Feature: 30 Essential Wii U eShop Games

Nice list overall! I'd venture as far as to say that the eShop releases for 2016 (especially on Wii U) actually trounce the retail ones. The only real "downside" there is that most of them are multiplatform...

Well, okay... I'd say that several of those honorable mentions should really be switched out with the lower end games on the list.

Tumblestone should be switched with Little Inferno. (The creators of World of Goo made that one, for crying out loud!) $25.00 was way too expensive for an eShop puzzle game of Tumblestone's caliber. Exchange Woah Dave! for Child of Light. CoL deserves more than an honorable mention. The 90's kid in me is crying out for Ducktales: Remastered to switch out with 6180 the moon's place on the list. (DuckTales' Moon is way better ) Probably also switch Fatal Frame for Toki Tori 2, since Fatal Frame wasn't a true download only title, at least outside of NA.

points off for not including Child of Light

Um, Pushmo?

No offense but while tumblestone is a good game it shouldn't be on a list with these masterclass games. Would also have added citizens of earth but im a Mother fanboy so bias is here.

Almost everything here is better on PS4, or better just skipped. Very few games on Wii U eShop are actually worth your money: Runbow, NES Remixes and Gunman Clive Collection basically. (Though I admit Noitu Love looks interesting and I haven't yet played it.)

Yeah, Pushmo World is one I would have put on the list. Also, Little Inferno and Human Resource Machine. But lists like these are impossible to make. Good job!

I hated 6180 the moon due to its bland graphics and frustrating gameplay. Would not recommend.

@CharlieSmile It's in the honorable mentions, but you're right, it deserves more than that.

Nice list. I'm sure everyone will find a title that they feel should be included. One that immediately springs to mind is Toki Tori 2. Not only should it be included, it's one of the best. Even if it is given an honourable mention.

Also don't see Unepic or either Trine game, especially 2. There can be no other explanation than you forgot about Trine 2.

i have almost all of them which means it's a good list

@SLIGEACH_EIRE If Trine 2 were included, it would kick out Mutant Mudds. I think Thomas wanted to give the little guys a chance here.

Even though Super Meat Boy was released on other systems many years ago it still deserves a solid place high up the list.

@PlywoodStick I can think of a couple of other games to kick out.

Thomas was Alone is really fun

Currently playing through TPHD (Pro controller) because it's pretty much the best version of the best Zelda ever.

Switching between that and Black Ops 3 Zombies on XB1.

Tis the season. It's also 80 degrees where I'm at right now 😥

Thomas Was Alone and Child of Light deserve to be on this list.

I agree with those saying "Thomas Was Alone" and "Little Inferno." Still, a decent list.

I greatly appeciate this list as I've been meaning to pick up a ton of indie games I've missed out over the years.

Apparently some of my favorite games are not just underrated, but so underrated as to not even make the comments, let alone a list of 30.

The Chronicles of Teddy: demonstrates how beautiful pixel art can be when done skillfully, and not in an attempt to cash in on nostalgia, nor as a default style for lack of other ideas.

The Fall: classic point and click mixed with an intriguing 2D shooting and cover mechanic and featuring characters that are actually well-written and not just an afterthought.

FreezeME: an imperfect 3D platformer that has more than enough personality to make up for any flaws. As Jules Winfield reminds us, personality goes a long way.

Anything by RCMADIAX: just seeing how closely people are reading. All of his games are abominations.

@PanurgeJr Man, I love RCMADIAX's games too. They are stolen, have terrible art, repetitive 10-second music, ANNOYING TITLES, and they aren't fun. What else could you ask for in a game?

I forgot about Guacamelee! I remember when there was a time when I couldn't go a day on the internet without seeing something about that game.

Trine 2?

Merry Christmas everyone!
I'm currently playing Project Zero, I was lucky enough to get the Limited edition version, creepy game, loving it.
Also just downloaded Typoman last week, yet to play it.
My daughter and I just finished Guacamelee, awesome game.

3Souls, amazing GamePad features for Wii U.low prices for 3 episodes and very good game.highly recommended.

Cold!? Its 40 degrees C on Christmas day right here in Australia!

Definitely a good list. I bought most of these and enjoyed most of the ones I bought.

The Swapper and Child of Light should be on the list. The Swapper especially benefitted from the wiiu gamepad.

@roboshort
Finished The Swapper only 2 weeks ago.
Great game.
Great puzzles and atmosphere too.

Year Walk got a mention! It's a superb game with its puzzles and atmosphere. It was my Halloween game this year!

Shows the strength and importance of the eshop, some great games here. A few on my backlog list I really must get to!

