Yet another month of very decent Switch eShop releases has flown on by, so it's time once again to bring out the trusty Nintendo Life eShop Selects!
These awards aim to celebrate the best of Nintendo's digital store, giving some love and attention to the games that could so easily be missed in the Switch's ever-growing library.
So, let's get started. Here are the best Switch eShop games of November 2021!
Honourable Mentions:
While these titles didn't quite make our top three this month, they're still certainly worth checking out:
- Clockwork Aquario | Review: 9/10
- A Boy and His Blob | Review: 8/10
- Gynoug | Review: 8/10
- Circa Infinity | Review: 8/10
- Klang 2 | Review: 7/10
- Airborne Kingdom | Review: 7/10
- STAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic | Review: 7/10
- Tunche | Review: 7/10
- The Legend of Tianding | Review: 7/10
3. Unpacking (Switch eShop)
In third place this month we have Unpacking, a charming little game that has you, well, unpacking boxes in someone's home.
Boasting excellent visual and sound design and powerful storytelling, the game essentially has you building each scene yourself; in our review, we said that "it provides the creative play space of a great dollhouse game, and it deftly applies established game design ideas from completely different genres."
If you're in the market for something a little more chill and like what you see in our review, we'd urge you to give this one a go.
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2. Ruined King: A League of Legends Story (Switch eShop)
Jumping up to second place, we have Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, a spectacular JRPG that should be a good match for anyone remotely interested in the genre.
The game's well-designed battle system, which we described as being "one of the finest we’ve encountered in a turn-based RPG in a long time" in our review, its fantastic cast of characters, and its super-generous character customisation options have left plenty of Team NL more than satisfied this month.
Trust us when we say that this isn't just a cheap League spin-off, but rather a very worthy RPG that's perhaps one of the more surprising must-have releases of the year.
1. Death's Door (Switch eShop)
So, that just leaves this month's winner: the fantastic Death's Door.
You may well have heard of this one before (it's been available on other platforms for some time and has been impressing pretty much everyone ever since), and for good reason – it's a modern classic.
One best suited to fans of Zelda or Soulslike games, Death's Door won us over with its snappy combat, rewarding exploration, relaxing music, and the way it manages to utilise old gameplay ideas in a new setting, making for a short and sweet experience you won’t want to miss. It takes a lot to stand out in the overcrowded Zelda-like action-adventure genre, but here we are with a title truly worth your time.
If you have the funds for just one eShop game this month, you can't go wrong with this one.
< Nintendo Life eShop Selects - October 2021
How we decide our eShop Selects top three: As we reach the end of every month, the Nintendo Life staff vote on their favourite titles from a list of games selected by the editorial team. To qualify for this list, these games must have been released as a digital-only Nintendo Switch eShop title in that particular month, and must have been reviewed on Nintendo Life; we select the qualifying games based on their review scores.
Staff are then asked to vote for three games that they think deserve to sit right at the very top of that list; first choice gets 3 points, second choice gets 2 points, and third choice gets 1 point. These votes are then tallied to create a top three list, with the overall winner taking that month's top prize.
Comments 26
Don't think I've bought any eShop games that came out last month yet. Death's Door and Unpacking are on my wish list but I'm going to wait for a sale.
How bad is it that the only game here I'm even remotely interested in is 30 years old? Gynoug - quality lasts forever.
A lot of low cards in that hand
Man, I was really stoked for Death’s Door but after a few hours I had to put it down. The lack of a map started as a mild frustration but then it just became a complete annoyance. Pretty game though.🤷🏼♂️
What?!? No GTA Trilogy?!?
I bought N++ on sale and have been playing it ever since. So much content, amazed I hadn't heard of it before.
Deaths Door and the League spinoff will be added to my wishlist. This month, I picked up some older games on sale, namely Hob and Pillars of Eternity. Hob, so far, is excellent - best couple bucks I've spent on the eShop this year for sure.
You can run from BDSP being great, but you can’t hide
Clockwork Aquario isn't even out yet at least in North America though I am interested in that one.
I haven't played any on this list, but my favorite Indie eshop game for the month was Amazing Princess Sarah, which is a slightly silly but fun and addictive action platformer. It got a bad rep for some reason because of the extremely pixelated cleavage (gasp.. that's like PG almost), although I notice Gynoug is on this list which seems to enjoy going full-shirtless.
@GhostGeneration Felt the same way. It’s a good game still, but there’s some annoyances that make me question all the GOTY and 10/10 style comments for the game. I’d say it’s probably an 8/10-ish game. Haven’t quite finished it, but I’m about 2/3rds through.
My vote this month is for Clockwork Aquario. While it isn’t out in North America yet, based on everything I’ve seen, it’s probably going to end up my favorite game in the list.
@Milton_Burle N++ I believe is one of the titles that really launched the indie gaming scene.
@somnambulance Yeah, I want to love it but I’m just not feeling it.☹️
Death’s Door is not only my indie game of the month, but also my overall Game of the Year, just edging out Metroid Dread. It really is that good. In fact, it’s the best Switch game I’ve played since the Link’s Awakening remake.
@GhostGeneration I also bemoaned the lack of a map in the first couple hours, but the levels are so intimate and well designed, I really didn’t need one in the end. I usually have a terrible sense of direction, so, for me, that’s really saying something.
@Milton_Burle
The N/N+/N++ series is extraordinary. It's platforming at its absolute finest.
I'm glad you're enjoying it, too!
@The_Pixel_King I may dive back in sometime soon, I’m pretty deep into Archvale right now so I’m not too fussed!
@Milton_Burle
How much did you get it for?
A Boy and his blob.
What's not to love.
It has a hug button and we all need a hug.
Spam that hug button.
I bought Gynoug and Star Wars but haven’t played either yet.
Bring back Box Art Brawl.
Sakura Succubus was the only digital only game I bought in November
@BaronMunchausen it (N++) was £6.74. For the amount of levels and modes and even a stage creator that felt like a bargain. My 4 year old son likes the game too; he finds it hilarious running away from the missiles.
KotOR is the best 7/10 of the year. Sometimes, a 7/10 game can be more enjoyable than another 8/10 or 9/10 - and I don’t even necessarily think that’s a contradiction in terms. A game can be flawed (or in this case showing its age), but still be lifted by good writing or a unique gameplay aspect or something.
Also, just because one reviewer on this site gave it 7/10 doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t give it a 9.
@Milton_Burle
Thanks for the reply.
Shin Megami Tensei V is the obvious answer.
Oh, I guess it has to be Digital-only to make the list. I don't think I grabbed any Digital-only games this month (have some in my wishlist waiting for a sale).
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