While Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition will be available for all major platforms, there is one console that is arguably the preferred choice for experiencing this new collection. There is no doubt that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions will be great, taking advantage of the hardware to deliver a polished technical experience. However, the Nintendo Switch brings another element to the table that can give it an edge over the alternatives.
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The Nintendo Switch’s Portability
It’s not news at this point that the Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console, capable of being played both at home on a big TV as well as on the go. This dual functionality was a big part of the marketing for the platform from the beginning, and continues to remain a major selling point. This is for good reason, as the ability to be able to seamlessly continue a game that was started at home while on the go is hugely compelling. Grand scale adventures like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which require numerous hours to complete, can be played in smaller chunks throughout a day thanks to the Switch’s design.
Because of this console accessibility, the Switch is a great console for the concept of “pick up and play”. A gamer can turn on the console for a few minutes in between other tasks, make as much progress as desired, then put the console to sleep and continue later. This can make otherwise dauntingly huge gaming experiences seem more digestible, as they can be chipped away at in a pace that’s comfortable for each particular player. The open world genre is known for this feeling of being daunting, which is why the aformentioned Breath of the Wild and other titles like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are a good fit on the platform.
Classic GTA Mission Structure
With the Nintendo Switch’s easy accessibility in mind, it makes it all the more evident why Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition is a good fit on the platform. These three classic GTA games, while similar in some ways to Grand Theft Auto 5, play differently in terms of mission structure, moment to moment goals, and overall open world mayhem. These older titles are clearly from a different time, an earlier era when open world games were still in their infancy. This isn’t a negative, however, and actually works to this particular collection’s strength on the Nintendo Switch.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is often considered a benchmark in open world game design, and to this day is still a massive adventure to undertake. The heists are detailed and epic, shootouts are viscerally violent and the overall plot is a gripping crime drama. By comparison, these three older GTA titles are much more simple and straightforward. Brief cutscenes play before and after a mission setup, and payoff the action the player takes on. The missions themselves can also be completed in a matter of minutes, give or take, making them much more approachable for a portable experience. With the remasters not as demanding from a graphical standpoint as something like GTA 5, the collection should also run well on the Nintendo Switch, giving fans good reason to consider picking it up on the platform.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition releases on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S digitally on November 11th. The physical version will release on December 7th 2021.
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