Golf Story (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $14.99 / £13.49
- Lowest ever price: $2.84 / £2.49
Golf Story is a Switch exclusive RPG that borrows liberally from Mario Golf on the Game Boy Color. It's absolutely bonkers and you should be prepared to put your golf skills to use in a variety of contexts, including feeding hungry alligators and knocking things off high surfaces, plus winning the occasional round of pitch 'n' putt.
With a hilarious script and a wide variety of activities, it remains fresh throughout and will have you coming back for many hours in the Story mode alone; the multiplayer offers decent replayability, too. Golf Story is for anyone looking for something a little different; there’s a whole lot to love here, and if you’re a fan of RPGs or golf games, this is a must-buy.
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Dicey Dungeons (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $14.99 / £13.49
- Lowest ever price: $1.99 / £1.34
Terry Cavanagh's Dicey Dungeons is easily one of the best roguelike titles you can play on Switch. Loads of gameplay variety, fantastic music, a high skill ceiling, and friendly visuals make this a thoroughly gripping and fun experience you won’t want to miss out on.
If you like roguelikes or card games, we’d highly recommend you pick this up as soon as you can – and even if you don’t, we’d still encourage you to check it out regardless.
Everhood (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $14.99 / £13.49
- Lowest ever price: $5.99 / £5.39
Everhood is one of the most memorable games we’ve played in recent years. A mad mix of RPG, rhythm action, kart racing and bullet-hell shmup, its utterly bonkers plot and weird cast of characters is reason enough to check it out, but the instantly accessible rhythmic combat will keep you hooked from the very first battle to the epic final boss encounter.
Some may be put off by the minimal visual design and deliberately vague sequence of events, but for those after something a bit different, Everhood delivers originality and unique gameplay in spades and absolutely deserves a place in your Switch library.
In Other Waters (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $14.99 / £13.49
- Lowest ever price: $3.74 / £3.37
A very pleasant surprise indeed, In Other Waters is a bit of a minimalist masterpiece that you'll often want to dip into for a more contemplative experience than the majority of the Switch's library. It has found a perfect home on the handheld, the form factor of which massively works in the favour of the game's mood and atmosphere to create an exceptional and unique experience.
What you're getting here is a story that you're an integral part of, and it's one of the coolest, cleverest games we've played in a long time. An absolutely first-class effort. Developer Jump Over The Age is also behind the Citizen Sleeper games, which are well worth checking out.
FAR: Lone Sails (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $14.99 / £13.49
- Lowest ever price: $2.09 / £1.34
Without saying a word, FAR: Lone Sails conveys a poignant tale of hope and perseverance, masterfully balancing style with substance for an experience that feels every bit as sublime as it looks.
Sure, you could grumble about its relative shortness, the occasionally obtuse puzzles and the very, very minor control issues, but these problems dissolve away once you're invested in the journey. We highly recommend that you give this a spin. The sequel is an equally fine time, too.
Hollow Knight (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $15.00 / £10.99
- Lowest ever price: $6.98 / £5.49
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 already 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.
Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $15.00 / £13.49
- Lowest ever price: $10.00 / £13.49
Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! does not come to Switch with a swathe of bells and whistles or make a host of changes to Game Freak's weirdest mash-up. It's a simple port of the Apple Arcade version — which, in itself, made very few changes to the 3DS original — but with a game this great, that's no bad thing.
Sure, not much has changed since 2016 (even less since 2023), but this charming hybrid card-racer is absolutely worth taking for a ride wherever you can. Giddyap.
GRIS (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $16.99 / £14.49
- Lowest ever price: $3.39 / £2.89
We’re very careful when we use this word, but Gris is a masterpiece. Its jaw-dropping visual style and heart-wrenching score combine for one of the most emotional pieces of interactive art you’ll ever play.
It may be too short for some, its puzzles may be on the simple side and the lack of any real challenge may not be to everyone’s taste, but this is a game focused more on fragility than ability and as long as you’re willing to go along for the ride, it’s one that will stick with you for a very long time indeed.
Nomada Studio's follow-up, Neva, is also a gem.
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Yoku's Island Express (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $17.99 / £15.99
- Lowest ever price: $1.99 / £3.19
Yoku's Island Express is a genuine breath of fresh air, combining pinball and Metroidvania mechanics in a way that feels truly inspired. Add in a calming soundtrack and one of the most appealing fantasy worlds you'll find on the eShop, and you have yourself an instant left-field classic.
