1-2-Switch Reviews
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.
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.
Best enjoyed with alcohol.
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.
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.
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
1-2-Switch gets old very fast, but it's a great ride while the fun lasts.
"Hey let's go play that game where you milk a cow while staring deep into my eyes." seems to be the type of dialogue Nintendo wants to create with their Switch launch game, 1-2-Switch. It's a quirky, party style game that is clearly meant to draw in a more mainstream audience to Nintendo's new console akin to what Wii Sports once did. Could this be the next game that will be at every party in 2017 as Guitar Hero did back in the late 2000s? Probably not.
A characteristically imaginative minigame suite that lays out the possibilities of Nintendo's new console, without feeling like a guidebook.
Nintendo's frantic mini-game collection will provide some hilarious multiplayer moments, but there's not enough in the package to justify its price
Outside of a few interesting ideas and some cool demonstrations of the Joy-Con controllers' HD rumble capabilities, 1-2 Switch's shallow collection of minigames has little to offer. The bizarre actors of the cringe-inducing live-action video demonstrations looked like they were having fun, but I certainly wasn't.
1 2 Switch can give you game sessions full of laughs and fun, but in the other side is just a collection of tech demos for the Joy-Con capabilities that unfortunately it's not as deep to sell them as a retail package.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
1-2-Switch packs in an impressive amount of content, and is legitimately one of the best party games you'll come across. If it'd been included with the console, it would doubtlessly win over a lot of people. I'm just not sure anything here is compelling enough to entice people to pay an extra £40 for it – especially when Zelda is going to be sat right next to it on shelves.
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
As far as mini-game compilations go, 1-2 Switch isn’t that bad, but it won’t tread on Wii Sports grounds any time soon.
A proof of concept more than a game itself.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
1-2 Switch shows the Joy-Con's potential for funny games, but as a game collection it offers not enough long-term motivation. Should have been part of the package.
Review in German | Read full review
Whether munching a sandwich or milking a cow, allow yourself to get lost in the silliness and 1-2-Switch soon becomes the perfect party game with friends. There are clear shortcomings, but there is enough to entertain and the game serves its purpose well in opening your eyes to what potential the Joy-Con and Nintendo Switch have in tandem.
1-2 Switch is a simple and bare bones affair.