30. Snipperclips - Cut it out, together! (Switch eShop)
Snipperclips - Cut it out, together! makes no bones about the fact it's a game best played with others, and the formula is functional but lacking a real hook in single player. When in a team, however, it transforms into an intelligent yet cute set of co-op puzzles, with plenty of content and variety to keep duos busy. It's a shining example of how games can be accessible and fun for players of any level, and in the Switch launch line-up is probably the most laid-back and flexible multiple experience available. The built-in multiplayer aspect of the Switch is played up to nicely (to the point that only Joy-Con controllers can be used), and beyond the lengthy main mode there are larger four player puzzles and a few competitive minigames (two of which are fun in short bursts). Couple all this with some great DLC (included with the expanded 'Plus' retail version) and you've got one of the Switch's finest co-op experiences.
29. Blaster Master Zero (Switch eShop)
Blaster Master Zero is a lovely addition to the Switch's library, a low-impact retro shot which helped fill the gap between major retail releases after the console's launch back in 2017. A homage to Sunsoft's original Blaster Master on NES, Inti Creates did a fine job 'rebooting' the gameplay of the original and giving the 8-bit visuals a couple more 'bits' to make the sprites really pop on your Switch screen. The result is a game which looks retro, but feels wonderfully crisp and vital. If you are looking for something old-new, we highly recommend Blaster Master Zero; it's a great homage to the original and one you will have a blast (sorry) playing.
28. Resident Evil Revelations (Switch eShop)
This began life on the 3DS before getting ported to other platforms (including Wii U). The compartments of the cruise ship Queen Zenobia were a necessary design concession when the game ran exclusively on handheld hardware, and this gave Resident Evil Revelations something of a unique flavour in the modern RE era, recalling the contained spaces of the Spencer Mansion from the first game, although here the 'mansion' was floating.
Despite some disappointingly blobby enemies and a slightly laborious scanning mechanic, Revelations (or 'Revelaitons' as the famous box spine misprint called it) did a great job of cramming the series' tension onto Nintendo's handheld. It looked fantastic, and even scaled up on more powerful hardware, it holds up remarkably well. Its sequel edges it in a face-off, we'd say, but this is still definitely one to check out if it passed you by the first (or second) time around.
27. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (Switch eShop)
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero has never been better than on Switch; the enhanced versatility of the console lends the game a new sort of appeal and convenience that wasn’t there before. This is a charming, colourful, and sometimes challenging Metroidvania that will no doubt prove to be a memorable addition to your collection. While it could be a little longer, we would give this one a strong recommendation to anyone who hasn’t yet picked it up for any other platform. For those of you who have, know that you’re essentially just paying for the ability to play this on the go, but that’s still arguably worth the asking price. Either way, this is one of the most polished Shantae games.
26. World of Goo (Switch eShop)
World of Goo is a true classic, and it's revered for good reason. 2D Boy's game is instantly accessible but with plenty of depth; it's paced out perfectly, with a steady stream of new tricks and techniques to learn; and its puzzles can be solved with forward-thinking, quick reflexes or a mixture of both. Wrapped up in a unique, pleasantly apocalyptic presentation, with co-op support and a harder 'OCD' mode for added replay value, this is a complete puzzle package. If you've played it previously, the Switch incarnation might be worth a second go for its portable pointer controls and on-the-go co-op, but if it's your first time into the World of Goo it's absolutely a must-play.
25. Puyo Puyo Tetris (Switch)
What happens when you throw arguably the two most popular falling block puzzle games in a blender? It’s a miracle that the result wasn’t a horrible, horrible mess, but Puyo Puyo Tetris mixes the two so confidently that it doesn’t occur to you how catastrophic this cocktail could have been. Sonic Team respects the fundamentals of each series and offers a rock-solid game of both, but isn’t afraid to have fun stirring them together. There’s a bevy of multiplayer options for up for four people, and everything is presented with a vigour and verve which belies the decades-long history behind both puzzle genre titans.
The Story mode is… well, it’s a bit nuts, but it’s there if you want it (we were glad for the skip button). More importantly, the wealth of modes available means aficionados of either series have more than enough to occupy themselves with. In fact, it’s possible to pretty-much ignore your least favourite, but that would be a great shame; this is a glorious firework of a crossover, uniting puzzle fans of all creeds and it shines very brightly on Switch.
