To commemorate this subreddit’s 1000th review, I’ve decided to do one of those “best of” lists. Because why not! Of course, anyone who looks at this subreddit’s Best of the Best lists can already see which of these games I’d rank as the cream of the crop, but beyond mere letter grades, how would I rank them in order? Well, find out!
A few notes before we begin here. Firstly, know that this is not a comprehensive list of the best games on the Nintendo Switch. Not only have I not reviewed every game on the Switch (there are currently over 4700), but I have not yet been able to play some of the more noteworthy games on the system, such as the Xenoblade games, Pokemon Sword and Shield, and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.
Also, these are my own personal choices, but of course I’m not everyone, and your own personal tastes may differ from mine. That’s cool, we’re both allowed to like different things. However, I’ll say right now that there are a lot of fan favorites that did not make this list at all. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, Dark Souls Remastered, Fortnite, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt… are all not on this list. Some of these games just did not make the cut to be in the top 100, while others were games that I simply didn’t like. I’ve leave it to you to read my reviews and figure out how I felt about a given game you felt was snubbed.
Third, know that I’m not basing this list on whether the Nintendo Switch version of the game is somehow better or unique compared to other versions. A great game is a great game, even if it’s great on other platforms too.
Fourth, this is a list about how I feel about the games I’ve played as of right now, but that’s always subject to change in the future… in fact, it changes so frequently that I ranked these games separately about a month apart and then averaged the results in case my opinions changed. Because of this, you may notice that the rankings here don’t always necessarily match up with the original letter grades I assigned to these games. Anyway, with this being the case, perhaps in the future I’ll feel differently about some of these. Who knows, maybe I’ll even make another list once I’ve reviewed 2000 games, we’ll see.
Anyway, on to the list!
100 – 81
100. Star Wars Pinball
It may seem strange to see a licensed pinball game make a Best Of list, but it shouldn’t. Star Wars Pinball is a fantastic game full of content and value, and with tons of great references throughout the franchise, and it’s a game that does right both by pinball-lovers and Star Wars fans.
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Assault Android Cactus is a fantastic Arcade-style two-Stick Shooter that is a blast to play in single and multiplayer co-op. This game was nominated for multiple awards in my 2019 Game Awards, and for good reason – it’s just an all-around fantastic action game.
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98. Valley
This First-Person Platformer has players running through areas at high speeds, defying gravity, and all around having a joy just moving around. If you always wondered what a first-person Sonic game would be like, this is probably the closest we’ve gotten to that.
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97. Wunderling
Start with a premise that has you basically playing as this universe’s version of a goomba on the hunt for this universe’s Mario. Add in cleverly-constructed auto-runner gameplay and some truly excellent level design, and cap it off with a great sense of humor that skewers Platformers like the Mario games and what you get is something truly… wunderful… sorry, had to do it.
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This game combines elements of Wave Race, F-Zero, SSX, and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit for a high-speed Racing experience that’s one of the best games in the genre on the Nintendo Switch. Do not miss it.
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95. Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
After releasing on both the Wii U and 3DS, this game comes to the Nintendo Switch and… well, it’s still a blast to play, with players plowing through hundreds of enemies on the battlefield, and even better if you can get a friend to join you for split-screen co-op. And while this game’s upcoming sequel will no doubt soon be stealing some attention away from it, the first Hyrule Warriors will remain a fantastic Action game well worth playing.
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94. My Friend Pedro
This game is bananas. Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help myself. But joking aside, this game features some crazy 2D action that’s a joy to play as you blast away goons all around you while jumping and spinning around to dodge bullets yourself. If you’re looking for a great crazy action game on the Switch, you should definitely give this game a try.
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93. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
While this game’s visuals definitely suffered some in the transition to Nintendo Switch, the game is such a brilliant Action-RPG that it’s well worth playing regardless, with some great exploration and progression elements that make it a joy to keep playing to see what new things you can find.
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This game is lower on my list than it might otherwise be thanks to its disappointingly high price, but make no mistake, two of the three games here are absolutely legendary Action-RPGs from the 16-Bit era. Oh, and also Final Fantasy Adventure is okay if you can look past its flaws. However, its two sequels are two of the best games the genre has ever seen, and if you haven’t played them yet, you owe it to yourself to try them.
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91. The Messenger
While this game starts with gameplay vaguely reminiscent of the classic Ninja Gaiden games, it gradually transforms into something else entirely, and altogether it’s a fantastic take on the Action-Platformer genre that ultimately stands on its own as a must-play title.
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This is a game that puts a fun, competitive spin on a formula like Super Mario Maker – You and your opponents are all playing in the same level, but in-between play-throughs, you’re adding new elements to the level – new platforms, obstacles, and collectible coins. The goal here is to change the level in such a way so that you can beat it but the other players can’t. I found this to be an inspired take on the genre, well worth trying out even if you already have Super Mario Maker 2.
