Discussion Underappreciated Switch Games

[SammyJ9]

I have to mention a game that's very underappreciated in general:

Afterimage

It's a very ambitious metroidvania that had some buzz going in, but fell off a cliff and I hardly hear about it anymore but it rules. It's not perfect - it has some performance issues on Switch, and the game's text/translation and plot are pretty hard to understand and not framed well. But in terms of exploring a massive map and discovering tons of secrets and having gorgeous artwork? It's incredible. If you like long, sprawling, exploration-heavy metroidvanias more like Hollow Knight then this might be up your alley.

And look at it!

 

[ezr__]

The Spirit and the Mouse, it has the vibes similar to Chibi Robo but you a mouse helping out the townsfolk in a small village.

 

[electricmastro]

Chained Echoes has over 5,000 reviews on Steam, an amazing number, especially for an indie release.

Sure, Octopath Traveller has 11,000, but you're comparing a major AAA publisher to a game made by a single individual.

Prob going to keep number of Steam reviews in mind more now. Thanks!

 

[TreIII]

Devil May Cry 3: Switch Edition



This oldie but goodie is, simply put, the best version of DMC3 you can get besides modding the PC version. Switch owners get access to Free-Style Mode, which gives you access to Style Switching (like Dante could do in 4/5). There's even a local co-op mode for Bloody Palace that you can do with a pal.

Devil May Cry 3 is considered to be one of the "three kings" of the stylish action game, and Switch owners got a port that has quite a bit more put into it than the others in the series. Goes on sale regularly enough, so I'd scoop it up, if you can!

 

[electricmastro]

Lunistice
A charming 32-bit 3D platformer with tight responsive controls and a banger score. And it costs $5.

Def hoping for more classic-style 3D platformers reminiscent of N64/PS1 ones!

 

[electricmastro]

Button City: Nice cozy game on Switch about a fox and his friends saving their local arcade.

 

[electricmastro]

JRPG Switch recommendation: In Stars and Time, a game where you deal with time loops and rock/paper/scissors-based fights

 

[electricmastro]

Devil May Cry 3: Switch Edition



This oldie but goodie is, simply put, the best version of DMC3 you can get besides modding the PC version. Switch owners get access to Free-Style Mode, which gives you access to Style Switching (like Dante could do in 4/5). There's even a local co-op mode for Bloody Palace that you can do with a pal.

Devil May Cry 3 is considered to be one of the "three kings" of the stylish action game, and Switch owners got a port that has quite a bit more put into it than the others in the series. Goes on sale regularly enough, so I'd scoop it up, if you can!

Interesting choice. I had thought Devil May Cry was always appreciated.

 

[electricmastro]

The Wild at Heart: Pikmin Meets Over the Garden Wall

 

[JazzyFuture]

Everyone always leaves out Cadence of Hyrule when mentioning Zelda games/spinoffs on Switch and I don't know why.

 

[bixente]

Everyone always leaves out Cadence of Hyrule when mentioning Zelda games/spinoffs on Switch and I don't know why.

It's a very well made game but the learning curve is high imo.

I would say Age of Calamity is comfortably the inferior game but I had more fun with it, just mowing through enemies, good simple fun.

 

[Zellia]

Sparklite is a fun little roguelite Zelda-style game in a steampunk setting. Not especially long or deep, but I enjoyed it.

 

[Tye]

Everyone always leaves out Cadence of Hyrule when mentioning Zelda games/spinoffs on Switch and I don't know why.

I need to get around to actually playing it more. I tried playing it a bit in co-op with my partner at launch and was very excited for the game because Zelda + rhythm seemed like a dream come true for me…but the game was just not what I was expecting from a Zelda rhythm game at all and we got frustrated because we weren’t really making any progress since the game seemed to be so difficult and we felt like we weren’t really “getting” it. So while I didn’t hate it or anything, we just dropped it super early due to the difficulty and weirdness of the game. It’s long overdue for a revisit, but I just haven’t gone back to it yet due to having so many other games to play as well. I’m sure it’s a great game once you “get” it, though. Maybe playing the game in single player would be better than co-op…?

