Picked up a couple of great cheapies in the sale, each for a quid or so. No doubt loads of people here are already well acquainted (I think I’ve seen mentions of both at some point previously), but in any case…
Ibb & Obb, for the Pikuniku co-op vibes, but more chill. Really nice chill and mellow atmosphere, despite there being puzzle obstacles to overcome along the way which requires (not always easy to achieve) patient discussion between players.
Flat Heroes, for the twitchy bullet-dodge puzzley Atari 2600 multiplayer vibe. Takes a mo to get used to the physics, but that’s dealt with pretty quickly, and the learning curve eases you into it. There’s a straight up versus mode. But the main challenge mode has a forgiving approach to progression, whereby you can progress to the next level even if only a single player is successful (but replaying to allow everyone a go at mastering it is just as natural a way to work your way through it).
Speaking of Pikuniku, youngest and I finished the story mode the other day. Superb.
Mario Kart 8 has various assist modes (auto accelerate/auto steer etc) that can make it really fun for little kids too, plus a team race mode to reduce arguments over who won.
We got MK8 with the console. It’s all sitting in a box in the kitchen and I can’t play it til next month. Didn’t think I’d mind but now that it’s here I want to get torn into it!
Been getting into Tetris 99 the last few days, and christ Tetris really is the original digital crack isn’t it? So hard to put down, and all the more so in this version when I need to get revenge on the unnamed bastards who knocked me out of the top 40 in that last round.
Similarly, the Paw Patrol racing game assist will auto-drive, to the point where, unless I’m properly paying attention, my youngest has managed to win races without really doing anything with the controller. Easily turned off, and quite cleverly applied when it’s on, to give a level playing field.
Choosing Paw Patrol over Mario Kart might seem like insanity to some, but we opted for that cos it got decent reviews (justifiably - it’s a very competent racer) and cos it was significantly cheaper.
Also, youngest was only 3¼ when we got the Switch last Christmas and it was the first console either of our kids had ever really come across, so there was no real appreciation or brand recognition of Mario (or, in truth, a real notion of what videogames actually are).
Mario Party Superstars was the reliable first-party title we went with to ease us all into it. It’s great. Quality, but without the need to grasp very much complexity or commit any amount of time in order to learn controls or progress through a story, etc. Can just have a free-choice bash on whatever minigames take your fancy, or play through a more structured boardgame-esque version where the minigames contribute to progress round the board.
Of course, nine months later, both our kids are total addicts and dextrous little gamer fiends, well-versed in the specifics of Sonic, etc (Sonic Mania is absolutely mint, by the way). All other toys relegated to a sideshow. And the eldest, now 7½ has gotten totally immersed in Animal Crossing.
For football, wait for reviews of this year’s EA game - it’s the first full featured one they’ve done for Switch. Don’t bother with previous versions - they’re “legacy” editions which are just reskins of FIFA19.
Basketball has the NBA 2k games, but reviews are mixed - your value may vary.
Ice Hockey - basically nothing. There’s a few indie titles, but they’ve reviewed poorly as far as I know
