Poll: What's Your Switch 2 Game Of The Year So Far?

We're almost halfway through the year, and it feels like Switch 2 shifted up a gear in the games department.

While Nintendo has been cranking out its first-party offerings at the regular monthly cadence, third parties have been putting out brilliant games, too, including impressive ports and day-and-date cross-platform releases. Capcom, in particular, has had a hell of a 2026, and we're only six months in.

Now that the year's loading bar is (almost) at 50%, let's round up Team NL and find out their standout games so far - and the games they've got lined up in their respective catch-up queues in the coming months...

Best Games of 2026 So Far - Nintendo Life

Oh, Jimmy... (Alana Hagues, deputy editor)

By the time you're reading this, my daughter will be here, (hopefully) fast asleep and dreaming of all things lovely. So when I think about 2026 so far, I think about her, and I think about Pokopia. Everyone loves Pokopia. I've kept coming back to it in the months since I reviewed it and I love it a little bit more every time, despite my gripes with the controls and the grind at the end. This will be the game at the top of my playtime this year, I think.

But, in reality, the best game I played in 2026 actually came out in 2018 elsewhere: Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass. A hard recommendation, but one of the most poignant RPGs I've ever played, where everything has a purpose. I've cried a lot this year, but nothing has made me blub quite like Jimmy's adventures in his dream world.

Catch-up queue: Psst, ask me about The Adventures of Elliot and Mina the Hollower when I'm less sleep-deprived.

Belongs in a museum (Gavin Lane, editor)

Pragmata might have been top so far if I'd managed to put in more than a few hours, but this little Indy game arrived and took over my life. I've been one long grin throughout the whole thing, and I'm itching to go back to hoover up all the artefacts I missed and dive into the DLC.

I added my Second Opinion to Ken's review, so I won't repeat myself here. Suffice it to say that Machine Games crafted a stunningly authentic Indy adventure, and the Switch 2 port gets the job done in a manner befitting Dr. Jones himself. Marvellous.

Catch-up queue: RE9, Mina, Mixtape, Sektori

Doff your Cap (Gonçalo Lopes, contributor)

Right, there is absolutely no way anyone reading this won’t consider me a fanboy of one certain developer that has surprised me with the insane amounts of Switch 2 output in the first half of this year. Buckle up, this one has been (so far!) all about Capsule computers.

It has been quite a while since I played the latest Resident Evil entry on release day and even further back on Nintendo hardware. But that all changed when a nothing short of miraculous Resident Evil Requiem version released in the final days of February. Nothing else needs to be written; I believe it will be a strong GOTY contender.

Then it was time for a JRPG in March, and the very best entry in the series so far: Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is a game I will need to find the time to properly complete, but the time I spent playing it was enough to capture my attention.

After that came April and I became the foster parent of a little android girl called Diana. There was so little revealed about Pragmata right until it was released and it even ran great on the Switch 2, making up for a surprisingly amazing sci-fi experience.

Okay, these are all multiplatform games, but it can’t be ignored that Capcom has been on fire this first half of the year and it isn’t slowing down anytime soon. But Nintendo has not been exactly sleeping on the job: Star Fox is on the way as I write this, and that one has some serious potential to be my personal GOTY.

Hatful of Hollower (Jim Norman, features editor)

There have been so many games that could be top of my '26 list so far, and the order seems to change daily. Right now, however, Mina The Hollower takes gold.

I knew I was going to love this one from the second Yacht Club Games first mentioned it, but I wasn't prepared for just how deep this hole goes. The throwback Zelda-ness of it all absolutely scratched an itch, but those secrets! There is so much hidden under the surface in this game, and I fully intend to go back to it before the year's up to get closer to 100% completion. It takes a rather special game to make me want to do that!

Catch-up queue: Indy, Pragmata, Final Fantasy VII Remake

Still Living the Dream (Kate Gray, contributor)

There hasn't been anything to TOTALLY blow me away this year — at least, until Slay the Spire 2 comes out on the Switch — but I think it's a toss-up between Pokopia and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, and I think the latter wins out. Not because it's necessarily better (Pokopia is wonderful, and Tomodachi Life has waaayyyy less content) but because Tomodachi Life carries the spirit of Nintendo's wonderfully weird, experimental side, and that matters a lot to me. I hope that weird side keeps putting out weird games forever.

Divine Requiem (Ollie Reynolds, reviews editor)

Come on now, was it really going to be anything else? No. Resident Evil Requiem was everything I could have hoped for and more. It effortlessly blended horror and action, giving you just enough of the former before shifting gears and letting you unleash your pent-up anxiety in the most brutal ways imaginable.

Add in the small (okay, some big) doses of nostalgia, and you've got what might be my favourite RE game since 4.

I will say, though, Sektori is snapping at its heels, constantly threatening to snatch the trophy from Capcom's hands. 2026 has been cracking so far.

Catch-up queue: The Midnight Walk, Caves of Qud, Reanimal

Is it Capcom's year? (Matthew Reynolds, acting deputy editor)

Though Resident Evil has had a terrific run of form this past decade, I was a little worried about Requiem following the good but not amazing Resident Evil Village. I was delighted to discover those fears were unfounded, as Requiem is up there as one of the series’ best. New protagonist Grace making her way through the Care Center — a zombie or unspeakable horror around almost every corner — is the most I’ve been on the back foot in a Resi game in ages, while Leon’s rip-roaring segments practically pick up where RE4 left off.

The pacing could be tighter, and it’s a little too heavy on the nostalgia in parts, but what a ride this is. Between this and the also-excellent Pragmata, Capcom has already had an amazing 2026.

Catch-up queue: Mina the Hollower, Mixtape

Those are our picks, but what about yours? Pick your 2026 favourite (so far) and take to the comments to discuss games that come close and your hopes for the back half of '26.

And for a reminder of all the games we've awarded an 8/10 or higher so far in 2026, you can find that on our Reviews tab.