Tag: Switch Essentials - Page 2
Guide Games Like Zelda - What To Play After You've Finished Tears Of The Kingdom
Attack of the (Zelda) Clones
In the years since we first ventured out onto the great plains of a truly open Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, we’ve found all the shrines, defeated Calamity Ganon, and scoured the kingdom for every last item and Korok seed. We’ve seen it all — and we went back to see it again in Labo VR — and...
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 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 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 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
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 loud trousers. We're also partial to video game versions of...
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
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 best gaming memories involve strutting down streets and getting into...
Guide Best Switch Games For Short Play Sessions
Perfect for busy people
It used to be that we'd take our 3DSes with us on holiday, public transit, and to hospital waiting rooms, because it was easy to pick up and put down a game on this tiny little handheld, and to put it into sleep mode whenever your attention was needed. These days, we're more likely to take a Nintendo Switch with us whenever...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Sports Games
Be a sport
Updated with Mario Strikers: Battle League. Enjoy! Since the dawn of humankind we homo sapiens have sought to prove ourselves with competitive feats of skill, dexterity or sheer strength. This has taken many forms, but usually involves performing some task in the quickest time, besting your opponent(s) in a physical bout, or scoring the...
Guide The Saddest Games On Switch - Games To Make You Cry
Good grief
Updated with a few more games! Not too long ago, we published a list of the Best Funny Games On Switch, which showcased all the finest comedy and capers that the Nintendo Switch has to offer. But much like the iconic Greek masks of comedy and tragedy, it's pointless to have happiness without its counterpart, sadness. Lightness needs...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Shmups
Shoot ‘em up, all of ‘em
The humble shoot ‘em up has been a staple genre ever since the very beginning of video games when Spacewar! laid down the basic groundwork in 1962. No, that is not a typo; in the year that Marilyn Monroe died and The Beatles recorded ‘Love Me Do’, some boffins at MIT were busy inventing video games. Of course, it...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Puzzle Platformers
For a slightly more cerebral platforming experience
The Switch has a lot of platformers, and a lot of puzzle games, and that extends to puzzle platformers. If you're raising your eyebrows and saying, "What are you on about, you can't just combine them like they're ice cream flavours," then stick with us. It's a thing, we promise. Rather than games...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Single Player Games
Player 2 has left the game
Since launching back in 2017, Switch's success has arguably been down to its chameleon-like ability to suit any gamer's preferred style of play. You can play it where you want and how you want. The ability to crack off the Joy-Con for impromptu multiplayer sessions on the TV (or on-the-go) makes it the go-to console for...
Guide Best Twin Stick Shooters On Nintendo Switch
Opposable thumbs required
Twin-stick shooters are ruddy good fun, right? It's a genre that allows you to just switch off your brain for a few minutes at a time while you blast enemies into the abyss. All you need is a couple of analogue sticks and a thirst for destruction and you're ready to go! We've already got a list for the best shmup games on...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Soundtracks
Er, Part 1?
Video game music is a topic we're passionate about here at Nintendo Life, and we're certainly not alone. We ran an entire season of interviews and features on the topic last year, and it's one of the subjects always sure to fire up enthusiasm at the office. It's not surprising really. Great music wherever you find it has a way of...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Kart Racers - Switch's Kart Racing Games, Ranked
From Worst to Best - who could possibly be in pole position?
When it comes to kart racers, there's one undisputed king of the crop on Nintendo systems, and we're not talking Crash Bandicoot. Let's not kid ourselves here — we all know what's sitting at number one on the list below of the best (and worst) kart racers on Nintendo Switch. With a...
Guide Best Cheap Nintendo Switch Games
30 games under 20 bucks
The huge library of games available on Nintendo Switch can be a little overwhelming sometimes, with quite literally hundreds of incredible titles to choose from on the Switch eShop. There's always something to tempt you — always something worth purchasing some eShop credit for, whether there's a big sale on or not. In this...
