Hollow Knight (Switch eShop)
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 a single player can have on Nintendo Switch.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition (Switch)
Originally released for 3DS (and PS4) in Japan, the cumbersomely named Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition is one of the best games Square has ever put its name to, plain and simple — and this Switch release was a fine port, too. Featuring a heartwarming, well-paced narrative supported by a cast of fantastic characters, a dense and interesting overworld packed with dozens of hours of content, and one of the finest soundtracks we’ve heard in a JRPG, it all combines to make this an unforgettable modern classic. Whether you’re a newcomer to the series (or genre) or a returning vet, you're sure to love with sprawling single-player adventure. It's the epitome of a gift that keeps on giving, and it more than deserves a spot in your Switch library.
The House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition (Switch eShop)
A celebrated, gruelling, and incredibly affecting visual novel, The House in Fata Morgana is over 40 hours long, and in those 40 hours, you'll maybe get to make about three decisions. It is a visual novel in the strictest sense of the word, and you must be prepared for that going in. But with a fantastic, original, slow-burn story about love, loss, hurt, forgiveness, and recovery, it's one of the best visual novels out there — and your patience will be paid off in the end.
A Short Hike (Switch eShop)
From one extreme to another, A Short Hike is a fat-free single-player experience from top to bottom – or should we say bottom to top? It's the kind of game that makes us just sigh with happiness when we recall our time with it, and even having played it through to its ostensible conclusion multiple times, we know for a fact there are still things to see and do on that mountain. What we have here is something of an apotheosis – a milestone in indie games akin to Cave Story, or Spelunky. The very best bits of multiple game genres, stripped of all padding and bloat, mixed perfectly into a delicious video game stew that only gets richer and richer the more you play. An exploration in every sense of the word, A Short Hike is cute without being twee, challenging without being obnoxious, and emotional without being cloying. A landmark game for all ages. Don't miss it.
Metroid Dread (Switch)
The perfect adventure for a lonely bounty hunter, Metroid Dread is a triumphant return for both Samus Aran and developer MercurySteam following the team's Metroid debut with Metroid: Samus Returns on 3DS. 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. There's a strong argument that 2D Metroid has never been better.
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Undertale (Switch eShop)
Undertale is a brilliant and smartly-designed game that understands well what makes a good RPG work; so much so that it can upend expectations and deliver something that’s almost a satire of the genre. It’s been a long time since we’ve played a game that manages to surprise so often and in so many unique ways, and even if it doesn’t look like much, Undertale has way more going for it under the surface. Excellently written characters, a genre-bending battle system and a solid soundtrack make this one an easy recommendation, especially to RPG lovers.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses expanded the turn-based tactical series' horizons with gameplay styles, retooled combat, lovable characters, and in-depth character customisation hook you fast and are almost guaranteed to keep you engaged for dozens, if not hundreds, of hours as you come to understand this enormous game in its entirety. Fans both new and old won’t want to miss out on what Fire Emblem: Three Houses has to offer; this sets a new standard for what a strategy RPG can be and proved itself to be another must-have single-player Switch game.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Switch)
The Switch isn’t short of games that have already taken a bow, or several, on other hardware, but Skyrim might be the one that most deserves another look from both hardy Elder Scrolls adventurers and absolute beginners alike. Despite its age showing, with countless little cracks in its already fractured façade, it still delivers a palpable sense of space that few games before or since have managed. It's one of the all-time single-player experiences in video games. May its dancing northern lights never dim.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch)
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was a technical marvel when it first arrived on the scene back in 1993. Easily one of the great Game Boy releases, it was a first bash at a handheld Zelda that took the formula as perfected by A Link to the Past, jammed it all onto a tiny portable console and, somehow, managed to make it all work while adding a host of new features and concepts to the mix. This beautiful Switch remake rebuilds all of this from the ground up in fine style. It adds modern conveniences, a dungeon creator, amiibo support and lots of little quality of life improvements whilst infusing every single square inch of Koholint – every secret passage, Piranha, Pokey and Pig Warrior – with a level of detail and depth that totally reinvigorates both its timeless story and classic Zelda gameplay for a whole new generation of gamers.
![Legend of Zelda Link's Awakening [Digital Code]](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/10218/100x100.jpg)
Comments 38
I love that there is a Castlevania mention
I am also very tempted to start the Xenoblade Chronicles games
My recommendation.
Yonder the Cloud Catcher Chronicles
100% Peaceful game, No violences at all, Beautiful Cartoonish Open World game with relaxing gameplay.
I know Luigi’s Mansion 3 has a coop option but it still feels more like a single player experience overall and would be included in this list for me. I’m biased - it’s in my top 5 Switch games ever.
How random. Who would want to avoid a game that had a co-op mode, even it had an amazing single player mode like Mario Oddessey
@Buizel Odyssey has a 2-player option
@Anti-Matter holy macaroni the eShop's discovery sucks because this is 200% a game I want to play and this is the first time I'm hearing about it.
Actively excluding any game with any form of multiplayer severely limits what games I can try and recommend to add to this!
Loop Hero - for the amazing timesink and mindwarpy story
Sundered - a die-resurrect-die Metroidvania that is what you get if you take Dead Cells, remove the roguelike and fill the blank space with equal parts Lovecraft and Metroidvania that this site's staff keeps excluding from any rec lists for no discernible reason.
I'm please to see Steamworld Dig 2 on this list, it is an excellent game, one of the best on Switch. If you haven't already played it...GET IT NOW!! ha ha!
Where is Ni no Kuni Wrath of the White Witch? 😭 Fantastic game!
I just finished Wolfenstein 2, and that was a fantastic game, and as far as I can tell there aren't any co-op or multiplayer options for it either.
