Soapbox features allow our writers and individual contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they’ve mulled over. Today, Gavin glanced at some intriguing 2022 footage and instantly turned into a confused John C. Reilly gif…
As a Nintendo-focused site, of course we’d be more positive about Nintendo than, you know, is different websites. We are staffed by Nintendo enthusiasts and fans with a long history of following and enjoying the company’s products, Nintendo games and hardware that will resonate with them. I. That inevitably leaves us frustrated or downright angry sometimes when faced with some of the more confusing choices made by platform owners — often mistakes that annoy us even more! — but just as you would expect the PlayStation and Xbox sites to be excited about #Sony and Microsoft content, here we are with some Switch games. Are you crazy?
And there have been so many in the past year! We have managed to better review 300 of them in 2022 and unfortunately there are so many more beautiful ones that we have to ignore. To me, it’s been like a year filled with wall-to-wall belts, so I’m a bit confused when I see headlines like ‘Without Pokémon, 2022 will be a sad year for Switch‘ and ‘Failure of 2022: Nintendo Switch really shows its age‘ when year-end recaps started appearing on web games in December.
That is not to say that the premise of articles such as these is unintelligible, and many other commentators share the same view. Sure, Legendary Pokémon: Arceus and Scarlet and Violet are the big players, and yes, hardware is getting longer and longer — we’re getting close to the end of it. Friday After all, a whole year on store shelves. Still, it may be the most obvious thing in the world to see Nintendo Life ‘defend the honor’ of the Nintendo console, but those arguments feel odd to me given the great games that they’re playing. we all enjoyed in 2022.
Let’s temporarily remove Pokémon from the equation. That leaves a first-party means of including Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Splatoon 3, Nintendo Switch Sportsand Mario Striker: League of Legends. Nintendo also published Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, bayonet 3and Square Enix developed Triangle Strategy and Live a life. Say what you like about the individual games in that lineup — and get rid of the latter that weren’t developed in-house if you will — but it’s an eclectic bunch of software crammed with quality. And that completely ignores all games published by third parties, of which there are many. At the time of writing, Scarlet and Violet didn’t even make the top 50 of our readership rankings. The best Switch game of 2022 list.
No, 2022 doesn’t bring a brand new Mario or Zelda, but with Kingdom Tears Needing a little more time in the oven, it’s Pokémon’s turn to support Nintendo’s release schedule with taps of the year. Saying it was a disappointing year if you don’t like Pokémon is like saying the PS5 would fail without the big Sony exclusives. ‘Not available horizon And God of War, 2022 Will Be Sad For PS5.’ um, yes? It’s time for someone else Our final re-released yet? And Microsoft released whatever in 2022!? ‘Without Game Pass, 2022 will be a Boo Boo for Xbox.’
Maybe it’s just me. With little kids enjoying my free time like some super cute, super expensive sponges, I don’t game 24/7 like I used to, and the Switch fits my lifestyle. 200 hours Elen’s ringThe most obvious jewel in the 2022 crown that Switch gamers have turned down, is simply not an option at the moment.
I also fully understand that for anyone who has bought and played elsewhere, the great ports the Switch has received— character 5s (finally!), the NieR: Automatic machines, the There is no human skys, and the like – the select is a bit thinner. But I still argue that the multitude of games coming to Switch in 2022, old and new, exclusive and otherwise, sensational. There is only an absolute treasure trove of titles to enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with just playing your favorite genre or buying a system just to play a particular set, such as, call of duty or FIFA (in that case, the Switch is definitely not the console for you!), but I try to understand why video game lovers might call last year a disappointing year for system. Even if we nuke Pokémon for reasons of argument.
In terms of how many Switches show its age, that’s been an issue since 2017. From the start, we’ve seen hardware requirements updated with more power to run larger games well. than. Yes, it’s great to see more titles hitting their frame rate and resolution goals more often, and new hardware is sure to come in the next year or so, but as a platform matures, developers development will be proportionally better at squeezing the best out of it, and that’s certainly proof in 2022. We’re seeing call from developer for Microsoft to stop getting in the way of more powerful consoles by mandating support for the lower-spec Xbox Series S, so it’s odd to remove the Switch when its limitations are well documented clear and the 30fps limit has started to appear for big name games on PS5 and Xbox (look at you, Knight of Gotham). And so many Switch games — conversely, more than ever — performed brilliantly!
Sorry if this is taken as ‘ridiculous’, but I’m really perplexed to see gamers and YouTubers labeling 2022 as a silly thing for Switch owners. Imagine ‘Only Three Marvel Movies Come Out, What a Bad Year for Cinema’ as the headline. Same energy! Every month brings me a new wave to play. I won’t make comparisons to The Lean Wii U Years™ or the convenience of handheld play or the pricing of first-party titles over the competition because none of that really matches. fit. In terms of the quality of games coming out in 2022, I think the Switch easily holds up against PS5 and Xbox.
With Nintendo likely already shifting internal resources and attention to its next console and prioritizing a first-party software release schedule to repeat the beat once a month has kept the Switch stable like so in the launch year, chances are that 2023 could be a similarly ‘quiet’ year, with Zelda:TOTK doing the heavy lifting for the current system. I’ll be looking forward to new hardware revelations along with every other Nintendo fan out there, but we shouldn’t let the lack of compelling ‘Switch Pro’ or ‘Switch 2’ announcements or the delay of one The game is highly anticipated. cast a shadow over a truly outstanding year.
Will we see similar ‘No Zelda…’ headlines in December? May. Here’s hoping 2023 will be as disappointingly disappointing on Switch as 2022.
What do you think? Is 2022 a sad year only saved by Pokémon? Let Gavin know if he should give up the crazy pills by voting in the poll below and leaving a comment if you like.
And make sure you have a happy new year too!
