Nintendo Switch - Games You Can Play Right Now

Oof. Gamespot and Destructiod are pretty down on Windbound (a 5 and a 6). Apparently the roguelite structure doesn't necessarily play nice with the slower pace and survival mechanics. And it sounds like the Storyteller mode only kicks you back to the start of the chapter if you die, whereas the Survivalist mode kicks you back to Ch.1.

After watching a few reviews I am in the camp of playing on Storyteller. I know my skills - and more importantly my patience.

I bought it, despite all the reviews. So far I'm still in chapter 1 and have upgraded my stuff a bit.

I died once by taking on an enemy I wasn't ready for. Can't say I'm looking forward to dying later on and losing most of my goods, but I was early enough it was fairly quick to get up to speed since your carry items stick with you.

It's well made, but I'm not sure the combat feels good. Def aped from BotW, but enemies early on aren't anything special.

I was similarly swayed by the Dark Devotion enablement. I do not regret the purchase.

I find the threat assessment and the reactive choices thoroughly engaging. Both for traversal and for combat. You need to check surroundings, manage stamina, utilise items, gauge distances, and ultimately be decisive sooner rather than later. There's a real sense of meaning to decisions, due to the punish element should you stumble.

I've been slow to find my rhythm, mind you. The control mapping isn't as intuitive as it could be. It's puzzling why the shoulder buttons are utilised as they are, rather than the face buttons. It's a 2D experience. Thumbs need not be glued to analogue sticks. I also find less travel, more muscle memory, and less fatigue, with face buttons. There's no in-game button remapping. I may dabble with the Switch console settings, which I believe grants a button reconfiguration.

What I think may be a more preferable setup:

Block = B
Attack = Y
Dodge = A
Interact = X

Pray = L
Switch Weapon = R

I was relieved to have poked around the starting area, and spoke to the characters there, because it is seemingly a one way ticket upon transition to the next. I believe it's effectively a tutorial zone prior to the main stomping ground. Still, it irritates me that I cannot return, or create another save file. Best I can tell I'd need to wipe my save game data as if starting for the first time should I desire for a more leisurely return. (I think I do!)

The meta-progression for discovery is fascinating. I'm itching to uncover more, to journey farther, to reach out of the way ledges.

I suspect they use the shoulder buttons to dodge because it gives you the option to dodge forward or backward without needing to already be walking in that direction. As far as using the triggers to block and attack, that's the Dark Souls control scheme, as you know, so I assume they just copied it.

I will work with the default layout for a wee while longer. I do like to roll with different game-to-game control schemes. This one came across highly counterintuitive. I was way overtired, mind you, and in a swift rush, during my first and second hands-on. I do not much recall Demon's Souls or Bloodborne. I think I acclimated well enough. Skipped the trio that is this Dark Souls.

Anyway. Dark Devotion is the game I'm most thinking about finding time for. I need more lore. I want to reach new areas. I will out manoeuvre enemies. Great recommendation. Thanks!

I haven't really been playing my Switch lately and after thinking for a while, I realized that every time I think about playing a game, I think of how I'll then have to do battle with the left joycon and lose interest. So yesterday I ordered a joystick replacement kit from Amazon so that I'll hopefully be able to get back to all the fun Switch stuff (and my ACNL island!)

Which kit did you get?

merphle wrote:

Which kit did you get?

This one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...

(Hopefully Amazon link works)

Chalk up a recommendation for A Short Hike. Its an enjoyable little game where you play as an anthropomorphic bird named Claire, who visits her aunt who works as a Ranger at Hawk Peak Provincial Park. Claire is expecting an important call & with no reception at the park she has to get to the peak of the mountain.

Its BOTW like climbing & gliding throughout the park, with Golden Feathers that you can find being your stamina for both climbing & flying. The flying being essentially an extra flap of the wings for every golden feather gained (that boosts your height).

