5. Monster Hunter Rise (Switch)

New mechanics, monsters and a gorgeous setting make Monster Hunter Rise a new high-water mark for the franchise. The Wirebug, Switch Skills, Palamute and carefully thought-out monsters shake things up enough to make the game feel fresh for hunters who have previously spent thousands of hours with the series, and while the package could be slightly intimidating for newcomers, it's arguably the ideal place to get started if you're serious about getting into the franchise. And, with a peerless four-player multiplayer experience, the Rampage quests are a blast. Monster Hunter Rise is one of the strongest entries into the franchise to date, and another stone-cold classic for the Nintendo Switch.

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4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD (Switch)

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD introduces a raft of technical improvements and quality of life updates that reinvigorate and revitalise this ten-year-old game. With motion controls more precise than ever before, an alternate button control scheme that actually works, crisp HD graphics, smooth 60fps gameplay and a bothersome sidekick who's been streamlined into something altogether more useful, this really does feel like Skyward Sword as it was meant to be experienced. Yes, the locking off of instant travel behind the official amiibo is a misstep, but beyond this one issue what's here is a sublime experience, a technical triumph and an absolute must-play for Switch owners and Zelda fans.

3. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Switch)

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is two brilliant games for the price of one, and it not only gives us more of what we love, but gives us something that is visually, narratively, and historically deeper than ever before. There's a bit of a learning curve that you'll have to get on top of to meet the game where it's at, but honestly, we couldn't have asked for a better version of the game we've been wanting for years.

2. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Switch)

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury takes everything that made the cat-filled Wii U original special and throws in various small gameplay tweaks to make it even more enjoyable. As the only four-player 3D Mario game, it fuses the freedom of the third dimension with the spirit of the tighter, more constrained (yet no less imaginative) courses from his 2D games to wonderful effect. Super Mario 3D World is a colourful and unintimidating introduction to a larger Super Mario world, and a joy for veterans of the Z-axis to boot.

The original game is sublime in its own right, but the additional open-world-y Bowser's Fury mode packaged with the Switch version makes this an essential purchase even if you 100%-ed the game on Wii U. The only real mark against the awkwardly acronym-ed SM3DW+BF is patchy online multiplayer implementation, but this Switch release is otherwise up there with the very best of the plumber's ouevre. Dog lovers should probably steer clear; everyone else, jump to it.

1. Metroid Dread (Switch)

Metroid Dread is a triumphant return for both Samus Aran and developer MercurySteam. This is a super-slick, hugely entertaining and exquisitely designed entry in the Metroid franchise that plays better than anything we've seen from the series so far. With a bunch of fantastic new abilities, super tense and enjoyable stealth sections, plenty of great big boss fights and a story that fans will definitely enjoy, we can't really see how this one could have been improved.

Best Metroid game ever? There'll likely be calls of recency bias until the hype settles in a year or two (probably around the release of Metroid Prime 4, in fact), but there's a very strong argument that 2D Metroid has never been better.

Some absolute gems just missed out on the top 10 by a point or two, including Shin Megami Tensei V, Tetris Effect: Connected, NEO: The World Ends With You, Disco Elysium: The Final Cut and No More Heroes III.

Surprised by our favourites? Surely not! Let us know how wrong we are below and let us know your own choices down in the comments! And remember to check out our reader-ranked Top 50 Best Switch Games of 2021, too.