Invisible, Inc. Nintendo Switch Edition (Switch eShop)

£4.49 / 4,99€ (-75%)

Invisible, Inc. is a brilliant little tactics game, right up there with Into the Breach and XCOM – if not even better. The bite-sized structure belies a deceptively complex and meaningful game, where all your decisions ultimately mean something significant for that final desperate attack.

If you enjoy stealth or tactics games – or you're simply looking for a way into either genre – then Invisible, Inc. deserves your attention.

Just Shapes & Beats (Switch eShop)

£9.05 / 10,07€ (-40%)

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Okay, if you only get one game on the list, make it this one.

The energy and verve of Just Shapes & Beats is utterly infectious. True to its name, the elements are simple, but Berzerk Studio explores and executes on its modest premise with an exceptional level of polish in this self-described ‘musical bullet hell’.

Grab some decent headphones or, better still, some friends and hook your Switch up to the hi-fi. The neighbours will love you.

Katana ZERO (Switch eShop)

£8.09 / 8,99€ (-40%)

Katana Zero is unmistakably a game that you need to add to your Switch collection. The tough, hair-raising action sequences, gripping narrative, and impeccable sense of style elevate Katana Zero high above many of its peers, cementing it as a modern classic that sets new standards for what a side-scrolling action game can be.

This is the kind of game that you’ll blindly play through once and soon find yourself wishing you could have that first-time experience again; there’s nothing else quite like it on the eShop and we can’t recommend it enough.

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (Switch eShop)

£11.70 / 13,04€ (-55%)

Like Atari 50 and The Making of Karateka before it, Digital Eclipse's latest interactive documentary is a wonderful glimpse into the mind of one of gaming's most fascinating figures. Even if you've got no prior knowledge of Minter or his games, the selection of videos, image galleries, quotes, and playable games included here will provide you with a newfound respect for this niche yet immensely important segment of gaming history.

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is another triumph for Digital Eclipse, and we can't wait to see how the studio grows its Gold Master Series in the years ahead.

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Lumines Remastered (Switch eShop)

£4.04 / 4,49€ (-70%)

Lumines Remastered is a luminary of the puzzle genre and feels perfectly at home on the Switch. Intense and immersive puzzle action, psychedelic visuals, a killer soundtrack, and a bevvy of content and modes make for a premier puzzle experience that should not be missed.

Lumines is an addictive experience that is positively a delight to play, and we would highly recommend it to both veterans and newcomers to the puzzle genre. There’s something here for everyone, and considering the relatively low price tag, Lumines Remastered is required playing for any Switch owner.

Lunistice (Switch eShop)

£4.24 / 4,24€ (-15%)

Presenting itself modestly as “a simple and short experience”, Lunistice has masses to offer. A first run is maybe a handful of hours, but the thirst to retry is so strong it’s almost hard to move on to each new stage. Add the challenge of finding all the cranes and hidden items, avoiding resets, and setting faster times, plus unlockable characters with different moves, and it's a full and generous package.

At $4.99 or your regional equivalent, weighing in at a lean 600MB, and having a demo on the eShop, Lunistice is simply a must-try game.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Switch)

£7.49 / 9,99€ (-75%)

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a must-have for Switch-owning fans of turn-based tactical games. More importantly, such is the style and depth on offer that it's also ideal for those who haven't played much of the genre - for whom 'XCOM' sounds like a silly acronym from a war movie.

Kingdom Battle and its excellent DK DLC introduce the concept in the best possible way, and then add their own ideas for what becomes a smart, surprising, and, at times, deliciously challenging experience.

Even if you don't actually like the Rabbids, this game — and its familiar Mario cast and setting — is so good that Ubisoft's mascots become likeable. Well, almost.

Mark of the Ninja: Remastered (Switch eShop)

£4.49 / 4,99€ (-75%)

Mark of the Ninja: Remastered is an utterly stellar stealth game and it’s lost none of the magic that made the original such a critical darling. Strong art direction, an engaging story, well-paced open gameplay, and a slew of extra content all combine to make for a near-flawless experience that you certainly won’t want to miss out on.

We’d give this game a high recommendation to all Switch owners; it’s the best stealth game money can buy in the Switch library, and one of the best ones in any console library.

Metro 2033 Redux (Switch eShop)

£3.19 / 3,99€ (-80%)

Metro 2033 Redux is a top-class first-person shooter/survival horror game, a breathless experience that's been almost flawlessly ported to Switch by 4A Games.

