From AAA tent poles to indie darlings, these are the best Switch games available right now for the popular hybrid console.
If you’re on the lookout for the best Switch games to play at home and on the go then you’ve come to the right place. When you have a Nintendo Switch, you also have access to a huge and varied game library that includes Nintendo’s own first-party exclusives like Animal Crossing, third-party blockbusters like Diablo 3 and some of the most inventive indie titles you’ll ever see. It’s a lot of choice, which is certainly great, but that can also leave you spending more of your precious time scrolling through the frustrating Nintendo eShop to find your next game than you do actually playing it. To help with that, we’ve put together this list of the best Switch games, highlighting the titles you absolutely shouldn’t miss. These games work across the Switch family, so whether you’re on the original Nintendo Switch or its handheld-only counterpart the Nintendo Switch Lite, these games are for you. We update our picks often so if you don’t see something right now, do check back for new releases. Now, read on for the best Switch games you can play right now. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the first new entry in the mainline Animal Crossing series for almost eight years and the first entry to be playable on the Nintendo Switch – and it was definitely worth the wait. New Horizons whisks you off to a deserted island through an exclusive Nook Inc package. Your job is to get the island to be a top resort, attracting new islanders by sprucing things up and making your island a tropical paradise. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is packed with charm and the perfect game for those who want to kick back and just take things at their own pace. It’s familiar and fresh, deftly combining the old enjoyable parts of the series with some much-needed improvements and far greater depth than we’ve seen before. It just keeps giving, too, with regular seasonal updates to keep you invested. It’s one of the best Switch games for relaxing and engaging play. Check out our full Animal Crossing review here. Cramming in hundreds upon hundreds of hours of RPG adventure, these double packs should not be missed. Pairing Planescape Torment with Icewind Dale, or the two Baldur’s Gate games (plus all games‘ associated add-on packs) these enhanced editions for the Nintendo Switch make four classics PC role playing games playable on console for the first time. Cleverly converting mouse and keyboard control to on-the-go gamepad play, you’re now able to take four of the most epic D&D-inspired role playing games with you wherever you go, and then dock them for big-screen play at home. The controls may take some getting used to, and the gameplay and visuals are of a certain slower vintage. But if you want an unmissable history lesson in role playing games, and want to settle into some unforgettable stories and choice-driven play, these excellent-value bundles are a must play. Not everyone would have had the chance to enjoy Bayonetta 2 when it was first released back in 2014, thanks to its Wii U exclusivity. Fortunately, it’s now a Nintendo Switch game too, finally giving it the reach it deserves. Bayonetta 2 is an excellent game, with fast-paced and satisfying combat, jaw-dropping animations and frankly outstanding fashion choices. Even better, when you purchase a physical copy of Bayonetta 2, you’ll also receive a free download code for the original game. More than anything, this is a great way to prepare for Bayonetta 3, which has been confirmed as being in development for the Switch. Few games are as universally acclaimed as this brilliant indie hit so of course we’ve named it one of the best Switch games. It’s essentially a spin-off of Crypt of the Necrodancer, a rhythm-based rogue-like that sees you time your moves and attacks to the beat of the music. However, this Legend of Zelda Zelda-themed follow-up places the action in Hyrule itself – also allowing you to play as either Link or Zelda (Nintendo, take note). Blending the best of classic top-down Legend of Zelda games with a groovy, musical feel, and slick animations to match, it is the rhythm-based Zelda game we never knew we needed. From the developers of Towerfall, Celeste follows the story of Madeline, a young girl who decides to face her mental health issues by climbing to the top of the mysterious Celeste Mountain. In doing so, she learns more not only about the mountain but about herself as well throughout the process. An inevitable classic, Celeste integrates the obvious jump, air-dash and climb controls into a brutal series of platforming challenges in upwards of 700 unique screens. If that’s too easy, you’ll unlock B-side chapters along the way, designed for only the most intrepid of hardcore players. You don’t even have to worry about waiting an eternity between each respawn, as Celeste brings you back from the grave in an instant, a welcome departure from the typically extensive load screens. It’s not only one of the best Switch games out there, but one of the best indie games too. What’s left to be said about Dark Souls that hasn’t already been spat out in blood, frustration and pure, unfiltered joy? The daddy of tough-as-nails adventure games, it’s spawned a thousand imitators and a zillion curse words as adventurers stalk the deadly land of Lodran. Taking a methodical and precise approach to combat, it’s as unforgiving as it is rewarding, making each hard-won victory against its monstrous foes a real achievement. Always fair, it’s also a master of environmental story telling, revealing its secrets slowly as you gain command of its systems and best its enemies. Dark Souls: Remastered isn’t quite as pretty on the Switch as it is on PS4 or Xbox One, but it does have the added benefit of on the go play (just don’t go swearing on the bus). And there’s a whole new wave of players to engage with when you activate its online mode – a key component of the series, with a new community eking out their first bold steps into its cruel world. It’s been quite a journey for Diablo 3. After a rocky start on PC way back in May of 2012 that saw online server crashes and criticism of the series’ famed addictive loot cycle, the game was overhauled in time for a last-gen console version in 2013 and a current-gen release on Xbox One and PS4 in 2014. Two excellent expansion packs and a host of game-improving tweaks later, Diablo 3 is not only a contender for the title of the greatest dungeon crawler of all time, but, somehow, it’s now portable, too. The Switch has done it again, with developer Blizzard cramming every improvement and piece of added content into this handheld version of the game. It not only works, but looks and plays amazingly too. Diablo 3 has evolved into one of the greatest games of its genre, and the added portable factor here arguably makes this the best version to pick up, so long as you’re not a mouse-and-keyboard PC purist. Check out our full Diablo 3 (Nintendo Switch) review. From Doom to Skyrim, the Nintendo Switch is becoming known for the seemingly-impossible handheld port, and with the release of Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition, it’s bagged itself not only a fantastic technical achievement, but one of the finest RPGs ever made, too. Building on the foundations set by old-school RPG classics like Baldur’s Gate, Divinity: Original Sin 2 has you on a literal quest for godhood, in a world where those with magical powers are marginalized. So far, so standard for an RPG title. But Divinity: Original Sin 2 comes into its own with just how flexible and freeing its systems are. With turn-based combat that takes as much inspiration from XCOM as it does from tabletop RPG spellcasting, you’ll always be given multiple ways to progress, letting you combine items and environmental modifiers to take on foes in increasingly creative ways. Divinity: Original Sin 2 has more ideas in its first ten minutes than some games have in their entire duration: want to be an undead adventurer who can talk to skulls? Go for it.
