A love renewed (Ollie Reynolds, Staff Writer)
I have to admit, my approach to the OG Switch has been the complete opposite to Jim. The Switch 2 announcement lit a fire in my heart and I’ve found myself playing first-party Switch games more than ever.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve not been touching games that I know will be updated on Switch 2 (y’know, Link’s Awakening, Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wild, etc.) But Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? My excitement for World got me racing through the 200cc GP cups all over again.
I’ve mostly been playing through The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy, which honestly felt like the perfect game at the perfect time; a monstrous visual novel that’s kept me hooked for weeks, and will continue to do so until 5th June.
I’m conscious not to overdo it, but this weird limbo in which we know so much about Switch 2 and yet it’s still not quite in our hands has let me revisit a few classics and reflect on my experiences since 2017. It’s nice!
Still by my side (Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor)
I’m much closer to Ollie than anyone else here, but that’s mainly because my Switch is my primary gaming system. While one of us is on PS5 or watching TV, the other is usually doing something else or playing handheld games.
And I usually double-fist games anyway and play something on Switch and something on PS5, alternating between the two – that’s basically stayed consistent since the Switch 2 Direct. I might have been focusing on Ender Magnolia and Clair Obscur, but my Switch has been my go-to for spacefaring adventures on Mira in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition.
The potential allure of a 60fps mode on Switch 2 could have swayed me, but knowing my husband wants to experience that (plus the fact I now have over 100 hours in this darn game) means I might as well see it through. Otherwise, I’m never going to have any time for the new Deltarune chapters, Mario Kart World, or basically anything else. Xenoblade X has to end eventually.
In the coming weeks, I have Citizen Sleeper 2 to wrap up and probably one more game to get rolling on before the new console drops. There’s tons of stuff that isn’t going to get huge upgrades, so I might as well get a few more backlog games ticked off before another wave of titles overfills the glass.
Chump up and get down (Gavin Lane, Editor)
Hmm, I’m in a similar boat to Jim. When the Definitive version of Xenoblade Chronicles X launched, I redeemed my last Game Voucher. The idea was to burn through it before Switch 2 arrived and XCX got consigned forever to the backlog. It felt like a fitting final farewell to the system, too.
And then, 15 hours in, I stepped away. Poor Chronicles X. We’re forever locked in this so-close-but-so-far dance while I wait for ports, end up getting a sealed Wii U copy, get distracted until a Switch version does get announced, get that…and then hit pause awaiting S2 enhancements!
It’s not just the promise of an as-yet unannounced update; other games have played their part in distracting me, too – essential Pikmin replays, digging out the Rock Band gear, things like that. But mainly it’s because I’ll feel like a chump playing through it now if there’s a 60fps mode just around the corner. What if the Switch 2 dock automatically upscales it on my TV and it looks even nicer? I finally braved the frame-rate dips and played through Link’s Awakening last year. What an idiot.
Backwards compatibility is a massive boon, but it forces me to accept that the backlog has totally defeated me this gen. It’s won, and this gen I’m determined not to bring it up every five minutes. Yet crazily, instead of seizing the day and getting that Skell right this second, here I am, stalling.
Hey, if game prices keep rising, I’ll have nowhere to go but the backlog, right? Silver linings.
Which side do you fall on? Has your Switch 1 playtime still been going strong since the Switch 2 announcement, or has it fallen by the wayside with the promise of something new around the corner? Take to the following poll (and then the comments) to let us know.
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