Hm... not in the list but I have Dr. Luigi for Wii U eshop games. Classic but a bit bored (Ever play kind this game before). Also, 2 VC I got : Super Mario World SNES and FF Tactics Advance GBA.

@Mahe umm no. PS4 versions of these aren't "all" better. They're essentially the same games.

As for how almost all are garbage, no-one here with any sense would agree with you.

As someone who has played Runner 2 and FAST Racing Neo, these are quality titles at an attractive price. All i can think is that you are either being ignorant and dismissive or your standards are far too high.

What about Dungeons and Dragons, or Zen Pinball 2. Those are gret games.

Actually it's 36 degrees and sunny here! Go Aussies!

...Its currently 69 degrees out right now, at night.

And I live in Texas.

One of the few things that I think the Wii U did better than the Wii is the indie games, because seriously, Wiiware was just terrible.
I would add The Swapper, a very good puzzle game with a great atmosphere and Lone Survivor, a great ps1/2 survival horror mixed with retro metroidvania (even if it's Wii U version don't use the Gamepad at all and that's dissapointing).

Child of Light's absence is alarming...
Out of the games I've played I personally would have included Toki Tori 2 and Trine 2 over Stealth Inc and Runbrow but hey ho (ho ho)

@Oscarzxn Yeah, the people who take the most delight in pointing out Wii U's shortcomings compared to Wii (cough cough Emily Rogers) always ignore the total dominance of the eShop compared to WiiWare.

...nice list, ....I forgot Pirate Pop Plus was a crossbuy, thanks..it's also worth mentioning that (in NA at least) SEVERED, Mutant Mudds Super Challenge, and Woah Dave! are also crossbuys!..and Noitu Love: Devolution is a discounted crossbuy....also a couple of my Nindie honorable mention crossbuys are Xeodrifter and OlliOlli...sooo...let em' know, let em' know, let em' know...and Merry Christmas everyone!

Pushmo World
Ittle Dew
The Fall
The Swapper
Nova-111
Human Resource Machine
1001 Spikes
Pushmo World

Good list but missing a few of my favourites like how to survive, stick it to the man and Tipping star's.

@PlywoodStick
Child of Light and DuckTales Remastered DO need to be on there.

@KiWiiU_Freek Yeah. I'd like to see those guys do a 2d Metroid.

Don't forget these other amazing games on the eshop (that are even far better than some of the ones on the list above!):

• Super Meatboy
• Child of Light
  Thomas Was Alone

There's just such a wonderful library on the eshop, i'ts full of gems and alone can give the Wii U tons of life for many fans

Sure if you judge the Wii U by just it's retail releases then you could argue that it is rather short on quality titles, but all it takes is one look at a list like this to see that couldn't be farther from the truth. Some of these games I consider to be my all time favorites, with Shovel Knight and Freedom Planet getting two thumbs up from me! Those are must own games right there and Freedom Planet is only available on Wii U or PC if I remember correctly.

And they said the wii u have no "3rd party" support

Cold outside? It's a 40 C or well over 100 F in Australia.
I wish it was cold outside. With no kind of atmosphere. I'm all alone, more or less.

@Captain_Gonru unless you're really obsessive about graphics, basically framerate and slightly sharper visuals is what he meant by "better" . A big plus though is that there's no tax, so the price you see is what you pay. Apart from that, there's really nothing that makes these games "better" on the ps4

@MadAdam81 Yeah, because your in Australia in the hight of a summer day.

Meanwhile, its 69 F on Christmas Eve at 10:30 PM. Who's idea was it to live in Texas? (It was my idea.)

I would love to try Chronicles of Teddy!

The Bridge was never on my radar, but will have a look.

I wish there were more indies on Wii U:
Luftrausers
Hotline Miami
Limbo
Telltale games

I'm hoping the sequel to Retro City Rampage is still coming to Wii U.

The most notable missing games are:
1001 Spikes
Teslagrad
Super Meat Boy
Steamworld Dig

@Dpishere Freedom Planet is also on PS4.

I just bought affordable space adventures and I think it's awful unfortunately really boring and slow paced. Loading screens all the time. Feel as though I've wasted two hours of my life and some money 👎

Awesome games!! Merry Christmas everyone.

@johnodaz
No, no, no, Merry Squidmas!

Games not on the list that I've enjoyed a lot: Little Inferno, Nano Assault Neo, Art of Balance.

@shaneoh Thomas was Alone was an interesing experience but it's not much of a game in terms of a challenge and more of a story. It's good but not great in my books. Telsagrad however is so criminally underrated i'll never understand. The art, storytelling, mechanics/gameplay, boss fights, music are all amazing. It's one of the best games i've ever played and my only real complaint is that for a game that great it was over too soon, i'd love a sequel.