In my opinion, Xenoblade 2 is absolutely the best single player game on the Switch. A masterpiece of a game.
@Noelemahc
I have finished Yonder the Cloud Catcher Chronicles storyline for two times on Switch and PS4. And I have the games in physical release.
It was very relaxing game without violences at all. 😌
I wouldn't mind seeing a list of 'best portable games on the switch'.
I know thats a misnomer because every game on the console can be played portable but I want to see a list of the games built specifically for the format, with bite-sized chunks of gameplay.
What many gamers and sites will have glossed over is how well BOTW sits in this catagory. It doesn't have any tasks that take more than half an hour (bar maybe Eventide Island and the DLC) and yet you can lose yourself in the game for hours if you want to.
Its a fine balancing act few developers have mastered.
What a fantastic list of games! Adding the ones I haven't played to my wishlist now 😍
I have almost all of the games on this list. I’d add Blasphemous, Slay the Spire, Xcom 2, and Banner Saga off the top of my head.
Xenoblade 2 is the best rpg i played in any platform. Incredible amount of content even for game plus. The most fun i had in any game, grinding for a new blade..
Wow, i never expected to see Fata Morgana in here, Disco Elysium too. I didn't expect this list to be this good
My personal favorite single player games on Switch:
1. BotW
2. Doom 2016(you don't have to install the multiplayer part to enjoy this one)
3. Metroid Dread
4. The Witcher 3
5. Resident Evil 4
Surprised Aegis Rim didn’t make the cut. I know it’s more of a visual novel, but so is Ace Attorney!
I would add these games to the list
Bug fables
Oragami king
3D all stars ( yes I know it isn’t for sale any more. But that doesn’t diminish how good of a value it is. Also Walmart has a constant supply of the game.)
Ahh Ori the adorable little Ori. Ever since Ori and the Blind Forest first came out on Xbox One I've purchased quite a number of Ori Plushies. I just fell in love with the adorable little character immediately. As for Metroid Dread I did enjoy it for the most part but to me the Emmi almost killed it for me. When I play a Metroid game I like to explore at my own pace and IMHO the Emmi just kill that and I was always relieved when I destroyed one of them. Along came another one and I just sighed. As good as Dread was it will go down as my least favourite Metroid game in the entire series.
Thanks for the great collection. Will follow-up on some of these. But I feel Kirby: Forgotten Land, Mario Odyssey, and Bowser’s Fury got left out because of bonus multiplayer ( or maybe they’re too obvious? Because each is an absolute masterpiece! )
Great list! It’s too bad the Anniversary Edition of Skyrim didn’t come to the Switch.
Bayonetta deserves to be here too
@moodycat I dunno, honestly after playing both, XBC2 vastly outshines the first one in a lot of core areas such as combat, pacing and exploration (I mean, all those Titans!)
I know my argument that Skyward Sword is a better Zelda game than Breath of the Wild will fall on deaf ears, but anyone who thinks Xenoblade 2 is better than the original is just nuts. Also, I'd still include Astral Chain because its only "multiplayer" is literally handing one joy-con to someone else without changing any modes or settings in-game. Some other favorites are Bayonetta, Dragon's Dogma, Foregone, Giga Wrecker, Goblin Sword, I am Setsuna, Iconoclasts, Liar Princess and the Blind Prince, Little Nightmares, Octopath Traveler, PAN-PAN, Pokemon Rescue Team DX, SteamWorld Dig 1, and Mario Sunshine via 3D All-Stars. A couple of those got a mention somewhere, but I'd say they deserve their own spot on the list.
@ItsATM I can understand liking the world design and combat better in 2, even though I'd disagree, but pacing? There is literally no good stopping point in 2's story from Tantal onwards. The writing in general is a big step down from the original, and that's not even getting into the voice acting and fanservice issues.
@Anachronism
I 100% agree on skyward sword being better than botw. Both are great games but botw is just a notch below the other 3D zeldas to me.
@Ryan_Again
Is bowsers fury really considered it’s own thing. It honestly just feels like a side adventure to me.
@blindsquarel Yeah, the whole game kind of felt like it started at the end of the story. The lack of narrative weight, plus the lack of enemy variety, proper dungeons, and unique equipment/upgrades kind of killed the fun for me.
The Switch is basically the ultimate portable single player experience. There's so much that's made it over from the PC and legacy ports. I think with NSO and the major titles I have enough gameplay to last a lifetime now.
Very underrated but I had been enjoying this pure single player action game as of late. Wish there was a physical edition cause I will definitely double dip if that is so.
Ultra Age
“ If turn-based tactics aren't you're thing”
Your not you’re!
Fair few best recently Legends got my team of 6 Alpha shiny did all requests got bored BotW and Skyrim standard
ATM filling gaps in WiiU/3DS library
@moodycat like I said on the other post, I prefer the second XC over the first like 1000 times.. everything is better IMO.. perhaps not the sound track.. maybe same lvl.. eager to try the thrid game!
@moodycat I couldn't agree more about not including XC1. 1 is my favorite of the numbered games right now, mainly due to the combat (which I may be a minority in preferring) and the voice acting. The second game is also glitchy (walk around with whomever as your lead character and press the jump button, for example. In XC1, the character always makes the jump sound; in XC2, it happens about half the time, just as an example). And not being able to continue auto-attacking while repositioning your character to take advantage of position-specific attack bonuses (think "back slash" or "slit edge") was a huge turnoff for me with 2's combat that did tremendous damage to my ability to enjoy the game. I can't wait for 3, but I hope they've fixed this so it's back to being like 1 and X. Can't tell yet from the trailers shown so far.
OMG! Where’s Hollow Knight????? 😵
@moodycat I came to say the same thing. Xenoblade Definitive Edition is much better than Xenoblade 2.
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