2023 was an incredibly fruitful year for gamers, and Switch enjoyed an excellent seventh year on store shelves.

Industry-wide layoffs in the latter half of the year made for a sobering counterpoint to the glut of great games, and at times the pandemic-related backlog of projects which finally flushed through made it difficult to keep tabs on everything — it was a fantastic year for anyone just playing video games.

Best Switch Games Of 2023
Image: Nintendo Life

While the future is uncertain in many respects, it's impossible to deny the quality and quantity of software that launched across all platforms in 2023, as our (and we're sure your) backlogs can attest. Here at Nintendo Life, once again we compiled your selections of the best games of the year — as governed by each game's User Rating in our games database — into a dynamic community-ranked Top 50 Switch Games of the Year: 2023 Edition.

It started out quiet, with little of note on Nintendo's announced first-party release list beyond January's Fire Emblem Engage and the tentpole TOTK, but the calendar soon fleshed out with the long-awaited Advance Wars 1+2, the excellent Pikmin 4, and the delightful Super Mario Bros. Wonder — the first brand-new 2D Mario for over a decade. Add some surprise ports (Quake II, Vampire Survivors), third-party classics (Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, Persona 5 Tactica), and indie gems (Sea of Stars, Blasphemous 2), and 2023 was bursting at the seams with incredible Switch games.

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But how do they stack up against each other? We asked Nintendo Life readers to rate the games this year, and the list below is the result. Please note: The order may change, even after publication, subject to those fluctuating User Ratings. This means that it's not too late to rate your collection and influence the list, even as you're reading this now. Just click on the star icon and score the game from 1-10.

Can't see your favourite? Use the search bar below to find what you're looking for and rate the game(s) accordingly. Note. To become eligible, a game needs to have been rated by a minimum of 30 users.

Looking for Team Nintendo Life's personal picks? Check them out in our Staff Awards round-up below. Otherwise, let's take a look at the 50 best Switch games of 2023, as ranked by you...

50. The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails (Switch)

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails is a fun action RPG that takes elements of the wider series it's based on and crafts something unique. The minute-to-minute gameplay is also engaging, although with some minor platforming frustrations here and there.

While the story may be simplistic and not as politically engrossing as the mainline Trails games, the heartfelt cast of characters and side quests help flesh out its world.

49. Mortal Kombat 1 (Switch)

Mortal Kombat 1 on Nintendo Switch manages to deliver this superb game's Story and Towers modes in a state that's playable, but only if you've got plenty of patience. There are frame rate issues, big resolution dips, input and timing problems related to performance drops, missing content, game-breaking bugs in Invasion mode, long loading times, and unresponsive menus. If you are a huge Mortal Kombat fan whose only option is Switch, you may be able to press through all of this. However, if you have any other option, we suggest you stay away from this one.

48. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince (Switch)

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is an enjoyable monster-catching RPG that combines charming visuals with addictive gameplay to make for a genuinely gripping experience, making it feel like the long wait since the last entry to leave Japan has been worth it. Even so, its general lack of ambition and struggles with performance issues hold it back from greatness—it’s very good, but it’s also definitely got its issues.

If you’re at all a fan of Dragon Quest or monster-catching RPGs, we’d suggest you pick this one up, but the Switch version may not be the best version to dive into.

47. Batman Arkham Trilogy (Switch)

Rocksteady's phenomenal Arkham series needs no introduction at this stage — three of the finest superhero games you'll ever play with a top-notch cast and writing, and sublime gameplay that put you right into the bat-boots of the Dark Knight. Asylum is an all-timer, City still stands up as one of the best open-world games we've ever played and Knight, although slightly less successful, is still a strong final chapter. It's a shame that Knight is completely unplayable on Switch. Very little TLC has been shown to any of these games and better decisions weren't made when it became clear just how poorly one of the games here ran on Nintendo's console. If you only have a Switch and have never played the first two games, Batman: Arkham Trilogy is still a decent way to play those two titles, at least.

46. F-Zero 99 (Switch eShop)

Despite its relatively unchanged look compared to the 16-bit original, F-Zero 99 is unexpectedly refreshing. Though it may not be the return for the franchise that fans hoped for, it's a triumphant and welcome look back at Captain Falcon's first game with a clever twist. F-Zero is simply suited for the -99 style structure in ways that Tetris, Mario, and Pac-Man aren't; it was already an elimination-style battle royale, just a small one. Adding more players doesn't just feel perfect for F-Zero, it feels natural.

This isn't the definitive way to play F-Zero, but it is a brilliant take that supplements what worked so well in the original with thoughtful additions that make chasing victory utterly addictive.

45. Rune Factory 3 Special (Switch)

The real draw is the ability to play Rune Factory 3 on a console that doesn’t have ‘DS’ in its name. About 90% of the experience is exactly the same as the original, and that remaining 10% doesn’t exactly cover a whole lot.

Luckily, Rune Factory 3 is and always was a great farm sim/RPG hybrid, and it’s something that we can still easily recommend to new and returning players alike. That said, if you fall into the latter group, we’d encourage you to consider how much you want to shell out to replay this on modern hardware. It’s a great game, but it’s effectively the same as your DS copy.

If you’re looking for another very solid farm sim to add to your Switch library—and you haven't played it before—this is definitely one to consider.

44. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code (Switch)

Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is a solid follow-up to the Danganronpa franchise that demonstrates a heap of ambition from its developers and mostly lives up to its predecessor's impressive reputation. But while the game delivers an excellent cast of characters and some truly intriguing mysteries to solve, it also stumbles in its methods, introducing mechanics and locations that outstay their welcome and become frustratingly repetitive. Still, for fans of Dangaronpa and those who enjoy a good gruesome crime or two, it's definitely worth checking out.

43. PARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo (Switch eShop)

Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is one of the most surprising games we've experienced in a good while. Its overarching narrative, while initially quite heavy on exposition, is wonderfully told, interweaving the lives of multiple protagonists and tasking the player with progressing their stories in meaningful ways. The puzzles are fantastic, the characters well realised, and the visuals top-notch, making those brief moments of horror and terror exceedingly effective.

It's an experience we fully recommend going into with as little information as possible, as this will prove to be an incredibly memorable experience; one that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Switch's best visual novels.

42. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (Switch)

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a delightfully stylish origin tale that sees young Bayo take her first steps on the road to becoming the badass Umbra witch we all know and love. This is a graphically stunning fairy tale with plenty in the way of atmosphere and charm. However, long-term Bayo fans beware, it's also a game that's aimed squarely at a young/casual audience, introducing plenty of fun puzzle and combat mechanics but never really evolving them to a point where they become in any way challenging. Repetition creeps in later in the game and, although it ends with some bombastic sequences and a few nice shoutouts to the main series, it feels like a little more challenge and experimentation in puzzles and combat could have made this one absolutely essential for all ages.

41. Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition (Switch)

Though many doubted how well Borderlands 3 would work on the Switch, we’re pleased to report that this is a well-built port that effectively squeezes down almost the entirety of Borderlands 3 onto Nintendo’s handheld. The deep loot system, stable performance, goofy tone, snappy gunplay, and enormous amount of content all come together to make this one an easy recommendation, though those who prefer multiplayer may be disappointed at the diminished options here, and the unlocked frame rate won't be to everyone's taste. Still, Gearbox rightly deserves praise for the work the team put in here to make this happen; Borderlands 3 on the Switch is well worth your time.