Nintendo Switch - Year in Review 2023

[Hero-of-Time]

3 minutes ago, darksnowman said:

NEO TWEWY should've got the nod whatever year that was. Even if you played it later, it should be retroactively slotted in.  

Awful, awful game. It was last year that I played it. Think it was the game I spent the most time on as well.

[Glen-i]

6 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Awful, awful game. It was last year that I played it. Think it was the game I spent the most time on as well.

Wow, you really soured on that game since you declared it decent, huh?

[Hero-of-Time]

6 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Wow, you really soured on that game since you declared it decent, huh?

Very much so. It really outstays its welcome and the story just went on and on. Plus, the grind for 100% was awful.

[Happenstance]

5 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Had a quick look on here from past threads and this is what I've come up with.

2017 - Horizon: Zero Dawn 
2018 - Monster Hunter World
2019 - Resident Evil 2 & Kingdom Hearts III
2020 - Final Fantasy VII Remake
2021 - Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon
2022 - Elden Ring
2023 -????????

So, yeah, no Switch games have cracked the top spot yet.

Went back through my old lists and filled in a few gaps to find my old gotys:

2009 - Uncharted 2

2010 - Mass Effect 2

2011 - Batman Arkham City

2012 - Mass Effect 3

2013 - Tomb Raider

2014 - South Park: The Stick of Truth

2015 - The Witcher 3

2016 - Hitman

2017 - Yakuza 0

2018 - Spider-Man

2019 - ?

2020 - Final Fantasy VII Remake

2021 - Mass Effect Legendary Edition

2022 - Rogue Legacy 2

 

[Jonnas]

 

 

Since I didn't play anything recent, I selected SSBU as the game of the year. Maybe that should've gone to Streets of Rage 2, or the Samurai Shodown Collection, but SSBU is still honestly the better game.

(The genres are, in order: Action, Fighting, Party, Classic Games, Shooting, Strategy. I figure all that shooting comes from Mechstermination Force)

Honestly, this review just highlights that I'm spending less time with gaming, in general. Even Smash got way fewer hours than I used to. It's a messy time in my life, so I guess this is to be expected.

Also, my Mii is in need of a beard

Edited December 15, 2023 by Jonnas

[bob]

Time for your yearly dose of "He plays way too much!"

I genuinely can't comprehend this. 9 hours a day on average? That's incredible.

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, bob said:

I genuinely can't comprehend this. 9 hours a day on average? That's incredible.

@dazzybee was less complimentary about it when he saw my stats.

Insomnia plays a big part in it. Lots of nights when I'm wide awake in bed getting very bored.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, Glen-i said:

@dazzybee was less complimentary about it when he saw my stats.

Insomnia plays a big part in it. Lots of nights when I'm wide awake in bed getting very bored.

Probably just jealous.... or maybe angry due to Tottenham's form at the moment.  

 

[bob]

I didn't think Dazzybee existed any more.

[Glen-i]

32 minutes ago, bob said:

I didn't think Dazzybee existed any more.

He does, just not here. I chat to him and a few other absentees on Discord now and again.

Never as satisfying as a forum layout though.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Glen-i

[darksnowman]

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Probably just jealous.... or maybe angry due to Tottenham's form at the moment.  

Don't think so. Like Newcastle, they've no complaints as long as they go down attacking.

1 hour ago, bob said:

I didn't think Dazzybee existed any more.

Right enough. Bee's are meant to be endangered.

[Glen-i]

That Pie Chart on your Review is total bunk, basically.

[Helmsly]

On 12/13/2023 at 9:57 PM, darksnowman said:

🎶 there's loot in the mountain🎶

It's actually quite good once you give it a go, isn't it? It was one of the first Switch games I got since it's free so I look on it pretty fondly and with no shame—I'd a top time exploring the snowy island. No Build mode is a great addition because my fingers and thumbs couldn't cobble together any kind of tower when the pressures on. I tried the recently added racing mode and it's not too bad either. Dying to try the others but don't want to get lost in the Lego mode forever.

Yeah, Lego Fortnite is pretty good. The first day that it came out i gave it a go and then a good four and a half hours later and I was still playing and wasn't aware how much time had past. It's quite a feat that they made Lego versions of so many of skins.

My friend and I attempted to make an ewok treetop village but it didn't quite work out...

 

The racing game is a lot of fun too, i finally got my first win last night!. I also like the Rock Band mode they added, but its not possible to play that on a Pro Controller as some songs will ask you to press Left and Right on the D-pad at the same time. I use the Joycons for that mode and it plays fine though.

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Helmsly

[darksnowman]

Here's the 2023 Switch year in review. Safe to say nothing else will be added at this point. Demos and game trials excluded. 

