Advice on Nintendo Switch and maybe Playstation games

[Meijin]

Hi, all.

I do not think of myself as someone who plays a lot of video games. Honestly, I get bored with most of them very quickly. However, for a few reasons, I am seriously considering getting a Nintendo Switch, and I'm looking for advice on games. Alternatively, if the Switch is just not a great platform for what I'm looking for, I would love to hear PS3 or PS4 alternatives, as those are the consoles I have already. Here is a short summary of what I have liked and disliked. Mostly, the theme has been games with a strong aesthetic or concept and gameplay that requires a blend of strategy and action, rewarding clever thinking but not heavy on micromanaging. I havn't really gamed in a while, though.

-I have always loved playing Pokemon games, mostly for battling. I'm attached to the fun setting, and the mechanics have some depth.
-I loved Dishonored, Batman Arkham City and Assasin's Creed Brotherhood and Revalations. I found the settings to be engaging and interesting, and the blend of fighting, stealth, and blended stealthy fights to be really fun.
-My favorite game is probably Valkyria Chronicles. Artwork and setting were really unconventional and up my alley, gameplay blended big picture strategy with on-the-ground execution of orders.
-I tried out Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch and found it intriguing but overwhelming. Maybe I just tried it at a bad time, but it felt simultaneously too fast and too slow, too simple and too micromanagy.

So, why am I thinking of getting a switch? Simply put, several friends have had me play Breath of the Wild, and I'm hooked. I want to get that game. But I don't want to get a whole system for one game. I tried out the new Mario game and found it sort of boron (apparently I don't love exploration, platformers, and the Mario aesthetic)? I tried out Arms and had fun with it but I'm not sure it has enough content to last. I've tried to google around a bit, without much success. Google turns up Disgaea 5, Romance of the Three Kingdoms 13, and some sort of really unsettling looking combination of Mario and rabbits.

What's an out of touch, softcore strategic gamer to do???

[DataNinja]

What's an out of touch, softcore strategic gamer to do???

Funnily enough, I actually highly recommend that 'unsettling looking combination of Mario and Rabbids' if you're a softcore strategic gamer. It's a fun strategy game, being a turn-based strategy shooter in the line of X-Com, but it doesn't penalize you too much for doing poorly (missions tend to come in blocks of 2-5, after which you're fully healed; there's an easy mode offered if you just want to get past a level; and once you beat a world you can replay the levels at your leisure). The combat itself feels really good, there's so much freedom of movement, and there is a pretty nice difficulty curve. There are a few questionable party composition decisions (in that you can't actually have a party of all Rabbids or Mushroom Kingdom characters), but, on the whole, it's a really well done game that's far better than it has any right to be.

Even if you're not super big fans of the Rabbids, they actually work pretty well having a straight-man to play off of. And the more annoying ones... well, you get to shoot them in the face.

So, yeah, if you enjoy turn-based strategy, it's one that I recommend giving a shot.

Unfortunately, I have few games for the Switch, so I can't actually give out other recommendations.

[Meijin]

Thanks! I will look into it, and try not to let the rabbids(?) turn me off.

[Hunter Noventa]

Of course, with the Rabbids being mentioned as X-Com lite, you can get the actual X-Com games for PS3/PS4.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 has been announced as well, with a western release (That 3 didn't get after the disappointing sales of 2), and it'll be on PS4 and Switch.

I'd also suggest possibly looking into Persona 5 for PS4. It's a bizarre mix of Pokemon, Turn-Based RPG Combat and Life management/Dating Sim. It's also super stylish in terms of graphics and UI and just watching the game in motion is oddly pleasing sometimes.

Disgaea 5 is pretty fun, though I haven't gotten around to beating it (Super Robot Wars V and Persona 5 ate up my time) but the Switch version comes with all the DLC available for the PS4 version, so it would be the superior version to purchase.

Oh the topic though, if you like anime featuring giant robots, Super Robot Wars V is great, but you have to import it from the Singapore region. It is well-translated, but the cost might be off-putting. It is a solid strategy RPG though.

[Knaight]

Of course, with the Rabbids being mentioned as X-Com lite, you can get the actual X-Com games for PS3/PS4.

With the term "softcore strategic gamer" being explicitly mentioned I suspect that the "lite" part of "X-Com Lite" is a good thing. Sometimes a game being the simpler of two similar options is a good thing.