Over the past few console generations, games like God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, and The Last of Us have helped Sony to take a commanding lead over Microsoft when it comes to console sales. However, there are a handful of PlayStation exclusives that would arguably have been better had they been released for the Nintendo Switch rather than their respective consoles.
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Nintendo's home console/handheld hybrid boasts numerous features that the PS4 and PS5 are lacking. Granted, not every PlayStation-exclusive title would benefit from having a touchscreen or motion controls, particularly given the huge tradeoff in processing power. Some definitely would though and would also be more enjoyable were they playable while on the move.
1 Astro's Playroom
Metacritic Rating: 83 (PS5)
Team Asobi's Astro games are all about celebrating hardware innovation, which is something that the Switch offers up in droves. Granted, it may not have an inbuilt microphone or adaptive triggers like the DualSense does, but it more than makes up for this with things like HD Rumble, a multi-input touchscreen, and dual-handed motion controls.
Integrating these features into Astro's Playroom would arguably have made for a much better experience, while also providing the added bonus of being able to play the game on the go. Such a title would likely have done a much better job of showcasing the Switch's impressive capabilities than 1-2-Switch ever did too, though Nintendo would perhaps beg to differ.
Astro's Playroom
- Released
- November 12, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Team Asobi
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
2 Shenmue 3
Metacritic Rating: 67 (PS4)
The Nintendo Switch hadn't been released when Yu Suzuki announced the Shenmue 3 Kickstarter back in 2015. Fast forward to 2019 though and Nintendo's hybrid console was selling like hotcakes. In Japan, Switch games regularly occupied all 30 spots on Famitsu's weekly video game chart and the console itself broke countless sales records on its way to surpassing the PS4's lifetime total in early 2023.
In the years since the game's release, Suzuki has spoken of his desire to introduce the series to a wider audience, suggesting that the decision to limit Shenmue 3 to a single console may not have been the wisest. Given Suzuki's interest in touchscreen gaming though (something that he's explored both before and after Shenmue 3 through Psy-Phi and Air Twister respectively), it would have been interesting to see how he would have utilized the console's multi-input panel had the game been released for the Switch instead of the PS4.
Shenmue 3
- Released
- November 19, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Ys Net
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
3 Dreams
Metacritic Rating: 89 (PS4)
Dreams is probably one of the most underrated games in the PS4's expansive library. It encourages players to unleash their inner creativity, providing all manner of tools with which to do so. Sadly, however, despite its many successes, the game struggled to find a consistent audience on the platform, with daily player counts dropping below one thousand within a year of its launch. A multiplatform release would undoubtedly have helped in this regard, though so too would Switch exclusivity.
The impressive sales of Mario Maker 2 and other games like it have shown that there is a clear demand for this type of title on the Nintendo Switch. Higher demand means more players, which invariably leads to more content being created and thus a better overall experience for all. This reliance on user-generated content also makes Dreams a great game to play in short bursts; something that the Switch's portable nature allows it to cater to remarkably well.
Dreams
- Released
- February 14, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Media Molecule
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Genre(s)
- Game Creation System
4 Shadow of the Colossus
Metacritic Rating: 91 (PS4)
Speaking of games that are best enjoyed in smaller, more bite-sized chunks, Shadow of the Colossus is another title that would have felt right at home on the Switch. Its sixteen colossi boss fights serve as the perfect breakpoints, allowing players to split the seven-hour main story up into much more manageable twenty to thirty-minute segments.
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Being able to play the game while on the go would have been fantastic, but there are other ways in which the Switch could have enhanced the overall experience. For example, Shadow of the Colossus is often praised for the way that it handles climbing the titular colossi; a process that could arguably have been enhanced by optional motion or touchscreen controls.
Shadow of the Colossus
- Released
- February 6, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bluepoint Games, JapanStudio, Team Ico
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
5 Stray
Metacritic Rating: 83 (PS5)
Though it has since been released for the Xbox One and Xbox Series, Stray was a PlayStation-exclusive game at launch. It's one of the very few titles that was made available to upper-tier PlayStation Plus subscribers right from the get-go and proved to be hugely successful on the platform as a result. More than four million people played Stray in the six months following its release, though it's possible that a Switch-only release would have been even more successful.
Many indie games have found success on Nintendo's hybrid console, from Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights to Doki Doki Literature Club, so there's no reason why Stray couldn't have done the same. The game's simplified jumping mechanics would have meshed well with the console's touchscreen too, while other actions like scratching would have felt a whole lot more immersive with the addition of motion controls.
Stray
- Released
- July 19, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- BlueTwelve Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Annapurna Interactive
- Genre(s)
- Adventure