24. ARMS (Switch)
The core fighting mechanics of ARMS are easy to grasp — especially when you're using the pleasantly intuitive motion controls — but they showcase the kind of depth which rewards dedicated players. Mixing up light and charged punches with your dashes and leaps allows you to create an almost balletic style of play, but add in grabs, stuns, and features unique to each stage and you've got a truly formidable foundation to build on. The lure of collecting Arms will keep you glued to your console even if you only choose to play solo, but ARMS also proves its worth online, and for those who want to take things to the next level, Ranked Matches provide the ideal means of proving your skill.
In the scheme of things, ARMS might not have made much of a dent in the hallowed canon of Nintendo IP, but it deserves a second look if it flew under your radar.
23. Resident Evil Revelations Collection (Switch)
Resident Evil Revelations Collection isn't really a collection, as such. There's no significant connective tissue between these two distinct games beyond a few common elements and a shared fictional history. It would have been nice to see some kind of effort put into presenting a unified front, with a common UI and a synced up approach to controls. A certain sense of porting laziness aside, though, these are two fine entries in the Resident Evil series. The original Resident Evil Revelations was a great 3DS game at the time, and remains a surprisingly solid, refreshingly breezy experience on Switch. Revelations 2 is where it's really at, though. The sequel is a full fat episodic Resident Evil experience with a neat partner system and some terrifyingly tense set pieces.
22. Enter the Gungeon (Switch eShop)
Enter The Gungeon is a brilliantly tactile, endlessly replayable twin-stick roguelike that sits right up there with the very best indie games on Nintendo Switch. With satisfying combat, random levels, and an endless supply of inventive weapons, items and secrets, it's always a total joy to play. Yet another modern indie classic found a natural home on Nintendo's console.
21. The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ (Switch)
After appearing on a whole bunch of other platforms, The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ feels like a perfect fit for Switch. It's a game you can pick up and play for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, jot down or screenshot your favourite seeds, or dip into daily challenges. The Switch's control configurations and simple couch co-op only sweeten the deal. This game feels like a blend of old-school mechanics and new-age thinking; it's an homage to the challenge and style of old titles, while simultaneously presenting itself stylistically as something more contemporary. If you're looking for a game that will be different each time you play it, look no further.
Comments 48
I really REALLY want another Pokkén game for the Switch.
Missing Pinball FX3 and the Metal Slug trilogy but that'll do.
This is great! I can go through and see what I missed!
3. XC2
2. Super Mario Odyssey
1. BotW
Imo
where's Slime-san?????
Forget going back to 2017, let's see some progress! Let's see BotW's formula merge with the traditional LoZ story, a Splatoon that puts its best foot forward in terms of multiplayer, some actual plot advancement for Mario, a Mario Party that actually plays like one, SMM2 getting the rest of its missing content beyond playing with friends, a new Bomberman that lets you customize multiplayer ala Generation (if you want), and other worthwhile surprises!
I'm slightly shocked by just how many of these I own, whether on Switch or WiiU/3DS. Most are great, but quite a few are in my backlog anyway...
2017 was an amazing year for people who owned both Switch and PS4. Horizon: Zero Dawn. NieR: Automata. Persona 5. Danganronpa V3. Yakuza Zero. Resident Evil 7. Breath of the Wild. Super Mario Odyssey. Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Splatoon 2. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
3DS saw Etrian Odyssey V, a major Fire Emblem remake, and a remake of Metroid II.
Heck, even PC/Xbox got some action via the incredible Cuphead.
2017 was the best gaming-related year since the turn of the century.
But, of all those, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is still arguably tops for me. One of the best games I've ever played.
Many games on this list are somehow still on my backlog of games I have yet to grab for the Switch. It's almost 2020 and I still haven't even played Xenoblade yet!
Wait, 2017 is over? Someone should have told me!
Oh I wonder what #1 is? For the BILLIONTH TIME.
Skyrim should be in the top ten imo, but yeah this just goes to show what an awesome first year the Switch had.
But where's astral chain?
Pretty decent list but Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle should be higher. Even in 2019 it's still my favorite Switch game.
A magical year it was
@Yoshinator ahh my bad, thought it was just an ongoing list being updated!
For me Steamworld Dig 2 is a really underrated game, to only be 10th on this list! Personally, i'd put it 4th or 5th.
