Feature: Nintendo Switch Year In Review - Our Stats And Most Played Games

That's a really small playlist going...

Kate showing the rest how it's done. Curious to see which NL staff member takes it next year. Happy Holidays!

The good news is that I have a 30% reduction in my hours compared to last year. The bad news is that I still clocked in at 908 hours

Monster Hunter Rise - 243 hours
Fire Emblem Three Houses - 113 hours (Three routes down, one to go!)
Pokémon Shining Pearl - 81 hours and counting

Funny that ACNH completely fell off my list

My most played game was Aokana: Four Rhythms Across the Blue with 98 hours.. If My Heart Had Wings comes in at second with 95 hours. Visual novels are meatier than RPG's.

I have accumulated 785+ hours for Animal Crossing New Horizons. 😎

my big 3 were Hades, Metroid Dread, and Hollow Knight. All three probably crack my top 10 games of all time, or at the very least Hades and Hollow Knight do. Having a lot of fun with my switch this year while emulating my huge back catalogue of older games on my Xbox and all the terrific stuff added to game pass all the time. Can’t wait for next year! Looks like Nintendo is genuinely pulling out all the stops for 2022, plus we get Sonic Frontiers and Elden Ring. Can’t wait

This year my top 3 was

3. Shining Pearl (71)
2. Bravely Default 2 (108)
1. Pokémon Unite (120)

for me my most played games on Switch were Animal Crossing New Horizons, Shin Megami Tensei 5 and Monster Hunter Rise

My most played 3 games of the year are:
1. BLAZBLUE CROSS TAG BATTLE(50 hours.)
2. BLAZBLUE CENTRALFICTION SPECIAL EDITION(46 hours.)
3. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World The Game – Complete Edition(38 hours).
And in total, I've played for now more than 370 hours at this year. Kinda small number, I think. If it was at least 400 hours... Sigh

I've had the Switch since launch and this year has definitely been the least I've played it. Not many games grabbed my attention.

1. Dead By Daylight (687 hours)
2. Fortnite (211 hours)
3. Shadowverse: Champion's Battle (73 hours)

I'd also like to point out that if they did top 5 games like they did last year, Dragon Quest XI and Monster Hunter Stories 2 would've rounded out the list. Great games all around. I also clocked in at 1555 hours this year, over 1000 hours more than last year!

Nice front pic!

Pokemon Unite - 118 hours
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition - 114 hours
Shin Megami Tensei V - 40 hours

Crazy numbers for Unite, at most I used to play it for about an hour a day, not touched it for a while now too. The drop off to 3rd place seems off as well.

Metroid Dread - 3 hours

That's my entire year of Switch.

Least played console I've ever owned.

78 hrs SMTV, 48 Monster Hunter Rise, 61 Bravely Default II.

Played 238 hrs in 2021.

I played 678 hours this year. (Last year I played for 978 hours) and my most played games this year are.
1. Ninjala. (Surprised?)
2. Spyro reignited.
3. The NSO SNES app thingy.

I played 95 games in 2021,down from 104 the previous year. I started 72 new games. That's a lot of games. Although the vast majority will be shmups and arcade games.

My most played games were
Rocket League - 224 hours
Breath of the Wild - 62 hours
Wolfenstein 2 - 46 hours

The 2nd one surprises me. I don't recall even playing it at all this year, let alone 62 hours.

Big RPG year for me.Took me 48 hours this year to beat Final Fantasy IX (I think it's on sale again now, and absolutely worth the sale price!) and 43 hours hasn't even seen me to the end of Neo TWEWY.

For smash i have like 500 hours
And yes i also play zelda botw still lol. Been replaying it. Lost my save file when i sold my switch and rebuy the switch later, forgot to sync it with cloud.

My top 3 this year :

1) Animal Crossing: New Horizons (306h)
2) WarioWare: Get It Together! (155h)
3) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (120h)

@CoastersPaul
K was having doubts about FF, i almost bought it last year, after that i forgot about the game.

WoW ollie reynolds for a reviewer you don’t seem to play much !

I had ToeJam and Earl Back in The Groove for the 2nd year running at top. It also informed me that I was the most active player of this game! Haha. 2nd was Snes Online, 3rd was Child of Light.

@blockfight Definitely a Troll mom can love.

1) Smash Ultimate-120 Hours
2) *SMM2-105 Hours
3) *Super Mario Party- 45 *Hours

Cruis’n blast 4 hours
Super Mario 3D all stars 4 hours
Animal crossing 4 hours

I allegedly played my switch for a total of 19 hours.

