Making the Switch

When Nintendo first announced the Nintendo Switch with a teaser, it ticked all the boxes of what we wanted to match our gaming style - portability. Given how we don't really sit in front of a telly (nor have one in our bedroom), we couldn't justify a PS4 even though there are some titles we were interested in: Street Fighter V, Mortal Kombat X, Rise of the Tomb Raider, probably could start the Uncharted series...don't think we'll try out Dark Souls though. Even our games from Steam and Good Old Games have been rather dormant, sigh. Most of our gaming is done on the iPhone and 3DS because we can play anywhere (especially in bed), and the days of playing on a PS2 or a Wii are long gone...

So the Switch teaser got us excited as it not only connects to a telly for a bigger screen experience but you can bring it anywhere! Size-wise it looks between a 3DS and an iPad mini, which is great because we rarely use the iPad for consistent gaming (gosh we haven't continued Grim Fandango in ages...). We even had a rough idea of our setup - the dock can go to the Chief's pad, where there's less competition for the telly, and we can get another cable for the Switch to charge it wherever we are like with all our devices.

So we've gotten our Nintendo Switch and started playing Breath of the Wild, and...

...this game, coupled with the Switch, is sapping our life.

With the previous portables like the 3DS and iOS games, the games we play there are designed for short bouts of gaming (doing a quest in Monster Hunter, some rounds in Street Fighter IV, a quick game of Magic Puzzle Quest...) so the stops allow you to call it quits after a while.

Not so with the Breath of the Wild. The open world means explore wherever you like and however you like: that mountain looks interesting? Climb it. Suspicious looking rock formation in the distance? Let's go check it out. Probably get distracted by the Shiekah Sensor going off and end up trying to hunt for the hidden shrine instead.

And the next thing you know the sun is rising.

"OK, better not play tomor-, tonight. Need to catch up on lost sleep."

Come night time..."Hmm let's play a short while lah, we forgot all about that rock formation. Finish exploring that bit then tutup."

Oh look the sun is rising again.