One Year Later: How Did the Switch Do?

It may sounds cliche, but I can still distinctly remember when I opened the box for the Switch over a year ago now. It was something like 2 a.m. and I had to go to sleep to get on a plane out of the country in a few hours, but I just had to open it up and see it for myself.

Well, it's one year later, and as I write this I can see my Switch (and all the extra controllers I've gotten for it in the last year) on my desk next to me. My only thought is: how did it go by so fast? 2017 turned out to be an incredible year for games, and the Switch was no small part of that. Let's take a look back at what all I've done with the Switch in the past year:

I think what may have surprised me the most is how much this turned out to be my go-to handheld. I even found myself playing in the handheld mode with no good reason because it felt so natural. And the convenience of it was never overplayed: it's really as easy as taking it out of the dock to get it off the T.V. and on the go.

So, kinda a mixed bag here. I own 2 sets of joy-cons (one red and one blue) as well as a pro controller for the Switch, and I love the controllers for it until the joy-cons broke. Actually probably my only main complaint with the Switch one year later is how delicate the controllers feel, and how easy it can seem to break them. They aren't unusable, mind you. But one has a sticky trigger and they slide off of the Switch very easily. I just feel for how much they cost, the quality should be better.

By far my favorite types of games are party games. Any games where a bunch of people get in a room together and enjoy each others company more than the game's story is a dream for me. If you feel the same, you need to get a Switch. From laying on the floor with my friend playing Snipperclips to playing my roommate in Mario Kart late into the night to inviting a whole group over for Jackbox, any type party game you can imagine is available with the Switch, and I simply adore it for that. Not to mention with Smash for Switch recently announced, there's even more to come.

I wouldn't expect to say this before, but I spent way more time on Nintendo's competitive multiplayer this last year than any other company's. I know, that sounds just...wrong. But it's true! Between Spatoon and Arms, I spent way more time on competitive online games (usually my least favorite genre) than I ever have before. If you're like me and never really got into competitive fighters or shooters, but you have a Switch, check out Arms and Splatoon. They may surprise you, and even if they don't, they're fun games in their own right anyway.

Okay, so kinda cheap. But I'm not exaggerating when I say I've played SO MUCH of this game, I think I've spent more time on this than any other game before it. Seriously, it is beyond amazing and, now that it's been out for a year and I'm still playing it, I gotta say it has to be one of my favorite games of all time. Please do yourself a favor and pick it up, and the Switch is the perfect console for it. (But if you have a Switch and don't have Zelda, like, what are you doing?)