40 of the best games on Nintendo Switch

There’s honestly never been a better time to get stuck into Nintendo Switch games.

First off, there’s a choice between the original Nintendo Switch and the brand new Nintendo Switch Lite. That’s good. 

In my humble opinion, Super Mario 3D World is probably the greatest game for young kids ever made. Particularly if you’re a parent that wants to play alongside them. It’s simple, no reading required. The levels are well designed, open and forgiving. 

Hades, an isometric rogue-like from Supergiant Games, came out of nowhere in 2020 and is now a very strong contender for Game of the Year.

Why? Part of it is the combat — which is fluid, weighty and tactile — but its evolving storyline, which ties the idea of constant death into Hades’ narrative, really pushes it over the edge. This is a rogue-like that people who don’t like rogue-likes can enjoy.

No big deal, Breath of the Wild is only the consensus best game of 2017. The game many believe is the best ever made. The game that somehow managed to actually outsell the Nintendo Switch itself on launch. 

Still no idea how that actually happened, but it did.

A package containing Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy could hardly be bad, right?

Well it’s not perfect — the games have aged and there are a few control issues — but it’s hard to argue with the value of Super Mario 3D All-Stars. Especially for those who have fond memories of Mario throughout the years.

They should have added Super Mario Galaxy 2 though. Come on Nintendo!

Hollow Knight might be one of the best games available on the Nintendo Switch. It’s a disturbingly well-designed platformer in the vein of Super Metroid. But it’s more than that. The atmosphere, the audio design, the visuals…

Dear lord this game is a stone-cold classic. Play it now.

Mario Kart 8 was initially released on the Wii U. It was great then, it’s even better now with all the additional content.

Not too much has changed, but Mario Kart 8 is about as definitive as it gets. It’s stacked with playable characters, inventive tracks and brand new features. It remains the most compelling multiplayer game on the Nintendo Switch.

See this on Amazon.

Folks, in these dark and troubled days, it’s time to disappear into a new world, get a virtual mortgage and work your ass off to pay that sucker off quick smart. 

It’s Animal Crossing time my friends. 

Untitled Goose Game is a game about being a goose.

Here is a list of trash words that don’t come close to describing Super Mario Odyssey: inventive, dazzling, smart, seamless, joyful, creative.

Super Mario Odyssey is a Nintendo game that continues in the spirit of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. All bets are off, everything you thought you knew about Mario has been reinvented. But here’s what remains: perfectly tuned, precision gameplay that feels incredible every second your hands are on the controller.

If you’ve played a Paper Mario game before, you probably know the drill. The series is set in a 2D “paper” version of Mario, a theme used to create all sorts of hyper-stylised mechanics and slick visual elements. It’s all laced up with a self-awareness and charm that makes the series irresistible to Nintendo fans. 

Paper Mario: The Origami King is no exception. Well worth a look. 

Look, regardless of controversy, Pokemon is Pokemon and Pokemon Sword & Shield is a good Pokemon. 

Don’t believe the online hype, this is one of the best games in the series so far. It’s also great to see Pokemon being available on Nintendo’s premium console, the Nintendo Switch. Definitely check it out.

Super Mario Maker 2 doesn’t quite feel made for the Nintendo Switch in the way it was perfect for the Wii U, but it’s still a fantastic piece of software. It makes level design accessible for everyone and has a massively beefed up single player mode.

That’s not to mention the endless replay value that comes with the insane user created levels. Check Super Mario Maker 2 out for sure.

It’s overpriced, but if you love Zelda, and you loved Link’s Awakening, you have to play this faithful, lovingly adapted remake. It’s not perfect, but it gets the job done.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is legitimately one of the best games of 2019. It is a video game clearly made with love: Gorgeous environments, pitch-perfect animations. Everything about it feels tactile and precise. Maybe the best Nintendo made game of the year.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is here and it is very, very good. Featuring the biggest line-up of characters yet (hence the “Ultimate”) it also has almost certainly the best single player ‘campaign’ mode of any Smash Bros. game to date. Also — it’s Smash Bros..

How are you going to own a Nintendo Switch and not pick up this game?

Celeste is a video game that makes you want to lodge your controller in your TV — in a good way.

Featuring incredible level design and flawlessly tuned precision platforming, Celeste is one of the best games of its type ever released. It’s smart, charming and dense with content.

It’s also perfect for the Nintendo Switch. You’ll be hurling obscenities at this game on public transport and you’ll love every second of it.

Splatoon 2 is very similar to the first Splatoon. It’s barely a sequel in the traditional sense but, much like Mario Kart 8, that doesn’t make it any less essential. 

Splatoon’s high concept is pure genius and extremely Nintendo. It takes the first-person shooter, traditionally a violent genre, and flips it on its head. You’re shooting paint, not bullets. You don’t score points for shooting enemies, you score points by shooting the environment itself. 

Splatoon rules.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is just so goddamn stupid. I can’t believe it even exists.

