1-2-Switch Reviews
As one of the first-party launch games for the Nintendo Switch, 1-2-Switch has its high points but ultimately falls short of being anything but a mildly entertaining party game.
A characteristically imaginative minigame suite that lays out the possibilities of Nintendo's new console, without feeling like a guidebook.
1-2-Switch is the Switch’s version of Wii Sports, in that it acts as an overall mission statement for the console itself. The quirky, bizarre nature of the unique mini-games make it a funny, memorable experience, but some games are hard to play at first due to unclear tutorials and dialogue cues. Despite its oddities and flaws, I have had so, so much fun playing and watching 1-2-Switch with a small group of friends that I can recommend it in that specific situation, but I don’t have much desire to go back.
1-2-Switch belongs in a mall kiosk with a 10-minute play limit – though most potential customers would probably walk away empty-handed long before then
1-2-Switch gets old very fast, but it's a great ride while the fun lasts.
1-2-Switch does a great job of showing off the unique feature set of the Switch and its Joy-Con controllers, but it's seriously lacking in long-term appeal. When played with a group of friends or family members it's a proper hoot, and has the same social gaming appeal that made Wii Sports a living room tradition for so many households all over the world, but there's no escaping the fact that many of these mini-games lack longevity; some are so basic that they fail to maintain your interest past the first go, no matter how inebriated you and your pals happen to be.For a retail game, 1-2-Switch feels a little anemic, and would have been much better suited as a pack-in title. Nintendo has countered this stance by claiming that it couldn't bundle the game due to cost, but including a download code with each Switch sold wouldn't have incurred any real physical expense – beyond lost retail sales, of course - and that would have been a sensible trade-off when you consider how solid an advert this game is for the system. How many people were sold on the Wii's merits simply by witnessing Wii Sports at a friend's house? By refusing to bundle 1-2-Switch with the base system, Nintendo has missed out on the kind of exposure that marketing simply cannot buy you; as a stand-alone release it feels too fleeting and ephemeral, but as a free pack-in it would arguably have been much more appealing.
There is fun to be had, but in short bursts, and you'll play it every time you want to show the system off to someone new to Switch, but this is a shallow game, with a few fun minigames, and some cool tech.
A missed opportunity due its lack of depth on almost every corner of its gameplay.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Amazing features of the Joy-Con in these mini-games- However, only a few of them are really entertaining and Nintendo could have done better with this brand new social game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Another game asks players to re-attach the controllers to the side of the Switch console, remove it from its television dock and cradle it like a crying baby, complete with a crudely animated infant tossing its head back and forth on the console's portable screen. It was perhaps the most uncanny moment of all the experiences in the game — a human child used as a skeuomorphic wrapper for a software simulation.
1-2 Switch fails in its primary goal: show how fun can be a Switch party game. There's literally no reason to buy a game that you shouldn't download even if it was free.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I'd have had no hesitation in recommending 1-2-Switch if it were included with the Switch or maybe $20 max, but as it stands it is far too expensive for the dash of entertainment it provides. 1-2-Switch is a good distraction for parties with people who don't game much, or those looking for something a little different than Cards Against Humanity for the millionth time. Otherwise, wait for a deep price drop.
For all its good ideas, inventive uses of the Joy-Con and potential as a fantastic party game, 1-2-Switch has just as many fumbles that make it far from an essential Switch launch title. It can be a lot of fun, but it fails to keep you in the moment, takes too long to explain and set up each game, and no amount of immature giggling at euphemistic games can manage to rescue it from itself. It might be quick on the draw, but what follows is more of a confused fumble.
There are a lot of fun ideas, and the general concept of a portable party game works well, but there are just too few mini-games and too little reason to keep playing them.
If you want to know every little thing of which your Joy-Cons are capable, this will do it. Just don't expect to have much fun in the process
Nintendo's frantic mini-game collection will provide some hilarious multiplayer moments, but there's not enough in the package to justify its price
The real problem with 1-2-Switch is the steep price: 50 bucks is a lot of money for a bunch of cute minigames (half of which are meh). There are some occasions when 1-2-Switch shows the great potential of the new Nintendo console, but it's not enough to justify the buy.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Between its overacted intro cinematics, its casting of uninteresting games on the long term and it's high retail price, 1-2 Switch has everything to remain in video game history, but not in the way Nintendo might have hoped. If you haven't bought the infamous compilation, we strongly advise you not to. The manufacturer gives the impression to have tailored this game only to the -sometimes peculiar- japanese tastes, to the point of neglecting the gamers from the rest of the world. We're now making our way back to Zelda so we can forever forget the few hours we had with 1-2 Switch.
Review in French | Read full review
1-2 Switch is a simple and bare bones affair.
Best enjoyed with alcohol.