Nintendo Switch - Year in Review 2022

[Hero-of-Time]

Nintendo have sent their emails out with your stats. They usually put up nice little graphs but they haven't done it this year. Also, I have a bunch of games on my list that I never played and a lot of my hours played seem way off.

 

[Ike]

[bob]

Not much info compared to the Sony one...

[MindFreak]

Here are mine:

Spoiler

Nothing surprising but I can see that my son has got more playtime and is playing more stuff on my Switch now. 

[darksnowman]

100% playtime docked for me this year if only they'd the guts to do that graph for 2022.  

[Jonnas]

These breakdowns are getting simpler and simpler

Having a hard time sharing the picture right now, so I'll say that the most relevant part of the review was declaring Three Hopes and Bloodstained 2 my favourite games of 2022 (behind SSBU), with Katamari Damacy coming in fourth. It's almost right.

[Dcubed]

 

The only reason why Animal Crossing NH is there is because my brother has been playing it on my account.

Bit disappointing that they're not providing more detailed playtime/mode usage breakdowns this year, but hey ho!

Your Gaming Diary Writeups for the likes of Octopath Traveller and The Stanley Parable UD are forthcoming, don't worry, I haven't forgotten! (Just been stupid busy!)

Edited December 14, 2022 by Dcubed

[Dufniall]

48 different games played this year, with the top 10 being:

• 1) Pokémon Legends Arceus 80 hours
• 2) Splatoon 3 29 hours
• 3) Xenoblade Chronicles 25 hours
• 4) Roguebook 21 hours
• 5) Bayonetta 3 17 hours
• 6) Monster Hunter Rise 15 hours
• 7) Cuphead 13 hours
• 8) LEGO Jurassic World 12 hours
• 9) Mario Kart 8 DL 12 hours
• 10) Kingdom Hearts Melody Of Memory 11 hours

[bob]

48 different games played this year, with the top 10 being:

• 1) Pokémon Legends Arceus 80 hours
• 2) Splatoon 3 29 hours
• 3) Xenoblade Chronicles 25 hours
• 4) Roguebook 21 hours
• 5) Bayonetta 3 17 hours
• 6) Monster Hunter Rise 15 hours
• 7) Cuphead 13 hours
• 8) LEGO Jurassic World 12 hours
• 9) Mario Kart 8 DL 12 hours
• 10) Kingdom Hearts Melody Of Memory 11 hours

How do you have 38 games played with less than 10 hours on them? Are they demos? Or do you just start a lot of games and never finish them?

[MindFreak]

Many indie games are easy to complete within 5-8 hours. Some are even only a couple of hours long. 

[Dufniall]

1 hour ago, bob said:

1 hour ago, Dufniall said:

48 different games played this year, with the top 10 being:

• 1) Pokémon Legends Arceus 80 hours
• 2) Splatoon 3 29 hours
• 3) Xenoblade Chronicles 25 hours
• 4) Roguebook 21 hours
• 5) Bayonetta 3 17 hours
• 6) Monster Hunter Rise 15 hours
• 7) Cuphead 13 hours
• 8) LEGO Jurassic World 12 hours
• 9) Mario Kart 8 DL 12 hours
• 10) Kingdom Hearts Melody Of Memory 11 hours

How do you have 38 games played with less than 10 hours on them? Are they demos? Or do you just start a lot of games and never finish them?

Indeed like @Mindfreak said, a lot of short (<10 hours) indie games I played and reviewed like Once Upon A Jester, LOUD, Spidersaurs and Dragon Ball The Breakers. Some games I just dabbled in now and then like Horizon Chase Turbo, Pinball FX and Kirby, demos like Splatfest and the Strikers demo. And some random games I redownloaded on my OLED, booted up and then thought, nope.

[darksnowman]

2 hours ago, Dufniall said:

Indeed like @Mindfreak said, a lot of short (<10 hours) indie games I played and reviewed like Once Upon A Jester, LOUD, Spidersaurs and Dragon Ball The Breakers. Some games I just dabbled in now and then like Horizon Chase Turbo, Pinball FX and Kirby, demos like Splatfest and the Strikers demo. And some random games I redownloaded on my OLED, booted up and then thought, nope.

Thought people like you, who I spot on those sorts of titles, do it for the love of the games. Maybe there's a lot of reviewers out there because it can be an education when I scroll past the usual Nintendo fayre in the trending section.  

