The Nintendo Switch’s lineup has steadily grown since its launch in 2017. Here are the best Nintendo Switch games from Super Mario Odyssey to Link’s Awakening.
This article was last updated by Digital Trends’ contributor Don Reisinger on 8/24/2020. The Nintendo Switch is having a good year. The console-handheld hybrid has been on the market for over three years now, but a slew of promising ports in the first few months of the year gave Christmas 2019 adopters a healthy diet of new titles to enjoy. Ports of already existing gems like Doom cover the first-person shooter genre, whereas the newly completed Kentucky Route Zero has something for those who like to settle down with a classic point-and-click adventure. It didn’t take long for Paper Mario: The Origami King to take the Switch universe by storm. The game features the traditional Paper Mario look and feel and is set in a world where Mario and his partner Olivia need to take on the Folded Soldiers. All the while, of course, the goal is to free Princess Peach’s castle and take down King Olly. In his Paper Mario: The Origami King review, Digital Trends contributor Jon Silman called the game a “charming Mario adventure” but said that it suffers from “a difficult and tedious battle system.” Silman gave the game a score of 3.5 stars out of five. Read our full Paper Mario: The Origami King review If you’re in the mood for a new role-playing game that combines human and machine elements, Xenoblade Chronics Definitive Edition might be a good place to start. The game puts players in the position of Shulk, who attempts to understand his place in the world as he battles with others in his party against machine enemies. The game, which is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch, has an open world feel but generally follows a traditional role-playing game feel with a variety of battle maneuvers, health points that grow with XP boosts, and more. Xenoblade Chronics Definitive Edition also features more than 90 music tracks. It has taken some time to find its way to the Nintendo Switch, but The Outer Worlds landed on the console in June. Like The Outer Worlds on other consoles, the Switch version is a single-player sci-fi role-playing game that places players inside a power struggle in a far-flung world colonized by space travelers. The game gives players the option to make their own choices and impact the story. While anticipation was high for The Outer Worlds on the Nintendo Switch, Digital Trends Gaming Section editor Lisa Marie Segarra noted in her review that the title suffers from some problems, including a drop in frame rate, graphics woes, and long load times. And although Segarra says The Outer Worlds on Switch is still “a fun game,” she gave it just 2.5 stars out of five. Read our full The Outer Worlds review Although turn-based strategy games don’t always get attention, anyone in the mood for a new entrant in the genre should consider Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus. The game places players in control of a technologically advanced army called the Imperium and requires them to complete more than 50 missions to keep their troops alive in battle. In addition to the 50 missions, the game also features additional missions from the Heretek DLC. Overall, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus has earned solid reviews with an average Metacritic score of 78 out of 100 from reviewers. The average user rating currently hovers at 8.1 out of 10. The long-awaited Animal Crossing: New Horizons is finally here, and it just might be the series’ best game yet. Set on a deserted island that players must develop from scratch as part of a vacation getaway package, New Horizons gives unprecedented freedom and customization options. Furniture and decorations can be placed anywhere on the island, and custom patterns can be created for flags and even face paint. New Horizons continues the series’ online multiplayer tradition with support for up to eight players, and players can still trade items such as fruit back and forth to help each other build up their homes. Tom Nook remains in charge and wants mortgage payments, but the joy of New Horizons gameplay means it won’t even seem like a big deal. With regular updates on the way like the art museum upgrade, New Horizons is certain to stick around for a while. Read our full Animal Crossing: New Horizons review Platinum Games has established itself as one of the best action game studios in the world, with critical darlings like Bayonetta 2 and the existential Nier: Automata. Automata lead designer Takahisa Taura got his first chance to direct with the Switch-exclusive Astral Chain, which doubles down on the insane action that Platinum Games has prided itself on for the last decade. Rather than the post-apocalypse, though, you’re in a bustling stylized sci-fi city that is under attack by mysterious interdimensional forces, and it’s up to you to stop it. Astral Chain gives you simultaneous control of the protagonist and several Legion characters. This mix of direct and indirect combat is at the heart of the game, but you will also investigate mysteries and solve puzzles along the way. And you can pet the game’s dog-like Legion, so you know it’s good. What do you get when you combine the precision-shot action of Hotline Miami, the acrobatics of Trials, and the slow-motion bullet time effect from the Max Payne series? If that formula also includes one sentient banana, then you are either tripping on acid or playing My Friend Pedro. Split across several creative and perplexing levels, your goal is simple: kill everyone and reach the exit. That’s easier said than done, of course, especially when turrets are locking onto your position to deliver a torrential downpour of bullets. My Friend Pedro is the perfect game to play in the Switch’s handheld mode, too, because a level typically only takes a few minutes to complete. A surreal story gradually unravels as you progress, and special vehicular sections offer a nice burst of all-out action that differs from the methodical play of the rest of the game. Developed by the action masters at Dodge Roll, Exit the Gungeon is a full sequel to Enter the Gungeon, but it doesn’t merely add more levels to the existing game structure. Instead, it’s a “dungeon climber” that tasks players with escaping and moving upward as they blast away at enemies in shifting rooms and find a variety of unique weapons. The new format hasn’t changed the difficulty or bullet hell inspiration in tricky shooting segments, nor has it changed the game’s goofy characters and sense of humor. It may not be exactly what Enter the Gungeon players expected, but being surprised isn’t always a bad thing when it comes to sequels. Another Devolver Digital title, Katana Zero, translates Hotline Miami‘s one-hit pace to a side-scrolling plane, while implementing time mechanics that feel like an extension of Superhot. Playing as a samurai in a layered neo-noir storyline, you go on missions to hunt down high-value targets. Levels are split into rooms of varying sizes, with each one feeling like an action-oriented puzzle. Swift and incredibly stylish combat make each room completion feel like a wondrous feat. In addition to addictive gameplay, Katana Zero has a well-written story, complete with a bevy of twists that are as brilliantly played as entertaining. The original Splatoon reinvented the multiplayer shooter by taking the emphasis off of simply eliminating enemies, and its unique ink-spraying online matches were unlike anything we had ever seen before. The Switch sequel, Splatoon 2, largely sticks to the formula we saw previously, but its inventive new multiplayer maps and weapons make the game even more engaging. The game’s humor is also back in full force, with puns galore and user-created artwork that is both hilarious and terrifying. For those more interested in playing cooperatively, the Salmon Run mode is an excellent addition to Splatoon 2. Groups of four players must collect golden eggs while fending off waves of evil Salmonids, and it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. Just make sure all your friends have their own systems, as the game doesn’t support split-screen multiplayer. Read our full Splatoon 2 review Ape Out is a top-down kill fest starring an ape that makes humans explode into a pile of blood-soaked limbs. The latest game from Devolver Digital is simplistic but delightful. In each of the game’s four chapters, you’re tasked with navigating an ape from captivity to freedom. The road to freedom is paved with gun-wielding guards that will shoot rather than ask questions.
