Dear video gamers in the Giant Bomb forums

This console was launched about 6 years ago, and I guess its successor will launch somewhere in 2024, so I would like to show my opinion on this console.

To me, it's a great console for players who like to get into genres like Platformers, Kart Racing, Action & Adventure, RPG, and much more, regardless of the party, but it feels so much different compared to PC, PS5 & Xbox Series X in terms of the library of games (Including sub-genres) and peripherals.

Here are the two main reasons why I prefer PC, PS5 & Xbox Series X more than Nintendo Switch when it comes to the overall racing genre, because of having Sim Racing peripherals that support force-feedback (While Nintendo Switch's Racing wheel doesn't support) and Assetto Corsa Competizione (Which is the most realistic racing game available on PS5 & Xbox Series X in terms of handling model, even more realistic than Gran Turismo 7 & Forza Motorsport 2023).

Edit: Not to mention Nintendo Switch's racing wheel peripheral doesn't even support load-cell pedal set, handbrake, and gear shifter add-ons, but I can admit Nintendo Switch is superior to PC, PS5 & Xbox Series X when it comes to kart racing, platformers, action & adventure, RPG and many other genres to describe.

I like the Switch overall, but its now very outdated. Sadly, it sounds like the coming Switch 2 won't be much of an upgrade, and I don't think it will be backwards compatible. The funny thing about racing games is that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is arguably the most successful racing game of this console generation. Its right up there with Call of Duty in sells and the DLC track add-ons is selling like Fortnite character skins.

The most absolute mid as fuck console in years

@sombre: You are habitually the grouchiest person on these forums. It's either long winded diatribes or short, absurd declarative statements. Most mid console IN YEARS??? Is this a joke?

Anyway, it's a great little system that is very affordable and convenient. It does things that the others can't and won't do, no matter how many times Sony tries. It's old and not very powerful, and in a sea of bad online console stores it is somehow the worst, but it's still a great Nintendo system. Just hope that they make a Switch 2 sooner rather than later. TOTK ran fine, but a lot of other things just don't.

I like the Switch but for me it has kind of been a quintessential Nintendo console where I love a bunch of the Nintendo games but don't really play third party games on it much. Those I have played (like Hades and Neon White, two of my absolute favorites of their respective years) I kind of wish I'd waited for a PlayStation port because of Switch's crappy performance in comparison. I'm glad I did wait for Bombrush Cyberfunk (though I haven't played it yet so maybe I'll hate it.)

I don't care about playing portably so the Switch is just underpowered for my purposes. I do like how games focused the UI is. And it has some of my favorite games of recent years, mostly the Zelda and Mario staples, though I played all 3 (arguably 4 with Torna though I got that as DLC) Xenoblade Chronicles games that are on it to completion and really enjoyed each of them. Torna is probably my favorite short RPG ever. And some other exclusives like Mario & Rabids or Fast RMX were great.

So for me as hardware it's well below average but the games library has been very satisfying and I have no regrets about buying mine. I do regret some of the games I bought though.

The Switch is fine for what it is. I only bought mine a year ago when I was going to have a long flight for a vacation and it was perfect for that. It's a great thing for travel.

I can't say I really play it much at home, since it basically doesn't run very much other than some indie games I already have on other platforms. Outside of some first party stuff, there just really isn't that much game-wise that couldn't be done better on other systems.

Great console. Nintendo's 1st party has mostly been on point, and there is enough 3rd party indie stuff to round out the library. Lacks power, but cheeper than it's direct competition, and the only current portable small enough to really be considered portable.

It's the best thing Nintendo has done. Yes, it's a bit underpowered, but when I play something like Pikmin 4 or Mario Odyssey I completely forget about that because Nintendo's level of polish is amazing. It's not going to run Starfield, say, but it has so many great games it can run without any issue. So many that I wouldn't even care to update the graphics on because they're perfect for the (somewhat simplified) look they are going for. It has RPGs, platformers, Metroidvanias and indies up the wazoo, which are the kinds of things I like. Thus, I've played it for thousands of hours while my PS4 collected dust. I hope the Switch 2 has the same form factor as the Switch but with closer to a Steam Deck level of power.

The system itself is okay but not great. I find it incredibly uncomfortable to play with as a handheld, so I rarely use it that way. It's too thin and the button placements, particularly the right joystick, seems wrong to me. I wish it was easier to insert/remove cartridges. I wish the joystick drift wasn't such a major issue. Having to buy a $70 "Pro" controller, which btw is a regular ass control with bad chunky buttons hurts too.

All that said, I've really enjoyed the Wii U ports (I never owned a Wii U) and I think games like Luigi's Mansion 3, Metroid Dread, and Mario Odyssey are excellent top tier exclusives. I thought Pokemon Arceus was a great new direction as an OG Pokemon fan and I'm really glad I was able to play it as a Switch owner. I still have lots of Nintendo games waiting to be played so I think I'll grow to appreciate the system more as I get around to them.

I bought it in late 2018 and I actually haven't used it all that much. That's mostly my felt as I'm juggling multiple systems. But as a system, personally, I could've been just as happy if it was a regular home console that just came with a regular controller. Power-wise, it'd be nice if it had more but it's not my biggest quibble with the system.

I won't use any of the portable parts of it, it's too expensive and i just want to play Bayonetta 2.

So i still haven't bought one.

The switch has been the best console since the GameCube. I was more annoyed by the Wii era than anything, though there were some good games, but GameCube was a golden era and Switch has been a mostly good return to form.

