Well folks, today is it. I’ll officially become a dad at approximately 10:15am EST, precisely the time of this posting! In the meantime, while I have my hands full taking care of my wife and baby girl during these interesting times, I wanted to leave you all with some recommendations of Nintendo Switch games to grab for your summer-time enjoyment. The Summer Sale went live earlier this week (at least for North America – unsure of the Europe sale as of this writing), and is absolutely loaded with some great buys.
I assumed it’d be a bit tough to get around to blogging, at least in the first few weeks as I tend to my dad/husband duties, so I went ahead and put together some posts and scheduled them throughout the next month. I hope they are enough to keep any readers sufficiently entertained during my hiatus!
But let’s get to it – let’s talk games on sale that you should definitely check out from the Nintendo Switch Summer Sale. Grab a lawn chair, head out to the pool, and load up something awesome!
Captain Toad’s Treasure Tracker ($27.99 $39.99)
Relaxing game, great for kids and fun for adults, explore micro-maps and find secrets. Great for short bursts of time. The levels are gorgeous and it doesn’t get old exploring every nook and cranny of each – because you’ll always find something interesting around every turn.
Length: 10 hours to complete
Tags: Puzzle, Hide-and-Seek, Relaxing
Demo Available!
Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe ($41.99 $59.99)
Winner of “The Worst Game Title of the Year” award since it’s inception, if you’re a fan of the New Super Mario Bros. series, this is a great collection that’ll keep you busy for some time. Can’t go wrong with a basic 2D Mario platformer! Also excellent to keep the little ones busy.
Length: 10+ hours
Tags: Platforming
Trials Rising: Gold Edition ($11.99 $39.99)
Do you like motorcycles? Well it doesn’t matter, because this game is as addicting as arcade-style motorbike games get! Launch smash and bounce your way through just so many damn levels you won’t ever finish this game, customize your machines to heart’s content. Nothing’s more satisfying than completing a challenge in this game. It can be frustrating for younger ones, so be warned on that. The Gold Edition contains all the DLC and is only a few extra bucks, so if you’re about to pull the trigger, you may as well go all in.
Length: ~20 hours to complete the base levels
Tags: Racing, Motorcycles, Platformer, Arcade-style, Multiplayer
Demo Available!
Child of Light: Ultimate Edition ($4.99 $19.99)
A gorgeous RPG that’s been released on loads of consoles, but is right at home on the Switch. The best feature is that this adventure never overstays it’s welcome. Innovative combat system meets gorgeous environments and story-telling in this Ubisoft adventure that feels like it was put out by a small indie studio.
Length: 12 hours
Tags: RPG, Atmospheric
Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition ($9.99 $39.99)
One of my favorite platformer games of all time, in one of my favorite franchises of all time – Rayman is back in one of the fastest-paced heart-racing side-scrolling platformers you’ve ever played. The level of detail in the environments is matched only by a modern Donkey Kong title. The amount of variety in this game as far as gameplay styles and unlockables go is simply unmatched. This is a killer sale for the amount of content in here – I played it on the Vita originally and had an incredible time going through the perfectly-designed 100+ levels. Not to mention the music, holy cow the music! It’s the pinnacle of platforming achievement.
Length: 15+ hours, lots more if you go for 100% completion
Tags: Platformer, Local Co-Op, Fast-paced
Demo Available!
The Talos Principle ($14.99 $29.99)
One of my all-time favorite puzzle games, by Serious Sam developer Croteam. These guys make some excellent, polished games and Talos Principle is no different. Think of the Portal games, in the sense that it is a first-person puzzler, complete with physics puzzles and drones, but instead taking place completely inside of a simulation, filled with mechanical ruins, and wrapped in a very interesting story package. It’s hard to explain – but oh boy does it work wonderfully well. I actually played this on PC years back but may grab it at this low, low price. If you want some real brain-benders, look no further.
Length: 15-25 hours depending on puzzle completion. This is a juicy one.
Tags: Puzzle, First-Person, Adventure
Hotline Miami Collection ($8.74 $24.99)
The Hotline Miami series has a real legacy of brutality. The original title stole the hearts and minds of gamers at the time of release with it’s raw, visceral gameplay that has you bursting into rooms and painting the walls with the blood of your enemies. It’s fast-paced, it’s addicting, and it triggers that “one more try” mentality. You’ll want to play and replay levels just to “clean” each floor as expertly as possible. It’s absolutely a violent title that you need to check out, if you like indulging.