I wonder if other people had similar experiences with the game and that’s why it’s not mentioned as much…though I imagine the more likely answer is just that too few people have actually played the game at all. That tends to be the case with Nintendo’s smaller games like this, especially if they’re eShop-exclusive. Not many people seem to care about them regardless of their quality, sadly.

 

[JazzyFuture]

I need to get around to actually playing it more. I tried playing it a bit in co-op with my partner at launch and was very excited for the game because Zelda + rhythm seemed like a dream come true for me…but the game was just not what I was expecting from a Zelda rhythm game at all and we got frustrated because we weren’t really making any progress since the game seemed to be so difficult and we felt like we weren’t really “getting” it. So while I didn’t hate it or anything, we just dropped it super early due to the difficulty and weirdness of the game. It’s long overdue for a revisit, but I just haven’t gone back to it yet due to having so many other games to play as well. I’m sure it’s a great game once you “get” it, though. Maybe playing the game in single player would be better than co-op…?

I wonder if other people had similar experiences with the game and that’s why it’s not mentioned as much…though I imagine the more likely answer is just that too few people have actually played the game at all. That tends to be the case with Nintendo’s smaller games like this, especially if they’re eShop-exclusive. Not many people seem to care about them regardless of their quality, sadly.

Maybe it's just me who actually played Necrodancer before Cadence of Hyrule, which is even less forgiving so all the added warnings just made it easier to click.
I'd probably say it's easier to click in singleplayer though, that way you can wear headphones and just really get into the beat.

 

[Earthbounder]

I think we've already had a thread like this a few months ago (or maybe one year), and I'll give the same answer I probably gave back then: Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom. It's one of the best Metroidvanias in a console that's full of them.

I'll also take this opportunity to name Tunic, which is one of the best games of all time. I have no idea how much it sold on the Switch, but my impression is that it didn't sell enough and didn't get sufficient praise.

 

[em]

Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics



Yeah, it's a best selling Switch title, but it often gets overlooked by "core" gamers. Clubhouse Games is a very polished implementation of 51 games, all with charming animated tutorials, that deserves to be a part of every collection.

 

[Tailzo]

I have to mention a game that's very underappreciated in general:

Afterimage

It's a very ambitious metroidvania that had some buzz going in, but fell off a cliff and I hardly hear about it anymore but it rules. It's not perfect - it has some performance issues on Switch, and the game's text/translation and plot are pretty hard to understand and not framed well. But in terms of exploring a massive map and discovering tons of secrets and having gorgeous artwork? It's incredible. If you like long, sprawling, exploration-heavy metroidvanias more like Hollow Knight then this might be up your alley.

And look at it!

I just bought Afterimage a few days ago. I agree.

 

[Pierceyonder]

Everyone always leaves out Cadence of Hyrule when mentioning Zelda games/spinoffs on Switch and I don't know why.

Yeah this game rules, it may actually be the best Zelda spinoff (and better than several core games, at least imo).

 

[Enpsty]

Chants Of Sennaar: Legit one of the best games ever made.

Creaks: Beautifully drawn puzzle platformer from the makers of Machinarium.

Cruis'n Blast: Full arcade madness that many forget when they mention Switch exclusives.

Dusk: The best of boomer shooters. Excellent Switch port.

Filament: Fantastic puzzle that stretches its simple idea to the extremes. Highly recommended for puzzle lovers.

Goblin Sword: Super cheap, super simple, super charming action platformer. 25 hours of content.

House Of Da Vinci 1,2,3: Great puzzle games inspired by The Room series.

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom: This is not underappreciated in general, but rarely gets talked when it comes to greatest metroidvanias. This is the best indie metroidvania ever.

Supraland: Fantastic 3D metroidvania. Pure gameplay bliss.

Toki Tori 2+: Made a whole thread about it.