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89. Hard West
This small indie game is an XCOM-style Strategy-RPG that I actually like more than the XCOM games, so fans of the genre should definitely take notice. This game also goes beyond the genre, introducing “Choose Your Own Adventure” elements and setting the world in a dark, supernatural version of the Wild West. This is one of my most delightful surprises on the Nintendo Switch.
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88. Sonic Mania
This is the best Sonic game ever made, full stop. I know, perhaps that’s controversial to say, but I’ll stand by it – the level design is phenomenal, the variety in the gameplay is fantastic, the boss design is excellent, and this game knows just how to play the nostalgia card without being too derivative. If you like Platformers, this game is a must-have.
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This game has been a pain to get ahold of this year, but if you can find it, it’s absolutely worth it, as it not only does a great job making exercise fun, but it really does some incredibly unique and interesting things with the Joy-Con controller.
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This small Stealth-focused Party game has a pretty lackluster presentation, but that hides some truly excellent gameplay, with players trying to blend into the crowd while also sniffing out where the other players are and being the first to accomplish their task without getting caught. Don’t let this game’s appearance fool you, this is an absolutely fun game to play in a group.
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85. Axiom Verge
The Nintendo Switch may not have its own Metroid game yet, but this could very well be the next-best thing, a game that borrows a lot of the design of the Metroid series, while bringing its own unique story and gameplay elements into it. Fans of Metroidvanias should definitely seek this game out.
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84. Ikaruga
This is still to this day the king of the Shmup genre, despite the Nintendo Switch being absolutely filled with quality entries in that genre looking to take its crown. The slick design, the great color-swapping mechanic, and the skill-based gameplay all make this a game that is still the epitome of the genre, and the Nintendo Switch release even includes a “vertical” mode when you’re playing the game undocked, so I’d argue this is the definitive version of the game.
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83. Undertale
This retro-style RPG completely rethinks the genre from multiple angles, not just the unique battle system that has you dodging enemy attacks in a shmup-style minigame, but it its story that starts out as a quirky twist on traditional fantasy RPG tropes but eventually becomes a post-modernist deconstruction of the genre… oh, and you also get to go on a date with a skeleton!
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82. Overwatch Legendary Edition
This game is better on other platforms. Not only is Nintendo Switch not ideal for online play, but the visual downgrade this game received definitely marks it as the inferior version. And even despite this, this game is an absolute blast to play on Switch, and these flaws hardly matter, with the great team-based gameplay of this game still just as fun on Switch as it is on other platforms, its fantastic characters just as memorable, and its great art style every bit as delightful to look at.
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81. Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition
Capcom’s previous releases of this series on the Nintendo Switch were both absurdly overpriced and had nothing new to justify that price, so when it came time to bring the third and possibly best game in the series to the Nintendo Switch, they actually put in a little effort, adding in a new gameplay element that lets you swap fighting styles on the fly. This is a fairly small addition that nevertheless has a huge impact on the gameplay, making this the definitive version of a magnificent Spectacle Fighter. It’s still a bit overpriced, given its age, but if you’re a fan of the genre, this game is a must-buy.
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80 – 61
80. World of Goo
I’ve loved this game ever since I played it on the Wii, and it makes the transition to the Nintendo Switch surprisingly well, letting players choose between motion controls or the touchscreen. Either way, this game still has the excellent structure-building Puzzle gameplay and the adorable presentation that was compelling all those years ago.
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79. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition
The Nintendo Switch port of this game added so much new content and new features that even a slight drop in visual quality from the PlayStation 4 version didn’t cause anyone to question that this truly was the definitive version of the game. This also makes for a perfect introduction to JRPGs for new players, as its gorgeous graphics pair with fairly simple gameplay to make it ideally-suited to bring in newcomers. Plus, the massive demo and its ability to transfer over its save to the full game make it so that everyone should really give this game a try, because what do you have to lose?
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78. Hollow Knight
I don’t doubt that this game is lower on my list than it would be on many others, and that’s because the punishing high difficulty of the game makes it harder to get into than I’d like. However, even with this complaint I can’t deny that this is an absolutely beautiful Metroidvania with a fascinating world that has a lot of personality, and fans of the genre should absolutely consider this a must-have game, so long as they enjoy a challenge.
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77. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
This Graphic Adventure combines a detective game and a court procedural drama with an outlandish story and extremely memorable characters, resulting in a fantastic, lovable, truly iconic trilogy of games that’s every bit as fantastic now as when it was originally released on the Nintendo DS.
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If you have never played Katamari Damacy, it’s time for you to correct that. Don’t even read the description, as that will just make you question this. Just trust me, it’s an absolute blast of a bizarre game that just about anyone should be able to enjoy, and it’s only $20 on the Nintendo Switch. That said, if you have played one of the games in this series, know that this is an HD-upscaled re-release of the PlayStation 2 original, and it is every bit as much fun as it was back in the day. Now go roll yourself up a star!