Length: 15 hours for both games
Tags: Action, Top-Down, Violent, Shooter
The Room ($2.49 $9.99)
I played The Room years ago when it first launched on iOS, and it has stuck out ever since as the quintessential point-and-click puzzler. The intricacies of each mechanism in each contraption you’ll encounter will leave your mouth agape. I have replayed this entire series twice and every time I think to myself, “how the heck did they make this?” It’s the Bugatti engine of point-and-click adventures. The atmosphere is constantly creepy as you unravel each part of the mystery in front of you.
There are also touch controls in the Switch version which, personally, I believe to be the ultimate way to play. This is cheaper than dirt at the moment and should be on everyone’s Switch home screen!
Length: 2-3 hours
Tags: Point-and-Click, Puzzle, Creepy
Yoku’s Island Express ($6.79 $19.99)
Here’s one that came out of nowhere and pulled off a very interesting hybrid of pinball meets open-world adventure! Use your L and R buttons to control flippers around the map to knock Yoku, the adorable little mailman, around a map, completing quests for the locals in this bite-sized adventure. At this price, you practically can’t afford not to at least check this out. There are some games that are so unique they literally fit into no genres, but they really shake up the gaming landscape. Yoku’s Island Express was absolutely one of them and shouldn’t be passed up for this low price.
Length: 8-10 hours to 100%
Tags: Pinball, Adventure
Demo Available!
A Hat in Time ($20.99 $29.99)
Admittedly, this isn’t much of a sale – but if you played Yookah-Laylee and felt burned with what you got, A Hat in Time is the 3D platformer that harkens back to simpler gaming times that you are looking for, no doubt. With fluid controls that parallel Super Mario Odyssey in responsiveness and fun-factor, you’ll find yourself exploring the unique levels and getting side-tracked constantly. It’s a fair bit of game too, there aren’t that many levels here, but they are all so unique that it’s worth taking a look. One thing to note is that it is fairly challenging – you will fail a lot in this game, and it’s definitely geared more towards adults yearning for a platformer a-la Banjo Kazooie, rather than a younger crowd.
If you grew up playing 3D platformers and have been looking for something of quality just like you remember, A Hat in Time is worthy of your $20. It also pairs nice with the next game in my recommendations…
Length: 10 hours
Tags: Adventure, 3D Platformer
New Super Lucky’s Tale ($27.99 $39.99)
Paired with the preceding title, you have a terrific bundle of 3D platformers, both with their own strengths. New Super Lucky’s Tale is no-doubt aimed towards all demographics, whereas A Hat In Time is the proverbial “ying” to AHiT‘s “yang.” This is a superb choice for young kids if you’re looking to introduce them to the genre – it’s 100% child-proof and fairly easy to boot. I really enjoyed my time with it but did find it to be a little simple. There are mini-puzzle games that shake things up a bit and make it a bit more challenging, but overall this is a far more relaxing type of platformer to play as compared to AHiT. Check out the demo first – it might just be what the doctor ordered!
Length: 8 hours
Tags: Adventure, 3D Platformer
Demo Available!
Okami HD ($9.99 $19.99 )
Absolutely stunning game, remade in HD so you can enjoy this breath-taking, hand-painted world with a modern aesthetic. If you liked the haunting themes in Majora’s Mask or Twilight Princess, or perhaps have a passion for Wolf-lore, this is the game for you. It’s worth the full price tag of the already low $20, but it’s yours during the Summer Sale for 50% off. I really can’t say enough about this beautiful adventure and story. It’s video gaming perfection and one of my favorites of all time. One can only hope that the rumored followup will appear one day…
Length: 30-35 hours
Tags: Adventure, Story-Focused, Action
Thanks for reading, and I hope there’s something special here that interests you. There really is something for everyone in this sale, and this list is just the tip of the iceberg. As for me, I hear my wife and mother-in-law scrambling around downstairs doing some last minute cleaning and re-organizing of our tiny house, making things all baby-friendly, but I’m sure I’ll be grabbing something to clear my head when I can find a few minutes for the first few weeks 🙂 Today’s my last day of work and I’m on parental leave, so I’m cracking open a f’ing beer! Cheers y’all.
Are you planning on grabbing anything on or off the sale? Do you have any recommendations? Pitch your favorite titles in the comments, let’s hear about em!
nostalgia trigger 
My sincerest congratulations on becoming a father, Geddy! 🥳 That’s a seriously awesome and major milestone in one’s life. I’m sure you’ll make the most of it, with plenty of great times ahead sharing gaming moments with your little girl! 😁
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Thanks so much buddy! Been a wild couple of days but we’re finally settled in. So far, Super Mario Galaxy is Isabella’s preferred soundtrack during feedings 🙂 Can’t wait till we can actually play together.
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