I clocked about 400 hours on my switch this year but I’ve probably clocked another 100 on my XSX (which I bought in october) and about 1000 on my ps5. Also probably another 100 on my ps3 and another 100 on the 3ds, wiiU, ps2, psp, psvita, dreamcast, gamecube and gba.

Ended up beating 56 games and counting this year. (not counting the games I dropped this year near their end, about 10 games)
Will probably end up beating 59 or 60 games total.

I played more than the entire staff combined..bunch of casuals making up excuses like "kids". Pssh.

288 Ring Fit Hours last year. The prior year I had 318. I'm slacking I guess.

My top 2 was not a surprise. Monster Hunter Rise as number one, because of course it was, and SMTV as number two catching up fast. But the number three surprised me... Little Dragon Cafe. It's not particularly good or deep, but it's a relaxing way to kill time. I guess I logged more hours on that game than I realized.

Fortnite was my top game with a over 200 hours and I nearly exclusively play with friends

My top game was Hades. But had this "year in review" actually came out after the end of the year, it would have been Monster Rancher 1 + 2 DX. Easily. Holy crap I'm addicted to managing my monsters.

I haven't played this year very much in comparison to 2020, Hades took up 120 hours or so of nearly 300. However, where the rest of my time has went is into Hitman 3 on PC, 328 hours...

I’ve spent more time in 2021 listening to Nintendo podcasts than playing my Switch which is one the most depressing things about the whole year 😂. So I pretty immediately got a Split Pad Pro, downloaded some fantastic looking games in the Eshop sale.. at a heavy discount and hope to get some good handheld gaming in 2022. I love physical but having got some digital games, it’s just so convenient

Pokemon Unite… it kind of has consumed a lot of time.

I've played Stardew for 35 hours, Animal Crossing for 52 hours, and Deltarune for 29 hours this year. My total play time is definitely a lot more reasonable than last year.

You know the old green goblin quote “ misery misery misery that’s what you’ve chosen”

That will apply to me if I find out how much of my life I spent on a screen.

22 games (up from 16)
171 hours (up from 141)
51 hours in Xenoblade 1, 26 in the SNES app, 16 hours in Animal Crossing
70% portable to 30% docked

Embarrassing considering I’ve probably spent twice that on Vita this year and truthfully about 10 times that on PS4/5. Eesh. At least next year looks good.

1. Splatoon 2 195 hours
2. Animal Crossing New Horizons 79 hours
3. Pokemon Shield 55 hours

Really wish the Switch had regular access to an activity log like on the 3ds.

1: Warioware: Get It Togerther - 76 Hours

2: Ring Fit Adventure - 69 Hours

3: Skul: The Hero Slayer - 50 Hours

its been an ok year for Switch for me, I’m still thanking the stars that we were able to get another Warioware game this year.

1. BotW (that wasn't actually me, my kids play that game all the time and on my account)
2. ACNH
3. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Those added up to about 500 hours but my total play time was 987. Down from last year, but I also started playing more of my oft neglected Xbox in hopes of scoring a Series X (I like to catch up on the backlog before buying a new system) and I actually did. Also, I have been going out more than I did last year.

Playing Beast Breaker here. The Switch being portable is awesome for the 2D games. The 3D just don't seem so good to me undocked.

I find it a bit disconcerting that I have way more gametime than people that play games for a living. And I have like no free time. Hmm perhaps I should knock out a few more books instead.

101 games
866 hours
386 in Olive Town, 116 in AoC,106 in Katanakami
15 hours in great ace attorney in one day.
587 hours docked, 279 handheld

I overindulged, but not as bad as last year:

2021
ACNH 137h
Subnautica 122h
Hades 91h
716 total hrs (696 docked), 57 total games

2020
ACNH 489h
Hades 107h
Event Horizon: Space Defense 92h
1141 total hrs, 56 total games

So I most definitely am getting my money’s worth out of my Switch! It’s probably my fave Nintendo console since the NES. Good times solo or playing with my daughters or siblings. 😊

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - 185
Super Smash Bros - 162
Among Us - 52

Absolutely loved Fire Emblem! Smash is a lot of fun and I just recently discovered Elite smash was in the game via Snake and my smash score. Among us became addicting but I really lost joy out of it towards the end of my stint with it.

