2020 was not the strongest year for theNintendo Switchin terms of first-party games. They made a huge splash earlier in the year withAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsand that was pretty much their biggest game.
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The rest of the exclusives catalog was filled up with remasters and smaller games that reviewed well enough but were not on the same scale asAnimal CrossinglikeHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. That’s the first-party side though but as always, smaller games once again came out unnoticed. It’s time to let those hidden gems shine in the light one last time before the year ends and an exciting new Nintendo year begins.
10Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise (56)
This Switch exclusive was a surprise for many reasons. TheoriginalDeadly Premonitionis a cult hit. It may be a bad game to literally play, but fans adored it because of the story and quirky characters. No one could have possibly imagined a sequel would ever get made but here it is. It too isn’t what one would call fun to play but it makes up for it’s shortcomings with another zany cast.
9Spinch (69)
This also came out on PC, but it has no aggregate. It’s a bit puzzling as to why this scored so low. It’s basically a trippier version ofSuper Meat Boywhich is to say it is a platformer requiring lightning fast reflexes.
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The one big downfall it shares across reviews are some faulty glitches or hitches on frames. After patches surely this game oozing with color is worth a second look.
8Vigil: The Longest Night (72)
Vigil: The Longest Nightis like a 2D version ofDark Soulswhich presumably has been said many times before. That likeness boils down to it being aMetroidvania RPG platformerwith a darker tone and a punishing challenge. Players are there to help rid the land of monsters. It’s a tale as old as time, but the action does have a satisfying hook to it. The game is also on PC, which got a 75 by the way.
7Kunai (73)
Kunaican be boiled down to a ninja Metroidvania, but one with robots and a color pallet that is to die for. It’s another in a million indie Metroidvanias but the designs alone are worth seeking it out. The action is okay too, but platforming around with the assistance of grappling kunai is the more satisfying aspect of gameplay. As a fun side note, the hero looks like a digitized version of Canti fromFooly Cooly. It’s on PC as well which got a higher score of 78.
6Oceanhorn 2 (74)
The firstOceanhornwas homage to classic top down Zelda games mashed withThe Wind Waker. It was a clear clone, almost to a tee, but still a good a game. This sequel is way more ambitious and partially to its detriment as some reviews point out. It’s now in full 3D complete with a leveling up system, party members, multiple vehicles, weapons, and the list goes on with everything working out to be a bit clunkier. It has been improved since it debuted last year on iOS though.
5Batbarian (75)
Batbariancan be boiled down to an action platformer with Metroid-like tendencies. The big gimmick of this game is in the title as players are a lost barbarian trying to find their way out if a cave with the help of their bat familiar. Said bat has a light that will not only illuminate the way, but solve puzzles as well. This makes it hard to see which is the point of the game which is a neat gimmick but not everyone will enjoy it.
4Panzer Paladin (77)
Panzer Paladinalso came out on PC and got a 76. That basically boils down to the same score for this action platformer. It’s sort of like Blaster Mastermeets Mega Man. Players will pilot a mech and collect weapons to fight bad guys in any order. Players can also get out of the mech for a variety of reasons like when looking for treasure in smaller spaces.
3Paradise Killer (81)
This also launched on PC, which got an 82 by the way, but this is a console exclusive for now at least. Think of this game likeDangonronpa, or thePhoenix Wrightseries. It’s an adventure game,or light novel, where players are an investigator in the murder on an island dedicated to the gods. From the quirky characters to the 80s inspired music and visuals,Paradise Killerwill easily be remembered for those that checked it out.
2No More Heroes (82)
No More Heroes IIImissed its release date this year but that’s okay. To fill the gap both original games were ported to the Switch out of of the blue. They are straight ports without much difference between them and the Wii versions from a decade ago.
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That said they still remain classic niche action games and offer a great way to get into the series before the sequel arrives hopefully in 2021. For those curious, the second game got a higher review for 83.
1What The Golf (84)
This actually originally released in 2019 on iOS. It also released this year on PC, but this Switch version is the exclusive for consoles right now. Anyway, this golf game is more like aKatamari Damacyweird spin onthe golf genrethan something Tiger Woods would play. Saying too much would spoil it but there’s a reason why it ranked so high on Metacritic. Let’s just say anything can be the ball from a house to a person. It gets real crazy.