 

[linkwashere]

Chants Of Sennaar: Legit one of the best games ever made.

Creaks: Beautifully drawn puzzle platformer from the makers of Machinarium.

Cruis'n Blast: Full arcade madness that many forget when they mention Switch exclusives.

Dusk: The best of boomer shooters. Excellent Switch port.

Filament: Fantastic puzzle that stretches its simple idea to the extremes. Highly recommended for puzzle lovers.

Goblin Sword: Super cheap, super simple, super charming action platformer. 25 hours of content.

House Of Da Vinci 1,2,3: Great puzzle games inspired by The Room series.

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom: This is not underappreciated in general, but rarely gets talked when it comes to greatest metroidvanias. This is the best indie metroidvania ever.

Supraland: Fantastic 3D metroidvania. Pure gameplay bliss.

Toki Tori 2+: Made a whole thread about it.

I second Creaks. It's the best Amanita game by far.

 

[BabyDontHurtMe]

Good Job! is a very overlooked Nintendo published game. It's a cute yet very entertaining sandbox-style puzzle game where you are rewarded to doing a lot of damage to office spaces. The physics can be a little funky sometimes, but it's a worthwhile experience.

 

[Suswave]

popped in to say Islets, Creature In the Well, and Glyph… only to realize I already had!

Also throwing a shout out to Dredge in here — obviously it’s more well-known, but I haven’t seen much talk about it here and it fucking rules

 

[7threst]

Ghost 1.0
A great sci-fi 2d metroidvania with a compelling skill tree. The upgrade system, which involves acquiring cubes/currency in order to purchase abilities and other goodies makes the title that much interesting. Plis, if you get easily lost by me, the map is great and very intuitive.

Rise of the Third Power
Honestly, it was on my top games of the year last year when I played it. A great classic j-rpg with a superb story (based in the period between the First and Second World War, but it is a medieval setting) and a compact experience (about 25-35 hours, not that much sidequests so it gets to the point).

Agent A
This is a short graphic/visual adventure game that I really enjoyed. The puzzles were great and I had a good time with the game.

Moonlighter
A roguelike. You enter a dungeon so you can have products for your store that you can sell. You then use the money for several types of upgrades. Really addicting game despite the basic combat system.

Bug Fables
It was my GOTY the year it came out for Switch. It is classic Paper Mario but with insects and a must play.

I heard absolutely nothing about these games before and I am ABSOLUTELY extremely interested in these games lol! All sounds so good! I guess they all only released digitally?

 

[Tactician]

I heard absolutely nothing about these games before and I am ABSOLUTELY extremely interested in these games lol! All sounds so good! I guess they all only released digitally?

Moonlighter was released physically (in Europ, at least). I do not know about the others.

 

[PlatinumClover]

Sayonara Wild Hearts is so underappreciated I believe it wasn't even mentioned in this thread yet.



My favourite game of the last decade and it's not even close. I intend on getting a tattoo of it someday, and that's not something I'd say about a lot of games.

 

[Famicrono]

Sayonara Wild Hearts is so underappreciated I believe it wasn't even mentioned in this thread yet.



My favourite game of the last decade and it's not even close. I intend on getting a tattoo of it someday, and that's not something I'd say about a lot of games.

That’s… sure a big title. Wanna try it someday

 

[neil]

I think Pac-Man Museum+ belongs on this list. There are so many great games in it. For the price it often goes on sale for, if you have even a slight liking for Pac-Man, you should pick this up. My personal faves are Pac-Man 256 and Pac-Man CE.

 

[electricmastro]

A Switch game that’s not necessarily my style of game, but one I’m sure many other people would like:

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow

 

[em]

A Switch game that’s not necessarily my style of game, but one I’m sure many other people would like:

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow

Not to be confused with The Extraction of Hob's Barrow starring Master Bateman



Sorry not sorry.

 

[TanookiTom]

Don't sleep on Children of Morta. Amazing and lovingly crafted action-rougelike with fantastic couch coop <3