Nintendo Life Game Of The Year 2020

2020 is now but a distant, if persistent, memory and we can now look back and survey the gaming battleground it left behind. Despite the year being a particularly ugly one for practically everyone, we were lucky enough to enjoy some incredible games that year, several of which helped restore spirits in our down time, enforced or otherwise.

Below you'll find the Top 50 Switch games of 2020 as ranked by readers of Nintendo Life. The order is governed by the User Ratings associated with every Switch game released in 2020 on our games database. As with several of our reader-ranked Best Games round-ups, the ranking is totally fluid even after publication, which means it's never too late to rate your collection and influence the list.

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If you've yet to score your favourites, simply click your chosen games' ratings below and score as you see fit. Can't see your favourite? Head to our library of Switch games (click the Games tab at the top of the page) to find what you're looking for. A game needs to have been rated by a minimum of 50 users to become eligible, so it's entirely possible to influence this best Switch games of 2020 ranking and get your favourites on the list.

The best Switch games of 2017, 2018 or 2019 are available if you want to look back even further, but for now let's dive into this selection of the best Switch games of 2020...

50. Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (Switch)

Compilation games like Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics always have a variety of hits and misses depending on your own personal taste, but there's a wide enough variety of board, card and action games here that you're sure to find a number that will appeal to you.

Everything's presented with charm and warmth (terribly-written cutscenes aside) and there's an enormous amount of content on offer, whether you plan on playing solo or with others. The perfect game for if you're stuck indoors with the family? Quite possibly.

49. Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection (Switch)

Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection is everything that you could’ve hoped it to be. This is ultimately six great Mega Man games presented to you with a slew of customisable features, extra content, and quality-of-life updates.

If you’re a fan of either Mega Man or side-scrolling action games in general, you owe it to yourself to give this release a go and see what all the fuss is about. These are hard and occasionally frustrating games, but they offer up some rewarding, action-heavy gameplay that even today stands among the best of its class. Don’t pass this collection up.

48. Hotshot Racing (Switch eShop)

If the look of Hotshot Racing appeals to you and you can appreciate the aesthetic delights of something that looks deliberately low-fi and polygonal, the action it offers on the track does an excellent job of backing up the game's style with substance. It may have its quirks and it may turn you into a paranoid conspiracy theorist ready to tell tales of rubber-banding to anyone who’ll listen to you, but hey: that just adds to the authenticity of the era it’s based on. This is a fine racing title that truly nails its driving mechanics and delivers an exhilarating experience that will captivate newcomers and veterans alike.

47. Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch)

Paper Mario: The Origami King tried to do something different with its combat system and, to be honest, we weren't really feeling it. That doesn't mean the rest of the game isn't thoroughly entertaining, however, and while the puzzle-based battles weren't quite what a new Paper Mario game needed, they aren't so awful that everything else shouldn't be experienced as a result.

It might not be the new Thousand-Year Door that fans were hoping for, but it's still one of the funniest games in the series and it's got a truly likeable companion character. Combat is far from ideal in this entry, but the fact that we recommend the game regardless should speak volumes.

46. Doom 64 (Switch eShop)

While it was already something of a relic when it launched on the N64, Doom 64 remains a great example of just how refined a formula the series offers and just how good a job the late Midway did in the shadow of id Software.

The lack of local multiplayer support still stings, even after all these years, but with support for motion controls on Switch – something Nightdive has already pulled off to a tee with its Turok ports – and the addition of a new DOOM Eternal-themed level, this is a classic retro shooter that deserves a little more love.

45. The Last Campfire (Switch eShop)

The Last Campfire is an unusually freeform puzzle adventure that stuffs its six-hour playtime with conundrums of every kind. While a few puzzle designs deserve more time in the spotlight – or could support whole games by themselves – the game's commitment to new ideas makes for a refreshing change of pace. It comes from the core creative team behind WiiWare favourite LostWinds, now with Hello Games of No Man’s Sky fame, and this delightful puzzle-stuffed adventure is proof that the developer doesn’t have to build a universe from scratch to entertain.

44. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (Switch)

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a game that’s obviously designed as a love letter to longtime fans of the franchise, but it also bears almost no resemblance at all to the gameplay that made the preceding titles such a hit.

As a rhythm game, it’s a perfectly enjoyable and content-rich entry in the genre, but a substantial amount of its meaning and appeal will be lost on rhythm fans who don’t have a background with the previous games.

Either way, we think Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is certainly worth your time. It's a fun and engaging rhythm game with potentially hundreds of hours of replayability and a killer setlist of music to back it up.

43. Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope (Switch eShop)

Shovel of Hope — the original Shovel Knight release from 2014 now rebranded as a standalone episode (kinda like how Star Wars became 'A New Hope', if you like) — stands as an example of how excellent retro-themed platformers can be when you have a team of experienced and passionate developers working on them, and still to this day acts as a standard which other, similar releases are judged against. The interesting level designs, humorous writing, high replayability, and intuitive controls make this one an easy recommendation, although with the caveat that the full Treasure Trove release (which includes all Shovel Knight content released to date) is still the better way to go. Even so, it’s tough to go wrong with this original campaign, and if you haven’t played it yet, we’d highly recommend that you do so.

42. 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.

41. Murder By Numbers (Switch eShop)

Murder By Numbers successfully manages to combine an entertainingly wacky series of whodunnit mysteries starring a properly entertaining cast of characters with some excellent puzzling that'll keep Picross fans happy for a good long while. There's an engaging, funny narrative at the centre of proceedings, and you'll find yourself rooting for Honor and SCOUT as they make friends and alienate people on their way to solving murders and finding out the truth behind SCOUT's mysterious past. This one's an easy recommendation and a genuinely delightful surprise.