Guide What To Spend Your Nintendo eShop Credit On - Switch Games Under $10, $20, $50
Money is such a burden, isn't it
So: It's your birthday or a gift-giving holiday, and you've just been presented with a shiny piece of plastic with Mario and a number on it. Alternatively, an alphanumeric code has been printed or scrawled in a card. You ask your parents/significant other/gift-giving human what you're supposed to do with this, and...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Open World Games
You see that mountain?...
Updated with new additions. Enjoy! You see that mountain on the horizon? You can go there! That old gaming chestnut has been around for a long time now, but for old-school gamers who remember the compartmentalised kingdoms of yore, there's a special magic still to be derived from being able to trek your way to a distant...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Camera Games - Photo Modes And Photography In Switch Games
Say cheese
Photo modes are so hot these days! But, well, not so much on Switch. Search "Best Photo Modes" and you'll get a bevy of PlayStation and Xbox games, probably — like The Last of Us, God of War, or Death Stranding. And sure, those games are lovely and pretty and photorealistic... But you don't need a fancy 4K game console to take good...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Short Games
Blast through these games in a single sitting
The Switch is the perfect console if you travel a lot, for work or pleasure. The console's portability makes it the perfect choice if you're spending any time at all in planes, trains and automobiles. Of course, you may choose to pass the time playing a trusted standby, or grinding through your...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Games Of 2021
The finest Switch games of the year, as ranked by you
More of a March madness fan? This video of ours differs from the list below as it looks at the best games that came out between the 3rd March 2021 and the 3rd March 2022. Ooo! 2021 has come and gone (almost) and despite a quiet start to the year, Switch owners have seen some real gems launch...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Run And Gun Games
Mega Men, Mugmen and more
Updated with the roguelite action-platformer 30XX. The library of games on Nintendo Switch has expanded rapidly since the console launched back in 2017 and it now boasts a huge number of great games in practically every genre. Keeping up with all the releases coming to the Switch eShop on a weekly basis can be a...
Guide Best Tabletop Mode Games For Nintendo Switch
Kick back and enjoy
Look, it's not often like the Nintendo adverts when it comes to tabletop mode gaming on Nintendo Switch. We don't all have the photogenic smiles and make a racket playing in a trendy coffee shop, but there are times and games that really do suit a bit of tabletop play. Whether solo or with friends, there is certainly an appeal to...
Guide 25 Games That Are Better On Switch OLED
Games at their very best on Switch OLED
Nintendo released its first major Switch iteration in over two years back in October 2021 with the Switch OLED model. It has a few benefits, like an improved kickstand, a bump in portable audio quality, double the internal storage and a LAN connector on the dock, but the main feature is in the name. Yep, it's...
Guide Best Wii U-To-Nintendo Switch Ports
Upwardly mobile
Sure, the Wii U was a commercial bomb for Nintendo, but let's not act like it didn't have any good games. In fact, the Wii U had some of the best games of its generation – it's just that not enough people bought the console to find out. Still, not to worry, because Nintendo is fixing this issue by putting pretty much every decent...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Survival Games
Prepare to die
Update: With Survivor in the title, roguelike monster-slaying sleep-depriving Vampire Survivors is a required text for this list. Even if it's about surviving the day with no sleep... Some people play games to relax and unwind; others play games where everything's trying to kill you, and you have to prevent them from doing so with...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Games Of 2020
A great year for games, at least
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,...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Local Wireless Multiplayer Games
Games best played with multiple Switches
The Switch's facility with local couch co-op games is one of the key selling points of the console. The ability to crack (read: carefully slide) off the Joy-Con and get involved in some same-screen multiplayer mayhem is super convenient, although the introduction in September 2019 of Switch Lite — the...
Video 21 Best Switch Games for Under $5
Good games, happy wallet
Video games can be an expensive hobby and you never know how long it's going to take for one to go on sale. With the holidays right around the corner, there's no better time to ease off and give some cheaper games your attention. We haven't just selected any ol' random games, we've ensured all the titles here are actually...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Flight Sim And Space Combat Games
Choose your wingman
It's taken a while, but as with most other genres since Switch launched back in 2017, Nintendo's console has steadily built a good library of flight combat games. Whether you're shooting bogeys and blasting your way though the clouds or the cosmos, there's a host of quality dogfighting games available. All the games here lean...
