Minecraft for Nintendo Switch | Review

Despite its age, Minecraft has managed to remain one of the most popular games played today. The game's creative nature and the ease of sharing those creations means that people create and share the things that they build. The game is also available on many different systems, including the one I'm reviewing today, the Nintendo Switch.

PROS:

-The game looks good. I know it sounds strange to say anything about Minecraft looks good, but not only do I like the artstyle of Minecraft, but it also carries well onto the Switch version. Everything looks the same here as it does on most other systems.

-The music is nice. While the music here isn't anything special for Minecraft, it's still a nice gentle soundtrack that helps put your mind at ease. You won't be rocking out to the soundtrack, but it's very pleasant.

-The controls works surprisingly well. Though there's no motion controlled aiming, I found Minecraft controls better than most first person games with a joystick. All of the buttons make sense by default, and you can rebind any function to any button.

-You can play locally. Not only does the game support four player split screen, you can also play using multiple Nintendo Switch consoles locally. You don't need to pay for a subscription in order to play with a friend in the same area.

-The gameplay is fun. It's common to see Minecraft be made fun of due to frequently being played by kids, but that doesn't change the fact that Minecraft is simply an enjoyable game to play. Making stuff is fun. Exploring new areas is fun. It's simple, but it's still a fun game.

-You can play with other people using the "Bedrock" version of Minecraft. This means you can play with others who are playing on Android, iOS, Xbox One, and Windows 10. However you can't play with people who play "Java Edition" which is the version most PC users play on. The easiest way to tell if your version is compatible is if the "Minecraft" title only says "Minecraft." If it says "Minecraft Java Edition" then it's incompatible.

CONS:

-There are bugs. Minecraft is Minecraft, which means there's going to be bugs. I wish a game like this was capable of being bug free, but even with almost ten years of development I don't think something like that is possible. Nothing I've experienced has been game breaking, but don't be too surprised if your immersion is interrupted a few times.

-Storage is far too small. The Nintendo Switch doesn't allow any game's save data to go higher than 2 Gigabytes of storage, meaning even a 128 Gigabyte SD card won't do anything to improve the issue. The game closes once it reaches the 2 Gigabyte limit, meaning your trip across the ocean might just push your world too far. You can just pay a few dollars a month for a Realm, but...

-Realms require Nintendo Switch Online. I'm not overly opposed to Nintendo charging for access to online. I do have a problem with it when you need to not only pay for a server and pay for another service on top of that. It's an incredibly greedy look by either Mojang or Microsoft.

CONTROLLER REPORT:

You can use Joy-Con controllers, Pro Controllers, and GameCube controllers. Using a sideways Joy-Con does not work unfortunately. GameCube controllers require you to fiddle with the in-game controller settings, but it does work perfectly fine, and it works with split screen multiplayer as will.

OVERALL OPINION:

I enjoy Minecraft on the Switch, to the point where I consider it my main version to play. The storage limit is a pain, but it's still Minecraft and it's still enjoyable.

You can buy Minecraft for Nintendo Switch through the following links:

Amazon (physical) | Amazon (digital) | Best Buy (Physical) | Best Buy (Digital)