Summary
- Mini Golf Simulator, a new Nintendo Switch exclusive, simulates the golfing experience by utilizing the Joy-Con controller as a putter.
- Players use a wrist strap attachment to dangle the Joy-Con and swing it like a golf club.
- The Nintendo Switch 2 is rumored to have magnetic Joy-Cons with trigger-like buttons, but no official details have been revealed yet.
Mini Golf Simulator has just been released on the eShop, and is a brand-new Nintendo Switch exclusive that takes advantage of the console’s Joy-Con controllers in a unique way. The Nintendo Switch console is still going strong in 2024, despite its successor being on the horizon. One of the biggest appealing points about Nintendo’s system is its hybrid nature, being able to dock and detach its controllers at any time, which can then be used to play on a TV. Not only that, the Joy-Cons allow for motion controls like the Nintendo Wii.
While the Switch’s motion controls are still a bit contentious, there are a number of games in its library that aim to take advantage of the Joy-Con controllers and the built-in HD Rumble. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, while still offering traditional buttons and sticks, can be played using the Joy-Con’s motion controls. Other games, like 1-2-Switch and WarioWare: Move It, have the player using the Joy-Con in all sorts of ways, taking on different poses to match the action. Mini Golf Simulator has a similar approach to its controls, simulating the feel of playing mini golf with the Joy-Con.
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Developed by Takahiro Miyazawa, Mini Golf Simulator requires the player to use the Joy-Con as a putter. The way players do this is by connecting the wrist strap attachments in a way that lets the Joy-Con dangle, simulating the swing of a golf club. A twelve-minute video going over the gameplay and unique application of the Joy-Con controller was uploaded on the official channel for the studio, where the players are shown putting their golf ball into a hole. The player has to swing their Joy-Con forward, as the controller swings back and forth like the head of a golf club.
Mini Golf Simulator Turns Your Joy-Cons into a Golf Club
If players are looking for a completely new sports game experience on the Switch, then Mini Golf Simulator‘s unique control scheme might be the incentive to give it a try. The game itself is available on the Nintendo eShop for a fairly frugal $5.20, though this game appears to only be available on the North America and Japanese eShops.
It’s rumored that the Nintendo Switch 2 will retain the Joy-Cons, with various leaks indicating that they will be magnetic as well. The controllers apparently also have trigger-like buttons, which appear to be the thing that can detach them from the console. Fans should take this leak with a grain of salt for the time being and wait until Nintendo offers more official information about the Nintendo Switch successor.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console launched in 2017, capable of being played in handheld mode or docked to a television. The Switch Lite, a handheld-only model, followed in 2019, with an OLED refresh coming in 2021.