Alien: Isolation (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £12.99
- Lowest ever price: $14.99 / £9.99
Alien: Isolation is a survival horror masterpiece and straight-up one of the very best horror video games ever released.
It's a nerve-wracking affair — a slow, methodical game of cat and mouse against a brilliantly clever recreation of one of cinema's most infamous killers — but if you're up to the task you'll find one of the most satisfying gameplay experiences in the genre; a brilliant and beautiful homage to one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time.
Feral Interactive has done a stellar job with this Switch port and the excellent motion controls and inclusion of all previously-released DLC only go to sweeten the deal. This is essential stuff for survival horror fans.
Portal: Companion Collection (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £13.49
- Lowest ever price: $4.99 / £3.37
Both Portal and Portal 2 were received as some of the best first-person puzzlers out there when they were released in 2007 and 2011 respectively, but how would they match up when played on Switch all these years later? Very well indeed, it turns out.
There was always bound to be a certain level of apprehension when such beloved 'classics' made the jump over to the Nintendo console, but with a strong performance across the two games and very few dips in frame rate, this is a port for the books. Those who have never had the pleasure of taking a portal gun for a spin should dive right in, and those who have should be rest assured that the Switch version is nothing to turn one's nose up at.
Ori And The Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £14.99
- Lowest ever price: $4.99 / £3.74
We never expected to see Ori and the Blind Forest make the leap over from Xbox to Switch, but boy are we glad that it made the journey. This non-linear platformer (or Metroidvania, if you will) is truly a sight to behold, combining some refreshingly tight game mechanics with a stunning art style, this was a win with Microsoft fans and a win all over again on Nintendo.
Of course, this is not just a pretty picture as the Blind Forest also has all the hallmarks of top-notch worldbuilding with a storyline that we can guarantee you will want to see all the way through until the end.
Axiom Verge (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £14.99
- Lowest ever price: $2.99 / £2.24
Axiom Verge on Switch is truly an outstanding port of an outstanding game, no more and no less. We would strongly urge those of you who missed this game on other platforms to pick it up here; this is the full Axiom Verge experience and it's available in a format that supports both handheld and home play.
For those of you who have played it before on other platforms, it’s ultimately a question of just how much you love this game. This is the exact same, excellent game that you’ve played before, so whether or not you want to buy it again is personal choice.
Regardless of which side you fall on, Axiom Verge is a fantastic example of how to do a Metroidvania right. And the sequel's a winner, too.
Pentiment (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £14.99
- Lowest ever price: $9.99 / £8.99
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.
SteamWorld Dig 2 (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £14.99
- Lowest ever price: $1.99 / £1.49
SteamWorld Dig 2 is another confident effort from Image & Form, and a worthy successor to the original. Stylish and good-looking, it also has the series' trademark humour and, yes, a pretty good soundtrack. It refines and expands upon the qualities of SteamWorld Dig and hits some delicious high points.
Whether you played the first game or not, SteamWorld Dig 2 is a must-have — its charming aesthetic and cast set the scene for a tightly designed and clever exploration game.
Just Shapes & Beats (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £15.09
- Lowest ever price: $11.99 / £9.05
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’. Bullets are the least of your worries – objects to evade range from simple Euclidean shapes to laser beams, spinning saws, spiralling tentacles and ocean waves made from EQ bars.
It injects pure joy into the oppressive, pulsing panic of Terry Cavanagh’s mobile hit Super Hexagon and creates a celebratory explosion of the audio-visual in video games, showcasing chiptunes in their natural habitat. Grab some decent headphones or, better still, some friends and hook your Switch up to the hi-fi. The neighbours will love you.
Radiant Silvergun (Switch eShop)
- Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £15.29
- Lowest ever price: $7.99 / £6.11
From Sega Saturn to Xbox 360 to Switch, Radiant Silvergun continues to provide a classic shmup with a good level of bang for your buck. While this may be one of the more difficult games on this list to really get to grips with, it can also be one of the most rewarding.
It is true, the path to actually playing Radiant Silvergun is a frustrating one (if you don't count consistent death as playing, that is), but once you master the incredibly deep controls and methods, you will truly feel like you are blasting with the best of them.
Comments 45
It's wild seeing 7,000+ games available on the eShop now. Every passing day it becomes increasingly difficult to sort the gems from the trash.
