Developer: Lab 42
Publisher: Ripstone
Platforms: Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tested on: Switch
Snooker 19 (Switch) – Review
Earlier this year, we already got the chance to review the newest snooker game, Snooker 19, on the PC and we thought that it was the best snooker game developed to this day. This game has now arrived on the Nintendo Switch, offering a portable snooker experience like never before.
Story
Like the PC and console versions, this game doesn’t have a story mode as it’s focused on playing the game of snooker. In the career mode, you can pick one of your favorite players and try to get them at the top of the rankings, or you can try to beat all of your favorite players as one of the youngest players around and try to reach the top with him. In these career modes, you will follow the calendar as officially licensed tournaments will pop up. By winning these tournaments, your ranking will increase.
Graphics
The graphics of the PC and console versions were very good. They were that good that they could fool you in believing it could be a real match on TV. All the details are spot on, the table and balls look really good with the exception of the players not looking like they do in real life when they’re at the table. In the Switch version of this game, with a downgrade in its graphical department, the game looks pretty bad, especially in docked mode. The lower resolution is definitely noticeable on the TV. On the Switch’s own screen the game looks good for what you would expect on a tiny screen. The size of this screen can sometimes make the game a lot harder to play, as aiming could be a problem when you need to do a long shot and you can’t really see if your aim is perfect. They did fix a bug that would delay the departure of the ball after it has been struck by the pool cue. Unfortunately, we encountered a new bug in the game, showing the pool cue penetrating the table and appearing again underneath it. Aiming with this bug occurring resulted in a complete miss. After this shot was taken, this problem didn’t occur again in our time reviewing the game.
Sound
In-game, the sound is perfect. The crowd is really quiet when you are playing and will correctly clap if a good move has been performed. The commentary is nearly always spot on after a ball has been played. The only downside is that it can be very repetitive when you have been playing the game for a while, but this is a common thing that nearly every game with commentary has. The voice-acting of the commentary is done by actual Eurosport hosts Neal Foulds and David Hendon. They did add some annoying commentary when you are taking some time before taking a shot.
Gameplay
Snooker 19 is a sports game featuring one of the most popular cue sports, snooker. Snooker 19 is the latest snooker game that was already released on the PC, PS4 and Xbox One, but now, this game has also arrived onto the Nintendo Switch. This game features all of the officially licensed tournaments from the season of 2018-2019 and you can take part in them all. You can choose from an amazing roster of 128 professional players, from young rookies to the wintered professionals.
This game features a single-player, local multiplayer and online multiplayer mode. The single-player mode lets you play a quick match or play the career mode of this game. This career mode has been split into two modes, the first allowing you to play as a professional and the other mode called Rising Stars, which lets you play as one of the youngest international snooker players to reach for the top in the rankings and earn money while doing so. The multiplayer mode lets you play against other online players in 1v1 matches.
As snooker is one of the hardest billiards game types, this game definitely offers a good challenge as winning can be quite tough. When you play against one of the best players in the world, it will be really hard to win against him because, in this game, they’re just as good as in real life. These players will rarely miss good opportunities and will always look forward to the next shot, resulting in a frame ending in just a few turns… If you pick a lower-ranked player as your opponent, you will have a bigger chance of winning, so it’s recommended to start playing against low-ranking players to start learning the basics of the game. Getting used to the pace of your shot when choosing your shot strength can be tricky and can only be learned by playing the game. Keeping a good pace is one of the most important things in this game because if you place the cue ball right, you’ll get an easy shot.
The controls on the Switch are just as accessible as they were on the PC and console versions. You can adjust the direction of your shot, the angle of your cue stick, the hitting point at the cue ball and the speed. When there are obstacles on the table, everything is adjusted to that situation. For example, when a ball is next to the edge of the table, you’ll have a tricky shot with only a small amount of adjustment at where you hit the cue ball. Learning about all the effects of height, spin and angle of your shot are necessary to master the game, but when you have, the game can be very fun to play.
To make aiming your shot a bit easier, there’s an aiming assist system that has three different settings. This will show the trajectory of the cue ball and the ball you are going to hit. When aiming for a hard shot, the aiming assist won’t always guarantee a good hit as the trajectories will turn into cones, letting you guess where to hit the ball. On top of this, aiming on the small screen of the Switch can be difficult to do as everything is a lot smaller. Getting the right aim can be very hard, making the docked mode a bit easier than playing on the Switch’s own screen.
Conclusion
Snooker 19 is still a great game on the Nintendo Switch, but it has some downsides. The small screen of the Switch makes it a lot harder to aim for tricky long shots but the graphics have also gotten a downgrade to fit the Switch’s hardware. Luckily, the table and balls still look great on the handheld’s own screen. The gameplay is as amazing as it was on the other versions of this game. Everything from obstacles on the table and adjusting the spin, height, and angle of your shot is almost as good as it is done in real life. Snooker 19 is still by far the best snooker game developed to this day and making it a portable experience is great. If you like to test your mettle against one of the world’s best snooker players or take on random people around the world in a match of Snooker, then this is definitely a great game to buy.
Snooker 19 (Switch) - Review,
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[…] For those who want to read our reviews, we have one for PC and on the Switch. […]