@sketchturner Holy smokes i didn't notice no Steamworld Dig, that's one of the very few rivals to Teslagrad in my books in fairness it is mentioned alongside Heist so it's not much of a foul i suppose. Elliot's quest should also be on the list, that game is awesome.

@Hey-Cha-La @Hey-Cha-La Chronicles of Teddy 2 was a great game but bugs were a pretty big issue with freezing and sound glitches. Hopefully that's been fixed because it's a really really good game, without them it would be in my top 5 eShop games.

Yeah it's cold outside. Unless you're in Australia and you're dying of heat stroke.

I like Child of Light a lot. One of the only games that made me want to play again as soon as I'd finished the game.

I think a list of exclusive games would work better since all the multiplatform games are generally better on PS4.

Another fun game is Twisted Fusion. It is true that he eshop has many good games, just not a lot of exclusives.

I wish Shantae and the two NES Remix games received physical releases in Europe. I'm still old school and much prefer them. I have Shovel Knight, Project Zero, FRN and the Steamworlds physically on Wii U. I worry I won't be able to play these download games 15 years in the future when hard drives break and eShop servers are no longer supported. Maybe I need to move with the times!

"Essential" is a bit of a stretch!!!!!

@idrawrobots I was thinking about that game, ittle Dew. I think is the only non-remake real Zelda game in the WiiU.

@PigmaskFan LOL Merry Squidmas too you too.

@Folkloner FAST is one of the few exceptions, but it's better to get that on disc instead of eShop.

Runner 2 is better on PS4.

That you could pick out two exceptions and one is on disc, one is better on PS4 is very telling.

@Captain_Gonru Shantae, Axiom, Steamworld, Guacamelee, Runner 2, all better on PS4. Shovel Knight could be too, but I can't remember exactly right now. Of almost all the worthwhile games on this list, it's better to get them on PS4.

And to top that off, many of the Wii U exclusives on the list are trash.

@Mahe How Steamworld or Guacamelee are bettter on PS4? they are the exact same games, it's not like they are AAA open world productions, just 2D indie games. They look the same on Wii U or PS4.

Love the list and Tumblestone was one of my favorite games this year!

@sandman89 I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Affordable Space Adventures was extremely dull. I got it in the 2nd Nintendo Humble Bundle, played it for about an hour and never touched it again. Going from A to B in a slow, clunky ship with awkward controls isn't my idea of a good time. I can't understand the praise that game gets. I was glad I didn't buy into the hype and pay full price for it. It's an interesting concept but ultimately just not a very fun game.

No VVVVVV?? 🙁

Definitely VVVVVV. An oldie now, but excellent. And that soundtrack!

@tedko think I payed £10 I would like my money back!😂

I haven't played many indie games, but Guacamelee Super Turbo Championship Edition is one awesome game. I highly recommend it if you love Metroid style games.

@maceng Ittle Dew isn't really a Zelda game it's more of a puzzle game that looks Zeldaish. It's a good but not great game, although some puzzles i recall being quite tough. Not much for story, combat and exploration.

No, don't tell me.. YOU FORGOT SCRAM KITTY!!??!???
You put it in the 10 best eShop games list or something like that previously. Thanks for ruining my Christmas.

BTW you still put in loads of great games so Merry Christmas.

Any multiplatform game which makes noted use of the Wii U's (and 3DS's) dual screens gets my respect. Just a shame we don't see even that much care set to using a PS Vita as a Game Pad of sorts for the PS4.

@tedko Affordable Space Adventures is a game set for couch co-op. I doubt I'd want to play it on my own, but drag an onlooker into an in-game duty (I handled guidance while my sibling handled systems; if I could drag her into it, I'd like to get my parent on lights), and part of the engagement is coordination.

@Mahe Didn't this piece literarily pay lip service to Axiom Verge making use of the Game Pad's screen? I get there's Cross-Buy (but not Cross-Save?!), trophies, and PS4's social options on Sony systems, but for the game itself, is the Wii U not even that incrementally greater for it?

@Kevlar44 I have Teslagrad through PS Plus. Your enthusiasm may have just sold me on cracking into it sooner than later.

We have 15 of those games in Japan, and I think three of the honorable mentions. And I'm pretty sure we won't be getting any more. Sad.

No Citizens of Earth, Squids Odyseey, UnEpic, and Asdivine Hearts - you are completely dismissing all the great eShop RPGs??

Wow, no Toki Tori 1&2+, The Cave, Knytt Underground, Stick it to the Man, Scram Kitty, The Fall, The Swapper, Dual Core, PixelJunk Monsters, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, Tetrobot & Co., Pullblox World, or Super Meat Boy.