Had a lot of fun with the games on Switch this year here’s to another great year!

@Ryu_Niiyama I was gonna say the same thing. And I have two little ones running around and always feel I don't ever have enough time to play anything. Funny enough, when a tweet asked for people to post their year end stats, I noticed I was one of the higher end of the responses there as well. Makes me wonder if most of the people responding (and many of the NL staff here) also game on other consoles. I'm strictly a Switch gamer only because I really don't have the time or disposable money to support more than one console at one time. I've tried in the past and I just end up buying games I don't ever finish or even start

Edit: Probably should have shared my most played games.

1. Animal Crossing
2. Just Dance 2021
3. New Pokèmon Snap

My top 3 were, and number 3 is the only surprising one : 3: Pure Pool 40+ hours, 2: Tetris 99 55+ hours, and number 1, Animal Crossing at 155+ hours.

Most played:
1. Overwatch
2. Monster Hunter Rise
3. ACNH

Overwatch is one of those games that will always be on that list since I enjoy playing it occasionally since day one on PC. ACNH too actually.

My game of the year would have to go to…
1. Bravely Default 2
2. Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
3. Monster Hunter Rise

BD2 was a great throwback to classic turn based RPGs and I enjoyed every minute of it. GAAC was a lovely surprise and made me eager to play the other games in the series and other visual novel games in general. MHR was an addictive loot game with a satisfying combat system and fun gameplay loop. Can’t wait for the expansion.

Worthy mention is Paper Mario for NSO. First time playing through and absolutely loving it.

God Wars The Complete Legend - 95 hours
Bravely Default II - 62 hours
Fell Seal Arbiter's Mark - 56 hours (and I just finished that one last week)
So... There's definitely a theme

Highest ever is Fire Emblem Three Houses at 165 (and I still have one route to finish )

@Ryu_Niiyama I had the same feeling. I played a LOT of Switch this year, and I bought a lot of games, and I also bought a new gaming PC and games for that. And I might have finished two books this year. I've always prided myself on having diverse interests, but 2021 was all about gaming.

I've been playing on my PS4 way more than my Switch.
Not many games from Nintendo that I care about this year but that's fine as I bought my PS4 late and have been inundated with some amazing games playing catch up.
Been having a blast this year

Metroid Dread 39hrs
Mo Astray 11hrs
Streets of Rage 4 -4hrs
Has been a pretty dead year for me, playing significantly less, some months, not at all. Dread is the only game I'd really rate this year.

For me, this was not a great year for the Switch. I played very little. I went back and replayed some things like Mario+Rabbids and Mario Kart 8. I still need to get into Dread.

Of course, I didn’t play a ton of XBox either. It was a pretty down year of gaming for me.

No cap mines is youtube,

Disappointed in the distinct lack of Monster Hunter being played among the staff. Are we gonna need an intervention here?

This is the way...

2 Games down from 11 last year.
13 hours down from 263 last year.
Bowser‘s fury nine hours
Hyrule warriors age of calamity 4 hours.
100% docked.

For me: top three were Skyward Sword, Slay the Spire, Dicey Dungeons. 364 hours overall.

3) 61 Hours on Xenoblade Chronicles 1
2) 76 Hours on Immortal Fenyx Rising
1) 114 Hours on Stardew Valley

While I usually play more Switch than anything, I got into FF14 this year and have put in 1500+ hours into that and another 400 into Overwatch on PS4.

Strange since when i check my profile it shows different time spent and games played

This was the year that I finally came to the minecraft party that everyone has been having for many years, also very shocked that Rocket League didn't make the list.
1. Minecraft 682 hours
2. Nintendo Switch Online (playing mario kart) 190 hours
3. Civilization 141 hours
77% Docked

The most interesting stat was that there was only 9 hours difference in play between 2020 and 2021.

@UmbreonsPapa I also think Switch adds up easily because you can take it anywhere and suspend play. I’m often working 60-80 hour work weeks plus studying but even still an hour or two adds up. Even with me setting dedicated time to reading.

@JasmineDragon My hope is with things becoming more stable that I will game less as I focus on my group hobbies. Granted I have a horrible back log that I am trying to weed so it will likely be the same… just less sleep.

Dead Cells (91 hours)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (69)
Link’s Awakening (44)

All older titles, but I still played 43 new games this year. I spent 74% of my gaming time in docked mode, which would have been even higher if it wasn’t for that fantastic screen on the new OLED model.

