Pokémon Nintendo Switch Games

Detective Pikachu Returns (Switch)

Series spin-off Detective Pikachu Returns serves up more of what delighted us first time around on 3DS, with an endearing and exciting story packed full of fun and light-hearted silliness. We really do enjoy this gruff, coffee-addled take on Pikachu, he never fails to raise a smile when he goes off on one, and the game successfully straddles a very thin line in giving us an adventure aimed at younger players that long-time Pokémon fans and ancient gamers such as ourselves can also enjoy. If you can handle the inherent repetitiveness of most of the core gameplay, alongside some rather drab visuals, you'll enjoy this one.

New Pokémon Snap (Switch)

If, like us, you've been waiting a significant chunk of your life for a sequel to Pokémon Snap, then you're in luck; New Pokémon Snap brings back almost everything that made the original special and fleshes it out into a much more elaborate game. This is something you can sink some serious time into and while there are some minor frustrations and pacing issues in the story, playing freely at your own pace is a pure joy. The original has gone down in history possibly as Pokémon's greatest spin-off, and it may have been dethroned.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (Switch)

While some of the slower elements of the original games have been fixed in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and The Grand Underground makes up for the comparatively weak Pokédex, the new art style and a few other stumbles make this pair of games a somewhat disappointing retread of Generation 4. If the remit here was to remain faithful to the original Gen 4 pair, we wish they’d also stuck to the pixel-art aesthetic.

Unfortunately, these are Brilliant and Shining remakes in name only, sticking very closely to the original template — which some players will no doubt welcome — but aside from The Grand Underground and the connectivity with the current games in the series, there’s very little reason to play Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl over your original DS copies.

Pokémon Café ReMix (Switch eShop)

As a free-to-play downloadable Switch game, Pokémon Café ReMix is rather pleasant. The art style and designs are charming (especially when you recruit them and they get their uniforms), and the dishes you prepare are clever; the Fluffy Eevee Pancakes and Cheesy Rowley Pizza look particularly appetising. We think we’ll just skip straight to dessert, thanks. The microtransactions aren’t massively intrusive, the energy system isn’t too debilitating and the stages aren’t Candy Crush Saga-style efforts where it’ll take you 70 goes to get lucky enough to eventually clear them. It won't keep you engaged forever, but it's a nice little distraction.

Pokémon HOME (Switch eShop)

Pokémon HOME isn't a game, but rather a cloud service with both a Switch and mobile app that lets you transfer and trade compatible Pokémon between various games in the series via a linked Nintendo Account. A very basic version of the app is available for free, but in order to use its full functionality, you'll have to pony up for a Premium subscription (30 days for $2.99, 90 days for $4.99, 365 days for $15.99).

There are restrictions (check out our guide below for more details), but if you want to quickly and easily move your Pokémon between games and flesh out those Pokédexes with creatures you already caught, this is how you do it.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch)

Designated a mainline entry in the series by Game Freak itself, Pokémon Legends: Arceus feels like the result of the developers learning lessons for 25 years, refining the formula, and finally taking the franchise in a new, incredibly exciting direction. Technically it may stumble in places, but with an emphasis on extremely rewarding exploration, addictive catching mechanics, a fine roster of Pokémon, and a genuine sense of scale that’s unlike anything in the series, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is up there with the greatest Pokémon games ever made in our book.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX (Switch)

A beautiful game with potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay, there's still no getting away from the fact that this is an ageing GBA title at its core. The dungeon-crawling genre has evolved over the years to try and make things feel less repetitive, and while Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX does add some features to modernise the process a bit, they tend to fall flat. It's still fun in bursts, it just gets samey after a while.

