‘Pikmin 4’ cemented the Switch 2 as the best console for clearing out my backlog

Both as a matter of personal interest and professional obligation, I try to play as many first-party Nintendo releases as I can. But sometimes even the best ones fall through the cracks.

That’s what happened to me when Pikmin 4 launched in 2023. I’d never really been able to vibe with the franchise’s fascinating blend of plant-based task management and time-limit stress, so even though the fourth entry garnered rave reviews, I never made proper time for it.

I feel like a big old idiot now because, after playing a few hours of the new Switch 2 upgrade, I can see that Pikmin 4 is kind of incredible, even with a fairly modest set of upgrades for Nintendo’s new console. My biggest takeaway from this experience, though, is that there really isn’t a better current-gen console for catching up on old games and clearing out your backlog than the Switch 2.

Pikmin 4 on Switch 2 is beautiful and lovely

There are two things I want to note right off the bat. First, the official title for this release is Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy, which is a comically tedious thing to type out more than once, so I won’t be doing that. Second, this is just a $10 upgrade for those who already own Pikmin 4 on Switch 1, and the changes this new version brings are not exactly paradigm-shifting.

As with every “Switch 2 Edition” release of an older game, Pikmin 4 has received a boost in resolution. This was already a gorgeous game on Switch 1, with varied and colorful environments, expressive lighting, and a generally warm and welcoming atmosphere, but the Switch 2 version is sharper and pops even more on a nice TV. Unfortunately, the frame rate, which was capped at 30 frames per second on Switch 1, has not been upgraded at all for Switch 2. That’s a bummer, but not a deal-breaker.

Players can also use the Switch 2’s microphone to bark voice commands at Oatchi, their loyal space dog friend, and this is a feature. I turned that off almost immediately because it’s impossible to hold a conversation with someone while playing the game that way. The beefiest addition is Dandori Academy, a mode with a series of new challenge levels. I haven’t had time to really dive in yet, but Pikmin 4 veterans looking for something new to do will probably welcome it.

The thing is, aside from the visual boost, I’m not really concerned with what’s new in the Switch 2 version of Pikmin 4 because the whole game is new to me. And what a delight it is! Pikmin is all about plucking dozens of cute little plant dudes from the dirt, color-coded according to their unique abilities, and ordering them to do things for you. They can clear obstacles, open up shortcuts, defeat enemies, and most important, carry treasures you find back to your spaceship so you can unlock upgrades and become even more efficient at managing this whole operation.

Strategy games are typically not my cup of tea, but Pikmin scratches a substantial itch for me in that it lets me plant the seeds (literally, in this case) for efficient, automatic processes to play out, and then lets me sit back and observe. It’s eminently satisfying to order 10 Pikmin to go open up a shortcut while 10 others defeat an enemy and use the shortcut to carry its corpse back to your ship for harvesting.

And while the decision to give Pikmin 4 no overall time limit might be a detriment to series die-hards, it’s a huge boon to me, a guy who stresses out easily. Even after just a few hours, I can see that this is one of the coolest games Nintendo has made in the past five or six years, and the Switch 2 version helped me arrive at that conclusion.

The Switch 2 makes it easier to stop chasing new releases

‘Stranger’s Wrath’ is a weird game from 20 years ago about loading bugs into a crossbow, and it rules on Switch 2.
Credit: Oddworld Inhabitants/Steam

Gaming is an expensive and time-consuming hobby, and it can be nearly impossible for anyone who doesn’t review games for a living to play most new releases and participate in the zeitgeist around them. What I’ve come to realize since the Switch 2 came out, though, is that playing older games all the time instead of feverishly speeding through every new release actually kicks ass, and for my money, this is the best current console platform to do that on.

Nothing will ever beat a PC in this regard, but if you don’t have one of those, the Switch 2 is your best bet right now. The PS5‘s ability to play games from before the PS4 generation is limited at best, and while the Xbox Series consoles can play some games from every Xbox generation, Microsoft has more or less stopped adding new old games to the console backwards compatibility list.

Meanwhile, the Switch 2 can play most Switch 1 games, including countless re-releases, remakes, and remasters of games from across all of gaming history. You can play (versions of) almost every mainline Final Fantasy game on Switch 2. You can play many Resident Evil games on Switch 2, and in fact, that’s how I finally learned to love Resident Evil 4 earlier this year. Thanks to Capcom’s preservation efforts, I can also play basically every Mega Man game on this machine.

I keep meaning to check out ‘Tail of the Sun.’
Credit: Artdink/Nintendo

That’s before you even get into more obscure stuff that’s been preserved on Switch, like the Arcade Archives collection, or quality modern ports of weirdo games like Tail of the Sun and Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath. There’s just so much to dig into.

A lot of the above is also true of PS5 and Xbox, but those machines lack decades of first-party Nintendo games that exist either as native Switch 1/2 releases, or as part of the Nintendo Classics collection. With Nintendo Switch Online, I can turn on my Switch 2 right now and play dozens of NES, SNES, and Game Boy games. The Expansion Pack adds N64, Genesis, Game Boy Advance, and GameCube games to the mix, and I’ve greatly enjoyed digging through those libraries since the Switch 2 came out.

All of that, combined with Nintendo’s “Switch 2 Edition” releases, which give some Switch 1 games a sorely needed upgrade, has given me my old games mojo back after it went missing for a few years. I realize it sounds strange to recommend a $500 machine on the basis that it’s great at playing old games, but, well, here we are.