20. Luigi's Mansion 3 (Switch)

Luigi's Mansion 3 (Switch)
Luigi's Mansion 3 (Switch)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Next Level Games
Release Date: 31st Oct 2019 (USA) / 31st Oct 2019 (UK/EU)

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is not only a graphical powerhouse and showcase for Next Level Games’ unrivalled mastery of video game animation, it’s also an immense helping of spooky fun as well. The amount of care and consideration poured into every facet of the game is abundantly clear, and it all results in one of the most enjoyable and attractive Switch titles of the year. It's also the undisputed high point of a franchise which – following this sterling release – will hopefully get even more love and attention from Nintendo fandom, and the gaming community as a whole.

19. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Monolith Soft
Release Date: 1st Dec 2017 (USA) / 1st Dec 2017 (UK/EU)

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a massive, sprawling JRPG built by Monolith Soft, who developed the previous two entries and the Baten Kaitos games on GameCube. The team also helped Nintendo design the world of Breath of the Wild, so there's no doubting the pedigree. You'll explore a massive open world made up of Titans – enormous living creatures that house entire civilisations on their bodies. Along the way you'll meet a wide variety of characters, solve a bunch of quests, and save the world. It's Monolith Soft doing what it does best, albeit without shaking off the occasional flaws of the series. This is another Xenoblade gem, though, and a must-have RPG.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has a massive standalone DLC, Torna: The Golden Country, that's also well worth playing through. It serves as a prequel to the events of 2, so you can play it before or after.

18. Hollow Knight (Switch eShop)

Hollow Knight (Switch eShop)
Hollow Knight (Switch eShop)
Publisher: Team Cherry / Developer: Team Cherry
Release Date: 12th Jun 2018 (USA) / 12th Jun 2018 (UK/EU)

Hollow Knight feels like it found its natural home on Switch. The game's beautiful 2D world, tactile combat and impressive bevy of secrets constantly drag you in for more, and it proves to be as strong an experience on the move as it is on your TV. On an eShop that's filled with top quality indie games, Hollow Knight is one of the very best; a big, beautiful, foreboding Metroidvania that's absolutely thick with detail. From its punchy combat system to its charming art and sound design, this is one of the finest adventures you can have on Nintendo Switch.

17. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 20th Mar 2020 (USA) / 20th Mar 2020 (UK/EU)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons takes the series and not only drags it back onto home consoles, but improves upon every single facet imaginable. There's more to do, more to see, more to change, more to mould, and more to love; fans and first-time players are going to find themselves losing hours at a time gathering materials, creating new furniture, and making their island undeniably theirs. Every moment is unashamedly blissful, with excellently-written characters that truly feel alive and an island paradise that gives back infinitely more than you put in. Back when Animal Crossing: New Leaf hit the shelves all those years ago and created a whole new generation of fans, many people were wondering how Nintendo could possibly top it, but here we have our answer. This is a masterpiece that it's worth buying a Switch (or two) to play.

16. Persona 4 Golden (Switch eShop)

Persona 4 Golden (Switch eShop)
Persona 4 Golden (Switch eShop)
Publisher: Atlus / Developer: Atlus Persona Team
Release Date: 19th Jan 2023 (USA) / 19th Jan 2023 (UK/EU)

Persona 4 Golden remains a thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing RPG that, for the most part, has stood the test of time. Although its visuals might be a bit dated, the gameplay and story presented here do more than enough to justify the purchase, while all the tweaks and additions that came with this ‘Golden’ edition round out most of the rougher edges from the initial PS2 release. If you're looking to give the Persona series a shot, Persona 5 Royal is a good place to start, but P4G is an excellent entry in the series and one that we would recommend you pick up when you can.

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

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Switch)
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Switch)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 12th Feb 2021 (USA) / 12th Feb 2021 (UK/EU)

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. The first four-player 3D Mario game 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. The cooperative multiplayer element brought Princess Peach, Luigi, and Toad back into the fold of playable characters, mirroring the lineup of Super Mario Bros. 2. Cat Mario and Captain Toad were also introduced here, with the latter's special levels leading to a standalone adventure in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker.

Super Mario 3D World serves as 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 makes the Switch version 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 portfolio. Dog lovers should probably steer clear; everyone else, jump to it.

14. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)

Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: HAL Laboratory
Release Date: 25th Mar 2022 (USA) / 25th Mar 2022 (UK/EU)

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a great big colourful joyride of an adventure for our little pink pal. This first fully three dimensional mainline entry in the franchise is bursting at the seams with fun and inventiveness, managing to transpose everything we know and love about past Kirby games to this all-new arena whilst adding plenty of delightful new aspects as it goes. Mouthful Mode is just as daftly entertaining as it looked in the trailers, each and every level is packed full of secrets and dripping in wonderful detail, and there are enough side activities, collectibles and co-op fun here to keep you entertained and coming back for more for a good long while.

13. Hades (Switch eShop)

Hades (Switch eShop)
Hades (Switch eShop)
Publisher: Supergiant Games / Developer: Supergiant Games
Release Date: 17th Sep 2020 (USA) / 17th Sep 2020 (UK/EU)

Hades is a sublime mix of satisfyingly gritty and flexible combat, a wonderfully vibrant art style and genuinely fun and engaging narrative. Supergiant Games has an excellent track record with games like Bastion and Transistor, but this really does feel its finest hour, a rip-roaring rampage through the underworld that's arrived here on Switch in a port that's nigh-on perfect. Even if you're yet to be swayed by the admittedly repetitive ebb and flow of roguelikes, we passionately urge you to at least give this roguelite a try; for fans of the genre or anyone even remotely interested, this is one heavenly vision of hell that we highly recommend you sacrifice yourself to.

12. Monster Hunter Rise (Switch)

Monster Hunter Rise (Switch)
Monster Hunter Rise (Switch)
Publisher: Capcom / Developer: Capcom
Release Date: 26th Mar 2021 (USA) / 26th Mar 2021 (UK/EU)

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.

11. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Intelligent Systems
Release Date: 26th Jul 2019 (USA) / 26th Jul 2019 (UK/EU)

As soon as Switch launched it seemed like the perfect console for Fire Emblem. Portability and strategy games are a marriage made in heaven, but being able to throw the battle on the big screen in HD gives Three Houses a scope that wasn't possible on the diminutive 3DS.

Three Houses added new strings to the series' bow, though, with the Garegg Mach Monastery providing a Hogwarts-style academy to explore and enjoy as you build those ever-important relationships with your characters from the Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer. It's clearer than ever before that the key to the franchise is its ability to evoke feeling for your units through canny writing and charismatic characters; Three Houses created the perfect environment to foster and develop the students in your chosen house. Indeed, the huge number of options open to you, not to mention the alternatives closed off with each choice you make, might make Three Houses an intimidating prospect, but it excels in forging a vital and worthwhile experience whichever house you pick or route you take. And you don't need to buy another game to go back and travel the road not taken. Take that, Fates!

And if that's still not enough for you, there's always DLC. Did somebody say four houses?