Introduction

If you grew up thinking monster trucks were the perfect answer to anything mildly annoying-traffic, homework, your roommate's 3 a.m. drum practice-then Monster Jam: Crush It! is the video game equivalent of giving those feelings a turbocharged set of wheels and a questionable suspension setup. Developed by Team6 Game Studios and ported to the Switch in late 2017, Crush It! slaps the Monster Jam license on a relatively simple racing package and sends it to the dirt. The title proudly bills itself as the series' first step onto eighth-generation consoles, which reads like a statement of intent until you remember that "first" does not always mean "best". Crush It! plays a lot like its predecessors: stadium races, freestyle shenanigans, and the kind of truck-based chaos that makes you smile and then immediately regret your life choices when you realize you've been grinding the same event for half an hour. This Switch version is basically the same recipe, but reheated, microwaved, and served with a side of performance compromises. Before we dive into the wheel-spinning details: Metacritic had a pretty blunt diagnosis for Crush It!, pegging its aggregate reception as "generally unfavorable". That's not hyperbole - it's the sort of verdict that makes you check your store credit but still wonder if childhood nostalgia can buy you another hour of joy. I spent time with the Switch port so you don't have to pretend it runs better on other platforms. Spoiler: it doesn't perform miracles, but it does offer a portable ticket to smash some plastic cars under enormous tires if that's your jam.

Gameplay

Crush It! leans into the core Monster Jam attractions: races, freestyle events, and the vaguely competitive feeling of driving a half-ton behemoth over a ramp and hoping the gods (and the physics engine) are in a good mood. If you've played any Monster Jam title before, you'll find the mode structure comfortably familiar rather than excitingly novel. The single-player focus means there's no online carnage to be had on the Switch version, which is a bummer for anyone who enjoys the delightful schadenfreude of seeing another player spin out in spectacular fashion. Instead, you're left with a career-ish progression that strings together licensed trucks and a handful of stadium courses and off-road tracks. The races are straightforward: hit the gas, hop the ramps, try not to roll a truck so impressively that the crowd thinks it's part of the show. Freestyle gives you more leash: perform donuts, flips, and combos for points, though the scoring can feel a bit arbitrary - like a judge who can't decide between giving you "Wow" or "Try again." Driving the trucks is accessible and arcade-y. Controls prioritize fun over simulation, which is totally fine if you want to jump and smash without thinking about torque curves and differential ratios. On the other hand, that arcade simplicity means skill ceiling is relatively low. After a few hours, you'll have learned the same tricks: keep the nose up on landings, use nitro boosts (when the game deigns to reward you with them), and don't try to do anything too subtle. The handling model is forgiving but floaty; trucks complain to the physics gods in feathery whines of wobble and then settle back down like stubborn toddlers. Customization options are present but thin. Unlike later or more polished Monster Jam entries that let you kit out trucks with thousands of parts, Crush It! gives you a modest wardrobe of upgrades and visual tweaks. If you expected deep garage-level tinkering, prepare to be slightly underwhelmed. If you're just here to make your truck look cooler than your neighbor's, you'll be fine. Progression is basically a collect-and-repeat loop: win events, unlock trucks or liveries, move to the next venue. The variety of tracks is adequate but not remarkable. There are stadium circuits and some off-road bits, but you won't find a sprawling open world or nuanced event types. That lack of depth feeds into the biggest weakness: longevity. Once you've seen the tracks and learned the cheap tricks to get top scores, the charm wears off like a sticker in a hot car. One feature Crush It! shares with other Monster Jam games is the crowd-pleasing spectacle. Even when the core mechanics are thin, there's something viscerally satisfying about launching a Grave Digger-style monster truck into the sky and watching it come down either perfectly or in collapsible cardboard fashion. It taps the same part of your brain that cheers when someone paints a perfect landing in midair - primal, loud, and slightly irresponsible. In short, gameplay is fun in short bursts. It's not a masterclass in racing design, nor does it try to be. It's a portable party trick: fun to whip out for a quick smash, not the kind of game you'll swear loyalty to for months.

Graphics

Graphically, the Switch edition is a mixed bag. The trucks themselves are decently modeled for what they are: big, goofy shapes with loud liveries that read well even on the Switch's smaller screen. Textures are serviceable at a glance but reveal a certain thrift-store charm up close - think cheaper upholstery rather than luxury leather. Lighting and environmental detail are minimal; stadiums feel a little like dioramas with crowds that could use a few more dancers and fewer stick-figure moods. The porting chops show in places where the Switch had to make practical compromises. Expect lower-resolution textures, occasional pop-in, and animations that stutter when the action gets busy. Frame rate dips are not catastrophic, but they're frequent enough to be noticeable during hectic freestyle runs. It's the kind of visual experience that makes you nostalgic for the mid-2010s console era in the same way you miss your old flip phone - fondly, and with the knowledge that newer tech does the job better. Sound design is functional: engine roars, crowd cheers, and the satisfying crunch of destruction are all present. Commentary is limited and repetitive; after the third or fourth time the announcer exclaims the same line, it loses its charm and starts to sound like someone reciting a marketing pamphlet. Music is background filler - it keeps the adrenaline up without being memorable. Overall, Crush It! looks adequate on a handheld, but it doesn't go out of its way to dazzle. It's like the fast-food burger of racing visuals: it does what you need it to, and you'll probably be hungry for something better afterward.

Conclusion

Monster Jam: Crush It! on the Nintendo Switch is one of those games that understands exactly what it wants to be: a loud, bouncy, monster-truck party that you can play on the couch or during a commute. It nails the spectacle and the silly joy of unconstrained vehicle chaos, and that alone gives it some value. There's an immediate, almost childish pleasure in sending an oversized truck rocketing into the sky, watching it flip, and hoping it lands without turning into a modern art sculpture made of crushed metal. But spectacle isn't everything. The game's shortcomings - shallow progression, modest customization, repetitive audio, and the Switch's performance trade-offs - pile up into a fairly short endurance for most players. Critics weren't kind when Crush It! first rolled out, and the Metacritic consensus (36/100) reflects a title that's more novelty than a lasting experience. If you're a die-hard Monster Jam fan or you crave portable vehicular mayhem for quick sessions, this is a reasonable guilty pleasure. For anyone looking for a deep racing sim, a robust multiplayer offering, or visuals that make jaws drop, this one won't satisfy. Final verdict: Crush It! will probably crush something in your house if you slam into it the wrong way - namely, your expectations. It's fun, loud, and occasionally thrilling, but ultimately thin and forgettable. Scorewise, it lands around a 3.6 out of 10 on the scale of "should you buy it" - which reads as, "only if you have a few dollars to spare and a short attention span for monster truck antics." If that sounds like you, then fire up the Switch, pick your favorite truck, and go cause some wonderfully legal destruction.

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