After just taking a closer look at what’s new for Pikmin 4, I am back with some insight on the latest party game from Nintendo. Everybody 1-2 Switch! is slated to land on consoles at the end of the month, and ahead of time I got to experience just what will be arriving come June 30.
I played Everybody 1-2 Switch! ahead of launch
Before we get anywhere, throw away everything you know about the original 1-2 Switch. This new version may very well be a sequel to the game that launched in the first few months of the Switch’s lifespan, but Nintendo is back with some meaningful adjustments that really do make this a whole different experience. The biggest one being that this isn’t a tech demo like the first one, Everybody 1-2 Switch! is a fun party game in its own right that really does seem to deserve a spot in your library right alongside Mario Party, Mario Kart, and even the Jackbox Party Packs.
With that out of the way, let’s actually dive in! The big selling point of Everybody 1-2 Switch! is right in the name, bringing the party game action to more gamers than the original. Back with its predecessor, the original title was something that at most four people could play together at a time. Many of the original games revolved around two gamers, and while those sorts of experiences are still around today, they are less of the focus.
Even when Everybody 1-2 Switch! is pitting two players against each other, it’s part of its new team modes that really look to make sure everyone is involved over the course of the night. Previously you’d have to go through the whole gambit of passing off controllers after each mini game and deciding who wants to play against who. Now Nintendo does the heavy lifting by letting you pick teams (or having the game pick for you) and then taking care of all the logistics so you can just have fun.
But then there’s the games themselves. There’s so much variety this time around for Everybody 1-2 Switch! thanks to not only a collection of new experiences for the Switch itself, but also because of the newfound smartphone features. Clearly taking a page out of the book from the folks over at Jackbox Games, the new Switch title lets you bypass Joy-Cons in favor of tapping into each players’ smartphone. Going to a website lets you connect with your Switch and play many of the titles right from your iPhone. And it’s not just meant for you and a few friends, there is support for up to 100 other challengers if you’re really looking for some pandemonium.
The Switch and Joy-Con-centric games are about what you’d expect from my time playing the game. I got to see a mode that was effectively like a little sumo wrestler with the goal of bumping your opponent out of bounds, but it was with two bunnies bouncing into each other. Players in the real world had to do little hip bumps using motion controls in the kind of Wii-era excitement that Nintendo has been tapping into for over a decade.
During my time with Nintendo, I got to play a few of the different games, including this bunny-based brawl. I squared off against another one of the guests at the event, ultimately showing I still have a thing or two to learn about these kinds of games after getting demolished by my opponent.
As fun as that was, it really is the smartphone action that’s a game changer for me. Not only does it means more people are actively engaging with the games, but having so many players competing at once just makes things that much more exciting. Nintendo is really tapping into all of the capacities of your handset, too. There are of course more straightforward games like trivia that just take advantage of its screen, but also others that use motion controls for following on-screen gestures to help summon aliens.
Easily my favorite was one that relied on your device’s camera in order to take a photo of something in the real world to best match a color swatch shown on the screen. It had the 20 of us playing the game running around the room trying to find something that matches. Every game brings its own level of chaos into the picture, and I absolutely love how quickly things devolved from just sitting on a couch to
It all really does make Everybody 1-2 Switch! that exciting of a game. I am really looking forward to making all of my friends play it when the game launches on Switch. And unlike the first one, I feel a little more confident in asking them to join in on the fun. My pitch isn’t going to be “come see how cool the Joy-Con are on my new gaming console,” and instead, will be a bit more focused on how silly or novel the new games are.
Coming at the end of the month
Nintendo’s latest party game, Everybody 1-2 Switch!, officially launches at the end of the month. It’ll retail for $29.99, less than a typical first-party Nintendo game, and lands on your console starting on June 30.
9to5Toys’ Take
Everybody 1-2 Switch! is certainly not the game that most Nintendo Switch owners are waiting for right now. Especially not with Pikmin 4 and its release looming for July. But I really do have to say that there’s a lot to be excited about. It’s clear that Nintendo is trying to bring 1-2 Switch into a different light than the first one, and the upcoming release does that well. I said it before, but my biggest takeaway is just how excited I am to play some of these games with friends. It’s no longer just about how cool the tech itself is, but now how interesting the content is.
Of course, Everybody 1-2 Switch! isn’t going to be for everyone. This is a local party game after all. It’s also not a replacement for other games of this sort, either. Jackbox fans are still going to love all their little party games, just like Mario Party enjoyers aren’t going to drop their digital board game experience to come try out the latest from Nintendo, at least not entirely.
Fans of those games are going to love the new 1-2 Switch. There’s the usual Nintendo charm, which has honestly been dialed up to eleven. The new host of the game, Horace is as bombastic and silly as you’d expect to see from a humanoid horse host, and all of the theming follows suit.
The hour or so that I got to play Everybody 1-2 Switch! certainly wasn’t enough for me to review the game in full, but it was enough time to say that the $30 price tag feels right on the money. And if you’re not sold on a pack of mini games for that cost, I’m sure the title will eventually land on sale.
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