You there! Have you ever gazed upon gorgeous vistas in games like The Legend of Zelda, wondered what lies just over those mountains, and felt compelled to explore every inch of these massive virtual worlds? If so, sandbox games offering unparalleled freedom and scope are likely your cup of tea.
What Are Sandbox Games?
Sandbox games, also called open-world games, set players loose across vast interactive worlds full of possibility. Instead of linear gated progression, you are free to chart your own course through sprawling environments brimming with secrets. Follow main storylines or veer totally off-path finding adventure. Craft tools, build shelters, ally factions and more all on your terms. These open-ended virtual playgrounds let imagination and curiosity guide the journey.
Nintendo Switch makes for the ultimate sandbox platform thanks to portable play for digestible sessions alongside big screen tv docking for living those adventures on an grander scale. Whether relaxing with low-key wandering or embarking on hundred-hour quests, Switch sandboxes hand you the keys to immersive worlds begging you to peek around every corner.
Below I outline the absolute greatest open-world experiences available on Nintendo’s fantastic hybrid console. From genre trailblazers to dazzling Nintendo titles, these sandboxes represent both peaks of the form and perfect pairings with Switch. Let’s dive in adventurer!
1. Minecraft – The Open-World Phenomenon
Minecraft’s boundless building, crafting and survival sandbox has enraptured over 200 million gamers. Its simplicity – breaking and placing voxel blocks to craft everything in-game – belies endless emergent creativity. Minecraft drops players into procedural worlds with biomes like forests, deserts and snow-capped mountains. Chop trees for wood, dig underground to collect precious ores, fight zombie hordes, and build whatever your imagination envisions, be it humble shacks or sprawling cities.
Two core game modes offer different flavors of sandbox freedom:
- Survival – Gather resources while defending against nocturnal Creeper explosions and skeleton archers. Manage hunger and craft better pickaxes, armor sets and weapons to thrive.
- Creative – Unlimited access to every item and block type to construct amazing structures, machinery and more sans combat.
Portable Minecraft on Switch makes both short creative sessions or tense survival marathons ideal for-the-go or big-screen play. Exclusive Mario-themed DLC skins and textures add Nintendo flair too! Having sold over 200 million copies, Minecraft’s creative building sandbox stands in a league of its own. Every gamer owes themselves a journey through its blocky domains.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo’s Crowning Open-World Achievement
In a series defined by groundbreaking game design, 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild represents Nintendo’s finest open-world effort yet. Gone are labyrinthian dungeons and linear progression. Now sprawling vistas brimming with possibility beckon your curiosity. See a fog-veiled forest or snowy peak on the horizon? Trekk there without restriction. Puzzle shrines, enemy camps and nature’s bounty litter the landscape rewarding organic exploration. Dynamic weather like thunderstorms make Hyrule feel alive as beasts roam the biomes. Nintendo distills the intrepid adventure spirit central to Zelda games into a sandbox spectacle.
Core gameplay innovations like:
- Physics-based rune abilities to manipulate objects and environment
- Forage food/craft elixirs for boosts and healing
- Robust weapon degradation system necessitating regular scavenging
Combine to make interacting with the world feel tactile and full of surprises. Minimal tutorials teach game mechanics not through text pop-ups but by letting your inquisitiveness guide lesson-learning. Nintendo trusts the player as a free-willed adventurer charting their own journey across Hyrule however they see fit. Breath of the Wild elicited rave reviews from major outlets like IGN and GameSpot on its way to securing a 98 Metascore – the highest for any Switch title thus far. This masterpiece sets a new benchmark for sandbox game design few can match.
3. Super Mario Odyssey – A Globe-Trotting Collectathon
Super Mario 64 pioneered letting players freely explore Princess Peach’s castle hunting hidden Power Stars. Super Mario Odyssey for Switch pays homage to Mario’s first sandbox outing with sprawling platforming playgrounds across globe-spanning locales from urban metropolises to arid deserts. Scour their nooks and crannies for Power Moons – Odyssey’s Star equivalent – to progress. New companion Cappy grants possession powers for unlocking hidden areas by taking control over characters and objects. Discover zany residents with challenging mini-games adding rewarding variety like a jump-rope expert in New Donk City.