I also can’t believe how good it is. It doesn’t even make sense. Everyone had a good ol’ chuckle when Mario + Rabbids was announced. Then it was released and it turned out to be one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch.

Which sounds like a completely bizarre proposition, but Cadence of Hyrule works! It really works. And you should play the hell out of it.

DOOM rules. This is known.

Playing DOOM on the Nintendo Switch also rules. Sure, it’s a little compromised compared to the versions you might play on the PS4, Xbox One or on a decently specced-up PC…

But yeah, good luck lugging one of those on the train.

Stardew Valley is the perfect example of why the Nintendo Switch is a game-changing device. 

Here is a game that is perfectly good on all the platforms it’s currently available on (PC, Xbox One, Vita, PS4) but on the Switch it’s just elevated. 

The traditional words used to describe Dead Cells are “roguelike” and “metroidvania”. Both common genres, but Dead Cells is a game with a unique conceit: you will play, you will die. But in Dead Cells you get to keep your upgrades and then restart with those upgrades, meaning you slowly progress through the game more easily as you play. Very cool.

A very good turn-based strategy game by the creators of Faster Than Light. An intricate, intelligent creation that demands problem solving from the player in interesting ways.

A quirky 2D slasher game with a retro aesthetic. But here’s the twist: The Messenger begins as a simple hack and slash game in the 8-bit style, but later you get to travel to the future, where the game evolves into a 16-bit style metroidvania.

Very meta.

Mario is pretty good at sport. As is Nintendo when it puts its mind to it. Mario Tennis Aces gives us what we haven’t had for a remarkably long time — a good tennis game.

Gorogoa is unlike any video game you’ve ever played. 

It’s a puzzle game… I guess. But it’s really a game about exploring a strange universe in ways you can’t really predict. 

A couple of warnings: Gorogoa is pretty short and I think it might play better on an iPad, but it’s such a unique, compelling and seamless experience on any platform.

Find a way to play this video game.

Who wouldn’t want to play one of the best video games ever made on public transport?

Dark Souls isn’t perfect on the Nintendo Switch and, at this point, you could make a strong argument the best version is the remastered version on the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X. That being said, you can’t play either of those on the toilet.

Check and mate. 

Arms is motion-controlled game that’s like boxing. Except you have big stretchy robot arms and everyone has special powers. Obviously.

Which is to say Arms is a very Nintendo-esque version of boxing.

It’s also extremely inventive and surprisingly in-depth. There’s layers to Arms and a genuine strategic element. It’s not perfect, but Arms is bizarre, inventive and a lot of fun.

Tetris 99 sounds like it came from the pages of The Onion. Battle Royale has become so dominant as a genre that even Tetris is Battle Royale now.

But here’s the crazy thing: Tetris 99 works. This game works. It’s a lot of fun and you should play it.

Football.

With cars. 

Car football.

On the Nintendo Switch.

Rocket League is awesome. You know this.

Sonic Mania is just…

[chef kissy fingers]

I mean imagine being an adult, growing up with Sonic. They announce a new game and you expect it to be bad because Sonic has been bad for like 20 years.

Then they drop Sonic Mania. A game that takes everything good about Sonic, preserves it, and then updates it perfectly in a seamless modern interpretation that has no right being this good.

You know when you’re playing a video game and you’re like, “man this story is really interesting and well written…

“For a video game.”

Golf Story takes the 16-bit JRPGs you loved back in the SNES days and adds uh… Golf.

Yes. The sport of golf. 

And somehow it all works. Golf Story is the world’s craziest elevator pitch perfectly executed. The golf works, the RPG works, the story is fun. Great little video game.

The creators of Thumper call it “rhythm violence”. Goddamn.

It makes sense. Calling Thumper a “rhythm” game just doesn’t cut it. It’s more than that. It’s just a pure, visceral experience that connects music to action in the most compelling ways. It’s brutal. It’s earth-shaking and just flat out cool.

Like Mario Kart 8, Stardew Valley and Oxenfree, Bayonetta 2 is an old video game repurposed for the Nintendo Switch.

Bayonetta 2 originally came out on the Wii U, a console that struggled.  Therefore Bayonetta 2 struggled.

Thankfully it’s getting a second run on the Switch. Which is great, because Bayonetta 2 is an under-appreciated masterpiece. Get on it.

It’s not the best Mario game on the Switch, but it’s still worth buying. Particularly if you’re looking for a solid multiplayer experience.

Just be slightly wary of some slightly weird jumping mechanics.

Baba Is You is a puzzle game that will break every part of your brain. It’s a puzzle game that forces you to literally rewrite the rules of the game in order to complete tasks.

If that sounds complicated it’s because it is complicated. In a good way.

It’s also the kind of game that will haunt you, sort of like The Witness. You will be thinking about puzzles while you do the dishes, while you’re driving the car. You’ll scream EUREKA. Then maybe break a dish or crash your car.

This game is dangerous for your health.