Team Talk: What should the next Switch online multiplayer game be?

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Tetris, Super Mario Bros and Pac-Man are all classics that got the online battle royale-esque multiplayer treatment on Nintendo Switch.

With so many franchises either under Nintendo’s belt or just a few carefully placed jabs away, it got us pondering which game should be the next big thing on its online service. What would your pick be? Let us know in the comments.

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by James Michael Parry

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@James_Parry

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by Team PTC

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@pass_controller

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Liam | Super Smash Bros. Melée

Although I didn’t play Mario 35 a lot before its much-publicised demise at the end of last month, I still thought it was an excellent and unique take on the last-person-standing battle royale formula.

My initial thought for this week’s topic was 99 Pokémon trainers all battling it out against an increasingly difficult roster of AI ‘mon, but there were too many variables (what Pokémon do you start with? Are you allowed items, such as healing potions?).

Instead, I’ve gone with Super Smash Bros. Melee. This would be a Mario 35-style A-B adventure, with players having to complete Melee’s Adventure Mode over and over until they’re the last player standing.

Rather than flooding other players’ levels with waves of extra enemies, as was the case in Mario 35, players will instead rack up points for speed and damage dealt which can then be used to ‘hire’ one or two mercenary fighters (maybe a Metal Mario, or an extra Master Hand) who will then turn up in a random or targeted rival players’ run, making things more difficult.

Character choice could be randomised to keep things interesting and add an extra layer of replayability, so one run you could be Donkey Kong, the next Samus or Kirby.

Adventure Mode's giant enemies would also keep things interesting.

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James | F-Zero

Since the Nintendo 64 days, there hasn’t been enough love for the F-Zero franchise. Despite the attempt to bring back the series in the GameCube era (back in, if you can believe it, 2003), there hasn’t been a release since.

Imagine a bit of a Burnout twist on the game, focusing on the destructive elements of the futuristic, gravity-defying racer and up the player count and track scale to match. You could keep races to a single lap to keep the competition snappy, and even give players an opportunity to interfere with the remaining racers after they are knocked out.

With Nintendo’s form in Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros., you could even throw in some franchise crossovers in there, to give more variety to the choice of racers.

One reason these online multiplayer games take off is because they appeal to the streaming audience. In this case you’ve got a base concept which is fairly straightforward - racing - and the opportunity for fancy visuals you don’t usually get to show off on Nintendo hardware.

The racing genre on Switch doesn’t have to just be limited to one franchise, why not give the sci-fi take on track-based competition another go and bring back one of the most under-appreciated series in Nintendo’s floating-wheelhouse?

Come on, Nintendo, show the Captain some love!

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Sam | Snake

Snake might be more synonymous with old Nokia mobiles than Nintendo platforms, but Snake 99 would be a perfect fit for the established formula. Just like Tetris and Pac-Man before it, it’s a simple and renowned title that could neatly transition into the competitive multiplayer space while staying accessible.

For those that don’t know, Snake sees players take control of the titular serpent and eat food to grow in size. It requires some imagination - the graphics consist of just dots and lines - but the gameplay loop is nonetheless endlessly engaging.
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The battle royale-flavoured 99 series adapts classic games to feature offensive capabilities. In Tetris completed lines are sent to opponents’ screens, while gobbled ghosts are sent to haunt other players in Pac-Man. As for Snake 99, eating food could send pixelated poop to obstruct other users.

It wouldn’t even have to overtly be poo, as Nintendo probably wouldn’t like that. It could just be a different coloured dot to differentiate between edible and inedible pixels. A lot of people have fond memories of playing Snake on the go, which is a scenario that the Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite easily accommodate.

Solid choice.

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Which game would you like to see get a battle royale mode on Switch Online?