Since Nintendo released the Wii with Wii Sports to demonstrate the new abilities of the console, it has become a tradition to release such a showcase game with every new console. Wii U had NintendoLand, Switch has 1-2 Switch. This game is called the perfect party starter and has to convince people that the Nintendo Switch is a great new console with a lot of fun control options. Too bad the game itself is way overpriced and not that much fun.
It doesn’t come with the console
Unlike Wii Sports, 1-2 Switch doesn’t come bundled with the console and that’s perhaps its biggest flaw. Nintendo is charging the full price for this launch game and to be honest, it’s not worth it at this price. What you’ll get are 28 different mini-games all created to showcase the brilliant new Joy-Con Controllers. If you haven’t heard of those, the Joy-Cons are the controllers that are used to play with the Nintendo Switch. You can attach them to your screen to enable handheld mode or you can detach them from your console to play on a television screen or use the tabletop mode. This is how you should play 1-2 Switch.
The game isn’t playable alone since each mini-game demands another player in order to work. It’s the perfect game to take with you during parties since I’m guessing there is some kind of fun to be found if you’re playing it with the right crowd. The 28 mini-games offer a wide variety of games but aren’t all as good as they should. Counting marbles using the new HD-rumble feature of the Joy-Con works incredible for example but playing table tennis without actually seeing the table is ridiculous. Of course, opinions will vary on this but I had the feeling that Nintendo could have added more fun mini-games if they gave it some more thought.
A different way of playing
What’s special about 1-2 Switch is the way you are supposed to play it. Unlike other, more traditional games, 1-2 Switch doesn’t expect you to constantly look at the screen. Instead, you’re forced to face the other player and look him/her in the eyes. It’s a very confronting way of playing and it really builds up the tension for certain mini-games. Trying to shoot the other player first in Quick Drawn is a very intense experience since the game takes its time to tell you when you need to fire. While you’re waiting for that sign, you’re constantly looking the other player in the eyes, building up the suspense. It’s a fun experience at first but once you’re used to it, it can all get a little boring too soon. The biggest problem being the mini-games themselves, Quick Drawn and Samurai Training show
The biggest problem being the mini-games themselves, Quick Drawn and Samurai Training both show you what a good mini-game looks like but sadly not all are of the same level of quality. There are just some mini-games that feel too forced and too awkward to really be enjoyable. Milking a virtual cow or playing table tennis without actually seeing the table isn’t how I want to spend my evening with friends.
Different modes to play
To make things a little more interesting, you can choose from three different modes to start the party. The first mode is called the normal mode and as it suggests, it doesn’t do anything special. In this mode you select the mini-game you like, watch the instruction video and start playing. In Shuffle mode, the second mode, the game picks the mini-games in a random order for you. You’ll never know what to expect and this can result in some chaotic fun during parties. At first, you’ll only be able to select five mini-games but after playing those for a while, the other mini-games will unlock automatically, increasing the gameplay value of the bundle.
The third and last mode is one of the more interesting ones, called Team battle. In Team Battle, you divide the players into two different teams. The player that wins the last game may spin the wheel to randomly select the next game both teams will play. It also adds a board game mechanic to the game since each team is represented by a pawn on the digital board. The team that reaches the end first, wins.
Showcasing the potential of the Joy-Cons
The real purpose of 1-2 Switch is of course, showcasing the potential of the Joy-Cons, Nintendo’s newest controllers. Those small controllers feature some incredible features that aren’t used in many of the launch games. If you want to know how good the new motion control works, you’ll need to test it out in 1-2 Switch since no other game offer that experience. Same goes for the new HD Rumble feature, a feature that’s been the center of many discussions when it was first revealed. Does it really make a difference? Is that it different from normal rumbling? After playing 1-2 Switch you’ll be amazed by what this HD Rumble can actually mean for games in the future. 1-2 Switch does a great job in demonstrating the potential of the Joy-Cons but it’s also making it harder to wait for the games that will actually use it in a good way.
Although it offers a great way of discovering your console’ new abilities, I still can’t shake the feeling that this should be a free game in the console box or at least a separate game at a lower price. The content it offers now can’t be justified with a price tag this high.
Conclusion:
1-2 Switch isn’t Nintendo’s best product to showcase the new features of their newest console. It won’t do what Wii Sports did for Wii and that’s a bit of a shame. Some mini-games are truly fun to play and showcase the potential of the Joy-Cons in the best way possible. Other mini-games are just too awkward or too strange to play while facing the other player. The idea behind it is great, forcing the players to look each other into the eyes, but the mini-games aren’t all as fun as they should be. This in combination with the high price doesn’t make it worth spending your money on. Just wait until it gets way cheaper to give it a shot.
