I think everyone is waiting with bated breath for news of the successor to the Nintendo Switch, which seems like it’ll be announced any day now. That’s only because everybody I know has one and desperately wants a new console to replace their aging system. While you wait, why not boot up that relic and pick up a game from its massive library? Nintendo is currently discounting some of its titles as part of a blockbuster sale, and there are a range of diverse games to pick from depending on the mood you’re in or the genre you’re looking for.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
This series remains the most unorthodox crossover in the world, but they are also some of the most brilliantly accessible tactics games too! Both games are also scored by Grant Kirkhope, a composer most known for his work on classics like Donkey Kong 64 and Goldeneye 007. The Mario + Rabbids games are exactly the kind of weird risks I wish more big publishers would take with their most famous properties. I don’t have a particular preference between Sparks of Hope and its predecessor, Kingdom Battle, but I’ll err on the side of the most recent title, which does away with some of the more rigid and conservative systems of the first to make for a wild strategy game. It’s also the last game to feature Charles Martinet, the longtime voice of Mario, as the character, if you’re the sentimental type. You can give Mario a gun by picking up Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope for $US19.79.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is one of maybe two Switch games I’ve managed to play this year, but it definitely started 2024 on a great note. I loved the PS2 games, but didn’t know at the time that they were reimaginings of a 2D platformer series that’d been around forever. Given how dormant the franchise was throughout the late ‘00s and all of the ‘10s, it was exciting to see it come back to life as this excellent Metroidvania that gave some hope to younger and older fans alike. The Lost Crown is a stunning return to form, complete with gorgeous visuals, a slick movement and combat system with depth if you look for it, and a confident puzzle game in spots too. It is also, crucially, a game that you can complete in the span of a weekend on your couch snuggled up with your favorite handheld. Hack-and-slash your way backwards and forwards in time with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown for $US24.
Persona Collection
Kotaku is home to a few Persona marks, so I have to recommend that you pick up the trio of games that are currently on sale on the Switch. The Persona Collection features Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal, meaning you’re getting something pretty close to the definitive versions of each of those titles for a more-than-fair price. P3P, despite its constraints, features the series’ only female protagonist, and P4G and P5R both contain new expanded final chapters that most fans love. Each one of those titles will cost you at least 50 hours to complete. The base version of Persona 5 alone took me 105 hours. For just $US45, you too can experience the highs and lows of Japanese teenagedom while saving the world from destructive supernatural forces in the Persona Collection.
Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak
Monster Hunter is blowing the fuck up right now thanks to the meteoric success of Monster Hunter World and the anticipation that’s building for next year’s Monster Hunter Wilds. There’s a middle child between them that is often overlooked despite its excellence though, and that’s Monster Hunter Rise. Often viewed as a bit of a step back from the scope of World, Rise initially launched on the Switch, meaning it was largely designed for the hybrid console. To that end, it’s a much faster game than either of the titles that bookend it, which might make it more appealing for playing on the go, or from the comfort of your bed. Sunbreak, its lone expansion, is massive, and that’s without taking into consideration the number of additions made to the base game through title updates leading up to its release. You can grab the utterly massive Monster Hunter Rise, as well as its expansion, for just $US20.
Just Dance 2024
The Switch has earned a reputation as the party console. Many systems feature games that can be busted out during gatherings, but I don’t think many have the murderers’ row of titles that the Switch has. In terms of first-party games alone, it has Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, several Mario Party titles, Warioware: Move It! and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which is about what any real party even needs. If you’re having some difficulty getting people up and moving, or you just want to make everyone look ridiculous, Just Dance is the move. I love Just Dance, and I would play any incarnation, no matter how sober I am. You cannot put a price on the joy of drunkenly pulling three of your friends into a dance number set to the theme of Tetris and being the orange L-block that then gets lifted by the other dancers. However, you can put a great price on the deluxe edition of Just Dance 2024 which is going for $US31.49. If you pick it up, you get four months of the Just Dance+ subscription, which gives you access to the entire catalog of dances through the years. You will not regret this choice.
Pentiment
Pentiment is my favorite game of 2022. It is one of the most moving stories I’ve ever experienced in one of the most artfully rendered worlds in the medium. The game’s protagonist, Andreas Maler, is never far from my thoughts, and neither is the wildly memorable cast that fills town of Tassing, where the game takes place. Set against the backdrop of a recent spree of murders, you are tasked with solving the mysteries plaguing the townsfolk and local abbey, all while interrogating your neighbors and close friends. Pentiment is developed by Obsidian, a studio best known for RPGs like Fallout: New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity, and this game keeps some of that alive within the trappings of a more straightforward adventure game to add some mechanical depth and further characterization to its nuanced story and cast. Pentiment is a sterling example of what games could and should be, and it can be yours for $US12.
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