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It’s a toss up which I prefer between this game and the fourth game in the series, as both are fantastic on the Nintendo Switch, featuring superb XCOM-style Strategy-RPG gameplay with a cel-shaded anime style that puts the players right in the middle of the action. However, right now at this moment, I give the edge to the first game for its more memorable characters and story. However, you can’t do wrong with either game, as both are fantastic and a must-play game for fans of the genre.
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74. Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince
This game is absolutely gorgeous, featuring some of the most beautiful visuals on the Nintendo Switch, but what’s really great about this game is its excellent puzzle-Platforming gameplay that has you combining the abilities of its three central characters to get past obstacles, along with its fantastic co-op play. The other games in this series are also fantastic, but Trine 4 is definitely the best of the lot.
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This cyberpunk bartending Graphic Adventure has one of the best stories on the Nintendo Switch, prompting players to think about things like free will, happiness, and corporate power in ways that few games do. It also has a fantastic soundtrack and some really memorable characters. I feel like a lot of players missed this game when it was released, and if you’re one of those, you should definitely give it a second look.
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Sayonara Wild Hearts is a brilliant audiovisual experience that combines music, visuals, and gameplay in a way that makes the game a joyous ride to play through, with one of the best soundtracks on the Nintendo Switch.
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This trio of story-focused single-player First-Person Shooters brings players to other worlds – the underwater city of Rapture and the cloud city of Columbia, both places originally envisioned as a utopia now turned into a nightmare. However, through these games and their stories, players explore the concept of free will, of causality, and how man’s high-minded philosophical aspirations often fall prey to our greed, pride, and cruelty. Oh, and there’s also lots of fun shooting with magical science superpowers!
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70. Saint’s Row IV: Re-Elected
I know there are some people out there who were disappointed in this game for deviating from the Grand Theft Auto-esque games that preceded it, but I can’t be upset about that when the result is the best spiritual successor to the Xbox classic Crackdown that we’ve ever gotten, with players leaping around the game’s city with crazy superpowers and fighting through some absolutely ridiculous situations. What’s more, this port of the game to Switch went a lot more smoothly than the port of Saint’s Row The Third. All told, this is a magnificent Open-World Action game that you should definitely not miss out on.
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69. World of Final Fantasy Maxima
This game takes the characters of the Final Fantasy series and plops them down in a world with a presentation that bounces between Kingdom Hearts and FuncoPop, and gameplay similar to the Pokemon games. It’s an odd combination, but it works surprisingly well, and makes for one of the best Final Fantasy games on the Nintendo Switch.
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I detailed in my review how this game is a mix of things that are really good and things that are terrible. But on balance, this still contains three of the greatest 3D Platformers of all time, and Super Mario Galaxy is still in my opinion a Platformer that has yet to be beaten, and that’s not something I can dismiss just because the collection they find themselves in is lacking.
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67. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair
The original Yooka-Laylee was kinda’ a riff on Banjo-Kazooie, so it seems only fitting that its 2D sequel/spin-off would be a riff on Donkey Kong Country, what with this coming from some of the original creators of both of those games. However, while this game is clearly reaching for nostalgia, darned if it doesn’t work amazingly well, and while this game doesn’t reach quite the heights of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, it still comes close enough that fans of one should definitely play the other.
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This is a detective game with a distinctly unique, futuristic, anime-style twist. Players coordinate their investigation into a serial killer’s murders with a cybernetic eye implant that not only helps with analyzing the crime scene, but also allows the player to dive into the dreams of witnesses. This results in some unique mind-bending gameplay and a story that’s truly compelling.
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65. NeuroVoider
This game embodies some of the best parts of Roguelikes and Two-Stick Shooters, with players taking control of a robot fighting other robots and upgrading itself using the scattered parts of their enemies. The result is a game with great action and some great gameplay as you test out various parts to make the ultimate killing machine. Add in some truly superb co-op and you have a game that’s an absolute blast to play.
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64. Divinity Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition
This Western RPG has deep mechanics and an even deeper story, and makes the journey to the Nintendo Switch largely intact, dropping a little visual detail and the game’s couch co-op, but gaining cross-platform saves. If you’re looking for a fantastic story-driven RPG on the Nintendo Switch, this game should definitely be on your radar.
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63. Farm Together
I was not expecting much when I first played this game. It had the outward appearance of a microtransaction-filled cashgrab mobile port. So imagine my surprise when I found this to be an absolute joy of a game, with simple but enjoyable gameplay and an outstanding soundtrack. If you’re looking for a great casual farming game for the Nintendo Switch, you should absolutely try this game.
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The cutesy “arts and crafts” theme added to the Yoshi formula makes this game really charging right off the bat, but what really works well for this game is the great gameplay and the wide amount of variety the game presents the player with. This may be the game that’s most recommended as the best game for kids, but it’s highly enjoyable even if you’re only a kid at heart.
