If you asked most players about how 2022 delivered on games that players were heavily anticipating, most would say that the year really came through for them. We had fantastic titles like Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnorok, Bayonetta 3, and of course, Modern Warfare 2.
But although there were a ton of great games, there were quite a few that just didn’t sit well with gamers. On the Nintendo Switch, however, that sentiment is even more true, thanks to some quite terrible ports. Whether ports or even fully-fledged Switch titles, there really were some stinkers in the year 2022. So, here’s our list of the 12 worst Nintendo Switch games of 2022.
Worst Nintendo Switch Games of 2022
Alan Wake Remastered
Starting off our list is a notorious title amongst Switch players; Alan Wake Remastered. Well, what can you about this game other than the fact that the title is false advertising. This version of Alan Wake is far from a remaster and even lacks in comparison to the original 2009 Xbox 360 version. It also just didn’t perform very well which added salt to the wound. Now that is just plain bad.
Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch
A game that actually had some potential, Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch is a title that had a promising premise and gameplay but was enamered with optimization issues on the Switch. It came with the usual Switch port issues such as frame rates dropping heavily, gameplay glitches, and a camera view that looked as if vaseline was smeared across the Switch’s screen.
Oddworld: Soulstorm – Oddtimized Edition
Another title that probably felt great on other platforms but stunk on the Nintendo Switch was the Oddtimized Edition of Oddworld: Soulstorm. I really wanted to love this game but there was a major bug in the game that made it so that you couldn’t move whenever you died and went back to a checkpoint. And if you’ve ever played an Oddworld game, then you know that you’re going to be dying a lot.
Redout 2
What’s worse than a bad port? A bad game that happens to also be a terrible port as well. Not only did Redout 2 look horrible on the Nintendo Switch, but it’s also just not a fun game in the slightest. The learning curve is so steep that you’d need climbing gear just to play. I just can’t believe that it both looked and played bad. That’s never really the case too often with Switch games.
Terrorbane
Terrorbane was an odd game in 2022. It was one that looked interesting, as it was a pretty meta title that played a lot on how developers and games work. Though comedy was well done, the gameplay and actual moment to moment evolution of the story was just really messy. Though it’s an RPG you never have any freedom to do anything other than what’s scripted. But it also really isn’t a graphic novel either. It’s just a weak title however you spin it.
Related: Top 10 Worst Game Releases of 2022
Chocobo GP
Out of all of the titles on this list, this one earns the most disdain. It’s a Nintendo Switch title that highlights all of the wrong ideas that Square Enix is trying to implement into its games. There are tons and tons of microtransactions and the gameplay just isn’t satisfying. This seems to be the norm with many of Square’s title these days, with Marvel’s Avengers being the first to use this same scheme.
Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection
This title really was a let down, as we and many other Nintendo Switch players were eager to revisit this classic Assassin’s Creed trilogy of titles. Unfortunately, Ubisoft did nothing to actually make these games feel modernized for the Nintendo Switch. Ezio’s movement is just as clunky and aged as ever. This fact seems even more evident when playing with Joy-Cons, as the thumbsticks aren’t really well-tuned, making every mistake feel somehow even worse.
Mario Strikers: Battle League
Though many may not consider Mario Strikers: Battle League a bad game, it certainly isn’t a very good one. There’s many things that players have complained about when talking about this title. Whether it be the fact that there really isn’t a lot to do in this $60 title, or that there’s little to no progression even made for playing it at all. What’s the point in even playing it then?
Sonic Frontiers
Though Sonic Frontiers has its fans, there’s no doubt that the game has some major flaws. In fact, those flaws seem to stick out even worse with the Switch version since it wasn’t properly ported, as most Switch games are these days. Not only can the game chug really hard in frame rates, but there’s also some extremely noticeable, ridiculous enviromental pop-in that happens when playing. It’s the most expensive tech demo on the market.
Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
Speaking of tech demos, next up are the latest Pokemon titles, Scarlet and Violet. These titles have faced a myriad of issues since their initial launch. For one, the visuals are incredibly laughable, espectially when talking about one of the biggest franchises on the planet. To add insult to injury, the game also runs extremely bad, and continues to do so to this day. It just goes to show that Pokemon as a gaming franchise needs to evolve to its next form.
Smurfs Kart
The thing about Smurfs Kart is that it isn’t inherently a bad game, but it’s just another karting game that really doesn’t have a reason to exist. Though there may be dozens of Smurfs fans that will eat this game up, I can’t see Microids making its money back on the investment. Gameplay was uninventive, visuals were only serviceable, and there’s no reason to replay. This is a title that is seemingly already lost to time since Mario Kart 8 continues to slay the karting genre.
LEGO Brawls
This was a title that we wanted to love so, so bad. What could be better than a LEGO take on the Smash Bros. formula? PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale. When you take a step back and realize that LEGO Brawls was made as an entry point for children to get into the fighting games genre, then it isn’t so bad. But the problem is that LEGO is supposed to be for all ages. So when you have a pretty vanilla fighting game with the LEGO brand, you tend to feel very underwhelmed.
Well, we’re at the end of the line. Those are our picks for the 12 worst Nintendo Switch games of 2022. There are most definitely even m,ore out there, but our of what we’ve played this year, these are by far the worst.
If you liked this list then be sure to check out some of our others, as we’ve always got new content coming out, such as “Top 10 Best Battle Royale Games of 2022”.