Just realising Horizon Chase Turbo wasn't on my played list this year. Surprised I never fired it up what with the update they put out. 

[Ashley]

I didn't get an email (rude) but I would suspect my most played is Mario & Rabbids, or maybe Arceus. They're about equal. Plus Kirby would be on the "got at release" list too but I need to put more time into that.

[darksnowman]

4 minutes ago, Ashley said:

I didn't get an email (rude) but I would suspect my most played is Mario & Rabbids, or maybe Arceus. They're about equal. Plus Kirby would be on the "got at release" list too but I need to put more time into that.

https://nintendo-switch-2022.nintendo.com/en-gb/

There's the link if you want to sign in and check, but really, it's a paltry showing. Outside the genre breakdown, what you've said covers it.

[Ashley]

I might do at some point but I don't have the energy to change my password again right now.

[bob]

LMAO, this one is even more depressing than the Sony one.

[Sméagol]

Apparently I played so little this year, I didn't even get an e-mail.

[darksnowman]

1 hour ago, bob said:

LMAO, this one is even more depressing than the Sony one.

That Mii is a depressing sight to behold. At least you wouldn't be greeted with that on your Sony results page. 

[bob]

That Mii is a depressing sight to behold. At least you wouldn't be greeted with that on your Sony results page. 

*glances in mirror and runs off crying

[BowserBasher]

 

Just putting these two in as it seems not as detailed and good as last years breakdown. Anyway, yes I still play AC daily so that's up there. I'm guessing Smash is above Mario Kart due to the hours played, as I play MK each week too.

[Glen-i]

Boooo! What's even the point if I can't post my absolute shame of how much time I've wasted this year!?

Fine, whatever! Let's just get it done.

Seems about right.

@Mokong thought MH Rise would be my most played game this year. He was wrong.

Hey look, it's a turd sandwich!

At least there's a good Pokémon game in this post.

[darksnowman]

On 14/12/2022 at 8:21 PM, bob said:

On 14/12/2022 at 7:16 PM, darksnowman said:

That Mii is a depressing sight to behold. At least you wouldn't be greeted with that on your Sony results page. 

*glances in mirror and runs off crying

Welp. There goes another mirror.

On 14/12/2022 at 7:16 PM, Sméagol said:

Apparently I played so little this year, I didn't even get an e-mail.

I saw yours. Most played: Slay the Spire, Hades, Animal Crossing. Genres: 85% roguelike, 15% simulation.

You're welcome.  

23 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Seems about right.

Nice of you to get a haircut for the end-of-year review.

23 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Hey look, it's a turd sandwich!

With turd bread no less! You don't do things by halves... or thirds... but with turds you don't hold back.

23 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

At least there's a good Pokémon game in this post.

If you added in a Ruby or XD Gale of Darkness watermark somewhere I'm not seeing it.  

Edited December 16, 2022 by darksnowman

[Glen-i]

4 hours ago, darksnowman said:

Nice of you to get a haircut for the end-of-year review.

Nope, that Mii never updates with my Switch one and I can't be bothered to fix it.

[darksnowman]

Overlooking demos and game trials, here's how the year of our Switch 2022 went for me:

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore—At the time, I thought this was a bit of a Fisher Price, "babies first" RPG, but I find myself looking back on it more favourably now.
Dicey Dungeons—an end-of-year bargain that I need to get back to.
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition—I suppose on some level it was nice to finally finish the first Xenoblade.
Hotshot Racing—Yes! Great stuff!
The Last Campfire—Very good. Made me want a LostWinds return.
Inside—Very chilling. Great experience.
Pokémon Shield—To get the gift code Pokémon. Can't help thinking there'll come a day I'll be wanting to trade them forward...
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle—One of the first Switch games I got and I'm still yet to finish it. Love it. 
Shovel Knight Treasure Trove—Revisited.
Castlevania Collection—Frequently revisit. Makes me feel like it's Halloween!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons—They should just put this out as a Game & Watch. There's not much else you need.
Kirby & The Forgotten Land—Thought this was GotY material. Look forward to revisiting it. 
Mario Mart 8 DX—How can you not? Still need to try the latest wave.
Bastion—A treat to finally play.
GRIS—Excellent.
Pikuniku—Decent for what it is.
Limbo—Very good indeed.
FAR Lone Sails—Very enjoyable.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim— 
Axiom Verge—Felt great. A most pleasant surprise.
Dragon Quest Builders 2—Slotted back in for an NSO mission and ended up playing for a while.
Child of Light—Super.
Valiant Hearts—Very touching and heartfelt.
Scott Pilgirm vs. The World: The Game—Slow and heavy controls. Later played River City Girls and realised it's the game I expected here.
Resident Evil—A true great that I finally get.
Paper Mario: TOK—Went back and finished. Missing that x-factor. 
Fall Guys—Good fun for a couple of rounds.
Out Run—Always.
The Bridge—Got the old grey matter going.
Live A Live—Possibly the disappointment of the year. 
Super Mario Maker 2—Never far from my mind.
Zelda: Link's Awakening—Summer, summer, summertime. Time to kick back and unwind!
Down in Bermuda—A nice palate cleanser.
Paratopic—Oh so short.
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA—Mentioning this Game Trial as I put 25+ hours into it during the trial period. Really clicked with it!
Pikmin 3 Deluxe—So, so good. Must remember to get Pikmin 4K immediately.
Alliance Alive HD Remastered—Cool little 3DS RPG. Need to get back to it.
Tetris 99
Doom 3—Must go back and see this bad boy out.
Splatoon 3—Was intending to get stuck into the 1-player over Christmas.
Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi—Needs more of my time!
Banner Saga—Needs more of my time!
Pokémon Unite—Was trying to get Mew.
FF X/X-2—Just a quick revisit as I needed a reminder of how good an RPG can be.
Zelda: BotW—To try and get in the mood for the sequel. Followed a guide and did the town-building bit. Wasn't too bad with some pointers to follow.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon—Twas getting towards the season.
RingFit Adventure—Got back into this for a few weeks.
Fortnite—A chill game compared to Splatoon 3.
Blaster Master Zero—Very good indeed.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2—Can see myself replaying this.
DQ XI S: Echoes of the Elusive Age - Definitive Edition—A brief revisit.
Persona 5 R—The prequel to Strikers is here!  
Resident Evil 5—Seems very replayable.
Eiuyden Chronicle: Rising—i herd u liek fetch questz.
Panzer Dragoon: Remake—No barrel rolls. 
Castlevania Advance Collection
Virtua Racing
Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core Reunion—Great!!
Dragon Quest Treasures—Great!!
Sports Story—Emphasis not on the sports.

Somehow didn't fire up Horizon Chase Turbo this year.  I'll be getting back on it to try that update they put out.

Of course, I've been on the N64 (mostly Mario Tennis), SNES (mostly Super Tennis and Smash Tennis) and NES (not mostly Tennis) NSO apps... but still yet to try the Mega Drive... the console wars live on on my Switch!

Nowhere near as much Nintendo-made gaming as I'd normally expect this year again. I'm wondering if I'm on a path that'll end up leading me to not being satisfied with shoddy old 3rd party ports. Been bitten too many times now with Nintendo's current crop of feature-lite releases, that much I know. Still impossible to say one way or the other at the close of 2022 because a quick new file on something like Mario World on the SNES NSO is all it takes to justify owning the Nintendo machine. Having the classic Nintendo library ready to go papers over a lot of cracks.

Low points: Xenoblade (truly thought I could have played 1 + 2 and been hungry for 3...) and Live A Live. 

High points: playing some games I'd downloaded years ago and never touched (some more to go) and trying to play as I buy with this year's eShop purchases, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Axiom Verge, Resident Evil (played through it twice!!), the Ys VIII Game Trial, Persona 5 R (having a well-earned break from this currently), Resi 5, Crisis Core, DQ Treasures.

Demos/ Game Trials to follow up on: Potato Flowers in Full Bloom, Ys VIII, DioField, Harvestella, Jack Move, Anno: Mutationem, Lunistice.

GotY 2022:

 Give this game a Yakisoba Pan.   From the first half of the year, 13 Sentinels has stood tall and seen off all comers at ease. In an era where games are overstaying their welcome as a rule, here came a visual novel with real-time strategy stages thrown in that intrigues you all the way until the end. Top art, top animation, top storytelling through the pursue-the-story-thread-of-your-choice presentation style. Top of the 2022 heap!  

Onwards to 2023 and despite how well I've been keeping on top of them this year, I've still got some eShop purchases like Danganronpa, ToeJam & Earl and whatnot to get off my virtual shelf. Might be nice to get around to some games on the physical shelf too... but with Persona 3 and 4 up soon, 2023 is shaping up to be another 12 months of uphill gaming. Sega Rally 2 when? Keep the PSP stuff coming.