In 2017 I have lived quite the hectic life. Along with being in school full-time, working two jobs, and attempting to have a social life, my time to actually play games is usually reserved for a very particular time of the day (read: night). However, that all changed when I finally got my very own Nintendo Switch. I’d been holding off for a while, but after seeing the Super Mario Odyssey bundle and those gorgeous red Joycons I knew it was time for me to make the jump.
In the time I’ve had my Switch I’ve become obsessed with the device, carving out time between classes and during work breaks to slowly pick away at the Power Moons and puzzles Odyssey has to offer. If it hadn’t been for the Switch, I think I would have been inclined to put Odyssey down after I reached the credits. But using the Switch to take the game wherever I go has given it some longevity in what little playtime I have. Conversely, games like Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus sit in my PS4 awaiting my return. Whereas if I were playing the game on Switch I could be picking away at it like I have been Mario. As such, I have come to the conclusion that every game should be on Switch. Every game should be free from the tethers of a television or monitor.
2017 had so many good games I missed out on just due to a lack of time. But the Switch, this wonderful little thing I can carry around with me to all my time-sucking responsibilities, fills holes in my gaming life that my PS4 or PC can’t.
Here are the games I would have actually gotten around to if they were to grace the Switch.
Cuphead
Who wants to sit down with a controller and endure several hours of getting beaten down by the unrelenting difficulty of Cuphead? Well, a lot of people, apparently. But those people have a lot more patience than I do. Something as staggeringly difficult as Cuphead requires a level of tenacity I don’t usually have the time or energy for. However, if it were on the Switch and I could just pull it out of my bag and give myself a few chances at overcoming any of the game’s many challenges, it would be easier to parse. Cuphead is too much of a stressful ordeal to use what little time I have with my TV in front of me, but if it were more easily accessible and easier to put down, I think I’d be more than willing to jump into StudioMDHR’s arduous genre masterclass.
Doki Doki Literature Club!
I play some visual novels, but I’ve never been huge on playing them on consoles or PC. In the past I’ve used my phone or Vita to play these text-heavy adventures because it’s the closest equivalent to reading a book, and I can read short sections in my downtime rather than committing to several hours at a time. Doki Doki Literature Club! has been making the rounds with several people in the industry these past few months, and I still don’t really know why, given that visual novels are generally considered a niche genre, but the thought of finding out on a computer I’d have to lug around just doesn’t have the same allure as playing it on the Switch.
Persona 5
Unlike every other game on this list, Persona 5 is one that I managed to see through to completion when it launched earlier this year. However, Persona 5 is a lengthy game full of content I missed out on the first time. Characters to meet, stories to hear, other Personas to collect etc. But when you’ve already sat in front of your TV for 100 hours, another 100 to see everything the game has to offer is a big ask. I played both Persona 3 and Persona 4 on my Vita, and being able to chip away at the days each of the social sim/RPG hybrids had made it all more manageable, and my play time in Persona 5 was already twice as much without seeing everything. Hopefully we’ll see a definitive edition on the Switch, because I’d love an excuse to go back to its twisted version of Tokyo.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
If you want to actually be good at a fighting game, you have to invest a lot of time into any given one. In my limited play time I’ve indulged in my ongoing addiction to Injustice 2, so adding another timesink of a fighting game wasn’t feasible unless I wanted to divide my time between the two. I’ve spent several months honing my skills in Injustice, so despite my interest in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, it would have been a detriment to me ultimately to give it the time it deserved. However, had it been on Switch, I could have played it more casually, taking part in a few matches at a time, rather than spending hours I would need to competently play it at a competitive level. If Injustice and Infinite were sitting in front of me in my PS4, why would I give up the game time with the one in which I’ve already invested so many hours?
Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon
Nintendo has already confirmed it has plans to release a mainline Pokémon game on the Switch in the future, but that didn’t stop it from making one more set of games as a swan song for the 3DS. Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon are a second shot at exploring a side of the Pokémon world I skipped over with the original Sun & Moon, but after you’ve played the Switch who really wants to go back to the 3DS?
Liked this article and want to read more like it? Check out more of Kenneth Shepard’s reviews, such as Life is Strange: Before the Storm – Episode 2, and find out why Kenneth thinks Danganronpa V3’s ending makes a polarizing case for letting the series go!
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