The park is filled with characters out for runs, trying to climb as high up the mountain as they can, there's even one building a sandcastle down on the beach. They all have fun & off the cuff dialogue. Its very entertaining overall.

I started playing A Short Hine with my toddler last week. We've had a handful of 20-30 minute runs and it's been enjoyable. I havent run into anything that would make me leery of playing with a little kid around either which is a relief.

She helps me dig with the shovel and opens up all of the treasure chests.

Thanks for posting about it. I'm always looking for young kid friendly games that don't involve violence. We'll try it out this weekend.

100% kid appropriate. Nothing even approaching violence and the theme is about conquering the mountain and helping others.

I played A Short Hike on my computer last week, and had a good time. Totally kid appropriate.

I finally got to play some Dark Devotion once more. The control mapping is grand. It simply took some adjustment. Being alert rather than exhausted may have contributed! It is rather useful to have a directional dodge on each bumper. Swifter execution with one (L or R) rather than two inputs (Stick and A). I was wrong to tarnish the default setup.

Try out the different weapons. Varying ranges. Varying speeds. It pays to experiment. Use your consumables. No reason to hoard as you lose them upon death. I've gotten farther since replenishing health and armour. Duh! Right! Who knew they weren't just for collecting. Holding a consumable button, let's say down on the d-pad, drops that item if you need to make space without consuming an item. Consume is press. Drop is hold. Tips I didn't immediately stumble upon.

I've still got a few areas I cannot find a path to yet. It is bugging me.

For finding your way to some of the harder to reach areas, keep an eye out for breakable walls. And make sure you have a weapon big and brutish enough to break them.

I also discovered quite by accident that you can destroy the teleporter statues to get a big dollop of loot. Fair warning: I have no idea if this is permanent. I forgot which one I broke and haven't gone back to check. ^_^*

Edit: It's not permanent! They rebuild when you die.

Also, you can break walls and statues with any weapon, but with the smaller, faster weapons you likely won't notice that you're doing damage. The big honking ones (I use one of the boss weapons) will break a wall in a single hit.

Monster Hunter Generations is lowest price ever on Switch. Is anyone still playing?

Can I still transfer my 3DS save?

Don't slap me, Clocky, but now that I'm playing Mario Sunshine on the Switch I really want Windwaker as well. I almost completely missed the Gamecube generation and I would like to play more of these Gamecube first party games. I'd prefer a port of the Wii U port, of course, but either way I could take more of these.

Maybe Fire Emblem from the Gamecube as well.

DSGamer wrote:

Don't slap me, Clocky, but now that I'm playing Mario Sunshine on the Switch I really want Windwaker as well. I almost completely missed the Gamecube generation and I would like to play more of these Gamecube first party games. I'd prefer a port of the Wii U port, of course, but either way I could take more of these.

Maybe Fire Emblem from the Gamecube as well.

Don't suppose you have a Wii knocking about, DS? That was back compatible with Gamecube discs. I've played an N64 game on a Gamecube disc running on a Wii (Ocarina of Time).

I'd be happy to loan you my copy of Wind Waker and a Wavebird controller to play it if you do.

One rumor/wish I hope comes true is a Fire Emblem Echoes of the GC and Wii games.

I've went purchase crazy the last few weeks on Switch.

Undertale - Has great writing & characters but I'm finding everything else about it a bit of a slog. I'll persist though as I'm only around the 1-2 hour mark.

A Short Hike - A breazy, easy, engaging little game that see's you play as an anthropomorphic bird named Claire. She travels to Hawk Peak, a sort of national park that is essentially mountainous terrain, lakes, cabins, little beaches, climbing routes etc You have no phone signal & are expecting an important call, but dammit there's no signal! Up to the peak ye must go.

It trades BOTW's stamina bar for golden feathers which the more you collect the further you can climb. For every golden feather gained you also get an extra flap of your wings that boosts your height in the air. It controls beautifully, the cast of characters are all fun to talk to & don't just feed you the usual boring npc dialogue, its very entertaining & witty. Definite recommendation, it is pretty short though.

