Tag: Best Switch Games
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Puzzle Games
Piecing it together
Updated with multiple new entries, including Puzzle Bobble Everybubble and Tin Hearts. Enjoy! From the very beginning, Nintendo handhelds have been a powerhouse in the puzzle genre, championing games that might have been lost in the bombastic, graphics-obsessed arena of home consoles. Switch’s bridging of the portable/home...
Guide Best LGBTQ+ Switch Games
Play with pride
Happy Pride, everyone! We're updating and republishing this list of some of Switch's best and most inclusive games in celebration of Pride month. Enjoy! The games industry has not always been good at portraying LGBTQ+ relationships and identities, but thanks to the efforts of small studios, indie developers, and LGBTQ+ creators,...
Guide Best Pokémon-Likes On Nintendo Switch - Games To Play After You've Finished Pokémon
The Mimikyus of video games
Updated with Cassette Beasts. Enjoy! When they said "Pokémon! Gotta catch 'em all", we all assumed that they meant catching all the pocket monsters. But actually, what they were talking about was catching all the Pokémon and Pokémon-like games out there — of which there are many. And now, at last, we have caught...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Roguelikes, Roguelites And Run-Based Games
Like Rogue?
Updated with Fights in Tight Spaces. Enjoy! When it comes to modern video games, there are few more polarising terms than 'roguelike'. That divisive descriptor draws some players like moths to a flame, while others run a mile at the mere whisper of it. These days, it often feels like 'roguelike' — which refers to dungeon crawler...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch DLC
Downloadable loving care
Updated with Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Expansion Pass (Future Redeemed). Enjoy! There was a time, long ago, when games were done when they hit retail shelves. But we're in the 21st century now, and more often than not, additional post-launch content is released months after a developer's main game is complete, enriching the...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Metroidvania Games
Or 'Castloid' if you prefer
Updated with Pronty. Enjoy! The word 'Metroidvania' might rub some core gamers the wrong way, but it's a useful catch-all to describe a very specific type of game experience. Combining elements from both the Metroid series and Koji Igarashi-produced Castlevania titles, this broad platforming genre has you using an...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Strategy Games
The best RTS, 4X, strategy and tactics games on Switch
Updated with Advance Wars. Enjoy! Strategy and tactics games by their very nature require deep thought and careful consideration, and many gamers these days often find it hard to embark on epic multi-hour campaigns in a single sitting. Planning a multi-turn offensive in a 4X game like...
Guide Best Retro Throwback Nintendo Switch Games - Modern Games With Old-School Style
Scratch that nostalgia itch with these Switch neo-classics
Updated with Kraino Origins and Lunark. Enjoy! Ah, nostalgia — it's a tricksy thing. How many times have we gone back to revisit a treasured classic only to find that modern games have spoiled it for us? For all the brilliant aspects of retro games, the mod cons and performance we're...
Guide Best Funny Games On Switch - Games That'll Make You Wii Yourself
Urine for a treat
We're resharing this list in honour of April Fools' Day. We all need a good laugh when everyone's trying to pull the wool over our eyes! What does it mean to be funny? Merriam-Webster defines funny as "affording light mirth and laughter", and in these dark times, don't we all need a little bit of Light Mirth? Well, do we have...
Guide Best Atelier Games On Nintendo Switch
Atelier what, there's a lot of 'em
Atelier fans have it good on Switch. The launch of Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key, the latest game in the sprawling RPG series, is nearly upon us, and looking back over the series entries that have come to Nintendo's console, there are well over a dozen available to play on Switch...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Demos - Try Before You Buy On Switch eShop
Play before you pay
Since its launch back in 2017, the amount of quality games that have come to Switch is simply staggering. Nintendo's system has quite literally thousands of titles to enjoy, many of them absolutely free to download and play, and many of the others with free demos available on the Switch eShop, so you can try before you buy...
Guide Best Visual Novels For Nintendo Switch
Reader’s digest
Updated with Tron: Identity. Enjoy! The portability of Nintendo Switch makes it a great system to play a wide variety of genres, and while visual novels can be enjoyed perfectly well on your TV, there's something about playing them on a handheld which just feels 'right'. Since launch, the console has accrued some great examples...