A great selection there but surely there are more? I'm not sure of their price points otherwise I would have suggested some more I dare say, ha.
I have played the vast majority of those with I think 2 on my backlog. Also, only another 2 I don't own on there
A Short Hike is one of the best games I have played. From the list I also really enjoyed Sonic Mania.
Out Run is amazing. And obviously a lot of Arcade Archives - Green Beret being my favourite.
If you want a 3D platformer for around $20, I recommend Glyph. I picked it up on sale in December, and it's easily my best E-Shop purchase.
Obligatory snark incoming:
>Switch
>Cheap items
Choose one...
There's some really great games in there, I have the majority of them. Another few that deserve a place on the list
DUSK, Valfaris, Ys Origins, Alwa's Legacy, Record of Lodoss War...
I'll leave off the shmups as I'll be here all day otherwise.
Is that the same Terry Cavanaugh (sp) as the Author?
I feel like this article needs a big "The following article is paid advertisement brought to you by hypefame, the new code selling website you've never heard of before, and probably never will."
wow could NintendoLife plug their eshop card links anymore! What an overkill in this article.
A Short Hike is a short game and that makes it an expensive game for what it is.
@Z-Core wow thanks don't knows this Game Looks cool
@FatWormBlowsASparky
I absolutely love Green Beret since the first day I saw it in the arcades as a kid. Are you able to beat it on normal without adding extra credits? I keep on dying in stage 3 but I'll make it eventually, I hope.
The Takeover is a great 20$ arcade style side scrolling fighting/brawler game. I bought it 75% off in a sale a couple of days ago. Looks fantastic and plays really well too.
Appreciate the article (I'm fairly certain I own most of these already), but seriously with the constant spam of your own store on the page? It's nearly happening every single game mention, it's completely unwarranted and it's honestly turning me off from future articles with game recommendations if all they're going to be is "This is a game we like, and if you buy from our store you can play it too"
Added Touryst and Hyper Light to my wishlist, will probably pick them up if there's a decent sale.
Of these, the two I’ve played are Sonic Mania and Dicey Dungeons. Cannot recommend both of them enough. Sonic Mania has all the charm of the original games but makes QOL improvements to make them much less rage-inducing, and Dicey Dungeons is a really fun card/RPG/whatever game that I’m going to sink many hours into in the future.
Definitely going to pick up Cuphead and Golf Story at some point as well, and maybe Hollow Night once I finish Metroid Dread and I have more hunger for a Metroidvania.
Katana zero! Dead cells, death road to canada, enter the gungeon, guacamelee, lovers in dangerous spacetime (great local multiplayer), undertale, night in the woods, Celeste, moonlighter, scourgebringer, scott pilgram , Hades, Bastian, Iconoclasts, mark of the ninja remastered, are all games i would recommend!
@zool thats why its worth getting it on steam for like $4
@Magician i use dekudeals for all my switch eshopping, wishlisting, and tracking ..helps a bit with trash sorting...you can even turn off games you no longer wish to see
No ori and the blind forest. That is automatically in the top 3 on this list.
No Celeste? There's a few games missing from here...
Hollow Knight and Stardew are pretty hard to beat in terms of bang for your buck. I love Just Shapes & Beats, too, and can't believe how many more tracks they've kept piling on after launch. That being said, there are probably a couple hundred other games that could contend for a spot on this list. Keeping it to just the ones I've played that truly manage to set themselves apart in one way or another, I think Steamworld Dig 1+2, Transistor, Enter the Gungeon, Foregone, BOXBOY!+BOXGIRL!, ABZU, PAN-PAN, and Iconoclasts are all worthy entries.
May as well call it best $20 games cause they're all 20.
There are plenty of great games for less than that.
Also, if you use the wishlist feature and wait until they go on sale, some of these go for half off or even over 75 percent!
Edit: you know what, I take that first part back. Actually half of them are 15 or less so I'm wrong lol
A Short Hike is such a special game. It's really short but I absolutely loved every minute of it. It's a game that's constantly on my mind even after beating it months ago.
@Magician To be fair, it is not Nintendo's job to have preferential treatment on eShop, in fact games being on equal footing on there as opposed to other platforms where games that are not popular get buried is one of the reasons why smaller games thrive on Switch. There are other websites that help with discovering good titles. That said, I do think Nintendo could use a faster eShop and more sorting options.