Mario Odyssey modernizes the foundation of pioneering 3D platformers like Mario 64 and Sunshine. Traversal feels athletic, fluid and polished slinging Mario up buildings or zipping through obstacles with parkour flourish. Nintendo’s masterful polish graces each new Kingdom offering memorable sights and unique experiences. Though more constrained than vast adventures like Breath of the Wild, creative level designs bursting with secrets compel players forward always wondering what visual splendor or clever challenge awaits beyond the next corner. For focused open-ended 3D action, Mario Odyssey hits the sweet spot whilst showering players with Nintendo’s signature charm around every turn.
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Genre-Defining Fantasy Epic
First launched in 2011, Bethesda Game Studios’ sprawling masterwork The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim remains the archetypal open-world RPG against which all others get measured. Getting lost wandering its snow-capped peaks and foggy marshes elicits pure adventure escapism. As the prophesized Dragonborn, you become ensnared in a stirring quest of mythical proportions filled with cryptic lore. Yet the main storyline plays second fiddle to getting pulled into side misadventures like joining the thief-friendly Thieves Guild or uncovering Daedric artifacts for metaphysical tricksters.
Bucket list adventures await around every corner like:
- Delving into Dwemer mechanical ruins puzzling out their clan’s doomed fate
- Visiting the mage-centric College of Winterhold to glean new incantations
- Cleansing corrupted lands from twisted beasts as part of becoming leader of the Companions mercenaries
- And assisting numerous eccentric citizens with dilemmas ranging from comedic to dastardly
Though graphical compromises accompanied the Switch port, experiencing Tamriel’s rugged beauty on-the-go makes for a superb sandbox introduction or nostalgic trip for returning visitors. Skyrim rightfully earns repute as gaming’s most dynamic fantasy sandbox.
5. No Man‘s Sky – Spacefaring Exploration Unbound
Very few sandbox games rival the planet-hopping scale of Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky. This sci-fi adventure sets players loose in a procedurally generated universe containing over 18 quintillion explorable planets. Touch down on an unknown world, survey its exotic flora and fauna before jetting off towards the next interstellar sight.
Core gameplay loops involve:
- Cataloging new creatures for monetary rewards to improve kit
- Crafting upgrades for environmental shields, resource gathering tools and spaceships
- Constructing bases across the cosmos to house storage, vehicles and portals
- Following narrative threads at your leisure uncovering the universe‘s metaphysical cosmic mysteries
No Man‘s Sky endured a famously rocky launch in 2016 with absent features and repetitive planetary exploration. Yet admirably Hello Games kept fixing, improving and building on their infinite vision through massive free updates ever since. Six years of extensive patching has made this space odyssey the ultimate chilled voyage now portable on Switch for both long handheld sessions and big-screen star gazing.
6. A Short Hike – A Peaceful Indie Gem
Contrasting blockbuster sandboxes overflowing with map markers and explosions, indie darling A Short Hike offers comparatively miniscule yet equally compelling open-ended exploration. You play as Claire, an anthropomorphic bird, wandering peaceful nature trails, sandy beaches and mountain cliffs enroute meeting her Aunt. This serene park hides wonderful secrets from souvenir keepsakes to uncovering hidden paths leading to sweeping vistas. Golden feathers scattered about augment Claire‘s climbing and gliding capabilities further opening navigation through brighter heights. Meet memorable avian NPCs to hear about their own travels before bidding them farewell to uncover what lies over the next hill.
Praise flowed in from indie-centric outlets like Kotaku who applauded how A Short Hike instills gaming‘s latent passion for discovery within diminutive doses. It condenses the sheer joy of open-ended adventuring into a thoughtful, meditative experience rather than demanding endless hours to unfurl epic tales. This creative contrast to sprawling sandboxes demonstrates how Nintendo Switch can transform anywhere into escapist realms whether through intimate reflections or timeless odysseys.
Hopefully this guide has outlined why Nintendo Switch is a superb sandbox destination thanks to its top-tier first-party games, ever-growing third-party support and portable play opportunities. Each highlighted open-world epic above makes wandering alien worlds, Hyrule fields or your own blocky domain endlessly engaging escapism. Vast gaming wonderlands overflowing with diverse places and activities await exploration across genres from platformers to shooters to indies and everything between.
Did I miss highlighting your favorite Switch sandbox gem? What virtual vacation spot might you recommend to fellow gamers? Let me know in the comments below and happy adventuring!