The problem it has it the problem all Nintendo consoles have, it’s really just for playing Nintendo games. I don’t really touch it for anything else, and now that I’ve worked from home for 3 years and will continue to for the foreseeable future, I don’t avail myself of the portable aspect of it, so that eliminates even some of the Nintendo stuff because I’ve got a buff PC. Relatedly, my PC also means my PS5 doesn’t get as much use as it maybe should as well.

On a 10 scale, I’d say the switch is a solid 8/10. On a ranking scale, I’d say it’s third in Nintendo councils after GameCube on top and Super Nintendo at second place. That’s might seem low but it’s a bunched up, very high esteem considering there isn’t really an altogether bad Nintendo console, even including the WiiU….other than maybe the virtual boy.

Interesting that people don't seem to play it in portable mode. I'd say I use it at least 80-90% of time in portable form, even though I rarely take it outside my home. It's the perfect thing to play on the couch while some stupid/relaxing youtube videos play on the TV.

@wollywoo: I played it in portable mode a lot when I was playing Super Mario Odyessy and Nintendo classic games, but games like the Xenoblade Chronicales series, is best played i docked mode I found. Even though the game doesn't look that much better because of the low 720p resolution on a 4K screen.

I must say that I might place the Switch as my #1 or 2 top Nintendo system to date, contending with the SNES. It does what I need it to do which is play first prty Nintendo games and wow is the library just top notch this time around. That being said, I did play a lot of indie titles as well. Up until last October, I had a terribly outdated PC that could not keep up with anything on released on Steam and so I defaulted to the Switch for my indie needs and hey, I was able to play Cuphead finally when it came to the system.

It being portable was not a huge thing for me as I played docked 95% of the time. But it was there when I needed it.

Excited for what Nintendo brings next although I'm gonna temper my expectations as I don't think Nintendo has a good track record of releasing good home consoles in succession.

The Switch has the best game library of any console ever and it's not even close. That's of course largely on account of all the re-releases and collections and the Virtual Console but even so. You can play all Pikmin games on it. All Bayonetta games. You can play all Metroid games minus Prime 2 and 3 and spinoffs. Metal Gear games from the original to MGS 3. That Rockstar Batman trilogy. From niche titles like Live A Live to blockbusters like Tears of the Kingdom, the Switch has it all. And that's not to say anything about the vast offering of indie titles although it can be annoying to find them in the store amid all the shovelware.

The hardware is more of a mixed bag. The horse power was fine when it launched and is clearly underpowered by now. The portability I don't use a whole lot and switching cartridges is a pain when it's sitting on the dock inside my TV table. The controller a bit of a compromise but a Pro controller fixes that.

@av_gamer: I can see why arcade-style kart racing is the most popular sub-genre of racing games because it attracts most kinds of players (Doesn't matter if they like cars or not) by having a simple kart handling model, power-ups to pick up & use, appealing cartoon character designs, and much more, plus their target audience wise is much different compared to Sim Racing, Simcades, and Open World Arcade-Style Racing Games.

@judaspete: That's true, just like how the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita are both weaker than the PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Wii U in terms of hardware power.

@liquiddragon: Let's hope the Nintendo Switch's successor will have better a controller pad design.

@bigsocrates: I totally agree with your thoughts on this console so far, I enjoyed Fast RMX too.

If I didn’t have kids, it would probably be a 7/10.

With kids, functionality such as instant sleep/resume and optional handheld mode, it’s a 9/10.

I can understand why it feels underpowered compared to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X in terms of hardware power because it's a hybrid console.

In my guess, the Switch 2's hardware power is going to be in between the PS4 Pro/Xbox One X and the vanilla PS5/Xbox Series X.

Edit: If I compare the Nintendo Switch to PS5 and Xbox Series X in terms of hardware, it's exactly like comparing the PSP to PS3 and Xbox 360.

I think it's an amazing system that does exactly what it needs to do and excels at it.

I started playing games in the Atari 2600 era, and this is my favorite console of all time. It's not even close. It might have the greatest library of games available on any system, past or present. If someone asked me which console they should buy if they could only get one, I'd recommend the Switch without hesitation.

It's not a PS5 or an Xbox. It doesn't need to be. It's in a class of its own.

@cikame: Well if you're not interested in console gaming, I find Nintendo Switch is not the right video game platform for you but I'm still unsure if Bayonetta 2 & 3 will get ported to PC a couple of years later since there are no words from its developer (PlatinumGames) and publisher (Nintendo) at the moment.

@laughingman: Yes, you're right that the Nintendo Switch feels so much different compared to the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

It's okay, but would be used a lot more throughout the year if I travelled a lot, didn't have a PS5 or if my PC was so ancient that it somehow couldn't run modern indie games. As it is now, I mostly use the Switch just for exclusives that I'm interested in. Sea of Stars as a recent example would've worked great on it, based on the demo, but since it's also on PS5 and was part of PS+, that's how I ended up playing it.

It's not like it has gone unused this year, of course. Played 15 hours of Metroid Prime Remastered, put in 75 hours with Totk and I'll still likely play either Super Mario Bros. Wonder or/and Super Mario RPG before the year's over, so not too shabby.

I would say Switch will be seen as "in the top 3" for handhelds made by Nintendo. And, just an important system or concept in gaming hardware.

So, Switch is in the mix with Original GameBoy and Nintendo 3DS, and above GameBoy Advance for importance. Even if you do not like Nintendo or find their games uninteresting; you have to respect Switch for what it does. I am not a Nintendo fan - for sure - but I will always respect when they do good work.

I think the Switch is kick ass. I appreciated being able to take a full on console with me on the go while traveling for work. And now that my kids are old enough its awesome family fun and having the option to take it off the dock and let one of the kids take it to their own space when my daughter is having neurodiverse struggles and doesnt need her younger brother in her hair is so cool!