My first experience with the Nintendo Switch.

 

By Sam Coles:

Nintendo since the N64 have had a rather steady decline with sales and direction with their hardware and games, especially during the Wii era where decided not to compete anymore. The Wii U was the final nail for Nintendo’s crucifixion where it sold abysmally, but it was a proof of concept for their next console. The Nintendo Switch was met with meh reception when it was first announced in early 2017, but when it finally released it was a resounding success and slowly became the best-selling video game device for Nintendo.

Fast forward to 2021 I want to give my first thoughts of the portable system; I was kindly gifted one for a sponsorship on Instagram from the lovely folks at Bristol PC Repairs. I’m going to go over how the console feels to hold, control and my overall user experience. I have been sent various games to try out from the lovely folks at 2K Games, Koch Media, Voidpoint and Techland. So, thank you very much to them, and let’s get into this.

Let’s start off with the design of the console, I was gifted the Lite model of the Switch and I have to say I was sceptical about the design of it. However, when I finally picked the device up and held it in my hands it felt wonderful, the feel of the Switch Lite feels so natural where it is nice and light but doesn’t feel too light. It feels like a premium portable device, and it is a joy to play for hours. Coupled with that it has a decent set of speakers, if you crank up the volume to the max it has a decent amount of bass on the speakers especially when playing first person shooters. The screen is also fantastic with its vibrant and crystal-clear display, games look beautiful on the system and are very clear to see even for those with compromised sight.

Now let’s get onto the games I tested out for the little yellow portable, I tested out a few different genres from first person shooters (a lot of them), platformers and strategy games. Let’s start off with first person shooters, as it was the genre, I have spent the most time with as I have been given lots of FPS games to play.

I tested out several shooters Call of Juarez: Gunsliger, Bioshock 1,2 and Infinite and Borderlands 1,2 and The Pre-sequel (still a stupid name Gearbox). I played Borderlands first which I had some trepidation of how FPS games would handle, but those worries and fears were quickly quashed as Borderlands performs and controls really well. Yes they did crank up the auto aiming system up a bit to compensate for the control scheme, but this system works really well and it is more or less like I am playing it on the PS4 although at 30 fps instead of 60 which is not a deal breaker.

Bioshock was the next game on the list to test out, which was mostly good Infinite was the game I wanted to test the most as that game really pushed the Xbox 360 and PS3 to their limits back in 2013. Fortunately the game runs smoothly on the Nintendo Switch, but I don’t think they got the memo of upscaling the resolution of the user interface as it is very small and hard to read on the Switch Lite in some places. Despite that oversight with the U.I resolution everything else is fine, it’s Bioshock but on the go.

Enough the first person shooters, let’s move on to something that doesn’t involve redecorating the room with someone’s brain matter. Super Mario Odyssey is one of the main reasons I wanted a Nintendo Switch, and it is amazing. The game really pops out of the screen, with its beautiful and vibrant visuals coupled with the smooth framerate.

In terms of graphics across the board I am impressed, especially with the third party games. I was fully expecting the visuals to be compromised in a big way with the third party offering, however if you are playing on a smaller screen you really don’t notice the corners that were cut to squeeze these massive and expansive games on the little machine. Games look beautiful, from the deep depths of Rapture, the post apocalyptic wastelands of Pandora to the dusty roads of Texas as you gun down your latest bounty. All the games look fantastic, and I am genuinely impressed with the visual fidelity.

Overall I am really pleased with the Switch and my first experiences with it, it is the perfect companion console. It’s great to sit back and relax all cosied in the corner of your living room playing triple A experiences, as well as lying in bed on Sunday mornings do the same said thing. Great console and I can’t wait to have more experiences with it!