Switch Weekly - I didn't love that Splatfest

Hi, Chris here, back with another issue of Switch Weekly for you.

Thanks to those who shared some feedback with me on last week's edition and the introduction of a new deals section (you can find it towards the end of the issue) — it seems to have gone down well. A quick note on it though: I'll try to only share offers that are actually available in multiple regions so that they are appicable to the most readers possible.

This week we had big Euro-gaming event Gamescom, and whilst the opening Keighley-show didn't have a ton for Switch owners there is a few bits. This post brings together all the trailers shown during the two hour event if you missed it.

In addition to Gamescom, Nintendo also shared a 'Treehouse Live' video, giving us a closer look at both Splatoon 3 and Square-Enix's Harvestella — an odd combo sure, but here it is if you missed it.

Talking of Splatoon, I tried the Splatfest yesterday (Team Scissor if you're interested — Rock won)... and it reminded me of some of the underlying issues I have with the series. On a personal level I always found it to be a super comeplling and inventive take on the traditional shooter. I love that it exists and is doing something fun and different with the genre. However, it always felt like the game was getting in its own way a little — playing Splatoon 2 always took far too long to get into a game, with unskippable dialog, map updates, weird timed modes, and generally awkward matchmaking when wanting to play with friends. This was enough of a roadblock to stop me putting much time into it. Playing the Splatfest yesterday reminded me of this and also shone a light on another issue: onboarding. Joining us to play yesterday was someone new to the series, and boy the Splatfest felt like an awful introduction to the game if you're going in knowing nothing. There was little to no signposting on how to pick a team or start a game, seemingly no info on the actual 'ink the ground' objective, and the brief tutorial didn't do a great job of prepping newcomers to the reality of the very real players they were about to go up against. It all felt a bit un-Nintendo like in its hostility to newcomers. That and constant connection issues of course... It got me thinking broadly about the actual objective of this pre-launch event - it's not really a demo for newcomers, and existing Splatoon fans will likely already be hyped enough to buy — so who is this for? I guess it's just a way to build hype before the launch next month.

Ok, I'll stop ranting now. Maybe all this 👆 would've been better as a video on my YouTube? Let me know your thoughts on the Splatfest anyway — either by hitting reply, or by joining us on the Switch Weekly Discord.

Next week is another busy one, with around 30 games landing on the Switch — plenty of interesting stuff too — I've marked what caught my eye with a ⭐️ emoji.

That's it from me. A bumper issue for you with plenty to read/watch — including my latest YouTube video.