Sports Story : carried over from 2022. Much like the developers, I haven't finished it either.
Virtua Racing
Crisis Core - FF VII - Reunion : carried over from 2022, loved it.
DQ Treasures : carried over from 2022, loved it.
Shiren The Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate : if I had to select my "desert island Switch games", this would make the cut.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope : excellent. Need to get back to it.
Immortals Fenyx Rising : loving DQ Treasures gave me the confidence to give this a go and it's no secret I loved it too. Had a great few weeks with it around April time.
OutRun
The Suicide of Rachel Foster
Pokémon UNITE : must have been back on this for a Mew or Mewtwo that would have been too much effort to claim for free.
Monster Hunter Rise : probably go back on soon to do the Sonic stuff before it's gone. 
TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection : great package.
NEO: TWEWY : was back on for a dabble. Probably for a breather from turnbased.
Persona 3 Portable: pleasure to finally have, a relief to finish. Wish it was a lot shorter. Can't say if I'll get to P4G or go back to P5R in 2024. Got all these day one.
Collection of SaGa FF Legend : finally went back for FF Legend 2. Maybe do 3 in 2024.
World of FF Maxima : overall, had a great time with this. It was like FF greatest hits.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons : tried to go back. Think I'm done.
Disney Speedstorm : seemed all right!
Castlevania Advance Collection : played Harmony of Dissonance in October.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered : top fun to be part of the GB team.
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove : great update of a classic.
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line : unbelievable value. Want Angeal, Tseng and Cissnei to be added.
Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster : immediately played Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean. Looking forward to playing Origins in 2024.
Super Mario Maker 2 : still one of the best on Switch.
Clockwork Aquario : lovely little game.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Collection : bunch of unlikeable characters made for an immensely likeable game. Go figure.
Portal : is a girl?? Is a puzzle game??!! I'd osmosised the cake is a lie, at least.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Tetris 99
Burnout Paradise Remastered : more open-worldery! Weird for a racing game.
Doom : still getting updates.
F-Zero 99 : outta nowhere!
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince : ongoing.
Among Us
Fortnite
The various NSO apps : dipped into quite a few games. At least remember fully playing Majora's Mask, Link to the Past, Link's Awakening and got up to the Fire Temple in Ocarina of Time before Mario Wonder came out. So I pretty much replayed all the best Zeldas this year. Not too bad going! Played a good whack of Wario Land 3 as well. 
Splatoon 3 : took in and did the single player earlier in the year. I played this pretty much daily to keep up to date with the seasonal catalogues until September which made it an entire year from release. It's great fun but enough's enough. Happy to draw a line under it and move on.

GotY: Immortals Fenyx Rising. Even having played the demo, I wasn't sure to what degree this was going to work out. After I got used to the controls and cautiously started figuring out what the game wanted from me, we got on like an absolute house on fire. By the time I'd wrapped it up (not 100%), I was left with that empty feeling you get when you've come out the other side of a top gaming experience that you know your next game won't measure up to. Fantastic. 

Glaring omission: Pikmin 4. I know. I said in the Pikmin 3 thread I'd have to remember to get on the next one day one. And I didn't forget... I think the timing of release just wasn't ideal plus I would have still been grinding Splatoon 3. Haven't even so much as tried the demo! Though I did enjoy having a go on it at one of those Nintendo events. Mustn't leave it on the backburner forever.

Had intended to slot in Lego City Undercover to keep the open-worlding going after Immortals but that window closed. Hoping to get it off the shelf in 2024!

-------------

3DS - this is off memory because my activity log has been a mess for years from repeatedly letting the battery drain and the internal clock resetting. 

Some games I fired up just because there always seems to be a file going or they're infinitely replayable:
chrono trigger ds
theatrhythm
outrun
etrian odyssey of some variety
earthbound : still refuses to let me click with it
mario land
mario bros 2
dq 8
mario bros dx
wario land
kirby triple deluxe

New games I got and played:
yokai watch
legend of kusakari
dkc
80s overdrive
japanese rail sim 3d
fairune : not a hidden gem!
mario maker : the built-in levels are top-notch.
3D classics twinbee
lylat wars 3d : fichina??!
luigi's mansion 2
gurumin 3d : lovely, charming game.
mole mania : yes, @Jonnas, I confirm this game is okay.

also, got these one weekend in a three for two:
mario tennis 3d : fun, actually
monkey ball 3d : scratched to pieces but worked
pilotwings : unknown
only to return them the following monday because pilotwings didn't work (it was the reason i tried to take advantage of the deal).

in an oversight, i bought style boutique twice—from the final eshop frenzy, and picked up the cart along with yokai watch 1 & 2, style boutique 2 and dillons dead heat-breakers. head like a sieve, sometimes.

And there's still more new 3DS stuff (unplayed games and demos!) to go in 2024 and beyond. No chance of being on top of things in time for the Switch 2.

[Hero-of-Time]

I really need to get back to my 3DS. I don't think I'm played on it at all this year, despite having a massive backlog just sitting there.

[Jonnas]

On 30/12/2023 at 11:08 AM, darksnowman said:

mole mania : yes, @Jonnas, I confirm this game is okay.