40. Carrion (Switch eShop)

Carrion is a special thing in many ways — a game which puts you in the shoes (or slithering eldritch tentacles) of the game's 'boss' — but its actual meat-and-potatoes structure is as formulaic as the genre gets. Thankfully, its core gameplay of tearing room after room of people into wet chunks of corpse never ever gets old and sustains the experience throughout. It looks superb, sounds great, and is plenty of fun to play, despite some minor issues which just hold Carrion back from the absolute upper echelons of the Switch library. Still, if you're after a horrific Metroidvania with a twist, this one is disgustingly intriguing.

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39. Metro Redux (Switch)

Metro Redux is a top-notch first-person survival horror package that delivers countless hours of thrilling stealth combat all wrapped up in a superb story.

These are two of the most atmospheric games you'll likely play, set in a beautifully detailed depiction of post-apocalyptic Russia. 4A Games has delivered a port that stands shoulder to shoulder with Alien: Isolation as one of the best on Switch – an almost flawless experience which should absolutely be right at the top of any FPS or survival horror fan's must-buy list. This is essential stuff.

38. Horace (Switch eShop)

Horace is something very special — the only vaguely negative thing we can say about it is the fact that there are so many spectacularly brilliant indie games on Switch already vying for your attention that we fear Horace may fall somewhat by the wayside. If you have any interest in superb level design, excellent storytelling, terrific art, evocative music, great characters, hilarious situations and emotional gut punches, Horace is a no-brainer. It's moving without being manipulative, clever without being smug, and nostalgic without being a lazy rehash. It's a platformer, but it's so much more than that.

So yes, Horace is another indie masterpiece, and every gamer who enjoys quality experiences should play it; a masterpiece that owes so much to its medium, but has the strength, creativity and identity to stand alone as something very, very special. Buy this.

37. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Switch eShop)

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 could've easily fallen into the Mega Man 10 trap – that is, another retro-styled follow-up that fails to make much of an impression since the gimmick has lost its lustre. Indeed, it does feel like the game could've been a little more ambitious, either in changing-up its design or upgrading its aesthetics to 16-bit level. But thanks to its somewhat higher difficulty level and a wider cast of characters, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 is an extremely solid game that very slightly edges out its already excellent predecessor, and old-school Castlevania fans will absolutely love it.

36. What The Golf? (Switch eShop)

What the Golf? is a sterling effort on Switch that clearly had enormous amounts of love poured into it. Its aesthetic is a little bit indie-by-numbers, but there's so much to see and do here that'll have you (and a friend) laughing out loud. It may not be the most difficult game in the world, but it's damn good fun, even if you don't like golf.

Especially if you don't like golf, in fact.

35. Huntdown (Switch eShop)

Huntdown is a delightfully detailed and expertly crafted throwback to old-school run 'n' gun arcade shooters.

The 16-bit graphical style is immaculately recreated whilst adding lots of modern bells and whistles to proceedings, including a fantastic soundtrack and audio design, optional CRT filter, and an arsenal of heavy-duty weapons that chew scenery and enemies to pieces as your bounty hunter makes their way from boss fight to excellent boss fight.

The flow of levels may be quite repetitive but the moment-to-moment gameplay, overall sense of fun that comes from the level of carnage you can dish out, surprising amount of hammy spoken dialogue, and constant pop-culture references all combine to make this one an easy recommendation, and another excellent addition to the Switch's action catalogue.

34. CrossCode (Switch eShop)

At its heart, CrossCode is the sort of game that basically speaks for itself. Do you like '90s-era JRPGs? Do you like classic Zelda games? Do you like MMOs? If you answered yes to any combination of those questions, then it stands to reason that you’ll probably really enjoy CrossCode, too. Radical Fish has conjured up an impressive blend of RPG mechanics, engaging combat, and open world exploration here. It may not always run smoothly, but CrossCode is a well-crafted and enjoyable release that you certainly won’t want to miss out on.

33. The Outer Worlds (Switch)

The Outer Worlds is a hugely entertaining "Fallout-in-space"-style RPG adventure filled with wonderfully vibrant locations, excellent companions, zippy and hilariously brutal combat and a ton of well-written characters to meet as you attempt to save the colony of Halcyon. Virtuos has made the expected tweaks to graphics in order to keep things as smooth as possible with this Switch port and, although things can look and feel a little rough in docked mode, in handheld this is a supremely enjoyable experience that's entertained us just as much this time around as when we played it at launch, and comes highly recommended to fans of the genre.

32. To The Moon (Switch eShop)

To The Moon is a powerful interactive story. It's a short game but it manages to make its players directly confront uncomfortable situations and emotions with which we'll all struggle at some point in our lives.

Mental illness, death, heartbreak, tragedy... it's all in here, and handled honestly within a brilliant narrative setup that allows us to watch a lifetime deconstructed, layer by layer, revealing the very human mistakes and unavoidable interruptions of fate that shape how our lives ultimately turn out. All in a matter of four or five hours.

31. XCOM 2 Collection (Switch)

XCOM 2 Collection on Switch is the full-fat XCOM 2 and XCOM 2: War of the Chosen experience. Virtuous has had to knock the graphics right down to the lowest setting, there are plenty of framerate issues and bugs that we've already encountered on other platforms and the not-insignificant – but hopefully patchable – problem with the game's character creation pool, but this is still a highly playable version of the game. If you can make peace with some stuttering and long loading times and aren't too offended by pretty ugly textures here and there, you'll be rewarded with one of the very best turn-based tactical titles currently available. XCOM 2 is nothing short of a masterpiece and now you can play it on the go, which we reckon is well worth any sacrifices made here.