Now five entries into the Monster Energy Supercross series, the latest is running on fumes. While the sim-like mechanics of its driving model are nice, the overall package is bland, repetitive, and shows barely any progression from past entries.
With Truck Driver, Soedesco is trying to break into an already spoken-for market with an offering that comes off feeling like a cheap imitation. While it spares itself the humiliation of being considered shovelware, it also lacks the heart needed to call it an actual truck simulator. Perhaps a second, stronger entry can prove the new IP's worth, but this is a pretty weak first impression.
Great British Railway Journeys requires a lot of time and patience to get the most out of it. Built on an aging engine, it provides an adequate experience, but nothing spectacular.
The only official simulation that features all the unique characteristics of the ETRC and offers all racing fans a completely new driving experience: race a giant 5-tonne, 1,000-horsepower truck against 12 competitors while respecting the race rules to avoid penalties.
Snooker 19 appears to provide an authentic experience to those who are learning, but it's quite difficult for newcomers.
Train Simulator has returned with even more new content, but the old game engine is really starting to show some serious age.
TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2 is best suited for those that either are already decent with sim racers or who want to push themselves to be better through self-abuse. Either way, it's not the best pickup if you're looking for a casual bike racing experience.
If you're accustomed to the deliberately mundane nature of simulators, then Fishing: Barents Sea Complete Edition should be a familiar outing. It's not as hands-on as the typical fishing game, which makes it feel more automated and lifeless. Still, it does a relatively decent job at simulating the life of an industrial fisherman. It's rough around the edges, especially here on Switch, but it's by no means a bad game.
If you want a mindless game that will give you an opportunity to just get lost in thought as you move the thumbsticks of your Joy-Con around without much care, then Feather is pretty decent. But something this low on content gets stale pretty quickly, despite its beauty.
Unlike the Wii days, Sports Party stands mostly alone in its genre on Switch. But, there are still alternatives. Personally, I would check out Bandai Namco’s Go Vacation before this.
Hot Wheels Unleashed has a lot of good concepts and ideas that are sullied by awkward execution and weird design choices. Its physics could use some more fine-tuning, and its AI needs to be rebalanced, along with a revamped track builder. Yet, there's still some glimmer to its toy car shine.
Despite trying to capture a more realistic skateboarding system, Skater XL's high points are brought down by some rough areas which could use some work. With more updates and fine-tuning, it does at least have the potential to be an XL package rather than an XS snoozefest.
Despite using "pro" in its name, I'm walking away from PBA Pro Bowling 21 feeling okay at best. It's certainly not a bad game, but the difficulty curve and pay-to-win mechanics hamper what otherwise is a solid bowling title. However, there's a decent selection of other bowling games on Switch like Strike! Ten Pin Bowling and the bowling minigame in Clubhouse Games. These titles aren't as feature-rich as PBA Pro, but they're certainly not lacking and overall offer some satisfying gameplay. Gauge where you are on the bowling fan spectrum when you go to purchase one of these titles.
Truck Driver isn't some revolutionary new title in the truck sim genre, and I don't think it's trying to be one. For a console sim, it looks good, runs well, and has a lot of hours' worth of content. While it's not as fleshed out as SCS Software's more seasoned offerings on PC, this has still proven to be a decent experience. And there's virtually nothing else like it on Switch so far, so it has the room all to itself for the time being. If you've played truck sims in the past or want to get your feet wet, Truck Driver on Nintendo Switch is a good first step. And as for Soedesco, I hope to see the team build upon this concept with an even more ambitious project in the future.
Still, if you'd like a simulator to live out your dreams of virtual Bob the Builder, Construction Simulator 3 can get the job done with the tools it has on hand.
RBI Baseball 20 for Nintendo Switch provides realistic gameplay mechanics with pretty decent visuals. It's an engaging experience with a few bumps here and there.
Farming Simulator 20 on Switch looks great and provides a relatively decent sim experience, but it's not as robust as the last FS entry on Switch due to now being more mobile-focused.
All things considered, Void Space Racing definitely lives up to its name. It really does feel like a space flight sim, and there aren't many of them out there.
What really surprised me was that the developer have actually listed the game at $8. Considering that there are other, more fleshed out experiences out there, I’d much rather save the money and focus on picking something more worthwhile. If you happen to be a fan of word games, though, then this should be right up your alley.
Indie-games are known for being highly original, creative ideas—well the majority of them at least. At times, some indie developers just prefer to take an existing concept and put their own spin on things; and hey, there's nothing wrong with that. There are some indie games that actually end up being better than the classics that they're molded from, while still giving retro gamers that sweet rush of nostalgia.