@JasmineDragon Visual novels are even more fun than books. My most played game was Aokana: Four Rhythms Across the Blue with 98 hours and then 95 hours in If My Heart Had Wings. Two brilliant VN's.

boo hiss

No love for Australia?

SMT V - 49 hours
Blazblue Cross Tag Battle - 15 hours
Minecraft - 7 hours
74 hours for all games. 11% docked, 89% portable.
I spent most time playing on the 13th of November. The day after SMT V. I should probably start playing something else.

@JustMonika Actually one of my gaming goals is to play a couple of VNs soon. I've never known where to start with them, but it's on my radar.

I wish Gonçalo would review fitness games in the future. I still don't know what to make of cons such as "No real objectives or fun minigames to make it feel like a game" in the Knockout Fitness review...
I mean, it's like complaining that a mario game does not have enough character customisation options... nobody came here looking for that...

@somnambulance

My PS5 time will embarrass me.

“You have sunk 500 hours into the sweat fest known as Call of Duty Cold War.”

@JasmineDragon The best romance ones I've played were Aokana: Four Rhythms Across the Blue and If My Heart Had Wings. Both of those would be rated 1000/10. Another one I own but haven't played yet is World End Syndrome. Alot of people say it's their favorite. It's a romance mixed with a murder mystery.

Played 150 games (up from 137) (when you get games from the library, it's easy to just try a bunch of stuff... plus a lot of deep discounts)
563 hrs (down from 801)
Top 3:

Piczle Lines DX (76 hrs) (yeah, I really like this puzzler)
Super One More Jump (23 hrs) (the last few levels are devious, and then the kids like playing co-op with me)
Deponia (15 hrs) (Probably about 7-8 on a first playthrough that I created a game breaking glitch in, that I didn't realize was game breaking and I couldn't progress through for a few hours.)

@OorWullie Either you need to schedule an MRI or someone else has been playing your Switch (or at least your account).

My top 3
1) pacman 99: 69 hours
2) metroid dread: 30 hours
3) Mario 3d all stars: 18 hours

@JustMonika Thanks for the recommendations, I'll look into them. I have heard some good things about World End Syndrome.

@JasmineDragon Doki Doki Literature Club Plus would obviously be the easiest, shortest and most accessible of the lot. Given my name and pfp, that was already a given, lol

@JustMonika Oh yeah, totally forgot about that but it's actually been on my list for a while now. I'm also definitely buying Danganronpa sooner or later.

3. Super Mario 3D All-Stars (17 hrs)
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (24 hrs)
1. Fortnite (104 hrs)

1. Warframe - 145 hours

Well, that's Warframe. I never thought it would become my first console (and possibly overall) game to clock almost - or already over? - 500 hours, but here we are. The amount of content and the degree of action permeating the most routine tasks speaks for itself, and the relatively recent Nightwave "passes" (including their free equipment slot awards, the only practical content that used to be locked behind premium currency) have only served to fuel the addiction.

2. My Time at Portia - 85 hours

While an older release, it's been one of my bigger discoveries this year - this game's many [apparently not unintentional] Rune Factory vibes projected upon a distinctly different setting and a different gameplay focus have made for a rewarding ride, but such games also take me a lot to get through a time unit on their own - I'm the same guy who spends up to half an hour on a single week in Nelke.😆

3. Terraria - 61 hours

Another game I have only obtained this year but got hooked on pretty hard. Suffice to say, over 40 of the above hours were clocked in a mere month after purchase. Likely including June 12 which the report lists as my most active Switch day (June and October were peculiarly the most active months overall).

My times are:
1. RPG Maker MV - 261 hours (Apparently I'm the "top active player". Oops.)
2. Pokémon Shield - 198 hours (But my brother has played this on my profile alot!)
3. Minecraft - 170 hours (Ditto as number 2.)

When I got an email about this, I saw it as a nice surprise. Hope they do this next year too. (And maybe I should cut back on my RPG Maker time...)

My top 3 most played games are
1. Rocket league at 126 hours
2.51 worwide games at 58 hours
3. Mario kart 8 deluxe at 49 hours

Really I don't think this is much of a surprise I kinda play these games alot in short bursts like 5 mins .
I assumed my switch would be like 70% handheld and 30% docked it turns out I play handheld a lot more than I think

Being 93% handheld and 7% docked

I think the reason is because I tend to play only one game on docked at a time compared to playing various games in handheld