Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still the most popular game on the Switch
Nintendo
The best Nintendo Switch games might not be as high-fidelity as the new-generation Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t gorgeous in their own right, and they’re a lot of fun to play. Better yet, as a more established console, Nintendo’s system has a vast library of games to pick from, making the best games for the Nintendo Switch the real cream of the crop, rather than just the best of what’s available right now.
One of the Nintendo Switch’s great strengths is how broad its capabilities are. It is both an extremely capable home console and an excellent portable gaming solution, making it just as desirable to play more traditional games as it is to Nintendo’s simple pick-up-and-play approach. It’s no slouch at competitive games either, with the best Nintendo Switch games including some of the most popular multiplayer games in the world.
Best Dungeon Crawler For Nintendo Switch
Divinity: Original Sin 2 – Definitive Edition
Arguably the pinnacle of the modern dungeon crawling RPG, Divinity: Original Sin 2’s Definitive Edition only improves on the original experience, with better support for 4K resolution and HDR making the game even more gorgeous than before. With improvements to story, physics, and voice acting, Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition still features the same excellent narrative, where you take on the role of four diverse characters in a deeply engaging fantasy setting.
Can you become the god the world needs when it’s at its darkest? Only your wits and ability to master this game’s deep turn-based combat system will tell.
Best hack and slash on the Nintendo Switch
Hades
Hades is a classic hack-and-slash adventure with layers of fantastic roguelike progression and storytelling. As you make your way through hell on successive, devilish runs, you’ll encounter various members of the Greek pantheon, bestowing gifts and rewards in equal measure. It’s a brutal, manic experience that gives you a great excuse to destroy demonic monstrosities in the hundreds—a cathartic experience that makes Hades one of the best Nintendo Switch games you can buy.
Best Relaxing Game For Nintendo Switch
Stardew Valley
For something that runs at a much slower pace, Stardew Valley is an indie darling that has gone from strength to strength since its 2016 release and subsequent port to the Nintendo Switch in 2017. It has you taking ownership of your grandfather’s farmhouse and surrounding land. What you do with it is up to you, though the idea is to create a farm of your choosing to earn a living and explore your relationship with the various townsfolk of Stardew Valley along the way.
This is a game you can play as fast or slow as you like and how you like, making it a great way to relax when you’re tired from all the fighting that’s at the heart of so many of the Nintendo Switch’s best games.
Best Fighting Game For Nintendo Switch
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
It might be a bit random at times, but Super Smash Bros. Ultimate remains one of the best chaotic brawlers available on any platform, let alone the Nintendo Switch. It has the largest character roster of any Smash Bros. yet, offering competitive play offline and on, and enjoys the greatest array of items, weapons, arenas and unlockables in its genre. You can even create your own fighter!
Whether you want to thrash your friends in some competitive couch gaming or take the fight to the world to see how good you really are with your favorite character, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a festival of fun, and it’s one of the best fighting games period.
Best Esports Game For Nintendo Switch
Rocket League
A bizarre success story if ever there was one, you might not expect a game about rocket-propelled cars playing football to be the mega success that it is, but Rocket League is a phenomenon. It’s not only an excellently fun game among friends, but it’s developed into one of the world’s premier esports, with a truly mind blowing skill gap among players. Whether you’re looking for casual fun or trying to go pro, anyone can appreciate Rocket League.
The best part? It’s been made entirely free by the new parent company of its developer, Epic Games. That said, if you want to unlock some of the best visual upgrades from the classic years before it became the free to play sensation it’s become, the Ultimate Edition from 2018 is the way to do it. It includes heaps of extras to kit out your car and make it look unique on and off the pitch.
Best First-Person Shooter For Nintendo Switch
DOOM
A classic in name and game, DOOM represents the pinnacle of FPS action on the Nintendo Switch, offering fast placed, brutal gameplay that looks fantastic too, putting to bed any idea that the Switch doesn’t have the graphical grunt for top-tier gaming experiences.
DOOM is fast, bloody, and a great reimagining of the classic run and gun FPS genre that gives you a wonderful dose of nostalgia with all the bells and whistles of a modern shooter. If you just want to blast some heads with a shotgun and not feel guilty about it, DOOM is the best game for the job.
Best Rhythm Game For Nintendo Switch
Thumper
Thumper is unique in its genre for not only being a deeply immersive rhythm game, but also one that evokes a wider range of emotions than you might expect. This isn’t your dad’s guitar hero, but something else entirely. Thumper evokes Lovecraftian horrors and existential dread, all while pulling you into a pulsing soundtrack that buries itself in your psyche and won’t let go until you’ve completed just one more level.
It’s hard, and often unforgiving, but if you can master the curves and jumps of this space beetle’s flight towards horrors unknown, you can count yourself lucky to have survived one of the toughest and best Nintendo Switch games.
Best Racing Game For Nintendo Switch
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe might be an enhanced port of a Wii U game, but it’s still the best selling Nintendo Switch game to date, with over 23 million copies sold by the start of 2020. It builds on the classic kart racing experience with an even bigger roster of characters and karts to unlock and race with, as well as an expansive collection of maps to explore.
Unlike Mario Karts of yesteryear, though, this version is fully playable online, so whether you want to take on the Dry Dry Desert with some friends or brave the Ribbon Road online, there will always be someone ready and waiting to play.
Best RPG Adventure For Nintendo Switch
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Breath of the Wild isn’t just one of the best games for the Nintendo Switch, it’s one of the best games ever made, period. It features a gorgeously expansive world to explore, with minimal interface, minimal explanation, and minimal oversight. You can do what you want, go where you want, and as you gain in skills and experience, you’ll gradually unlock the story of exactly what happened to Hyrule and where everyone has gone.
A hallmark experience for the Switch which showed what the power of the new-generation console could achieve, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild stands the test of time as one of the best Nintendo Switch games even years on from its release.
Best Party Game For Nintendo Switch
Jackbox Party Pack 3
If you want a party experience that is truly silly and ridiculously fun, the Jackbox Party Pack games are some of the best. This third iteration in the series is often hailed as the best, combining classic games and new experiences to give something for everyone, whether they’re seasoned gamers or your Aunty who wouldn’t be able to use a gamepad if she tried. Good thing you can use almost any device to play!
You can have up to eight people connect to the games with their smartphones and tablets, and you’re off and running, with silly quizzes, tricky lying matches and some dastardly confession cards which should have everyone involved roaring with laughter. Jackbox Party Pack 3 is one of the best games for the Nintendo Switch if you need a fun family game night.
