Hades (Switch eShop)
You know all about Hades — it's been everywhere over the past year, and with good reason. Supergiant Games made a title so good that the term 'roguelike' is used fondly and without a roll of the eyes, and it just so happens to have an art style and rich colour palette designed to look deep and fantastical. A brilliant game that has arguably never looked better.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (Switch eShop)
Weirdly, this has been a generation that has brought us a surge in Wonder Boy games, but we've opted for this excellent remake of the Master System game. With the same artist involved that brought us Streets of Rage 4, it unsurprisingly opts for a similar (and similarly lovely) hand-drawn style, but if you want to see the 8-bit original on a fancy 2021 display panel, you can easily toggle to the retro visuals/audio in real-time at the press of a button. A wonder, indeed.
Luigi's Mansion 3 (Switch)
This had to be on the list, especially with Halloween around the corner. Next Level Games stepped into the HD arena with some style here, as our cowardly but lovable Luigi explores all sorts of crazy environments that don't necessarily make sense, but it's a game so who cares. Luigi's Mansion 3 has some downright pretty lighting and effects, so combine that with Luigi's trademark torch and you have a game that really shows off the OLED panel.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)
If you opt to play through all routes in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, you're looking at a couple of hundred hours, so there's plenty to enjoy here and in order to fit that into your life you'll likely be spending at least some of that time in handheld mode. Intelligent Systems produced its most ambitious open area yet with the school, while chapters and battles play out with stylish top-down visuals. A handsome game however you play it, and if you have any playthroughs left now is a good time to revisit it; the bigger screen helps with the rather small text, too.
Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch)
The Origami King was arguably one of the stronger Paper Mario entries of recent years, with a blend of the traditional series exploration along with a new take on combat. Perhaps the combat style (in which you match up large circular areas) can get wearying, but there's no doubt that it's a real looker and the handsomest areas of the game are well worth revisiting on the new hardware. Always great to catch up with Bobby again, too.
Well, that's 25 games! Oh what the heck — let's squeeze a few more on the end, shall we? What are a few extra indie darlings between friends, hmm?
![Paper Mario: The Origami King - Switch [Digital Code]](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/12414/100x100.jpg)
Undertale (Switch eShop)
A key feature of OLED screens — and one that is perhaps easy to miss unless you compare alongside an LCD panel — is that they give you a more 'true' black. So Undertale, which is very simple visually but has a lot of black on screen mixed with brightly coloured characters and environments, is an excellent showcase of when the technology can do.
Downwell (Switch eShop)
Similarly to Undertale, the retro-flavoured roguelike platformer Downwell is visually simple with a lot of black and can be picked up at a budget price. The gameplay is very different of course — in this case you freefall, die a lot and learn stages gradually. It's a delicious challenge, and rather like Ikaruga you can opt for TATE mode for pretty much the definitive way to play the game.
Limbo (Switch eShop)
This is a bit of an Indie classic, an early-ish success story that showed the ability of small teams with limited resources to make emotive, memorable experiences. Limbo is rather grim at times, but its puzzle-led gameplay draws you on and into the story. There are a lot of dark colours that contrast well on the OLED, making it another showcase for the clarity the screen can offer.
SteamWorld Dig 2 (Switch eShop)
Image & Form has always shown a flair for making the most of Nintendo hardware, going way back to the excellent original SteamWorld Dig on 3DS. Though this sequel also had a 3DS version, most will have played SteamWorld Dig 2 on Switch and other modern hardware, and its steampunk style — blended with colourful external environments and beautifully lit underground areas — look as fantastic as ever.
Thumper (Switch eShop)
Thumper is a sensory rhythm experience; an audio visual feast that worked beautifully well on the regular Switch. On Switch OLED, though, not only to you get a deeper, richer-looking image on the larger screen but also a demonstration of the system's beefier audio thanks to its new closed-style speakers that improve sound delivery for handheld players.
We'd still recommend playing this one with headphones, but if the train, plane or automobile is empty, turn that volume up to eleven and get those beats a-bumpin'.
There you have it! We certainly left out some very good candidates, as well — honestly, this could have been double the size! If you're in the Switch OLED club, or perhaps planning to pick one up in the future, let us know in the comments which games you think best show off that screen.
And if you can't get enough, check out part two with yet another 25 gems that make the most of that OLED screen...