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61. Wandersong
My initial impression of this game wasn’t particularly kind. The art style is simple in a way that’s really unimpressive, and the story seemed childish and saccharine. However, as I played it, this game revealed it has surprising hidden depths, with its story and characters becoming one of my favorites on the Nintendo Switch. Please don’t make the same mistake I almost did at first – give this game a chance, you’ll be surprised how much it grows on you.
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60 – 41
60. Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe
This game, set in an anime world where food is serious business (think Toriko or Food Wars), with gameplay that combines an Action-Platformer with a competitive Puzzle games, and it makes for a really charming concoction that’s like nothing else out there. Only the lack of any sort of multiplayer keeps this game from reaching its full potential, but even then it’s still a truly fantastic game.
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59. Crypt of the Necrodancer: Nintendo Switch Edition
I put this one over its spin-off Cadence of Hyrule because I feel its Roguelike gameplay is a bit better-suited to its formula, but both games are fantastic games that combine top-down Dungeon Crawlers with Music-Rhythm games to make something that’s really special, and the absolutely killer soundtrack here just seals the deal.
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The Jackbox series of games are extremely casual-friendly Party games that players play not with controllers, but with their smartphones, using the phone’s screen to privately type in answers to questions and even do little doodles depending on the game. While these collections are usually pretty good, the third collection is in my opinion the best collection of these games, with even the worst of the included games still being pretty good, and the best being some of the best games they’ve had in these collections.
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57. Castlevania Anniversary Collection
This collection of classic 8-bit and 16-bit Action-Platformers includes some true greats of the genre, and what’s more, this is an excellent package that includes a huge wealth of bonus materials that makes this an all-around fantastic package that fans of great old-school games should not miss out on.
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56. Inside
This Puzzle-Platformer perfectly combines excellent puzzle design with some great atmosphere, with stylish visuals that look great on the Switch and a dark world that’s haunting and makes you really curious to learn more about it.
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55. Thumper
This is a Music-Rhythm game that’s not like other Music-Rhythm games, putting you in percussion-driven heavy metal nightmare that has you speeding along a track and moving to the beat to avoid obstacles. You’re constantly propelled forward, and much in the same way you constantly feel propelled to play just one more level.
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54. Dandy Dungeon – The Legend of Brave Yamada –
Most games have only a fraction of the personality this game has. Following the titular Yamada, a videogame programmer who dances around his apartment in his boxers and pantomimes kissing the cute next-door neighbor, you get to play through the videogame he’s creating as you see him add in elements from his life, with the game itself being a truly original combination of Puzzle and RPG elements. The game’s music is basically just him humming the game’s themes, which is just adorable. If you want to play one of the most charming games on the Nintendo Switch, you should definitely play this game.
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53. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
This is the third time Nintendo has released this game, but it’s hard to complain about that when the game is so wonderful, presenting players with platformer levels that are each like a little puzzle box that needs to be seen from all angles to be solved. This is a great game for younger and newer players too, as its slower pace and more of a focus on puzzles than skillful platforming makes it all about thinking your way through the game’s challenges.
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52. Overcooked! 2
Overcooked was already a phenomenal co-op Party Game, but its sequel adds in some new elements and support for online play. However, the gameplay is still at its core a fantastic game that’s one of the best co-op experiences on the Nintendo Switch, with players running around like crazy trying to cook up orders in increasingly bizarre restaurants. If you want a fun game to get people yelling at each other at parties, this is it.
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This game came out late in 2019, and as a result I feel like it missed a lot of the yearly awards stuff, including mine (and I did mine late specifically to avoid that). It’s a shame too, because this game is brilliant, taking the core gameplay of a game like Diablo and infusing it with Roguelike elements in a creative way that pushes you not only to keep playing “just one more” trip into the game’s dungeons, but also encouraging you to try out the different characters so you can apply their bonuses to the rest of their family. Oh, also, fantastic co-op play and a great story. If you’re a fan of Roguelikes and specifically if you enjoy games like Diablo, you need to play this game.
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I love Disgaea. I know it’s not for everyone, what with its offbeat sense of humor combined with its extremely deep and grind-heavy (in a good way!) Strategy-RPG gameplay, but for me, I could and have spent literally thousands of hours playing this series, so to see multiple games in the series come to the Nintendo Switch just fills me with joy. Of the games released to Nintendo Switch so far, Disgaea 5 is my favorite – while I hate the characters and story, I think the gameplay here is the best this series has ever been. Fans of games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem should absolutely give this game a try. Just don’t bother with the story.
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49. Steamworld Dig 2
Both of the Steamworld Dig games are fantastic Platformers with some elements of Metroidvanias, but Steamworld Dig 2 builds on the formula from the first game to be something even better. While not quite as open and ambitious as a game like Terraria, Steamworld Dig 2 is a good deal more structured, and features a fantastic world to explore.
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48. Baba is You
Baba is You is a game that completely rethinks how videogames work, and makes you the player do the same. When your character is literally pushing around the words that form the rules of how everything works, it puts this game in a realm of post-modernist design that’s like nothing else out there, and Puzzle game fans looking for something that truly makes them think outside the box, this is it.
