The Nintendo Switch is barely a year old, yet there’s already a killer line-up of games available.
Wa-hoo!Nintendo
Whether you’re looking for Nintendo staples like “Mario” and “Zelda,” fast-paced first-person shooters like “DOOM”, or narrative-driven indie RPGs like “Golf Story,” there’s something for everyone on the Switch.
Good news! We’ve put together a list of the best games to enjoy on Nintendo’s latest console:
Nintendo
The pure joy of playing “Odyssey” is hard to convey. It’s the best Mario game in years, and easily one of the best Mario games ever made. It’s certainly the best game on the Nintendo Switch, which is really saying something.
Nintendo
Whether you’ve been playing “Mario Kart” games for years or you’ve never touched one, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” is a tremendous delight.
It’s the definitive “Mario Kart” experience, with a ridiculous number of courses and playable characters. Best of all, the Switch becomes a portable “Mario Kart” machine if you take the console in portable mode — each Joy-Con becomes a gamepad, and the Switch is the screen. Being able to casually challenge a friend to “Mario Kart” by simply having the Switch with you is pretty incredible.
Bethesda Softworks
Even if you’ve never played any games in the “DOOM” franchise, the latest entry is an insanely fast, clever, genuinely funny first-person shooter that puts a premium on gameplay above all else.
It’s also a surprisingly violent and bloody game for the Nintendo Switch — a welcome aberration from the usual kid-friendly affair, aimed squarely at the many adults who are buying Switch consoles for themselves. Mario is a blast, no doubt, but so is ripping through thousands of demons.
Nintendo
Think of “Minecraft” as virtual LEGO.
It’s a system for fitting pieces together to create something — sometimes amazing somethings — from nothing. “Minecraft” provides endless building blocks and a blank canvas. It’s up to you to create something incredible, or silly, or referential, or whatever, using the tools it provides. The tools are blessedly user-friendly, as are the systems for employing those tools.
Nicalis
Some of the best indie gems of the past 10 years have pulled beloved franchises from the past, like “Metroid” and “Castlevania,” into a gloriously updated modernity.
“Cave Story+” is takes the side-scrolling puzzle worlds of classic game franchises and updates them with modern advances like save points, complex animation, and procedurally-generated worlds — games where the levels are new every time because they’re created by algorithms on-the-fly. Smaller, more personal games like “Cave Story+” round out the Switch’s strong blockbuster line-up — it’s the perfect game to play in the Switch’s handheld, portable mode.
Nintendo
Aside from having a goofy name, “Snipperclips” is a charming two-player game that utilizes the Nintendo Switch gamepad — the “Joy-Con” — in a smart way.
Each player gets one Joy-Con, and you use them as miniature gamepads (held sideways) to control one of two aggressively-silly characters on screen. You can “cut” each of the two characters into various shapes, which can then be used to solve whatever puzzle is in front of you.
Shin’en Multimedia
Similar to “Snipperclips,” the futuristic arcade-style racing game “Fast RMX” provides a much-needed alternative to “Zelda.” On a console otherwise bereft of high-speed racing games, “Fast RMX” stands out as a great racer that evokes nostalgia for the days of “F-Zero” on the SNES, “Wipeout” on the original PlayStation, and even some light touches of “Mario Kart” thrown in for good measure. It’s also a stark graphical showcase for the notably tiny Switch console.
Nicalis
The “Binding of Isaac” games are an homage to an era of gaming that’s long passed.
You play as young Isaac, who’s dealing with some pretty serious personal demons that manifest in the form of actual demons. The long and short is that it’s a top-down shooting game, but that’s really underselling the level of depth in this game. If you haven’t already played it on one of the many other platforms it’s on, scooping it on the Switch is a solid choice.
Sidebar Games
“Golf Story” takes the whimsical delight of old-school role-playing games and spins it into an endearing, charming game that’s focused on — yes, of course — golfing.
Don’t worry: “Golf Story” is far from a simulation-style golf game. It’s focused on storytelling and world exploration, like so many RPGs before it, with relatively simplistic golfing as a means to an end. If you’ve ever played an NES or SNES golfing game, you’ll be familiar with the kind of gameplay in “Golf Story.” And even if you haven’t, it’s a cinch to pick up.