Artyom's desperate, haunting voyage through the irradiated remains of Moscow is every bit as engaging today as it was back in 2010, and this Redux version benefits massively from overhauled AI, gameplay mechanics and visuals. In terms of first-person shooters or survival horror games on Nintendo's console, this is one of the very best.

Metroid Dread (Switch)

£33.29 / 39,99€ (-33%)

Metroid Dread was 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's a very strong argument that 2D Metroid has never been better.

Neva (Switch eShop)

£12.49 / 13,99€ (-30%)

Neva is a spectacular example of art in motion, delivering a thoroughly engrossing platforming experience that’ll stick in your mind long after you’ve rolled credits. The incredible visuals, moving soundtrack, satisfying gameplay, and surprisingly touching story all come together to make for a game that you shouldn’t miss.

A few frame drops aside, if you’re looking for a new addition to your library that’ll give you something to savour rather than just consume, look no further than Neva.

OneShot: World Machine Edition (Switch eShop)

£8.76 / 9,74€ (-35%)

A short, compelling point-and-click adventure originally developed in 2014, OneShot: World Machine Edition has an endearing, sombre story in which developer Future Cat makes you — the player — a character. The quest of Nico, a cat-like child, is framed as a game installed on a PC that functions as both a menu and narrative device and Niko will frequently break the fourth wall to address you by your Switch profile name as you guide her through a dying world.

Unlike the adventure games of two or three decades ago, none of the puzzles stumped us, yet the dopamine rush hit us all the same when things slid into place. Before we knew it, the credits rolled, and we sat back, pensive from its bittersweet ending. A Very Good Game™.

Owlboy (Switch eShop)

£3.79 / 3,49€ (-80%)

Owlboy is a three-pronged attack of success: the gameplay is tight, satisfying, and remains fresh throughout; the game’s world is visually stunning thanks to some truly masterful pixel art and you’ll find yourself really caring about the cast of characters and the world surrounding them thanks to a compelling storyline and background lore.

Pentiment (Switch eShop)

£7.49 / 9,99€ (-50%)

Pentiment is a fantastic adventure RPG that revels in a studious approach to history and immaculate recreations of the styles and traditions of 16th-century Bavaria. There's a super smart, funny, and engaging murder mystery to investigate here, but it's how that mystery is so fully rooted in the world that's been lovingly crafted around it that really elevates this experience.

It's one of the best games of the past decade, hands down, and to have it running and performing perfectly on Switch is a joyous thing — it feels like it was made for Nintendo's console. This is about as essential as games get.

Persona 4 Golden (Switch eShop)

£8.99 / 9,99€ (-50%)

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.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo (Switch eShop)

£14.39 / 15,99€ (-20%)

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo is a masterclass in retro Zelda-like game design, expertly fusing classic mechanics with creative new ideas to make for a thoroughly memorable and worthwhile experience.

Occasional difficulty spikes aside, we’d highly recommend you pick up Pipistrello at the next available opportunity, especially if you're a Zelda fan who prefers the top-down design of games such as The Minish Cap. Much like its title character, this one has a lot of cool tricks up its sleeve.

PowerSlave Exhumed (Switch eShop)

£4.76 / 5,31€ (-70%)

For such a prototypical take on Metroid Prime, it's alarming and impressive just how much confidence PowerSlave Exhumed shows in its design, making it the best kind of retro game: one that's even better today with full knowledge of how ahead of its time it really was.

An easy recommendation to FPS fans of any vintage, Powerslave Exhumed will keep you playing and playing, searching for those last niggling secrets.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Switch)

£12.20 / 13,99€ (-65%)

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a slick return to the roots of this franchise that serves up clever 2.5D action wrapped up in a delightful art style and satisfying story.

There's a smart balance here between old-school levels of action and challenge, moreish combat, and neat puzzles, all mixed with accessibility options and fine-tuning that open things up to newcomers and casual players.

We knew Ubisoft Montpellier was a pair of safe hands and the (now sadly disbanded) team didn't let us down, serving up a must-play and a Switch port that absolutely does the business.

Prodeus (Switch)

£11.99 / 14,99€ (-40%)

Prodeus is the kind of game that knows exactly what it wants to do and executes that vision flawlessly.

It’s not complicated and it’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but every inch of this experience was clearly crafted with passion and talent. The intense firefights, expansive arsenal, metal music, and sprawling level designs all come together to make Prodeus feel like a game that’s just the right mix of retro and modern.

