PC & Switch", and (b) ports of games that pre-date the Switch by 1 to 34 years (there's a port of a ZX Spectrum game on there).

Problem is finding them - the eShop is a UI disaster.

Right. Totally. I have a feeling I'm missing some games that fit my description. With earlier Nintendo handheld systems it was easy to find these games because usually Nintendo made them. Layton, Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, Rhythm Heaven, WarioWare, etc.

So far I don't get the impression they're going to re-up any of those series. So in the meantime I'm happy to try indie games, but I have no idea how to find the gems in the sea of ports.

DSGamer wrote:

Right. Totally. I have a feeling I'm missing some games that fit my description. With earlier Nintendo handheld systems it was easy to find these games because usually Nintendo made them. Layton, Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, Rhythm Heaven, WarioWare, etc.

So far I don't get the impression they're going to re-up any of those series. So in the meantime I'm happy to try indie games, but I have no idea how to find the gems in the sea of ports.

Have you Baba Is You'd yet? It's a great pick to poke at for 5 or 10 minutes at a time, and, to borrow a phrase, is The Most Innovative Puzzle Game I've Played In Years...

New Animal Crossing is coming soon.

Go buy a gba again, DSG

Vrikk wrote:

Go buy a gba again, DSG ;)

I have access to GBA games and a 3DS with DS/3DS games. So I have plenty of these style of games.

I was just musing on how I can't seem to find them on the Switch yet. Although, once again, I'll take the above advice and see what I can find.

I think part of what I'm lamenting is that maybe in the process of combining their product lines, Nintendo is neglecting an entire way of making games.

They aren’t, IMO. I can think of Box Boy+Girl, Sushi Striker, Snipperclips, Kirby Star Allies. I’d argue 1-2 Switch is in the same spirit.

Sorry if I missed it, but is there a Ultimate Alliance 3 thread?
I'm hoping so hard this won't suck. I loved the X-Men Legend and old UA games.

Nope, no thread.

I'm very excited and yes played all the previous games and even some mods of the PC version.

Happy to report that DQ Builders 2 runs splendidly on Switch

Speaking of running well on the Switch, I had a couple flights this weekend, so I revisited Dead Cells. I didn't experience any kind of hitching or frame drops in 2 or 3 hours of play, so that performance patch helped big time.

Also, I'm not sure if it was through patches or the new DLC, but the game seems way easier to me than when I played a year or so ago. I had never managed to beat it before, but I made it all the way through on my first attempt this time.

DQ Builders 2 random thoughts
1. Love it. Little improvements all through out. Combat feels about the same except for your buddy "Malroth". Combat only feels tough against a hard monster.

2. Systems feel more connected with each other. You have villagers that do stuff instead of walk around and give quests.

3. Villagers go where ever they want. I built a toilet and they climb through it to get to a higher level.

4. Sets are cool. They give more variety to where you build. Sets are similar to a dining set.

5. The tutorial are generally good except a few times where I wish I could say "elaborate please".

6. I don't like the high powered mallet swing vs the original. I don't get as much material for the effort. Press Y after the mallet swing doesn't save time. With Malroth's help especially.

7. No item warps. You can just go to the map and go.

8. I can't cook multiple dishes?

9. The writing is pretty smart.

10. The Switch performance is okay. I don't mind it too much. I like to have it on the go. If you are sensitive to it, get the PS4 version instead.

11. Overall, pretty happy other than combat is still boring.

I was straight up addicted to Darkest Dungeon for a while. With how busy life is, it's a rare treat to have a game really sink its teeth into you. And yeah, I cursed. A lot. When 1am rolls around and you say to yourself "Just one more try..." you know it's meant to be.

I bought DD on sale and I really can't wait to play it, but am making myself finish some other Switch titles before I do.