Feature 50 Years Of Landmark Video Games, One Per Year, All Playable On Nintendo Switch
Five decades of seminal software on Switch
Nintendo's Switch is now entering its seventh year, and while it's obvious that the company will be carefully planning the reveal of its next generation of hardware in the next year or two, Switch remains in uncommonly rude health for a console of its age. Since 2017, the system has attracted an enviable...
Guide 50 Best Nintendo Switch Games So Far
The very best Switch games ever (so far)
Nintendo Switch has amassed a huge amount of great games since the console launched back in 2017. Of course, this abundance of riches leaves us in something of a pickle — too much software, not enough time to play it all. In fairness, it's a lovely problem to have. Help! There are too many excellent games...
Guide Best Point And Click Adventure Games For Nintendo Switch
For the clicks
In the years since launch, Nintendo Switch has hosted games from across the genres, including an array of old-school point-and-click adventure games, a genre that flourished on PCs in the old days and one which Nintendo's hybrid console offers a convenient way to play. The system's touchscreen makes it an ideal match for games which...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Music And Rhythm Games
Not rushing, not dragging
Updated with Theatrhythm Final Bar Line. Enjoy! Whether you're a rhythm-gaming master or just enjoy getting down to the funky beat, there are a wealth of games available on Switch that cater to the musically inclined. From games that give you a full body workout to titles that test the timing of a single digit, we were...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch RPGs
The finest traditional-style Switch RPGs available to humanity
Nintendo Switch has amassed a huge number of quality titles across almost every category since launching back in 2017, and the RPG genre is certainly no exception. Below you'll find our picks for the console's essential role-playing games, in no particular order. This selection will...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch FPS Games
Lock and load
Updated with Fashion Police Squad and Metroid Prime Remastered. Enjoy! Nintendo Switch's bulging catalogue of games covers practically every genre, and First-Person Shooters are no exception. It's a welcome change because Nintendo systems have historically lagged a little behind other consoles in the FPS field despite hosting some...
Feature The Best Endings In Games On Nintendo Switch
All things must come to a GAME OVER
It's hard to say goodbye, but sometimes, it's for the best. Some of the more memorable and touching stories we've witnessed in games throughout the years have been the ones that ended tragically, or culminated in a bittersweet conclusion — there's a reason Shakespeare's most-loved plays are Hamlet and Romeo...
Guide Best Bad Guy Games On Switch
It's good to be bad
Don't you get so tired of being the hero all the time? Do you ever look at Bowser and think, "man, King Koopa's got it all figured out"? Does your life philosophy tend to lean more towards "nice guys finish last"? Then boy, have we got the games for you! So if you're itching to do crimes and evil deeds, then here are the best...
Guide Best Time Loop Games On Nintendo Switch
Okay campers, rise and shine...
We're republishing this in celebration of Groundhog Day. Or, wait... is this the first time we've published this? Oh no... Most video games are either two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Most... but not all. Today, we're celebrating the games that dip their toes into the underappreciated and underexplored fourth...
Guide Best Spin-Off And Crossover Games On Switch
Spinnin' around
You know you've got it made when your game is so successful that you get a spin-off — and plenty of the biggest games in the biz have done exactly that, from Musou crossovers and sports-playing alternate universes to rhythm and strategy games. And you know what? They're usually pretty dang good. We've compiled a list of the best...
Guide Best Pixel Art Switch Games
Our pick of impeccable pixels
Of all the art styles in video games, none has a stronger chokehold on developers and players alike than the humble pixel. Whether it's a fantastically detailed modern take on what is possible in pixels, or something made in homage to NES and SNES games of yore, pixel art can be found everywhere — in every genre of...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Wacky Physics Games
Slapstick is the highest form of comedy
Comedy has evolved a lot over the centuries and millennia, but one particular comedic mainstay has passed the test of time over and over again: Slapstick. It turns out that civilisation, no matter how advanced, will always appreciate a good pratfall, or even something as simple as a human being moving in a way...
