It’s the kind of game I like to give my full attention to, carefully analyzing the body language of suspects, and searching crime scenes for every possible clue. Whereas Skyrim has been great for getting in some dragon-slaying action on my commute, I’ve found myself playing LA Noire in bed, curling up with it like a good detective novel. One of LA Noire’s defining features is its interrogation system, where you carefully analyze suspects and then chose whether to play the good cop, the bad cop, or present evidence to press them on a lie. After that you may need to chase down a suspect, and there’s lots of driving to and from various locations, and even a few fistfights. Sometimes you’ll investigate a crime scene, searching for clues and talking to witnesses. As a new detective in 1947 Los Angeles, you’ll solve a number of grisly crimes. LA Noire, meanwhile, is a much more straightforward, story-driven game. Over the past week I’ve spent real-world train rides exploring quaint Skyrim towns and chatting with their residents, and slowly chipping away at dungeons while waiting for my kid to get out of dance class. This means that, while a game like Skyrim can take dozens of hours to complete, you can still make progress in short sessions. RPGs are about incremental progress, as you slowly complete smaller goals in order to become stronger and capable enough to tackle challenges later in the game. This structure is a great fit for playing on the go. Getting the most out of Skyrim means paying attention to the small details, and not being afraid to get your hands dirty. There’s lots of repetitive combat as you delve into dark dungeons and underground crypts, clearing them of undead soldiers and giant spiders. In your quest to find and defeat an ancient dragon and save a magical fantasy realm, you’ll spend lots of time fussing about in a menu upgrading your magical abilities and finding just the right armor to wear. Skyrim is a massive role-playing game, which by their nature necessitate a lot of busy work. The two games are very different, and on the Switch I’ve found myself playing them in very different contexts. It turns out that being able to take a huge game on the go can help you look past its flaws.

But in the shift to the Nintendo Switch, they’ve gained something notable. Both are games that don’t look especially impressive up against current titles like Star Wars Battlefront II or Horizon Zero Dawn.

This week, two of the biggest games from 2011 are launching on the Nintendo Switch: Rockstar’s 1940s detective drama LA Noire, and Bethesda’s sprawling fantasy epic Skyrim. The last few months have been packed with exciting new blockbuster games - yet here I am, playing a pair of titles that originally came out six years ago.

You feel the world shift skyrim