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47. X-Morph Defense
The Nintendo Switch has a lot of Tower Defense games, and honestly there are times when I feel kinda’ sick of reviewing them. But every now and then one comes along that truly spins the genre on its head, and X-Morph Defense does this in multiple ways, first by making the towers form a fence that lets you choose the route enemies will take, but second by letting you fly around and shoot enemies directly with two-stick shooter gameplay. The result is a game with a lot of elements that are all really inspired in themselves, but work amazing together.
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46. Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection
I am not a huge fan of the Assassin’s Creed series, and after having a somewhat lukewarm response to Assassin’s Creed III, I didn’t have high expectations for this follow-up. So imagine my surprise when I hopped into the first of the two games in this compilation, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and was absolutely thrilled with it, in all its piratey goodness. Oh, and Assassin’s Creed: Rogue, also included here, is pretty good too! And these are also pretty good ports, as well! And as if you needed more reason to try this, these games start after the end of a previous arc, making this a perfect place to jump into the series. However, I’ll just end this comment by saying that this collection contains what I feel to be the greatest pirate videogame ever made, and if that doesn’t pique your interest, I don’t know what will.
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I have never watched a single episode of any Dragon Ball show. So that should make it clear that when I say that Dragon Ball FighterZ is the absolute best traditional-style Fighting game on the Nintendo Switch, I’m not just saying that because I’ve got Goku on the brain. This game does a magnificent job of imitating the style of the show with some amazing visuals that blur the line between hand-drawn visuals and cel-shaded graphics, and has fast-paced gameplay that’s comparable to the Marvel Vs. Capcom series. A lot of really great elements are being done at the top of their game here, and oh yeah, it’s also got the Dragon Ball license for those people who care about that.
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44. Stardew Valley
For all the times the Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons twin franchises have tried to strike gold with the “Farming RPG” genre, neither of them have managed to capture that magic the way that Stardew Valley did. This game really does a magnificent job encapsulating the joy of building up your own little rural farm, making friends and relationships with the locals, partaking in calendar events, exploring the area… there’s a lot of variety here, all of it is done well, and all encapsulated in this nostalgic presentation that makes it a wonderful, relaxing time.
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43. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
Final Fantasy X is not my favorite Final Fantasy (that would either be VI or Tactics), but it is the one game in the series I would point to as being the best overall game in the series, combining excellent story and characters, incredible music, and modern visuals that have been improved in this release. Oh, and this release also has Final Fantasy X-2, which is… also here. So anyway, Final Fantasy X is one of the greatest JRPGs of all-time, and if you are a fan of the genre and haven’t played it yet, you need to remedy that, pronto.
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This reworked version of the original Lumines gives us the best version of this classic Falling Block Puzzle game, and it’s only fitting that it would once again find itself on a portable platform, where it always worked best. If you’re looking for a Tetris-like game to bring with you on the go, this is the game to get.
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41. Dead Cells
This game does a delightful job combining the Roguelike genre with a challenging Action-Platformer with a fantastic combat system and a world that has the same sort of compelling dark presentation as games like Dark Souls, resulting in something that’s truly fantastic in its own right.
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40 – 21
40. Superhot
This game’s inspired “Time moves when you move” mechanic turns what was already an excellent, stylish First-Person Shooter into a unique Puzzle game that has you taking your time figuring out how to take down your enemies without getting hit. Add to that a creepy story about a videogame that plays you and you have a truly memorable experience.
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39. Rocket League
While this game recently went free-to-play, it was so good that it was well worth paying for, and has lost nothing in the transition to free (other than a bug that broke the game’s local multiplayer, which will hopefully be fixed soon), and it has in turn gained an even larger audience. And to be clear, we are still talking about a game that boils down to “cars playing soccer”, but don’t let that silly concept dissuade you from giving this a try, as it is an absolute blast to play.
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38. Minecraft
This is a game that would be much higher on the list if it wasn’t so janky. I’ve been frustrated so much by how broken this game can be sometimes. I even re-reviewed the game to incorporate these frustrations into the review. And yet, despite this, it is still unquestionably one of the best games of the last generation or two, with endless worlds to explore, unlimited powers of creation, and a lot of fun multiplayer potential, just to name a few of its biggest features. If you haven’t played this game yet… where have you been?
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37. Alien: Isolation
This is one of the greatest Horror games of the current generation, following in the footsteps of the first Alien film both in its story and in its tone, but what’s really surprising is that the Nintendo Switch version is arguably the best version of the game, thanks to some truly great optimization techniques that enhance the already-fantastic visuals. If you want to be terrified by a game on your Nintendo Switch, this is as good as it gets.