That's a great list, but I just never hear anyone mention Blazing Beaks, it's really great and cheap, I bought it for just a couple bucks on sale a while ago. For that price, I assumed it was crap, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I still think Enter the Gungeon is the best twin-stick shooter on Switch, but I've played it so much that I just wanted to play something a little different, and Blazing Beaks is the same kind of twin-stick dodge rolling rogue-like action that I love, but it does it's own thing and has loads of charm of it's own. And also Neon Abyss is only $19.99 a fantastic game with tons and tons of unlockables and bosses, etc. it's a game that would take an incredibly long time to beat and unlock everything, and it runs much better on the Switch than it does on PC. I think it's one of the best games out there right now as long as you like 2d rogue-lite platform shooters.
The Messenger is also a very good platformer, it’s usually 20$ with free DLC, but I found it on sale for half off.
Also recommend Dust an Elysian Tail if you’re into hack n slash style of games, that one looks beautiful!
Dicey Dungeons was an unexpected delight. Endearing characters, great challenges and the different mechanics of each character keeps the game fresh among the playthroughs. A chance to learn how to deal with failure that are either your own or luck based.
I feel like this article's soul purpose is to promote Gift Card affiliate purchases.
@Bydlak
I played it on my Speccy all the time. My online score is 116270, I think third level as well. đŸ˜ƒ
I confirm that the shop works fine. Thanks for the 10% off, Nintendo Life @ryancraddock
@Banjo- You're welcome, enjoy! đŸ™‚
Where is don’t starve together?
I feel that Lunistice and Toree 3D deserve to be on this list. They are each under $5, and deliver incredible value.
I appreciate this list. Thank you Nintendo Life.
Also - "Generally, Nintendo prefers to maintain the value of its products over the long term rather than tempting you with deep discounts. If a Nintendo game launches at $60, you can be confident that it will remain that price for a considerable length of time — you don't have to worry about seeing it 50% cheaper in a month or two."
Very true. I don't care how much you want that SEGA game on Day 1. Don't. Just don't. It will be on sale in a month. Wait 2-3 and it will even be to an insulting degree. Looking at you Sonic X Shadow for 11.29. I don't think there is a company that is more 'F.U for supporting this on release' than Sega.
Wow, 50. Not 49. Not 51, just to be "edgy" like IGN's trend. Shocking.
@Mana_Knight Ubisoft the same right..! Prince of Persia Lost Crown is usually a a crazy low price, especially considering how quality a game it actually is!
@CJD87 Yes! Good advise. They are another one who it is good to be cautious about! I think I heard that it even harms their initial sales they have been getting such a reputation for it!
One of the greatest fps remasters of all time DOOM 1+2 is super cheap if you hadn't already own the re-release versions. If you own the re-release versions then both are free but if you hadn't it's only $10 to get both with all mods that came with them too.
I almost only play cheap indies. Feast your eyes on my list
dekudeals.com/collection/gqfhbr89g9
Glad to see a couple of the games I mentioned the last time I saw this list have since made it on. Of course, I've played plenty more since then and have a lot more I could recommend now, though many of the games I'd like to bring up are technically disqualified. Those all spend around half their time on sale for less than 20 and often less than 10 dollars, but still have an official full price that knocks them out of the running.
Though if there's one thing I've played recently that should absolutely be on here, it's FEZ. That game's simply brilliant by every metric I can think of.
Some cheap games I didn't see on the list that were totally worthy of my time and money were The Exit 8, Platform 8, Amanda The Adventurer (hopefully Amanda The Adventurer 2 comes to Switch as well, or Switch 2), Q Remastered, Q2 Humanity, Shape Suitable, Suika Game and Trombone Champ.
I can attest to the quality of SEGA AGES OutRun, my favorite of the SEGA AGES I own.
Also, I want to mention that SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone was once at 10 Mexican Pesos (about 60 cents) on the Mexican eShop back in August 2023. To this day I still don't know if it was intended to be a sale or if it was a mistake because it wasn't labeled as on sale and the 10 pesos price was listed as the regular one.
…the heck are the Mega Man Legacy Collections minus Zero-ZX and Battle Network?
Between the 50 games listed and all the comments I think almost everything is covered. I really don't have much to say except, Dave the Diver. Where in the world is Dave the Diver? 88 meta score, over 25 hours of fun, and it's been discounted up to 30% off bringing it from $20 to $13.99.
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