6 of the Best Switch Games for “Non-Gamers”
By: Lizzie Bestow
Tags: Games, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, Gaming, Features

6 of the Best Switch Games for “Non-Gamers”

If you’re here for the wholesome content, I’ve got you covered

I make no secret of the fact that I am not really much of a gamer. I’m terrible at gaming. I have written before about being barred from playing Call of Duty on the Xbox by my brother because I died 67 times and killed one person (accidentally — to which I then celebrated by running around the room, taking my eyes off the screen, and being killed a 68th time). I ruined his kill streak, and he claims he went from being one of the best players in the UK to one of the worst in only 30 minutes. I much prefer cute games where you mill around and don’t really do anything of much value (much like my day-to-day life, really). In light of this, here’s my top six cutest games for those “non-gamers” like me.

Animal Crossing Joy-Con controllers for Nintendo Switch. Source: Nintendo.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

If you’ve somehow missed the adverts and hype all over the television and online, upgrade the rock you’ve been living under to a house in an island paradise that you create. You have little animal friends for neighbors. You can explore your island, catch bugs and fish, hunt for fossils to fill the museum, buy loads of furniture and clothes, and play online with your friends. It’s so cute, I love it. I’ve written a few articles about it; it’s so calming and lovely. You can visit friends in other islands; I often visit my friend Jake, and he’s keeping me sane through lockdown by turning up unannounced on Sloth Isle dressed as a camp cowboy.

In ACNH, you can just run around and live your best life in a little cute world. It’s the panacea we need from the pandemic. It’s basically just one long adventure holiday where you can do whatever you want. There’s going to be a free update coming out in a few days where you’ll be able to swim around your little island. I can’t wait, (this is so sad, I’m 24 years old) I’m happy just thinking about it.

Pokémon Shield & Pokémon Sword. Source: Nintendo.

Pokémon Shield & Pokémon Sword

The Nintendo Store introduces the game like so: ‘Begin your adventure as a Pokémon Trainer by choosing one of three new partner Pokémon: Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble. Then embark on a journey in the new Galar region, where you’ll challenge the troublemakers of Team Yell, while unraveling the mystery behind the Legendary Pokémon Zacian and Zamazenta!’

To that, all I can say is this: Sobble is the best Pokémon ever. It basically looks like it is almost about to burst into tears all of the time (I strongly relate). My boyfriend says I’m a real-life Sobble, and I’m not even ashamed. I think it’s quite possibly one of the cutest Pokémon ever. There’s also many more cutesy Pokemon which double-up as signs that the creators are starting to run out of ideas for newbies; there’s a Wooloo (which is basically just a sheep), a Yamper (which is basically just a Corgi). I want to pet them all. The scenery is beautiful; Galar is supposedly inspired by the UK, and all of my favourite little English chocolate-box villages are encapsulated in a few cutesy little Galar towns. GameRant rated the cities and towns, and put Postwick (the most English-countryside place ever) at the bottom of the ranks. They said ‘It might be culturally different in the UK, but most places in the world would not qualify two farms as a town, especially when they are located roughly 500 feet away from another town.’ Yes, it is culturally different. We call two farms a town. You know what three farms make? A city.

There’s a city, Circhester, that reminds me of the beautiful Bath and its eponymous Roman thermae, which are just stunning. Aside from the high definition scenery and the cuter-than-ever Pokémon, the battling is taken up a notch, and it’s hosted in a big stadium where crowds are cheering your name. You can customise your look. Apparently there are new Legendary Pokémon you can battle, but I haven’t got that far yet because I always choose cute Pokémon that are useless at battling and take ages to complete the game. Which is not good. On the other hand, I’ll probably still be trying to finish it when the next Pokémon is out, which is good.

Pokémon Quest. Source: Nintendo.

Pokémon Quest

More running around; this time, in Tumblecube Island, which is basically a cute little island where all the Pokémon are in little cube-form (read: even cuter). In this one, you don’t play as a character in the world of Pokémon — this time, you are the Pokémon, which is extra cute.

The Nintendo Store describes it as hosting ‘a cube-shaped art style, Pokémon Quest is unlike any Pokémon game you’ve seen before. The simple gameplay makes it easy to hop into expeditions and start exploring Tumblecube Island with the help of your Pokémon buddies. Afterwards, head back to your base camp where you can use the loot you found during your adventure to befriend more Pokémon. Attract various Kanto Region Pokémon to your base camp by cooking up dishes made with collected ingredients! You can even decorate your base camp with fun items that provide helpful bonuses that make your expeditions more beneficial.’

You explore an island with your Pokémon friends, decorating your campsite and cooking up lots of tasty snacks to draw even more Pokémon into your base, which you can then take out on little adventures. Same energy as walking a dog, but a bit more exciting.

Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. Source: Nintendo.

Spyro: Reignited Trilogy

The Nintendo Store describes Sypro as ‘the original roast master’… and I can’t say I blame them. I think he’s more sassy this time, which I didn’t think was actually possible.

A throwback, as I remember playing the original as a child. The magic is still alive — just remastered. Playing as the little purple dragon gave me all the feels. Just like in the old game, you have to rescue your dragon friends from the evil sorcerers who have turned them to stone. Everything is extra cute on high-definition in the Switch. You can fly and blow fire. It’s very fun and wholesome content. It’s a remastered version of the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy game collection — the original three games, Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon — with extras thrown in for good measure.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. Source: Nintendo.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

It’s more than a little silly but all around good fun.

I am struggling to explain the absolute madness that is this game. It’s very strange, but also very cute. It’s kind of like the mad mash-up that was the Cowboys vs. Aliens film, but with no cowboys or aliens, and instead cute little bunnies. I’ll hand over to the Nintendo Store, who describe it as such: ‘The Mushroom Kingdom has been torn apart by a mysterious vortex, transporting the chaotic Rabbids into this once-peaceful land. To restore order, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Yoshi must team up with a whole new crew: four Rabbids heroes! Together, they will battle with weapons through four worlds filled with combat, puzzles, and unpredictable enemies.’

It’s an old-school shoot ’em up, where you control characters exploring four different worlds, and fighting baddies, but it has badly behaved bunnies in it too, which just takes it up to a whole other level. I really enjoyed the video cut-scenes; basically the world of the Raving Rabbids merges with Mario and Luigi’s; thus we encounter a rabbid dressed as Princess Peach. Amazing.

Super Kirby Clash. Source: Nintendo.

Super Kirby Clash

Similar levels of silliness, similar levels of cuteness. It’s a co-operative multi-player action thing. From what I can gather, you run around as a little cute fluffy thing fighting baddies on quests. I have it on my Switch, and I’ve played it quite a few times and I still don’t really understand the point of this game, but if you enjoy little cute things and you’re easily pleased you’ll probably like this. Go figure.