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36. Deemo
Deemo is the first of three games published by Flyhighworks that I consider to be the absolute best Music-Rhythm games on the Nintendo Switch, and I list it first because its focus on piano music does limit the musical variety here, and it’s also much better in handheld mode using a touchscreen than it is in docked mode using a standard controller. However, while these do make it land slightly under my other two recommendations, it is still a magnificent music-rhythm game that does a better job than any game I’ve ever played of replicating the feeling of playing a piano through its gameplay. If you’re a fan of music-rhythm games and especially if you enjoy the piano, and you play your Nintendo Switch in portable mode, consider this game a must-have.
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35. Cytus α
The second of Flyhighworks’ trio of fantastic music-rhythm games, Cytus α is the one out of the three that plays well both in handheld mode using the touchscreen and in docked mode using standard controls, with gameplay that’s reminiscent of the classic Elite Beat Agents and its predecessor Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan. If you want an incredible music-rhythm game to play on your Switch while docked, this is the one to get… although it is every bit as compelling in handheld mode too.
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34. Voez
Of all of the trio of Flyhighworks’ excellent music-rhythm games, the one that ultimately made the biggest impression on me was Voez, thanks to its amazing music, fun presentation, and playful gameplay that has the notes you’re tapping moving around on-screen. This is a game that really needs to be played using the touchscreen to get the most out of it, but if you can, you’ll find it is an absolutely unparalleled Music-Rhythm experience.
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This game combines the Metroidvania and, surprisingly, Pinball genres for something truly unique that’s also one of the most joyful videogames I’ve ever played. If you’re looking for a good Metroidvania to introduce you to the genre, this is a great place to start, and even if you’re an expert at the genre, it’s well worth playing.
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32. Moonlighter
This game combines a solid Action-RPG Roguelike with a fun shop management sim, resulting in a game split into two wonderful halves where each half perfectly supports the other. If either of those halves appeals to you, you should definitely give this game a try.
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31. Slay the Spire
I like card games, RPGs, and Roguelikes, but I never thought that a combination of the above could suck me in like Slay the Spire does. This game offers some really well-rounded gameplay that makes for a lot of possible options that makes each trip up the spire a chance to make a truly killer deck, and that prospect makes this a game that’s always tempting to come back to.
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I’ll get this out of the way now – yes, the online multiplayer in this game is broken. But that major flaw aside, this is a fantastic game builder for those looking to use it as a creation tool, and a fantastic Platformer for those who just want to play, with the latter having access to a potentially limitless amount of levels to play through. Regardless of which way you come at it, Super Mario Maker 2 has a lot to offer.
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29. The Talos Principle: Deluxe Edition
This game is Portal’s more thoughtful, contemplative sibling, solving puzzles while contemplating philosophy, artificial intelligence, and existentialism. If you’re looking for a slower-paced and more thoughtful game to play on your Nintendo Switch, this is definitely one worth considering.
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28. Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition
Silly title aside, this is an outstanding Metroidvania with a great combat system, where the fighting moves are incorporated into your mobility, getting players to think how they fight and move while dodging enemies. It’s also a nice-looking game with a great soundtrack and fantastic sense of humor.
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27. Fast RMX
While it’s a bit depressing that Nintendo has long abandoned its F-Zero franchise, Fast RMX makes for a superb replacement in its absence, bringing the same sort of futuristic look and tone and the same blazingly-fast speeds. If you’re looking for a challenging, fast-paced racing game, this is the one to get on the Nintendo Switch.
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This game is visually stunning, with some of the best animation ever to be seen in a videogame, but that’s on top of some fantastic gameplay that has you exploring a fascinating mansion hotel with some clever puzzles that have you making good use of your vacuum cleaner poltergust. Luigi may constantly be seen as second banana to his more-famous brother, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this is a game to skip.
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25. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Not only is this game one of the most visually-stunning Nintendo Switch games ever made, but it also features one of the best stories on the Nintendo Switch, with a truly engrossing presentation that brings you into the madness of its central character, with some of the best sound design in any videogame I have ever played.
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24. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
While this sequel had a few minor technical issues on the Nintendo Switch that left me feeling a little less impressed with it than I was with the first game, it is nevertheless an absolutely gorgeous game that does a fantastic job building on the foundation laid down by Ori and the Blind Forest, with a more ambitious scope, incredible music, great lighting effects, and a gorgeous world that’s a joy to explore. If you enjoyed the first game, its sequel is an absolute must.
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It’s a mistake to dismiss this game as just being “a Minecraft clone” as I’m sure it’s tempting to do, because its strong narrative campaign and focus on its RPG elements makes it a fairly unique game that stands on its own and it extremely compelling.
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Square Enix have done something truly wonderful in this game that recaptures the magic of old-school 16-bit JRPGs while giving them a whole new presentation that draws me in even further, with some truly memorable characters and a lot of variety in the gameplay that feels like it embodies the best of what the genre has to offer.