With so many good Wii U eShop games available, I think we need at least a Top 50.

The eshop was definitely a pleasure although the pricing was a bit steep compared to PC and PS4. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem paying full price for games, after all I can appreciate the hard work that was put into them. It's just tough to justify paying 15€ on Wiiu when the game is on sale for less than 10€ on other platforms.
I did however buy WiiU exclusive eshop games like Swords and Soldiers 2, Affordable Space Adventure and Fast Racing Neo dayone. They were well worth their price

Also, lol @ the guy claiming that the indie games run way better on PS4. I have played a lot of these games on WiiU, PS4 and PC. Apart from loading times with my SSD on PC, the games are equal on all Platforms. The Wii U gives you OffTV play, the PS4 crossbuy with Vita and the PC allows for modding. They all have their benefits. These aren't hardware demanding games. They run perfectly fine on WiiU. Stop spreading misinformation

I too will join in on the Child of Light train. That game was fantastic. Should've been much more than an honorable mention.

@Mahe As an owner of both an Wii U and a PS4, I strongly disagree. Games like Axiom Verge, Shovel Knight and Don't Starve are actually made exponentially better by the gamepad.

@Oscarzxn Trophies, PS4 Dualshock 4 controller, smoother operation, and PSN account system, for starters.

@TJF588 That's just a marketing point that Nintendo apologists like NL like to trot out. Playing with the Gamepad is an absolute pain and a detriment to any game.

I can't trust a list that includes Axiom Verge prominently yet gives Teslagrad, a way much more fun and interesting game, a mere honorable mention. Also, no mention of Mighty Switch Force?

Good list anyway, there is a lot to play on the Wii U. Just make sure you include Rusty's Real Deal Baseball on the 3DS list, m'kay?

@Mahe If you hate the gamepad so much, why do you even care about a list of Wii U games? It's hard not to take your comments as trolling.

@MajinSoul I got some of the best games on this list in the humble bundle games, so while yes, the pricing can be steeper on Nintendo's consoles, we had some luck with those bundles

@Mahe When you trot out Dualshock and trophies as arguments you demonstrate that you have confused "better" with "more appealing to you". I hate trophies and prefer the Gamepad, so Wii U gives me a better gaming experience, all other things being equal. Accordingly you may wish to stop arguing that PS4 is better for everyone and everything.

@tedko That's the thing with indie games, some games might resonate more to some gamers than others. I personally really liked Affordable Space Adventures, yet disliked Axiom Verge which I found boring and repetitive, to the point where I lost interest in finishing it, but I know some people love it. So really it's a matter of preference, and it's really difficult to tell whether you'd like an indie game just from a review, specially when we don't have demos to try out.

I bought Pirate Pop Plus. Thank you for the list!

@nab1 Fair point. I quite liked Axiom Verge, but I'm not sure it deserves as much praise it's gotten. I got a lot of these games in the Nintendo Humble Bundles and definitely there are some real gems there. There are some very talented indie developers I'll be supporting in the future. I thought Bit Trip Runner 2 was great. I've had my eye on Teslagrad for some time and finally decided to get it now that it's on sale.

@TJF588 Maybe I'll have to give Affordable Space Adventures another chance and try out the coop mode, if I can find someone else to play it with.

@Mahe If you don't like the Gamepad, you can't just play with the Pro Controller. It's almost as good as the Dualshock 4.
And trophies.....I think, that really doesn't make the games ''better'.

A lot of great games left off this list, but one that's truly an 'honorable mention'? Human Resource Machine! Yeah!

Woah Dave! is one of those games that for strange reasons never was released in Europe.

Good list. My Top 3 eShop games would be:

FAST Racing NEO (PAL land lucky to get retail release)

Shantae & the Pirate's Curse (its successor's retail release is today here in NTSC land)

Nano Assault NEO (great shmup; a rare breed on the Wii U) ,

noting that DuckTales and NES Remix (both excellent) are retail releases here.

@nab1 I'm expressing my opinion. You know, leaving a comment, from my own perspective. If you can't trust NL to make credible articles about Wii U games, can you trust them with Switch games?

@Oscarzxn The Wii U Pro controller is trash. Having to play with that is not a pro, it's a con.

I've got eleven of these.

And still looking to grab a couple more.

The Wii U may not have had that many high profile physical releases, but I've actually never been without something to play.

Lately I've really enjoyed Blek, a game made so much better with the stylus on Wii U than it ever was on smart devices (some of which admittedly have styluses too, of course.)

@Mahe Not a con, a joycon~

@TJF588 Great avatar!