Console Corner: Game Builder Garage Nintendo Switch review

How do you review a game which is all about designing and making games? With great difficulty!
Game Builder GarageGame Builder Garage
Game Builder Garage

Well that was the task I was set when turning my hand to Game Builder Garage on the Nintendo Switch last week.

We’ve all had experience of physically building components to be used in Switch games with the brilliant Nintendo Labo kits.

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But here you get the chances to actually make your own game. So what’s it all about?

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GBG

Well GBG uses a visual programming language based on the concept of creatures called Nodon. The Nodon represent various facets of input, game output, and game logic, such as a Stick Nodon that reports input from the Joy-Con analog stick or a Person Nodon that represents an on-screen character.

Confused yet? There’s a reason why game designers have to do so much training and are well paid for their skills. You’ll soon find that out but as always with Nintendo you will have fun in the process.

You build a program by adding Nodons and making connections between the various nodes on Nodon, such as connecting the Stick Nodon to the Person Nodon as to tie the analog stick to movement of the character on-screen. Nodon are available to interface nearly all features of the Switch and Joy-Con, including the infrared sensors and motion controls.

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The game has built in lessons to help confused/new game creators (like me) understand some of the Nodon. I thoroughly recommend the lessons, even for hardcore gamers, as they walk you along the making of multiple games. Helpfully you can connect a USB mouse which really helps speed things up for you in terms of building your game.

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GBG

You can share your games with other players who on Game Builder Garage via the Nintendo Switch Online service. Games built within Game Builder Garage can support up to eight different Joy-Con, effectively allowing up to eight-player local multiplayer games to be built.

If you know what you are doing or have a brain for the complexities of game design then there is so much you can do in GBG from the get go. But the good news is that even a novice like me can pick things up really quickly.

If you always hated school but loved video games then you will never have enjoyed learning as much as you will in GBG.

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It is bursting with the usual Nintendo charm and personality. And as long as you stay patient - and calm - you will be creating games with this large and robust system in no time at all. No coding knowledge is required but you'll be learning concepts such as evaluations and conditional statements - often without actually realising it.

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GBG

Those with an in-depth knowledge of coding and game design will no doubt be frustrated by the lack of actual code access. But for me not being able to see lines of text which would mean very little to and no doubt bamboozle my brain didn’t detract from the overall experience.

There is so much variety and so many possible combinations with the scope to put together some really fantastic and complex games. One look on YouTube will show what some super talented people have already cooked up - including recreating some Nintendo classics such as Zelda’s Ocarina of Time!

A week or so is not nearly long enough to start scratching the surface on GBG.But this is certainly a welcome and innovative addition to the Switch stable.

Rating: 8/10

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