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For its Switch entry in the Fire Emblem series, Nintendo not only reformulated its already-excellent Turn-Based Strategy gameplay, but surrounded it with a deep, intricate, story-based character connection system with a school setting that made it feel a bit like an interesting blend of Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. If you’re looking for a deep game that will take you potentially hundreds of hours to play through each of its multiple campaigns, this is absolutely a game you want on your Nintendo Switch
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20. Wargroove
I named this eShopperReviews’ 2019 Nintendo Switch Game of the Year, and for good reason – not only is this an outstanding Strategy game that honors the Advance Wars series that inspired it with phenomenal gameplay and a great presentation, but it also includes a potentially limitless amount of content with the ability to create and share not only your own maps and challenges, but whole campaigns and stories, with a wealth of these available to download online. The result is a game that is in many ways better than Advance Wars ever was, and it’s rare that anyone ever one-ups Nintendo at their own game.
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19. Hades
I admit that I’m not the biggest fan of Supergiant’s games. I honestly thought Bastion was a bit overrated, and while I thoroughly enjoyed Transistor, it didn’t quite grab me like I wanted it to. Hades, on the other hand, drew me in further the more I played it, with each unsuccessful escape attempt from the underworld followed by “just one more”, with the fantastic combat interspersed with some truly excellent character-driven story told in small snippets throughout the game. This game is one of my biggest surprises of 2020, and I’m still absolutely thrilled to take just one more trip into hell.
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18. Splatoon 2
Nintendo’s second entry in its unique Third-Person Shooter series is more of a refinement of what was in the original than a true revolution, but even so this remains an extremely fun, colorful, engaging fast-paced team-based action game that makes good use of its unique mechanics to deliver a truly memorable experience.
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17. Gris
I tend to think of Gris as less of a game and more of an abstract emotional experience. While it’s technically a Puzzle-Platformer, what it really ends up being is an exploration of an emotional journey, one explored not through words but through color and song, featuring an incredible soundtrack that delivers on the emotions this game conveys. Don’t play this game if you want a challenge, play it if you want an experience.
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16. Towerfall
While Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart are unquestionably the games that get all the attention when it comes to great multiplayer throwdowns on the Nintendo Switch, I would argue that this indie game is every bit as deserving, with gameplay that has made for incredibly fun competitions that have lasted hours as up to six players (a Nintendo Switch-exclusive feature) all compete to try to be the last one standing while shooting each other up with arrows and avoiding traps. This game absolutely needs to be in your multiplayer rotation.
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15. Mega Man Legacy Collection
My first-ever Nintendo game was Mega Man 3 (well, also Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt of course, but that came with the system), and there’s good reason for that – it is one of the finest Action-Platformers ever made, and that is just one of six absolutely incredible games in this collection. While some of these games are damn difficult, they remain some of the most memorable, iconic, enjoyable games the genre has ever seen, and $15 is an incredibly good price for the lot of them, especially with a ton of extra content.
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14. Mega Man X Legacy Collection
And after six of the best games in the original Mega Man series, what better to follow it up with than the four best games in the Mega Man X series? I would argue that these games are the peak of what the Mega Man franchise has ever produced, with a perfect balance of great gameplay, challenge that’s tough but not punishingly so, some great levels to explore. Plus, this compilation includes a ton of great bonus content as well, including a half-hour anime that leads into the first game. It’s a pity the Mega Man X series went so sharply downhill after this, but I suppose that makes it all the easier to just get this collection and avoid the bad games in the series. And you really should, because these games are phenomenal.
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13. Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Shovel Knight was an amazing experiment in capturing and distilling nostalgia, with gameplay and a presentation that embodied the best parts of classic 8-bit games while being wholly its own new thing. However, then the game’s creators went above and beyond with this package, that includes a whole slew of other games that mix up that formula with completely reworked gameplay based on different move sets for the various characters in the franchise. The result is a package with a ton of fun and varied gameplay that is a must-have for anyone looking to enjoy the magic of the golden age of videogames all over again.
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12. Astral Chain
Platinum is known for making the absolute best Spectacle Fighters, as well as investing them with truly unique and memorable mechanics, but even knowing that I don’t think anyone could have predicted how unique and amazing this game would be, with gameplay that’s nothing like anything else out there, having you control two connected characters at a time and coordinate their abilities to fight, with these sections interspersed with some interesting story and investigation sections that are surprisingly just as engaging as the great combat. The result is a truly inspired game that truly stands on its own and needs to be experienced to know what it’s like.
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11. Bayonetta 2
And just after I mention one great Platinum-developed action game, it’s time to talk about another. I consider the Bayonetta games to be damn near perfect Spectacle Fighters, with gameplay that rewards good timing and creative use of attacks. And where some might consider Bayonetta 2 to be “just more Bayonetta”, I see it as a refinement of what was already close to perfection, with better visuals, more impressive setpiece battles, and a more visually-striking world to fight through. If you want great action on the Nintendo Switch, you need to get this game.
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10. Borderlands Legendary Collection
I have long been a fan of this series, which I see as one of the two best co-op series of all time (the other one I’ll mention a little bit farther down the list). Whether you’re online or using a split-screen, Borderlands delivers the classic loot-collecting mechanic in a fantastic First-Person Shooter that’s absolutely loaded with personality, and this collection of the first three games in the series is an outstanding port and a fantastic bargain for the ability to play these games on the go.
