So, you just got a Nintendo Switch for the holidays, now what?!?! It can be overwhelming to navigate the eShop, which is full of goodies (and not so good junk), as well as trying to figure out what you actually need for your Nintendo Switch. If you are looking to get started be sure to head over to my original guide that still holds up on just Nintendo Switch accessories, but after I tweeted about SnipperClips, I thought I would put together my 2017 top picks for games and accessories for new Switch owners.
Quick tip: if you got a Switch for the holidays, do yourself a favor and buy Snipper Clips from the eShop. Amazing game and great game to play with your partner and kids.
— James Montemagno 🙈 (@JamesMontemagno) December 25, 2017
First Things First - SD Card
Yes, it is true that the Switch only has 32GB of internal storage and a bunch of that is reserved for the system. A lot of games now require additional download space even if you buy the retail version, so you will want to grab a large SD Card right away! I still recommend picking up a 128GB so you don't have to worry about it later. My guide still holds up for my top picks from around $60:
- Sandisk Extreme $60: Write: 60MB/s - Read: 90MB/s
- Samsumg Pro Select $75: Write 90MB/s - Read 95MB/s
Now, on to the games!
Games
Let's first talk retail games. I actually switched back to buying a physical copy of a game if it exists just so I stop buying so many games. Here is my essential guide:
Pick Your Grand Adventure
It is going to be tempting to grab all of the big adventure games for your Switch right away that you can sink 100s of hours into, but I think it is best to start with just Zelda or Mario and after you have crushed 100 hours pick up the other. I sort of recommend just buying one of them and immersing yourself into one of them and not buying anything else for about a month except for maybe a samller downloadable title. This is what I did and couldn't be happier.
Of course I am going to recommend The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild! It is hands down game of the year and perhaps one of the greatest if not the greatest game ever produced. It opened my eyes again to open world adventures, Zelda, and enabled me to sink hours upon hours into the huge world all while sharing stories with all my friends. There is a bunch of great DLC as well to keep you going. This is an absolute classic.
Yes, we got brand new FULL Zelda and Mario games all in the same year! This hasn't happened in what seems like forever and they are superb. Mario Odyssey brings you back to that first Mario 64 moment of great adventure and mixes in tons of new elements that keep the game going and going even after it is over.
Support Those Third Parties
Yes, there are tons of great other titles that you can get from Nintendo such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and even the oddball 1-2 Switch, but do yourself a favor and pick up a few non-Nintendo releases to mix it up.
Alright, so basically still a Nintendo game of sorts, but Mario + Rabbids is one of the only games this year that I actually 100% finished and kept going back for tons of little extras. It is a turn based X-Com style of game and it really impressed me. The charm, humor, and graphics were all completely outstanding and I really enjoyed leveling up my team and customizing each and every weapon. You often can find this one on sale for under $40 and it is well worth it.
At this point I have purchased The Binding of Isaac around four different times on different systems and I continue to love each and every moment. It is a classic rogue-like game that has randomly generated levels, enemies, and power-ups, that you can sit down and play for 5 minutes or 5 hours if you keep doing runs to get through the whacky story and crazy enemies. I could not recommend this title enough.
Download Only Games
When you are done playing the big AAA titles and want to kick back for a few minutes with something truly unique then there are plenty of great indie titles that can be downloaded from the eShop.
Zen has been making amazing pinball games for basically ever and Pinball FX 3 follows up with a great version on the Switch that starts with a FREE download and FREE tables! There are plenty of great additional tables that you can download for around $3 a piece or so and they are great. One of my favorite features here is that you can put the Switch in "Vertical" mode so the pinball table has more room, which is pretty cool.
Litchtspeer: Double Speer Edition is a wacky, fun, colorful, and all around awesome game. Waves of enemies storm towards you while you throw spears through the air attempting to hit them. As you advance you get additional powers and customization, but the real joy is the weird humor of the game.
Yes, that is right SnipperClips again in case you still didn't know that this is one of the best games on the Switch and crazy fun to play with your family or partner. GET IT!
Other Awesome Stuff
With over 350 games on the Switch in the first year there are tons of other great games that you can grab including: Splatoon 2, Minecraft, NBA Playgrounds, Kamiko, Graceful Explosion Machine, Shovel Knight, Fast RMX, Overcooked, SteamWorld Dig 2, Golf Story, Stardew Valley, Doom, L.A. Noire, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and so much more. Yes, the Nintendo Switch had an amazing year of great games.
How About Accessories?
I am still a sucker for a great bag and the Waterfield cases are the best hands down.
For sure they are the most well made and designed bags and they now offer a wide variety of choices based on your playing style.
Besides that I haven't purchased too much for my Switch. I haven't really used my extra joy-cons since you can play most games with the included ones, the joy-con dock isn't really needed as they charge pretty quick.
Besides that the only other thing to think about is picking up this rad Nyko metal kick stand.
I picked this up because why not and it works really well. Still fits into the dock and also has spare room for SD Cards while providing a stiffer stand overall.
There you have it, my end of 2017 Switch guide! Enjoy and yes I will make a tiny commission if you use my Amazon links <3.