Rockstar Games
“L.A. Noire” is unlike most games, both in its style and its gameplay. Though you’re able to careen around an open-world, 1940s Los Angeles in a car, the vast majority of the game is focused on detective work: investigating crime scenes, speaking with witnesses, and deciphering suspects. It’s a thoughtful, unique game that offers something completely different than everything else on the Switch.
Check out our preview of “L.A. Noire” on the Nintendo Switch right here.
Jackbox Games
The “Jackbox Party Pack” — any and all entries in the series — is 100% worth your money.
These are killer party games that turn your Switch into an entertainment device that involves whole groups of people. If you’ve ever played the delightful, silly, irreverent “You Don’t Know Jack,” you’re already aware of the kind of game I’m talking about.
It’s a trivia game that’s been a hit for decades across dozens of different devices, from PC to (now) the Switch, but it’s support by a slew of excellent games like “Fibbage” and “Drawful.” The packs of games take simple board game concepts and turn them into more guided, often more fun experiences.
Trinket Studios
In its first year, Nintendo Switch has become the new home to indie games. Stuff like “Golf Story” and, now, “Battle Chef Brigade,” stand out as highlights among an excellent selection of smaller, less expensive, often more interesting stuff.
“Battle Chef Brigade” merges match-three gameplay (think “Bejeweled” or “Candy Crush”) with side-scrolling battles (think NES- and SNES-era beat-’em-ups), and throws in a very silly, surprisingly deep story to boot.
Nintendo/Bethesda
“Skyrim” is still an excellent game.
It’s an action-RPG epic with dragons, magic, and a massive world to explore. It’s got dramatic music that pumps you up while you fight dragons. It’s got silly characters and endless side-stories and everything else you could want from a fantasy epic.
And now, on the Switch, it’s got some sweet “Zelda” gear (seen above). Bonus!
Matt Makes Games
“Celeste” is a perfect blend of nostalgic gameplay — classic platforming, in the style of “Super Mario” — with modern technology.
Though the game looks like it was made in 1992, it’s actually a brand-new game with a retro-future feel. It takes the pixel-perfect, sharp platforming of classic 2D platformers and marries it with the power and capability of modern tech like the Nintendo Switch. The result is a game that feels reminiscent of classics while also embracing modern game design techniques.
If there’s one non-Nintendo game that you can’t miss on the Nintendo Switch, it’s “Celeste.”
Team Cherry
Like some of the best games on this list of bangers, “Hollow Knight” takes inspiration from the past and forges an entirely new path forward. It’s a beautiful new version of classics like “Metroid” and “Castlevania,” with inspiration taken from the modern “Dark Souls” games — among many other things.
And all those comparisons, while intended as flattery, fall short. “Hollow Knight” is special in its own way — from the charming cartoon artwork paired with dreary overtones, to the pixel-perfect movement that demands mastery. It’s hard not to love “Hollow Knight,” despite its best efforts to crush players at every turn.
Nintendo
It’s “Fortnite”! You already know what “Fortnite” is, right? If you’ve somehow avoided the black hole-esque gravity well that is “Fortnite,” all you need to know is this: It’s a 1-vs-100 third-person shooter that costs nothing to download and play.
Despite all the hype, and the silly dances, and the merchandising, and everything else, “Fortnite” continues to be an excellent game. It’s got a great art style, deep gameplay systems, and it costs zero dollars. There is no sell required with “Fortnite” — it’s so popular because it’s real good!
Capcom
Don’t believe that name: “Mega Man 11” is like the ten-thousandth “Mega Man” game.
That said, it’s the latest major numbered game in the franchise — a throwback to the original “Mega Man” games that appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System over 30 years ago. “Mega Man 11” aims to evolve the franchise, both in the stylized new art and in gameplay. A new gameplay system enables everyone’s favorite robot hero to slow down time and/or temporarily supercharge his arm cannon, which changes the usual gameplay in subtle and delightful ways.
“Mega Man 11” feels like a game that should’ve arrived years ago, but it’s just as fresh today as it would’ve been in the late ’90s.
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