TheNintendo Switch has been a massive returnto form for the company after the colossal failure of the Wii U. The console has made history and shipped millions of units, boasting a library of amazing games that players can’t get enough of.
However, despite Nintendo’s best efforts to keep their image as clean as possible, some of the games on this console have stirred up their fair share of controversy. Whether for reasons within or outside their control, these games made the news for all the wrong reasons.
After a strong launch lineup for the Switch consisting ofBreath of the WildandSuper Mario Odyssey, fans were expecting the moon for successive exclusive Switch games. With the announcement of a new IP, players wondered ifArmscould establish a name for itself as one of the best games on the console.
The reality was something else entirely.Armsdisappointed many players and made them worry about the Switch’s future. While it’s clear now that this reaction was overblown andArmsitself was a great game, the lack of content at launch coupled with a fairly basic gameplay loop prevented players from being all that excited aboutArmswhen it launched.
WhiletheMariosports gamesare as palatable as they come, the content on offer is always a bit of a mixed bag. However, no game disappointed fans more thanMario Strikers: Battle League, which lacked any meaningful content when it launched.
It was easy for players to sink a few hours in this game with friends before eventually getting bored and moving on. Given the lengthy wait for a newMario Strikerstitle, it’s clear to see why fans were enraged and expected better from Nintendo, who took things a step too far and released a game on the console that was devoid of meaningful gameplay options and had a pretty lean roster to boot.
It’s a testament to the passion of theXenoblade Chroniclesfans that a simple picture turned into a hotbed of controversy. While this image appears in the third game, the photo shows the main cast ofXenoblade Chronicles 2where Rex had fathered a child with three different women.
Some people considered this to be a non-issue, while others hated the idea of a teenager enjoying a harem ending at the end of one of the most divisive entries in the series. The controversy became so huge that people started debating the ethics of polyamorous relationships, which is the last topic players expected from theXenoblade Chroniclesseries.
1-2-Switchis a fun way to show off the motion controls of the Switch, but the problem lies in how this title was sold. Instead of being packaged with the Switch like most people would assume,1-2-Switchwas sold separately with a major price tag that didn’t justify the game’s content.
Paying full price for what was essentially a tech demo for a new console didn’t sit right with fans. The minigames were decent but nothing to write home about,making1-2-Switcheither a forgettable Switch exclusive or an example of Nintendo’s greedy business practice based on what one heard from other fans.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violetis another divisive entry in a series that has become a hotbed of controversy for fans. Game Freak was unable to shake off the accusations of phoning it in with theirPokemongames, especially given how broken this title was at launch.
Things were so bad that Nintendo issued refunds for the game, which was unheard of for a mainlinePokemonentry. While the technical state of the game is better now, players still remember how angry fans were when they got their hands onPokemon Scarlet and Violetonly to find themselves watching a trainwreck unfold before their very eyes.
Batman: Arkham AsylumandArkham Cityare two of the best superhero video games of all time, and playing this title on the Switch was welcomed by many. However, fans wondering ifArkham Knightwould play well on the Switch realized how poorly it was optimized from the get-go.
Unplayable is a word used quite liberally, but it should be taken at face value when it comes toArkham Knight. The game runs so poorly that it’s impossible for players to have any fun with this title, making the Switch version ofArkham Knightundoubtedly worse than its launch version on PC by a country mile.
It’s a shame thatthe conversation aboutBayonetta 3revolved around false accusations thrown around by Hellena Taylor. Hideki Kamiya, the game’s director, was harassed on Twitter/X for days before the truth came out and things normalized for a second.
However, that doesn’t take away from the deplorable way players harassed Kamiya and the new voice actor, industry veteran Jennifer Hale. It was an ugly controversy, but didn’t take anything away fromBayonetta 3’s incredible gameplay, which fans had a great time with.
There’s no denying thatPokemon Sword and Shieldis one of the most controversial video game releases of all time. Fans were anticipating the moon and back for what would be thefirst-ever home console release forPokemon, only for wave after wave of bad news to hit them.
The lack of a complete Pokedex disappointed many fans, while pre-release footage caused accusations of laziness to be thrown at Game Freak. The game only divided fans more upon release, with players hating the draw distance and lack of animations, with the latter making battles feel rather static.