Guide Best Zombie Games On Nintendo Switch
Undead and docked
Every decade or so, something big happens to bring zombies back into our lives. Whether it was the release of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead in 1978, the publication and subsequent adaptation of The Walking Dead, the hugely popular 'Zombies' mode in the Call of Duty series, or the meteoric rise of The Last of Us, we love a...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Management And Tycoon Games
Put on your best suit and tie
Are you the kind of person who — how do we say this politely — really likes everything a very particular way? Perhaps you've got your kitchen cupboards labelled and filled with neat rows of boxes, or you always take point on group projects because you know you'll make better slides than everyone else? You, my...
Guide Best Feel-Good Nintendo Switch Games
I see a ship in the harbour
We've updated this list with a couple more feel-good games to help get you through any New Year blues. Enjoy! Blue Monday. No, not just a kick-ass New Order song, but the name coined by marketers for the third Monday in January (or the first, or the second — all January Mondays it seems!), which is purportedly the...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Anime Games
Jojo Pose
Anime! Who doesn't love anime? No one who's clicking on this list, hopefully, because all these games are anime as heck. We've compiled a list of the very best anime video games on the Nintendo Switch — the games which take the action, charm, and/or personality of popular and beloved anime and manga series and squish it into a video...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Fitness And Exercise Games
Get in shape with these Switch games
Looking for something to keep you active? Thinking about getting in shape this year but find the lure of gaming too hard to resist? Worry not, because with Switch it's easy to mix your favourite pastime with a little cardiovascular exercise to get your blood pumping. Below we've collected our picks of the best...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Games For Kids
The best Switch games for your little ones
Nintendo Switch is a console with brilliant software for gamers young and old. Nintendo's wholesome, family-friendly image is well-earned, and with characters like Mario, Luigi and the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom gang, Switch games to cater to the young and the young-at-heart alike. With its excellent...
Guide Best Free Switch Games - Download And Play Right Now
Free as a bird
How times change! It used to be that you went to your local video game emporium, took your chosen game to the counter, handed over cold hard cash, and raced home to pop it in your console. Not only has digital distribution removed the need to even leave the house, but many games can be downloaded to your console for absolutely...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Couch Co-Op Games
Teamwork makes the dream work
While there's a huge variety of gaming experiences available on Switch, there's a good chance that couch co-op games were a big part of the reason you bought Nintendo's hybrid console. After all, the Switch is tailor-made for those experiences thanks to its Joy-Con controllers, which double up as two separate pads when...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Games Of 2022
The finest Switch games of the year, as ranked by you
And we're back! Another year done and dusted, one that was jam-packed with Switch games. It might have lacked a mainline Zelda or Mario, but Pokémon fans got double bubble in 2022, with Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet topping and tailing the year. In between those...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Family Games
Fun for the whole family
Nintendo's Switch is the perfect console for co-op multiplayer gaming and certainly goes down a treat at a party, but if you want to play games with your young kids and granny and granddad, it can be tough to find games that are genuinely fun for everyone involved. We know from personal experience the delicate balance of...
