Minecraft

I first tried this game on iPad. I was evaluating it to see if it would be good for my daughter to play. But I found it engaging myself and spent many hours playing around. It's a simple game where you gather resources and build things in a pixelated art-style 3D world. It's kind of like playing in a sandbox. There is no story, but kids love the creative freedom to explore, fend off monsters, and build all sorts of things. I am reviewing the Nintendo Switch version here. I would rate it higher, but the online capability on the Switch is abysmal. Years ago, we tried networking a few devices to play over local connection (two iOS devices and a Switch). Even with that simple setup, we suffered frequent connection disruptions. By now, you would think that Microsoft would have improved things. The game now claims to offer online multiplayer on the Switch. But I found it to be utterly broken and non-functional. I have a solid internet setup at my house. But the game always fails to connect me with my Switch friends online. Signing in with a Microsoft account seemed to work better at first. But then it inexplicably started causing the game to lock up whenever I logged on with the Microsoft account. It's a completely broken and frustrating experience trying to use the online features. If you stick to the single-player game, it's enjoyable as a simple little sandbox game. If Microsoft can't get the online experience right, they shouldn't claim that the game is playable online. They should wait until they have it working properly before releasing those features.