Evergate - Looked stunning at one of the recent directs. The small team spent 4 years developing it, I thought I'd give it a shot. This might just be an indie gem. The puzzle platforming spoke to me & I love supporting small devs like this. Each level is a mixture of platforming & puzzles. I'd say its less about platforming skill & more about figuring out what route to take without prematurely burning your path to the finish of each level.

You essentially have an Ori style 'bash' ability that let's you boost off crystals to get across drops or to new platforms. To use this ability not only do you need the crystals but you need to aim through them & onto a white magical substance called Source. This lines walls, ceilings & platforms but only in select places. You need to be very accurate with the direction you want to propel yourself in.

I've only played about an hour but its a frustrating game that you'll restart a lot. Restarting is instant though, hold a button & it snaps you back to the start of the level with all platforms, crystals etc intact. It can be rewarding & does control well but if your someone who wants to complete every challenge in each level this can become an exercise in frustration.

Lair Of The Clockwork God - Bought this recently after it being touted as one of the best indie games of the year by the Youtube channel 'Get Indie Gaming'. I've only played the visual novel style prologue which was very well done & has sharp, comedic writing. Its about how the two main characters Ben & Dan met each other, its batsh*t crazy.

The main game is a 2D side-scroller that see's you control Ben via point & click were as Dan controls like a platformer. They are on a mission to find a flower that cures cancer. If the writing is like the prologue story this could be a winner. Only started it though.

Cuphead - Got this a good while back & its good but not totally gelling for me. There's something about the lack of feedback from hitting bosses that I don't like. Feels like they just light up & there's no animations or other visual cues that make you feel like your doing damage. I also don't really like the lack of full 360° shooting. Even still there's enough to like to go back.

I think now with this Fixture S1 attachment for my Pro Controller I should give it a proper shot. Words can't describe how bad I think the joy-cons are as controllers.

Also bought Ori & The Will Of The Wisps today, which delightfully stealth dropped yesterday, the first game was hugely enjoyable.

The much touted Hades is now in my library on the strength of reviews & word of mouth on here. I'm not Supergiant's biggest fan, enjoyed Bastion, didn't like Transistor & didn't play Pyre but I do quite enjoy roguelikes. Please let this click for me.

Hades is fantastic so far. Still pretty early, my 4th run. But I love Greek mythology and the combat is engaging. Looking forward to more weapons and other things I've seen teased already.

Good to hear Stele, really interested in playing it. Unfortunately it didn't download in time for me going to work but I'll get a go over the weekend.

Started Ori & The Will Of The Wisps there, great start & its good to be back in those picturesque, dynamic environments again. I also dig the melee Hollow Knight nail style attack that is in the repertoire now. This will be my Switch game for the next while.

Spikeout wrote:

Evergate - Looked stunning at one of the recent directs. The small team spent 4 years developing it, I thought I'd give it a shot. This might just be an indie gem. The puzzle platforming spoke to me & I love supporting small devs like this. Each level is a mixture of platforming & puzzles. I'd say its less about platforming skill & more about figuring out what route to take without prematurely burning your path to the finish of each level.

You essentially have an Ori style 'bash' ability that let's you boost off crystals to get across drops or to new platforms. To use this ability not only do you need the crystals but you need to aim through them & onto a white magical substance called Source. This lines walls, ceilings & platforms but only in select places. You need to be very accurate with the direction you want to propel yourself in.

I've only played about an hour but its a frustrating game that you'll restart a lot. Restarting is instant though, hold a button & it snaps you back to the start of the level with all platforms, crystals etc intact. It can be rewarding & does control well but if your someone who wants to complete every challenge in each level this can become an exercise in frustration.

This has got a ton of hate on Steam after it was released because it looked like Ori but didn't play like it. Seems to have picked up many more positive reviews with folks since then though, so that's good.

Mario Galaxy

It looks great.