Guide Best TATE Mode Nintendo Switch Games
Turn your world sideways with these amazing games
TATE mode – or 'portrait' mode if you prefer – is just one of the features that make the Nintendo Switch such an attractive system for players. While TATE games are, by and large, found in the shmup genre, there are a few notable exceptions on Switch which use the thinner-yet-taller aspect ratio...
Guide Hidden Gems On Nintendo Switch eShop
Find these buried treasures on the Switch eShop
The term ‘hidden gem’ gets bandied around a lot, and often erroneously; an occasionally overlooked entry in a long-running, celebrated franchise isn't a hidden gem. Of course, sometimes the game in question truly went unnoticed and unloved by the masses and is worth digging up, but more often than...
Guide Every ACA Neo Geo Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks
A complete list of Hamster's ACA Neo Geo Switch titles
Much like Hamster's Arcade Archives series, the company's line of Neo Geo titles - which goes by the bespoke title 'ACA NEOGEO' to separate it from the rest - has been a regular fixture of the weekly Nintendo Switch eShop download lists. With over a hundred releases under the ACA banner, Hamster...
Guide Every Arcade Archives Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks
A complete list of Hamster's Arcade Archives Switch titles
Since 2017 we've seen a steady supply of Hamster's Arcade Archives releases bringing arcade classics to the Switch eShop. What's more, the series includes previously unreleased or hard-to-find arcade games from Nintendo itself. Having been so well acquainted with many of the NES versions,...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Online Multiplayer Games
The best online games available for Switch right now
Nintendo Switch is the perfect console for local multiplayer — simply crack off those Joy-Con and start having fun with whoever happens to be in the room with you. However, the console has built up a solid portfolio of online multiplayer games since launch, too, and we've picked out a handful...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch 'Walking Simulators' And Narrative Games
These boots were made for environmental storytelling
While the terminology around these games might cause some confusion, the (first-person) adventure or narrative-focused 'walking simulator' has made its mark on the gaming landscape over the past decade or so. The 'walking simulator' term, originally a pejorative descriptor of a genre where 'you...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Action RPGs
Playing the action role
When does an RPG become an action RPG? Is it the moment turn-based battles are switched out for real-time combat? When does an action-RPG stray into adventure or hack-and-slash territory, then? Do numbers have to go up? What year is this? Who is the President? It's questions like these that keep the more fastidious among us...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Games Of 2017
I just wanna go back, back to 2017
Remember 2017? While it might be something of a hazy memory now, that was the fateful year when Nintendo released the Switch to the world. The portable powerhouse would hit the ground running with the wonderful The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild upon its March 2017 launch. July 2017 saw the colourful...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Games Of 2019
The best games from Switch's third year
2019 was a fantastic year for Nintendo Switch owners, with a stellar lineup from the platform holder itself joined by a near-endless stream of brilliant third party games; finding the time to play them all was by far the biggest problem facing Switch (and Switch Lite) gamers. Nintendo's console got off to a...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Games Of 2018
The very best games from Switch's sophomore year
Cast your minds back, if you will, deep into the mists of time, all the way back to 2018. Yes, a lot has happened since then, not least where Nintendo Switch is concerned! After a barnstorming opener which featured genre-defining winners like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario...
Guide Every SEGA AGES Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks
Blue skies smiling at me
Since the 2018 release of SEGA AGES Sonic the Hedgehog, we've seen a slow and steady flow of classic SEGA games arrive on Switch eShop courtesy of developer and retro port specialists M2. This is the same company responsible for the excellent SEGA 3D Classics line for 3DS. While not as plentiful or frequent as Hamster's...
Guide Best Nintendo Switch Games For Lovers And Lonely Hearts
Curl up with your Switch
When love is in the air it can be invigorating for those with Cupid's arrow embedded in their chest... or downright sickening for anyone who finds themselves down in the dumps. Whether you're energised by the twin glories of love and affection or have had it up to your eyeballs with commercialised lovey-dovey nonsense, we...