If you have ever been a fan of Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, or any of the indie boomer shooters of the last few years, you owe it to yourself to give Prodeus a shot. Even if you haven’t much been into the genre before, we’d say this is an excellent place to jump in and see what it’s about.

qomp2 (Switch eShop)

£8.99 / 9,99€ (-50%)

qomp 2 is an excellent and worthy reimaging of Pong that honours the classic arcade game's legacy while providing a unique experience for folks with no nostalgia for Atari's seminal masterpiece. It offers a consistently interesting and engaging means of traversal with a great variety of obstacles and puzzles to overcome throughout the 30 stages.

We would have liked a few more levels in the end, but this is really just an indication of the quality on display here. If you're into quirky action-focused puzzlers with a unique hook, then qomp 2 is definitely worth your attention.

Radiant Silvergun (Switch eShop)

£6.11 / 6,79€ (-60%)

Radiant Silvergun remains, despite its uncompromising nature, deservedly celebrated. The game wears its hardcore credentials on its sleeve, and its depth in both technical and artistic terms is astonishing. As stimulating and rewarding as it is exhausting, it’s a labour that has transcended not only the genre but the medium to some degree.

Regardless of its difficulty — and in that difficulty, its lack of immediate connection — those who learn to fell the game proper can say they truly lived Radiant Silvergun. That’s an experience worth fighting for.

Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition (Switch)

£5.99 / 7,99€ (-80%)

Despite its ‘Definitive Edition’ moniker, the vast majority of what you get in the Switch version of Rayman Legends has been seen in every other edition. The only truly new features here are a complete character roster for the first time and a tournament mode for its football minigame.

That’s not to say it's a bad game, though; that couldn’t be further from the truth. Rayman Legends is one of the best plumber-free platformers ever made, and its budget price means if you haven’t played it before, the Switch version is the perfect opportunity to jump in.

Though surely you've picked this up one of the thousand times it's been discounted already, right?

Return to Monkey Island (Switch eShop)

£8.99 / 9,99€ (-60%)

Return to Monkey Island reaches into your heart, rips out your desire to know THE SECRET, and clenches it in front of your face. As hard as it would be to concede that The Secret of Monkey Island™ might always have been a MacGuffin, it’s agonising to contemplate that your 30-year longing for the Monkey Island 3 might be just the same.

Return presents to your transfixed gaze a phenomenal point-and-click adventure, bubbling with passion and fun. All the way through, you will hope, achingly, that the big reveal is coming – and then…

Roadwarden (Switch eShop)

£7.91 / 8,79€ (-20%)

Roadwarden is a fascinating text-based RPG that delivers top-notch writing, meaningful and impactful choices, and way more interactivity than you may be expecting from a game of this type. Managing your time, health, armour, and more as you explore and map out a dangerous peninsula gives you plenty to consider as you pick and choose the narrative threads and situations that concern you most.

Almost impossible to put down, and definitely something I'll play more than once, this recently released port is a genre highlight on Switch that's only slightly let down by a bit of clunkiness on the UI front.

Rogue Legacy 2 (Switch eShop)

£11.24 / 12,49€ (-50%)

While not the first 'roguelike' by any means, 2013’s Rogue Legacy (also on sale) — alongside classics like Spelunky and The Binding of Isaac — helped make the genre the huge deal it has become. Nearly a decade after the original (not counting two years of early access), Cellar Door Games finally followed up on its breakout hit.

Rogue Legacy 2 builds upon its predecessor and re-establishes what made it such an enduring hit. While it’s not a game-changing revelation, it takes everything that made the original great and goes bigger and better.

Sea of Stars (Switch eShop)

£19.17 / 22,09€ (-35%)

Sea of Stars is a sensational achievement for Sabotage. Following on from The Messenger, the studio is two for two in providing impressively designed and genuinely innovative takes on classic genres.

Some pacing issues aside, the complex narrative, deep and strategic combat, thoughtful level design, and fantastic visuals and music all combine to make this one of the easiest recommendations we can make. If you consider yourself a fan of old-school RPGs, you must play Sea of Stars.

And if not? The execution and polish here are so good that we’d suggest you give it a try anyway - few games would be a better introduction and representation of what makes JRPGs great. Sea of Stars is an instant classic and a new high-water mark for modern retro-styled indies.

SEGA AGES Out Run (Switch eShop)

£1.79 / 2,09€ (-70%)

If you originally missed out on the 3DS port, this is about as essential a retro release as you can get. Out Run has always been an infinitely playable game, and the new unlockables and online rankings only increase its longevity further.

Those with the 3DS version will have to decide whether it’s worth buying what’s more or less the same game again in order to play it on their TV, but for everyone else with an interest in retro gaming, it’s a must-have.