Switch Player - Magazine Review

Regular readers may recall my review of Ninety Fresh back in August and how much I enjoyed that magazine. Since then, I have acquired the first three issues and backed the fifth, which arrived a few weeks back and continues the high quality Nintendo-centric approach of the previous editions. There is no doubt that when the next Kickstarter arrives next year for issue six, I'll be backing that without delay. Some of you may also remember I mentioned Ninety Media's other regular publication, Switch Player. Well, I eventually got round to buying the latest issue, number 58. 

And it's just so god-damned cute! I mean look at it, especially in comparison to the full size Ninety Fresh! This is an A5 publication, 60 pages in length and in full colour. For £3.49 per issue plus postage, that's not too shabby at all. There is a subscription service available as well but I will cover how you can support Switch Player later on in the post.

So, a handy little magazine, reminding me of the old Commando comics (are they even still a thing?), that gives a great first impression. It looks and feels professional and given it's now approaching issue 60, a successful one too. Again, more on that later.

Content-wise, the cover gives a handy hint at the ten pages handed over to Pokemon, but not before an editorial piece on the difficulty in path-finding in Metroid Dread and the ability to get lost in even the most well-designed of games, plus a potential solution. After Pokemon, there is a three page report on the EGX show, a single page dedicated to Gaming Ruminations (on the topic of difficulty vs enjoying gaming), and then a feature on Shin Megami Tensei, a gaming series I had never even heard of before so it was good to learn something new. The last piece before the reviews is a two pager on the Switch Player Tournament, where four of the crew competed at playing Gang Beasts. Imagine a competitive version of Couch Potato that SFX used to run in years gone by.

Ah, the reviews section. This takes up twenty-six pages (and they had to drop a couple of smaller reviews to get the features in!) and offers well-written opinions on Metroid Dread, Epistory - Typing Chronicles, Tetris Effect: Connected, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, Disco Elysium The Final Cut, Castlevania Advance Collection, A Night At The Races, Droneridge, Youtubers Life 2, A Little Golf Journey, Death's Gambit: Afterlife, Staxel, Pandaball and The Long Gate. Phew! That's a lot! Reviews are scored out of five stars, with half stars being permitted and a handy guide at the start of the review section defining what each of the scores equates to. 

The last few pages of the magazine are given over to a two page look at the Switch OLED model, two pages on "A Moment in Switchstory" (detailing the events of previous Octobers since the Switch launched) and finally a lovely retrospective on the astounding Golf Story, which got a review back in Switch Player Issue 9. Was it really that long ago? The back cover closes off the issue with an advert from Premium Edition Games.

In a sense, I kind of knew what to expect from Switch Player when I ordered this copy - after all, it was from the same stable as Ninety Fresh. What I did not expect was to find was such a packed, informative little magazine, perfect for carrying round with your Switch to read when you've ran down your favourite handheld's battery. It really is a great magazine and long may it continue.

So now to the important bit. If you like the idea of this magazine and want to buy a copy, you can do that here. However, if you want to set up what is in effect a recurring subscription, head over to Patreon and check out the levels of support there. From a basic £1 per month for a digital pdf copy, through £4 for a physical copy including second-class postage and then upwards, with different levels of support gaining different benefits, this is the best way to secure a copy of the magazine and ensure it continues. I have signed up and am looking forward to future issues - the next one will focus on Grand Theft Auto, so should be a canny one. As the only monthly print Nintendo Switch magazine, Switch Player occupies an important niche in the still extant physical magazine market. No, you'll never see it on newsagents shelves, but that doesn't matter, as you will be directly supporting the writers and artists who produce this professional work - just like the teams behind Ninety Fresh, Amiga Addict, Amiga Future, From Gamers Magazine, Sega Mania, E1M1 and others. As you will note if you check out the magazine tag on my blog, I am a big fan of the printed word and Switch Player joins the ranks of those I am supporting. If you're a Switch player (see what I did there), I recommend you do so too.