I got halfway through and then quit. I enjoyed many parts of it, it’s more than just a Zelda / Death’s Door clone, but eventually I found that it was just too challenging and not worth the rewards. I don’t mind games playing tough with me, but I don’t finish them just because. It has to feel worthwhile. For reference, I’ve closed Hades, Dead Cells (as much as you can close that one) and Hyper Light Drifter fairly recently, but gave up on Hollow Knight and had mixed feelings about Metroid Dread. So that’s where I’m at.
And obviously, found and nailed Ganon in Breath of the Wild, but kind of regret it now, there was so much left to do in the game but felt pointless after I’d whacked the big guy.
I hear you on Hollow Knight and Metroid Dread. I‘ve reached points in both games that just got frustrating after trying so many times that I just stopped playing them. Even though I know both games are great and I enjoyed them until that certain point… I play for fun and stages like that just kills all the fun for me. Same for me as well on Wolfenstein: Youngblood. Enjoyed the hell out of it until I reached a point that I can’t even finish on easy mode (I totally suck at FPS games). Never played again…
Skyward Sword HD is currently on sale for about as low as a full priced Nintendo game goes. I know nothing about it since I skipped the Wii/Wii U generations but love every Zelda game I’ve played (LTTP/Ocarina/Wind Waker/BOTW/Link’s Awakening). I should get it, right?
I got a little further than that, and was even close to nailing the boss where I finally gave up on the game, knowing full well I had it in me to push through, but deciding that it just wasn’t worth it.
Now I’m into Stardew Valley clocking 60+ hours as we speak and write.
I played it on the Wii. My impression was tepid. Looking back, I don’t think I enjoyed using the nunchuck. And some of the characters (particularly Imprisoned) were cringe af.
But the dungeons are excellent…super good. And reports are that there have been quality of life upgrades that have improved gameplay significantly.
I’m definitely going to get it again at some point.
HK was good. But I had to put it down for a few months out of frustration.
Meanwhile, BOTW (yeah Im late to the party) i just clocked up 200 hrs, never had a dull moment with it, zero frustration, loads of challenges that are fun, and just heaps of ‘I want to play more of this’ its literally awesome.
Ive done the four divine beast puzzle/bosses, and could go on to so the main eng goal… kinda having fun exploring and doing side quests at the moment. 97 shrines found so far
Go for it. The OLED screen is slightly larger, which is nice if you think you’ll play plenty of handheld. Otherwise it’s essentially the same as the OG… No processor upgrade. A bit more internal storage, which is nice. I’d recommend it as a first switch, but probably not to bother upgrading from the original. Getting Mario Kart included does make that a sweet deal deal though. I’m sure you and your kids will be happy whatever you choose
I still feel like I’m lacking multiplayer games to play with a youngish (8) kid, but some serious gaming-bonding has been had over Mario 3d World (played collaboratively rather than competitively), New Super Mario Bros + Untitled Goose Game. Just got Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, so see how that goes. Any other two player suggestions welcome
Meanwhile still wondering how long to leave it before introducing her to Breath of the Wild. She’d love the puzzles and exploration… Possibly not so much all the slaughtering just yet
Mario Odyssey was another big winner by the way. Shame there’s no proper two-player
My suggestion for playing together with an 8-year old would be luigi’s mansion 3. It’s almost like playing through an animated pixar movie. Also, if you want to get your kid into Zelda games, the remake of links awakening is perfect place to begin on the switch, if you asked me.
I got the same deal! I wanted a switch for years and finally pulled the plug.
This thing is incredibly addictive.
I bought Tetris connected and got immediately sucked in the whole online gaming world.
Also got Breath of the Wild and xenoblade chronicles definitive edition.
I guess im gonna disappear for a while
Steam Deck is an interesting option, but pick it up, turn it on and I can’t help but feeling something’s off. I don’t want to play most of the Steam Deck stuff on a portable device. But I love playing Breath of the Wild in my bed, on the bus, in my favourite chair, on a lunch break, at night when the kids are asleep.
Many of the Switch games seem to have put in an effort to be an experience where the immersion is something you bring with you, not just switch on or off. Steam Deck library is more “We squeezed it into this portable engine cause we could.” No wonder, since the hardware is a separate deal, where as the Switch development culture is part of the whole mobile thing.
Arguably, this can and will change for other actors going for Nintendo’s slice here. But not yet, not today.
Thanks. Luigi’s Mansion looks and sounds amazing, but all those ghost fights slapping them back and forth got really repetitive, and at some stage we lost interest. Link’s Awakening is a good shout, cheers.
My six year old and I have had fun with these, in addition to those you listed:
Mario Maker 2. He loves making courses that we then play together in two player mode. Usually fighting every koopaling at the same time.
Mario Kart
Lego Ninjago (he’s a fan of the show too)
Lego Star Wars, The Skywalker Saga
Minecraft. The original, haven’t tried dungeons yet. The UI can get cramped in two player mode but building together and protecting each other is amazing. Can get scary in survival mode.
A few that didn’t click:
Super Mario Party. We liked the one on the wii but this one is so tedious and the levels last forever.
Yoshis Crafted World. Not sure why really.
Gigantosaurus. Maybe it’s just not that good, maybe we’ll come back to it.
clocking 60+ hours as we speak and write.
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