1-2-Switch Review: Baby, skip me one more time

1-2-Switch is overpriced and underwhelming.

A collection of 28 mini-games priced at $69.95 AUD, 1-2-Switch is a one-hit wonder without the hit. Unlike Wii Sports, which provided ample replay and, for most, was packaged with the Wii itself, unsuspecting Switch owners will buy this and play it once or twice. Dragging the cartridge out when people come to play the Switch for the first time might be awfully nice of you, but avoid the temptation and save your hard-earned.

Some games are just flat out wrong. While most of 1-2-Switch is designed for groups to get a real sense of the Joy-Con controllers, Baby is more of an exercise in silence and patience. In it, you’re to sooth a baby, usually by gently rocking the Switch, or simply setting it on a table and shutting up. While other titles have some value when you’re with friends (and very drunk), Baby is a mood-killer. The same thing goes for Zen — you can basically set the controller down and move on. Win!?

Pure sports offerings Baseball, Boxing and Table Tennis are simple to work out, but strange at the same time. In a smaller room, you simply don’t have enough time to react to the audio cues of Table Tennis; rather than ignore the TV screen as advised, our group had far more fun watching the screen and reacting in kind. Baseball is more forgiving in some ways, but not in others — it sucks to hit a ball only to have a virtual fielder catch it. What gives? Of the sports games, we had the most fun with Boxing — it’s here that you need to follow cues and deliver, plain and simple.

Copy Dance is fun if you’re into it, but very quickly our self-conscious group realised that you could copy moves merely by moving the hand held by the Joy-Con, Just Dance style, to avoid potential embarrassment. Eating Contest and Milk were received in the same way — not while people are watching, thank you very much.

There is some fun to be had with 1-2-Switch, but only in the most exact of circumstances: with a group of friends, preferably new to the Switch, and usually with a bunch of alcohol on hand. The likes of Safe Crack, Plate Spin, Soda Shake, Treasure Chest, Fake and Quick Draw and Joy-Con Rotation proved to be winners during our game night, with most attendees demanding one more round. The problem is, when we invited the group over for a second night, most declined. Been there, done that.

Sadly, a game that’s meant to showcase the Switch’s Joy-Cons also demonstrates how broken they can become. We had difficulties keeping the left Joy-Con paired while playing, and even then noticed a definite lack of responsiveness. This was exceedingly evident in games like Samurai Training, when the Joy-Con consistently showed signs of delay in both swinging and clapping modes. We followed Nintendo’s Joy-Con troubleshooting, but to no avail.

1-2-Switch is more of a tech demo. It should have been packaged with the Switch itself, or at least priced far more competitively — I’ve gotten more value from Snipperclips at $30 AUD.

This is one to avoid unless you’ve a Switch servicing new players extremely frequently. Stick to Zelda: Breath of the Wild instead.

The good A couple fun games, but only for fleeting moments.	The bad Overpriced. Most games are garbage. Shows how broken the Joy-Cons can be as well as how good.

1-2-Switch was reviewed using a retail cartridge on Switch, as purchased by the reviewer. Click here to learn more about Stevivor’s scoring scale.