Guide Best Cozy Games On Switch
Prepare to have your fuzzies warmed
What exactly makes a game cozy? Is it the player's state of mind while playing? Is it an adherence to specific aesthetics or messages? Is it the inclusion of birds? Well, you might be forgiven for thinking it's the last one, because at least ten of the games on this list are about birds specifically, but the idea...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Action Games
Hacking and slashing
What better way to unwind after a long day at work, school, or wherever than throwing yourself into some intense hack-and-slash action? Or, better yet, why not take the action with you? Well, thank goodness for the Switch, which has become a quiet little home for some of the best action games of the generation. From classics...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Party Games
Maximum fun, minimum fuss
So, you're having a party, possibly on a rooftop, dancing to the music and all that jazz, but suddenly there's a lull. Fear not because we've got just the thing to get the party started again! Nintendo Switch has a whole host of crowd-pleasing co-op and competitive party games, whether you're hosting a birthday party for a...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Football Games
We mean Soccer, not that 'other' football
Updated with Retro Goal and Soccer Story. Enjoy! Football is the world's most popular sport, from the elite level of child-like millionaires with dazzling skills and impressive diving techniques, to actual children on playgrounds using jumpers for goalposts. Being a football / soccer fan that owns a...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch 3D Platformers
Workin' the Z-axis
Ah, the 3D platformer. Ever since Super Mario 64 landed and showed everyone just how good three-dimensional platforming could be there have been developers hoping to capture just a smidgen of that game’s magic. It was a tough act to follow, even for the plumber himself, but his bespoke Switch outing finds him at the very top of...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Collections And Compilation Games
Bundles of joy
Switch is many a gamer's go-to console for revisiting retro classics, at home on the TV, or wherever you happen to take the handheld hybrid. Squeezing in nostalgia trips between the big new releases has never been easier, and there have been a host of exceptional collections and compilation packages on Nintendo's system that bring...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Life Sims And Farming Games
Life comes at you slow
Updated with recent releases. Enjoy! If you're looking for a change of pace and some welcome distraction from your everyday life, few mediums offer such engrossing, ongoing escapism as video games. Even the best books have an ending, but some games can go on almost indefinitely and come to form a calming part of our daily...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Horror Games
Pack a spare pair of underpants
Are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night? Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic? Have you or your family ever seen a spook, spectre, or ghost? If the answer is "no"... you obviously haven't been playing any of the excellent horror games available on Nintendo Switch...
Guide Best Licensed Games On Nintendo Switch
Got a licence for that?
Just recently we saw the anniversary of The Mummy Demastered, an example of a great game based on the most mediocre of movies. Historically, licensed games — usually movie tie-ins — haven't enjoyed the best of reputations due to them often being rush jobs thrown together on a shoestring by an under-resourced developer...
Guide Another 25 Games That Are Better On Switch OLED
Games at their very best on Switch OLED, Part 2
It's been one whole year since brand-new Nintendo Switch hardware launched alongside the first '2D' Metroid game for nearly two decades. Metroid Dread, with planet ZDR's mysteriously dark environs and Samus' super-bright firearms, was a perfect showcase for Switch OLED's particular enhancements over...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Golf Games
Spoil your walk with Switch
Updated with Cursed to Golf and Easy Come Easy Golf. Enjoy! When it comes to golf, we're down for almost anything. Crazy golf, mini golf, putt-putt, or any other variant; we're always up for a round. We'll even play normal, proper, ‘big‘ golf. After all, nothing beats walloping a tiny ball around the countryside in...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Exclusives
Games you can only play on Nintendo Switch
Update: Now with 100% more Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Advance Wars: Re-Boot Camp, and 100% less Live A Live (which is now available elsewhere). Enjoy! Nintendo's Switch has become home to an almost overwhelming number of fantastic games since launching back in 2017. A great deal of them have appeared...
Guide The Hardest Games On Nintendo Switch
How many have you beaten?
Despite Nintendo's family-friendly image, anyone who's played much the company's output can tell you that, while Nintendo games might start out all fluffy and colourful and welcoming, you'll need all the hugs and fluff you can get as you enter the endgame, with the challenge ramping up considerably in the last quarter,...
Guide Best Sandbox Games On Nintendo Switch
Grab your bucket and spade!
When you were a kid, "sandbox" meant "small plastic box, usually full of sand and ants, which lets you pretend you're at the beach even though you're in a nursery down the road from your parents' workplace". As an adult, "sandbox" either means "a game that lets you choose most of your goals" or "ant-filled nightmare that...
Guide Best Switch Games... That Don't Fit In Other Lists Of Best Switch Games
Celebrating the games that defy genre
We make a lot of lists here at Nintendo Life, you may have noticed. Why? Because we've all been that person who really wants a game that's like another game they really enjoyed, and they want some more recommendations. It's easy to lump games together by genre to answer that query — but what about all the...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Beat 'Em Ups
Take the fight to the mean streets
Updated with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. Enjoy! Beat 'em ups have been a staple of gaming since the mid-1980s when Kung Fu Master birthed the genre in the arcades. It was arguably 1987’s Double Dragon which kicked off the golden age of the side-scrolling brawler, though, and some of our...
