The Nintendo Switch port of Burnout: Paradise is exciting in more ways than one

It isn't just one of the best racing games ever made. It's EA Games' first major Switch remaster.

Since it released in 2017, one of the best things things about Nintendo's portable hybrid console has been the joy of revisiting older classics on it. Now, re-releases are pretty common in gaming. Take The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim for example. The game been released five times to date but it's the Switch port that arguably garnered the most celebration.

Even if you've already sunk a hundred hours into Bethesda's open world RPG, there's a real appeal in being able to take that adventure on the go with you.

In our review of the port, we said that "If the arrival of titles like Skyrim, DOOM and LA Noire on the Switch is a sign of things to come, it’s perhaps also a sign that Nintendo’s handheld could become not just a platform for Nintendo titles and a playground for indies but also a space that includes the kind of big open-ended experiences usually reserved for consoles and PCs. There are countless gems from the last generation that could well find new life thanks to the Switch’s portability."

That prediction has come to pass in the years since - bringing us to this week's announcement that Burnout: Paradise Remastered will be available on Switch later this year.

According to Steve Pointon, EA's SVP for EA Partners to 3rd Party Content, “we want to give players more choice by delivering games they love to the platforms they want to play on."

Bundling together all the DLC for the popular open world racer, Pointon says “Burnout Paradise Remastered is a high-octane, action-packed experience for a whole new generation of players on the Nintendo Switch who can soon experience the excitement of an open world racing game anywhere, anytime.”

While it wasn't the only Switch port announced during this week's Nintendo Direct livestream, Burnout is notable in that it's the first major such re-release from publisher Electronic Arts. To date, the only other EA franchise to make the jump to Nintendo's handheld is FIFA. Despite the bountiful back catalogue at their disposal, EA have seemingly let the opportunity of the Nintendo Switch pass them by.

Until now. With the impending arrival of Burnout Paradise on the Switch, you have to ask the question. If EA is willing to bring Burnout to the Switch, who's to say they aren't willing to bring games like Mass Effect, Need for Speed, Dead Space, Dragon Age or The Sims to Nintendo's console.

Burnout: Paradise Remastered will release on Switch later this year.