Nintendo fans weren’t terribly impressed with the most recent Nintendo Direct. The Partner Showcase was aimed to show off new third-party games arriving to the Switch 2. While it did feature some nice highlights, such as Monster Hunter Stories 3, there was one game in particular that was given over a minute of airtime, and it’s getting justifiably ridiculed online.
The game is Chillin’ by the Fire, a first-person campfire simulation game that puts players around an outdoor campfire, exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2.
And that’s the whole game.
Oh, and by players I mean literal floating heads.
The game utilizes the Switch 2 camera, an external device (sold separately, $54.99) that can be used with GameChat, and with certain Switch 2 game integrations such as Mario Party Jamboree. Nintendo is clearly keen on selling games that use the camera.
Hear that, developers? Just throw support for the Switch 2 Camera into your game, and you to can be featured on the next Direct!
The majority of the trailer is spent laboriously lighting the dang fire before briefly showing the multiplayer camera functionality. The floating heads look goofy as hell, and the world is low-poly and extremely basic.
The Nintendo eShop store page is a real treat, with a longer description than many AAA video games.
Here are some snippets of my favorite bits:
- Campfires. Humanity’s oldest social network.
- Your goal: Campfire Level 10.
- The sense of accomplishment you feel when the firebed turns into bright red embers and the pillars of flame illuminate the night sky is more powerful than any scoreboard.
- Campfire Convo prompts will be displayed randomly, helping to spark some small talk.
- HD Rumble brings the feel of the campfire to your hands, uniting your sense of sight, sound, and touch.
I have to imagine the developers know exactly how stupid this whole thing is.
Apparently there are different game modes, including a Survival mode with limited firewood, and a Playground mode for…competitive campfiring to build the biggest fire. Hey, kids, please don’t try this at home!
The final sting: it’s $14.99. It better come with an entire S’mores kit for that price.
Chillin’ by the Fire is available on Nintendo Switch 2, and rated E for Everyone.
