As a casual gamer and someone who is always on the lookout for great new games, I know some of the best games for Nintendo Switch. This selection is of course purely personal, but I still think there’s something in it for everyone. Because the games are objectively of a high quality. Read what it’s about, whether it’s all about the story or the action or both, and find your favourite.
The ranking only says a little bit about which game I like a little bit better. 1st place is my absolute favourite game, but I also love the 11th place.
Please note this list will get updates from time to time and will exceed the original TOP 10.
More from Laurel’s Top 10:
TOP 10 Anime series (on Netflix)
The best games for Nintendo Switch
11th place:
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
This game is probably one of the most famous games in the Nintendo franchise. For years it’s been offering more and more action and characters, and what can I say? It’s just damn fun, especially with friends.
When you play alone, the fun eventually fades and the always same brawling becomes boring.
10th place:
Limbo
Limbo, if you don’t know this title, you have not only deliberately ignored the indie-game sector in recent years, but also the mainstream media, to which this jewel has already Gaines a well earned access. Goosebumps and pure suspense. This game is especially fun when you play it at night and alone, or with a few spectators who help to crack the puzzles.
Ah yes, we are talking about creepy horror with small rays of light and an inscrutable, but exciting story, which runs automatically in the background.
You’re playing a little boy in a vast, gray land, not really sure why and where. As you come closer to the end, it all makes more sense, and anything more I would say would already spoil the fun.
9th place:
Mario Kart 8
Mario Kart 8 is at the forefront of the Mario Kart series, not only because it’s the latest title, but also because everything about it is just right. The graphics are beautiful, there are more characters than ever before, and many of the old familiar race tracks can be played again. It’s especially funny in a group, but I also like to play this game alone over and over again.
8th place:
Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends is a classic jump ‘n’ run game with the emphasis on “run”. It’s really hot and fast and there is not much of a story to it. The funny thing is that you can play many different characters and the music and levels are just fun.
You can play with up to four friends, but it can be a bit tiring if, in the more difficult levels, not all of them know perfectly well what they have to do. Easier (and less frustrating) is this game alone with two players at most. Fortunately, my relationship survived, that much I can say.
7th place:
Child of Light
A real poem to play, in the truest sense of the word. A highly immersive game that sweeps you away with beautiful music, enchanting watercolor graphics, and an emotional story. I loved it! It’s a rather short game, but it’s a lot of fun and a good idea especially for literature and art lovers.
6th place:
Mario Odyssey
Mario Odyssey is simply fun. It’s a typical Mario-style platform game- unless it’s not. The graphics are just amazing and stand for the most elaborate Mario game ever produced. Great gameplay, really nice controls and all kinds of fun things to discover. One of the best Mario games ever, finally with a more exciting story than you are used to.
5th place:
Flipping Death
This game is especially thrilling because of its insanely good voice actors. It displays great humor and the funniest (=weirdest) characters in probably the entire game world.
What happens: Penny dies, but as a ghost she gets a job from Death himself (because he wants to go on vacation) and then experiences all kinds of crazy adventures. Good ending and really great gameplay included.
I just sometimes had a hard time driving the story forward and had to check out some solutions online.
4th place:
The Binding of Isaac, Afterlife +
A crazy horror game that is somehow completely different from anything I know. It is one of my favourite games because it is always fun to unlock new characters and every “run” is completely different.
You play Isaac, a little boy, who gets lost deeper and deeper into the earth while fleeing from his mother. He keeps gaining new abilities as he processes, with thousands of possible combinations to keep the monsters at bay. A very animalistic, interesting game, which can be disturbing for some people.
Please only watch the following trailer if you don’t have a problem with horror.
3rd place:
Night in the Woods
If I had a tattoo, it would be a line from this game:
“At the end of everything, hold on to anything.”
A game that carried me away like no other. There are no action or shooting scenes here, but the game reflects real life so damn good that you don’t miss it at all. The story is amazing, eerie, emotional, incredibly loving, fear-filled and beautiful. Great friendships, the most brilliant characters ever and incredibly exciting nights.
Truly a masterpiece. If you love good stories, honestly, don’t think twice and get this game. The dialogues between the lovable main characters alone are worth it. It’s worth it. I’ll say no more, enjoy it yourself.
2nd place:
Hades
Sexy gods and goddesses. Legendary weapons (well, really, weapons from myths and legends) and the underworld. As the son of Hades you try to escape from the underworld. You will die countless times- which isn’t that big a deal here. You are the god of blood and you always come back … To try again. There is more of a story behind this, of course, but I can’t reveal too much of it without spoiling the fun.
You get support from the gods and goddesses of Olympus on your escape and thus always get new, exciting abilities with which you can destroy the monsters of the underworld. This system makes every run unique and new. It’s great fun and can be played for hours on end without getting boring. I played over 85 hours already, oops. One of the best games I know.
1st place:
Hollow Knight
Along with Night in the Woods- my absolute favourite game on the Nintendo Switch. Everything works just right here. An action platformer like no other. Super cool graphics, totally beautiful NPCs and characters, nasty enemies, really good action, a great story and a fabulous realm to explore. And it’s is so much bigger than you think at the beginning. I’ve been playing it for over 70 hours and not one of them was boring.
It’s just so much fun to discover new secret paths behind every corner, meet new bugs and learn new skills. The game is so well constructed that it never becomes boring, just at the right moment you learn new sword powers or it gives the story a new twist. Nothing is forced upon you, you run around freely and everything happens organically.
The level of difficulty works quite well, but it’s definitely more on the sometimes difficult spectrum. Which is usually a lot of fun here.
Please buy it, the best game ever for 7,5€. The (sale-)price is an April fool’s joke. Even 14€ are still too little.
Did I mention the beautiful music you can buy on vinyl?