Pokémon Quest (Switch eShop)

Pokémon Quest is a fun little time waster that will satisfy your collect 'em all urges if you've exhausted everything the mainline Switch Pokémons have to offer. You will have to splash some cash if you want to get the most out of it, but it's far from a money sink. You can get everything you need in a single purchase, or unlock most of it slowly by playing for free — it's one of the most generous 'freemium' systems out there. Overall, Quest is a great jumping-off point for new fans of the series, and the cutesy art style just might win over veterans. No harm in giving it a shot.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Switch)

There are still plenty more ways we’d like to see the Pokémon franchise evolve but despite some glaring technical hiccups, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet has us cautiously excited about the series' future. Scarlet & Violet is most fun and exciting when you're just exploring the world, and while there are many small new details and improvements to the Pokémon formula, it still plays it safe in a few areas. It’s a smaller step than many may have hoped for, then, especially considering what Pokémon Legends: Arceus did, but it's definitely one in the right direction. We really hope Game Freak can figure out how to smooth out the series’ ongoing performance issues because they’re going to become a serious detriment over time.

Pokémon Sword and Shield (Switch)

Pokémon Sword and Shield succeeded in bringing some new ideas to the table, although there are areas where it could have pushed further. What was done right was done right, but there were also elements that felt like they had come from a decade-old design document. There are moments contained within that are the best the series has ever been, but this joy is occasionally spoiled by contrasting moments that left us disappointed. It's an experience full of highs and lows, from the unadulterated wonder and joy of seeing a brand-new Pokémon in a stadium full of cheering crowds, to the monotonous and dragged-out dialogue we just wanted to skip. The wonders of exploring the Wild Area felt like the true evolution of the series, which subsequent entries have explored.

On the whole, Pokémon Sword and Shield were a very solid start to the HD generation of Pokémon games, although with room for improvement.

Pokémon TV (Switch eShop)

Not a game at all, but a streaming app that gives you access to a whole bunch of animated Pokémon goodness, plus Pokémon TGC and Championship coverage, singalongs for younger kids, and various other forms of official Pokémon-related videos that periodically update with a fresh batch. If you want to see official Pokémon videos away from the hustle and bustle and ads of YouTube, you can catch 'em on Pokémon TV.

Pokémon Unite (Switch eShop)

Free-to-start MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) Pokémon Unite is difficult to recommend to casual 'free' players who aren't already Pokémon fans, but series stalwarts will more likely stick with it for the long haul. The gameplay is engaging, with a large roster of Pokémon that can be tried out in offline modes, but owning iconic Pokémon such as Lucario or Garchomp to play in Ranked will require an immense amount of Aeos Coins or paid-for Aeos Gems. A lot of joy is to be found in Quick Matches due to daily map rotations, but ultimately Unite is too geared toward grabbing people’s purses to win games rather than providing an even and engaging playing field. Still, if you don't mind the F2P aspects and you're into MOBAs, this one is surprisingly solid.

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! (Switch)

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! are beautiful reimaginings of a video game classic, updating a decades-old game in ways which make it infinitely more accessible and user-friendly for a modern audience, while keeping the magic first discovered all those years ago. On the downside, the motion control mechanic is fun but flawed, forcing you to shift from one play style to another to get the best experience. Still, the game does a superb job of striking a balance between being an easy route of entry for newcomers and offering just enough post-game challenge and competitive play elements (and nostalgia, of course) to please series veterans; as a result, these newer titles really do offer something for everyone, which can't always be said of the mainline Pokémon entries. They might not be absolute masterpieces, but we’d urge any Poké-fans out there to give these Kanto classics a go.

Pokkén Tournament DX (Switch)

This re-heated Wii U port, the unholy lovechild of Tekken and Pocket Monsters, is a Pokémon fan's dream come true. Rather than relying on turn-based combat to see who is the very best, you can take to a 3D arena and smash seven shades of poop out of a rival 'mon to finally decide once and for all who is (Nido)king or queen. Robust single and multiplayer options make Pokkén Tournament DX one of the most impressive competitive fighters on Switch, although the lack of mechanical depth may put off serious fighter fans.