Snooker 19 Reviews
Sports simulators continue to raise the bar of quality on Nintendo Switch, and Snooker 19 keeps that upward curve moving with an officially licensed recreation of all things baize-based. With an impressive number of facially-scanned pros and real-world snooker halls, and an incredibly precise simulation of striking the ball and setting up future shots, you're treated to one of the best snooker games of the last decade. While still very rough around in the edges in terms of animations, commentary and accessibility, this is a must for snooker devotees who want an officially-licensed sim on Switch.
Never going to really appeal to anyone who isn't a fan, Snooker 2019 is a decent representation let down by a lack of polish.
Snooker 19 is a solid snooker simulation that will definitely appeal to fans of the sport. The relative lack of modes and some major oversights do hold it back, and so it is difficult to recommend unreservedly. It might be Lab42's first attempt with the official license, but right now Snooker 19 feels too much like style over substance. Not so much a 147 as a battling 50 ending in an unfortunate in-off whilst amongst the reds.
Even with a mainstream approach, reached through a huge roster and shiny scenarios, Snooker 19 is designed to really satisfy only a small niche of fans of the discipline.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Snooker 19 isn't perfect, with a major feature lacking and some over-powered A.I., but it's somewhat forgivable thanks to the accurate ball physics and wealth of tournaments, which makes your time at the table sinking balls extremely satisfying.
Snooker 19 cues nicely, and all of the licensing will delight fans of the real-world sport. The game does feel a bit barebones in terms of modes, but it's also retailing at a budget price point. All in all, when it comes to niche sports, this is one of the better executed packages on the PS4.
Snooker 19 will fit less with beginners, as the game's tutorials are very short and the difficulty level is high. While the game feels rather limited in its career mode and the players' animations are robotic, Snooker 19 is a good contribution to the Switch catalogue.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
All of this being said, if you want to be able to play a fully-licensed snooker game, anywhere and at any time on your Nintendo Switch then this would be a suitable option, albeit a boring one. If you aren't in need of portable snooker-gameplay, then you are probably better off going to your local bowling alley and/or sports bar.
Snooker 19 appears to provide an authentic experience to those who are learning, but it's quite difficult for newcomers.
Snooker 19 has its shortcomings but none of them take enough away from making it a must for any avid snooker fan wishing to dream of making an appearance at the Crucible. Lab42 has started the frame off strongly and hopefully this is the start of a bright, snooker-filled future.
Snooker 19 is a great snooker simulation that runs very well. It gets slightly let down by repetitive commentary and be prepared to be bombarded if you do not have a Nintendo Online subscription. Apart from that its a lot of fun and every snooker fan should give it a go.
Snooker 19 is a title that lays a good foundation for what, perhaps, is a candidate to be a periodic sports franchise.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you’re a fan of snooker, then Snooker 19 is a must have. Its realism, range of players and arenas make it the Fifa of snooker games. But the lack of depth and repetitive career mode means that Snooker 19 pots the white ball just after the black. Casual players may not find much longevity, but snooker fans will enjoy it nevertheless.
Good but not very unique snooker game with every officially licensed tournament as any of the top 128 players in the world .
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Snooker 19 is hardly the perfect snooker experience, but there aren't too many other options to help scratch that itch either
There's a really good core game here, but it's let down by the overall presentation. If you enjoy snooker though, you can easily look past this to enjoy it for what it is.
For the very small niche of people who care that much about Snooker, however, Snooker 19 does deliver. There are more accessible Pool titles out there - including on the Nintendo Switch itself, but as an attempt to go the full distance with a deeply authentic simulation, Snooker 19 is a good and genuine effort.
I've been playing billiard games on PCs or consoles since Amiga Times. Also, in my youth I actually played billiard for a short time and I think it is quite interesting and very demanding. Especially with the snooker, it is important to think one step ahead and not just punch in the ball, but to immediately consider where the white ball might lie afterwards, so I have a good starting point for the next shot. But even blocking to leave the opponent in a bad position, has quite its appeal. Snooker 19 offers this quite, because the TV-like look fits very well with the game and well embedded. First of all, we have the best overview through the top down view to aim for a possible ball, then we can do fine work in the first person perspective and last but not least we switch to the bird's-eye view to dose the impact strength. This is quite logical and gives us the gameplay a good access to the game itself. Also, the physics of the balls are quite realistic here, which I find particularly important. Since Snooker 19 comes with an official license, we can take over numerous stars in different tournaments and shine with them in multiplayer. But the game modes leave much to be desired. Although the game is still called Snooker 19, it would be nice to offer Pool or Trickshot as well. We also try in vain to create a star of our own with which we could identify much better. Thus, snooker 19 should certainly convince of the look and the gameplay, but still there is still something missing to go through as a very good sports game.
Review in German | Read full review
Snooker 19 is definitely one of the best entries into the Snooker gaming genre and as its Lab42’s first entry I definitely look forward to seeing what they can do should they decide to make more (Practice makes Perfect after all). Sure, it has a few problems here and there, but who remembers back in the day with FIFA when you could run away from the Referee forever to avoid a Yellow Card! Back then I doubt anyone would have foreseen the game becoming what it is today. It would have been nice to have included the Legends tour here, but given that Stephen Hendry is working on another Snooker title I can certainly see why it wasn’t. Some of the other Legendary players as DLC would be a nice option? I’m basing my award decision on the game being for Snooker fans. As someone who enjoys both the challenge of playing in real life as well as watching the sport on TV (Looking forward to the World Championships this Saturday!) Snooker 19 deserves a Thumb Culture Gold Award and is a must for any and all Snooker gamers.
Snooker 19 brings a fully licensed simulator back to players and does so in some style.