Movement in Video Games

These Nintendo Switch games will blow your mind the second you pick up the controller due to their extremely fun movement mechanics

Every so often a video game will come along that’s an absolute joy to play. What I mean by this is that you are blown away simply by picking up the controller and performing its most basic functions. Whether the game features running, jumping, sliding, dodging, or flying, whatever it ends up being, is simply a joy to play.

Through the course of reviewing Nintendo Switch games in the last few years, I’ve discovered a handful of such games that tickle that specific fancy.

They are few and far between, rare even, but you know you have one when it feels just right.

I’ve compiled five such games for you all below. These games will blow your mind the second you pick up the controller. Some are hugely successful, while others are not, but they all have one thing in common. They have all created a stellar movement experience for the player.

Shinsekai Into The Depths

Kicking this list off with a bang! If you have followed me for any length of time you’d have noticed by flamboyant support for Shinsekai Into the Depths. In fact, it’s my current pick for Game of the Year in 2020.

Shinsekai Into the Depths has some of the best underwater movement I’ve ever seen.

Part of the reason it’s so good is because Capcom Japan made it a pure joy to control your Aquanaut through the deep seas. Grappling onto walls, falling down dark pits, piloting your submarine, and just floating underwater feels absolutely amazing in Shinsekai Into the Depths.

They have utterly destroyed the competition in this area. Bioshock, Subnautica, and Abzu simply can’t compete, Shinsekai Into the Depths has you beat! It’s not up for debate, Ecco the Dolphin would even agree with me on this one.

Dead Cells

Dead Cells has some of the slickest combat and movement ever created.

One of the reasons Dead Cells is so darn popular is that it controls like a dream. The fluidity of the platforming mixed with the oh-so-swift combat mechanics makes Dead Cells a welcomed fit for this list.

You can attribute much it’s success to Motion Twin’s development tricks. There are sneaky little mechanics they have added into the game that are essentially cheating. Rather than spending time falling down holes and attempting to climb walls, they made a game that helps you pull off the sick parkour moves it’s so well known for.

You won’t find any pixel-perfect jumps in Dead Cells. This is not Super Mario Maker and yes, the princess is in another castle.

Fluid, fast, and fun by design. Even if you didn’t know about sneaky development tricks the fact would remain the same. Dead Cells handles like a dream which makes it an extremely fun movement experience.

Dandy Dungeon

I bet you didn’t think Dandy Dungeon would make this list, did you? It is a game all about movement but in a slightly different manner than all the rest of the games on this list.

Finding the perfect paths in Dandy Dungeon is the key to success.

Dandy Dungeon is primarily a puzzle game in which the main objective is to move from the start to finish in the most efficient way possible. All by drawing a simple path through a level and watching Yamada-Kun go to work. It’s gameplay fueled movement as it’s finest, although in a different, more puzzly, sort of way.

This game has feelings of pure joy when you start whipping through all the different levels, executing each one of them perfectly.

The core of Dandy Dungeon relies on this path-based movement being an enjoyable experience. It far succeeds in this task and is one of my most favorite puzzles games on the Nintendo Switch.

Rocket League

Rocket League is a game where at its basic level, movement is everything. There’s movement in rotations, aerials, wall shots, big clears, and just about every aspect of the game. It’s written into the DNA of the game. Rocket League wouldn’t be much fun if you couldn’t jump, aerial, or drive up the walls.

Rocket League aerials are the most satisfying shot you can make.

It’s a worthy contender for this list simply because it’s movement is only mastered through not 10’s or 100’s of hours but 1000’s. That’s right. You won’t be mastering Rocket League anytime soon unless you’re the next Squishy Muffinz.

Rocket League’s skill ceiling is extremely high but it’s also extremely fun. Plus it feels pretty awesome when you score an off the wall aerial that was angled just right.

There’s a hook with both it’s movement system and progressive player skill increases that make it a joy to control. Nothing feels better than scoring those fast aerial hits or making an over the shoulder save. You couldn’t do these oh-so-sweet maneuvers if Rocket League’s movement system wasn’t built to last.

Ageless

Ageless is the newest game on this list and while I haven’t finished the entire game yet, the first world was enough to solidify its placement. It doesn’t take Ageless long to show you what it has to offer once you pick up that controller.

Ageless has some really simple movement mechanics that are both fun and tricky to execute perfectly.

Ageless has an immensely fun player movement scheme that lets you switch to and from an “Ageless” persona which can also dash in a chosen direction. It’s fast, fluid and when coupled with its tricky puzzles and hidden collectibles makes for a really enjoyable experience.

There are lots of failing and retries in Ageless which means you’ll be replaying the same sections over and over till you can figure them out. A game such as this needs to keep you engaged while you try, try, and retry the same sections otherwise it wouldn’t be much fun.

Thankfully Ageless delivers an extremely fun experience that’s a joy to control.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my list of the best movement games that I’ve played. Maybe you have started thinking to yourself which games would be on the top of your list? Drop a comment below on what your top games would be and why. I’d love to see what everyone else’s picks.