Everybody 1-2-Switch! makes minigames massively multiplayer

When the Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, 1-2-switch serving as a showcase for the console’s new Joy-Con controllers it came with. 1-2-switch The HD rumble and motion controls of the Joy-Cons were turned into minigames that did not provide much replayability. As a system showcase, Wii Sports It was not.

On the other hand, Everyone 1-2-Switch! — a game announced just weeks before its upcoming June 30th release — seems more tentative, based on the half-dozen minigames I played at a recent Nintendo event in New York City. Everyone 1-2-Switch! definitely goes beyond two-player games 1-2-switchis inviting up to 100 players to join its minigames.

that’s because Everyone 1-2-Switch! It can be played not only with the Joy-Cons, but also with a smartphone, just like the Jackbox Party Pack games. There’s a mix of gameplay styles here. Some minigames are Joy-Con-controlled only, and they support up to eight players at a time. Some can be played with any style of input. Some are only for smartphones, such as the one where players are shown a color on the screen and have to draw a picture of an object that most closely matches that color.

- Advertisement -

- Advertisement -

Image: Nintendo

Image: Nintendo

One of the first minigames I tried was called, simply, Balloons. My team of four went up against another team of four, trying to inflate an on-screen Mylar balloon using the Joy-Con like a bicycle pump handle. The goal was to inflate the balloon to its largest size without bursting. My and my teammate’s motion-control inputs were combined, meaning we had to communicate with each other immediately to stop frantically duplicating our pumping motions. It was a fun, quick burst of gameplay as we raced to fill our balloon almost to its breaking point.

As a Nintendo representative scrolled through the menu of minigames, I saw several variations on the balloon: one that had the on-screen guide indicating the maximum balloon size turned off; the one that tasked the players with pumping up a slowly leaking balloon; and another where the goal was to pop your team’s balloons as fast as possible.

Everyone 1-2-Switch!Joy-Con-based minigames, such as Balloons, are highly physical. In another, samurai sword fighting, players mimic pulling the katana out of its sheath as quickly as possible, competing to draw the sword the fastest. Hip Bump is the most idiotic game I’ve ever played, asking players to thrust their hips at each other with the Joy-Con in a minigame reminiscent of sumo wrestling. On screen, people in rabbit costumes whack their tails against each other.

Image: Nintendo

Image: Nintendo

in games Everyone 1-2-Switch! It can be played with a smartphone and includes a bizarre alien-summoning experience in which players make rhythmic movements to lure a flying saucer full of extraterrestrials to come near them. I was one of over 16 players thrashing my arms up and down (up, down, up, down, up, down). Above, Below) in time with the alien chants, in one of the stranger competitive video game moments of my career. I felt the burn (and the burning desire to win) in my shoulders for most of the phone-based games I previewed.

The color-matching game above was easily the most fun and creative of the group. It is presented to the players as a fashion magazine editor who talks about the latest trending colors. One is shown on the screen, and players must find an object in the room to draw a picture that matches the color. I started looking for the perfect bright red by photographing a monstera plant that matched green, a piece of colored carpet in search of blue, and photos of my former Play Gamez colleague (now at Wired) Megan Farrokhmanesh’s hair. I can imagine players going through the rooms of a friend’s house trying to find the right color.

most practical demo from Everyone 1-2-Switch! What I saw was a simple quiz game. It can be played with the Joy-Con or a smartphone, and asks players to answer questions as quickly as possible. General Knowledge questions are multiple choice with only two options; Well, nothing is quite as challenging as Trivial Pursuit. Everyone 1-2-Switch! Players even get the ability to create their own custom quizzes, a feature that Nintendo has shown off by creating a quiz based on the hands-on event. That quiz included some light Nintendo trivia and a question that asked us to remember what floor we were on. (Almost everyone present got the answer right.)

Everyone 1-2-Switch!Because of its diversity and inclusivity, it looks richer than its predecessor’s Switch launch — and it’s priced right, too, at just $29.99 (compared to 1-2-switchlaunch price of $49.99). If you’re looking for the next great party game for you and your 99 closest friends, it’s coming to Switch this week.