I bought my Switch for the special reason of owning Mario And Rabbids Kingdom Battle and that was easily my top game for the year too.
That top 5 list is gold. I would've put Mario and Rabbids a lot higher.
I always felt like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was hugely overrated.
For me BotW really was the high note of the gaming that year.
And it won Game of the Year, which sealed its success in the gaming history.
There were some fantastic games but thank goodness that 2018 and then 2019 happened. I only care for a handful of these games.
Some great games on the list but some garbage as well
Happy ARMs at least made the top 20.
Feel that game is getting to Kid Icarus Uprising level of underrated.
@JayJ totally agree on XC2, cant stand the combat system.
"Unfortunately, Ultra Street Fighter II represents Capcom at its most lazy and exploitative"
Boy, that's REALLY saying something considering Capcom's output on Switch so far.
One of the best years in the history of Nintendo consoles! Mind you...this year is pretty wonderful too!
I'll give Brave Dungeon + Dark Witch's Story: COMBAT a mention since while it isn't a "big" JRPG, it does well for everything it tries to do and I had fun with it as a result...which is what I can say for the Brave Dungeon part.
@Kalmaro Me too.
2017 was a fantastic year on Switch; Mario Odyssey, Blaster Master Zero, Mighty Gunvolt Burst and Doom were all superb and I’ve replayed all of them multiple times since (I’m actually replaying Odyssey now after finishing Link’s Awakening).
2017 was indeed a great year for gaming.
With Mario Odyssey, NL talk about how ’post-credits it takes on a life of its own’. Aren’t you just revisiting all the same levels looking for more moons? Or am I missing something? To me, post-credits felt like I was repaying the game all over again, and so I stopped after a couple of worlds.
Best Nintendo Switch games. Sees ARMS. Something is not right here.
2017 Switch library was fantastic and the following 2 years haven't come close to beating it. 2019 may have beaten it if the first half of the year wasn't so empty though.
@Bondi_Surfer There's a few new kingdoms in the postgame too, you just need enough moons to travel to them.
Was the absolute best year of my gaming life. Intelligent release schedule; new exciting games that all seemed to have a mandate of "lets to evolve the franchise"; surpise hits like Mario Rabbids; exiting and well executed 3rd party ports. 2018 pooped on that and 2019 met 2018 and 17 halfway by having a horrible release schedule, but eventually focused on new games offering evolved experiences. No clue what 2020 but Im guessing it meets 2018 and 19 halwayd meaning more ports again, a better than 19 release schedule with some new experiences tossed in.
But which is the best year for the Switch- 2017, 2018, or 2019?
ARMS hit top 20!!!
Zelda and Mario Odyssey are still the best games on Switch after 2.5 years. Kinda disappointed to say that, but it also does speak volumes to their excellence.
The first year of games for Switch really was killer! Just look at that top 5 there, those 5 games alone will be remembered for years and years, and there are a LOT of other absolute gems on this list.
The Switch has continued to get one good game after another. I have over 100 games for my Switch at this point, I can't remotely keep up anymore.
You won't see a better top 3 games in a single year ever again.
@Grumblevolcano I think it’s hard to beat a year that has two of the best games of all time plus a really good supporting cast, but 2019 has been really good.
I love countdown lists. Please do 2018 and 2019
@Kalmaro Yea, Pokken is fantastic, and a great foundation for a new, more fleshed out release. Alarming levels of depth.
I’ve got just over half of these games at 26 out of 50. I don’t want to admit how many I’ve actually finished haha.
@JEM 2017 is still a much better year than 2019. A lot of those are hype titles that won't be remembered.
I will never forget 2017 it's when I bought my first switch and got Mario odyssey on release night with splatoon 2 I binged Mario odyssey and fell in love again with gaming and looked forward to all the releases after and the Nintendo directs and e3s . 2019 has been good for switch with good games too lost my mom this year though and she is to go with me to gamestop so its bitter sweet happy gaming everyone and let's look forward to new awesome games to come
@MrGawain 2017 imo this year would beaten it if animal crossing wasnt delayed and December wasnt so dry this year
@Nintendonerd12 I am sorry to hear about your mom, that is a great memory of her going to the game store with you.
Like you, I got my switch in 2017 and got Odyssey at midnight. And we agree that we love gaming on the switch.
Happy gaming, friend, and I wish great strength for you!
@koaeinferno you're absolutely right.
It should have been in the top 10.
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