It controls really well with a Pro Controller in docked mode. You can shake the controller for a spin jump, but you can also press Y. The pointer is controlled by the gyroscope, and it is always there - no need to hold a button to get it to show up. Pressing the R button recenters the pointer on the screen. I was always annoyed by the levels where you grabbed a blue star and floated through space, and it feels like I have much more control with this setup.

Weee!

garion333 wrote:
Spikeout wrote:

Evergate - Looked stunning at one of the recent directs. The small team spent 4 years developing it, I thought I'd give it a shot. This might just be an indie gem. The puzzle platforming spoke to me & I love supporting small devs like this. Each level is a mixture of platforming & puzzles. I'd say its less about platforming skill & more about figuring out what route to take without prematurely burning your path to the finish of each level.

You essentially have an Ori style 'bash' ability that let's you boost off crystals to get across drops or to new platforms. To use this ability not only do you need the crystals but you need to aim through them & onto a white magical substance called Source. This lines walls, ceilings & platforms but only in select places. You need to be very accurate with the direction you want to propel yourself in.

I've only played about an hour but its a frustrating game that you'll restart a lot. Restarting is instant though, hold a button & it snaps you back to the start of the level with all platforms, crystals etc intact. It can be rewarding & does control well but if your someone who wants to complete every challenge in each level this can become an exercise in frustration.

This has got a ton of hate on Steam after it was released because it looked like Ori but didn't play ,like it. Seems to have picked up many more positive reviews with folks since then though, so that's good.

Your thinking of 'Gleamlight' garion. It was the game the developers got a lot of criticism for it looking like a poor rip off of Hollow Knight.

Evergate has a little spirit character that looks similar to hollow knight but the game itself is nothing like it. Evergate has a far out viewpoint like Super Meat Boy, its traditional platforming levels have nice Ori style backgrounds, well not as beautiful but towards that direction anyways.

You'll see in the screenshots:

Evergate
IMAGE(https://images.nintendolife.com/screenshots/107915/large.jpg)

Gleamlight
IMAGE(https://www.xboxone-hq.com/images/games/screenshots/640/4017-gleamlight-screenshot-1-1596798065.jpg)

Ah, yes, it does appear I crossed my streams from when they launched. I thought I was reading Evertale reviews, but I must've been reading Gleamlight.

Either way, glad to see it has such positive reviews. The soul whip thing (which owes a little to Ori) looks neat and a truly new gameplay system.

I had totally ignored Hades because of its Early Access status, I wasn't even aware it was getting a "1.0" release any time soon, nor that it was releasing on Switch.

Absolute impulse buy based on a few quick review scores.

It's really something special! It feels incredible, and the little tidbits of character lore (dare I say "dating sim aspects"? ) are like the secret sauce that just makes it so exciting to come back to. Just wow, I adore it already. Oh, and that art? *chef kiss* perfect!

I'm not sure what direction it's going though. After 2-3 runs I unlocked a permanent upgrade that revives me once and brings me back to half health. Bit weirded out by that. Either it's going for a casual story-based approach or it's gearing up to kick my ass and I can't tell.

DSGamer wrote:

Don't slap me, Clocky.

On the one hand, asking for more ports is a pretty slappable offense. On the other hand, if you didn't want to play a bunch of ports, why would you have a Switch in the first place?

So to be on the safe side, I'll slap you with both hands.

A_Unicycle wrote:

I'm not sure what direction it's going though. After 2-3 runs I unlocked a permanent upgrade that revives me once and brings me back to half health. Bit weirded out by that. Either it's going for a casual story-based approach or it's gearing up to kick my ass and I can't tell.

Don't worry. The game will kick your ass even with those revive perks.

There are also a ton of difficulty modifiers you'll be able to play with later on if you are looking for more of a challenge and a menu option for "God Mode" if you want something a little easier. God Mode gives you a damage reduction buff when you turn it on and then increases this bonus every time you die after that.