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9. Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition
Ori and the Blind Forest is one of the most deeply beautiful games I have ever played, with stunning visuals and a gorgeous soundtrack, and it’s also an incredibly good Metroidvania, with a focus on some phenomenal platforming thanks to fun moves like the “bash” move that propels you around using enemies and their projectiles. This game was an absolute joy on the Xbox One, and it somehow manages to be even better on the Nintendo Switch thanks to improved visuals. Plus, despite being one of my top ten, it’s only $20, which is an absolute steal for such a magnificent, must-have game.
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8. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Retro’s Donkey Kong Country Returns series channels the spirit of the original Donkey Kong Country games while bringing to them some beautiful graphics and some of the best level design that’s ever been seen in a 2D Platformer, and Tropical Freeze may very well be the greatest traditional 2D Platformer ever made. It’s a difficult game, but it’s nevertheless a joy to play through, and anyone who enjoys a good Platformer should absolutely consider this a must-have.
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7. Diablo III Eternal Collection
This is one of two games I consider to be the best co-op games of all time (the other one I mentioned just a few entries back), with great multiplayer gameplay whether you’re in person or online. This game has come a long ways from its infamously problematic launch, and it now exists as arguably the pinnacle of this sort of action-RPG, with tons of loot to collect, hordes of enemies to fight, and an all-around fantastic time to be had. And what’s more, this excellent port loses very little from other versions of the game, and the added portability of the Nintendo Switch makes this what I would argue as the definitive version of the game.
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6. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Wow, 2020 has been a terrible year, hasn’t it? So it’s some stroke of luck that just when the year was starting to turn sour, Nintendo brought us the perfect island getaway – a relaxing, peaceful game that served as an ideal escape from the horrors of reality. However, even beyond being the perfect game at the right time, Animal Crossing is also the best game in the series, going far beyond its predecessors to give players the freedom to customize not just their home but their whole island however they wanted. For the longest time, I would play this game every day, and while I no longer hide inside my island to escape reality, I still have fond memories of my time spent there.
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I don’t think the Nintendo Switch version of Skyrim is the best version of the game – the mod support and improved visuals in other versions mark those versions as superior (though the gyroscopic motion controls in the Nintendo Switch version are a great addition). However, it hardly matters, as Skyrim is still probably my second-favorite game of all time, and it shines brilliantly on the Nintendo Switch, featuring a massive world to explore, tons of things to do, epic battles, and all of them a joy to play on the go. I’ve played hundreds, maybe even thousands of hours of this game on various platforms, and I have little doubt that I could play another thousand on the Nintendo Switch if I let myself.
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I still maintain that I think Super Mario Galaxy is a better game than this one, although only just slightly – Super Mario Odyssey is a truly incredible entry in the series that brings these games back to their focus on exploration, and filling the worlds within it with tons of things to see and do. And while Cappy’s “body snatchers” gameplay may not be quite as inspired as Galaxy’s gravity-defying antics, it nevertheless makes for some truly memorable moments, such as taking control of a tyrannosaurus rex, or the game’s epic finale. Definitely a game that’s not to be missed.
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I absolutely love the Super Smash Bros. Series. It’s why I bought a Wii U, and it’s why I bought a Nintendo Switch. However, this time around, they really outdid themselves with “Everybody is here!”, including every fighter the series has ever had, while adding in a bunch on top of that, including most of the stages from throughout the series, a damn good stage builder, a decent campaign mode, over one thousand original and remixed music tracks, online play that… technically works… okay, not everything about this game is perfect, but it is so jam-packed with content that it’s hard not to see this as, true to the name, the ultimate expression of what this series is about.
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When Mario Kart 8 released on the Wii U, it was nearly a perfect kart racing game. If only they hadn’t messed up the Battle Mode, it would have been by far the best game the series and the genre had ever seen in every way. With the release on Nintendo Switch, they corrected this error, resulting in a game that ticks every box perfectly. It’s visually gorgeous, filled with tons of tracks and characters, has deep and rewarding gameplay, is extremely accessible, great for multiplayer… if there’s one game I can recommend to every Nintendo Switch owner, it’s this one.
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1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
I know, it’s not any great shocker that this game would top a list of the best games on the Nintendo Switch, but in my opinion all of the praise this game has garnered is well-deserved. Nintendo did something really risky here and abandoned much of the traditional Zelda formula in favor of making their own take on the open-world genre, and the result was something phenomenal that utilized the genre in ways that emphasized its greatest strengths, creating a sublime gameplay loop of exploration, traversal, and empowerment that has all of the game’s best parts feeding into themselves. While no game is perfect and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is absolutely not without flaw, it is not only an absolute joy to play, but it pushes the boundaries of open-world games, creating a beautiful, massive world to explore, and one of the most unforgettable experiences on the Nintendo Switch.
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