So you finally got a Nintendo Switch, just in time for Nintendo to start hinting that the Switch 2 will be released sometime next year. Well, don’t worry – being behind the gaming curve can be a good thing!
You might feel like you're years late, but actually, you're in luck: you have eight years to catch up, and the Switch library is one of the best in gaming history — especially if you can see more than just Mali Beloved first-party titles like Oz, Zelda, and Pokémon , plus a host of indie games available for download with a single click. (And the prices are often great—especially if you're waiting for a major sale.)
Here are 25 of the best games to get you started—from platformers to puzzle games to RPGs. And you've only scratched the surface.
animal well
IGN Rating: 9
The just-released puzzle-platformer has already earned rave reviews, if not an instant classic. It's a neat twist on the "Metroidvania" format: You play as an unassuming blob wandering a dark forest atmosphere, and your only goal (at first, anyway) is to survive by solving increasingly complex environmental puzzles. Figure out how to get to the next screen. This all sounds simple (and familiar), but what sets Animal Well apart is its unique atmosphere (the pixel graphics are deceptively simple), its excellent and ever-changing game mechanics, and its quirky sense of humor.
Read the IGN review.
Buy digital version ( 24.99 )
Disco Elysium: Final Cut
IGN Rating: 10
A cross between a role-playing game and an interactive novel, Disco Elysium is hard to describe and will disappear from your mind once you start wandering down its myriad winding narrative rabbit holes. You play as a detective who has lost his memory and must navigate a fictional seaside city that is still recovering from a past war. By talking to NPCs that involve branching dialogue choices, you learn more about your past and discover your place in a strange world where reality (or your sanity) is less reliable. This isn't a game for people who like lots of action and combat, but as an example of interactive storytelling, it's unrivaled.
Read the IGN review.
Buy Digital ($39.99) | Buy Physical ($25.50)
remorse
IGN Rating: 10
Originally an Xbox exclusive, this unique role-playing game puts you in control of Andreas Maler, an artist in 16th-century Germany who becomes embroiled in a series of murder mysteries that you can solve by investigating possible themes through exploration and dialogue. . The narrative is uniquely open-ended, letting you weigh the evidence you've gathered to decide who to charge with a crime - whether you think they committed the crime, or you just think they're the most deserving of punishment. All of this unfolds through gorgeous 2D graphics based on the style of medieval paintings, manuscripts, and woodcuts, giving the impression that you're playing as a lifelike piece of art for the protagonist.
Read the IGN review.
Buy digital version ( $19.99 )
Braid: Anniversary Edition
IGN Rating: 8.5
"Braid" achieved great success in the early days of independent console games, and finally landed on Switch in the form of an anniversary edition. The game graphics have been greatly improved, but the game mechanics are also proven. Braid is a puzzle-based platformer (or is it a platform-based puzzler?) in which you play as a boy named Tim trying to save a princess, although there's more to the story than it seems. It's much more complex, with many boxes of text revealing the hero's inner thoughts and motivations. But that's just window dressing for the gameplay itself, which requires you to solve increasingly complex environmental puzzles using an ever-evolving array of time-manipulation mechanics. It's still a great game if it feels a bit familiar in 2024.
Read the IGN review.
Buy digital version ( $19.99 )
gold statue incident
IGN Rating: N/A
If you grew up with early '90s point-and-click adventure games from the likes of Sierra Games, you'll love The Case of the Golden Idol , a retro detective story in which you try to solve a mystery through exploration An archaeological mystery spanning four decades. Crime scenes, collecting clues and piecing together the story as you go. You can play more in "Explore", which unfolds like the aforementioned old-school point-and-click game as you pore over moments "frozen" in time and history; or in "Think" mode, which opens a The fill-in-the-blank sentence menu allows you to add words collected in exploration mode to uncover the game's backstory. (Confused? Here’s a video explaining how it works.) It’s a game that tests your wits, asking you to use deductive reasoning to figure out what’s going on—it’s more reflective than Initiative, but still completely satisfying.
Buy digital version ( $19.99 )
Shovel Knight: Treasure
IGN Rating: 9
Have you ever played Mega Man ? Shovel Knight is kind of like that. Have you ever played DuckTales ? Shovel Knight is kind of like that too. You play as the titular warrior (guess what your weapon is), rescuing your best friend from a group of villains calling themselves the Invincible Knights. As you progress through each themed stage, you'll traverse unique terrain and perfect your skills - the boss you'll need to defeat at the end. Once you've completed a game of Shovel Knight, you can replay the game as one of the bad guys (most of whom aren't as evil as they look). These aren't just simple reskins, they're (almost) entirely new adventures with their own gameplay mechanics and control quirks. I didn't stop playing until I finished all four.
Read the IGN review .
Buy Digital ($39.99) | Buy Physical ($31.45)
Fez
IGN Rating: 9.5
Fez is one of the most mind-expanding games I've ever played. It's a hybrid between a platformer and a puzzle game, in which you play as a little guy living in a two-dimensional world who suddenly gains the ability to The ability to observe things in three-dimensional space. As a player, this means you can spin the world on its axis with a tap of the shoulder buttons; platforms that once seemed out of reach are now easy to jump out of when viewed from a different angle, and hidden doors are found in tree trunks. The back is revealed. You set out to explore a vast new world and save it, and if you want to figure out how to do that, you'll need to make full use of your new abilities. There are no enemies to defeat, just interlocking levels to navigate and traverse, and some near-impossible puzzles to solve. There's even an alien language you can learn to decode (or, if you value your sanity, you can look up tips online). Also, the music is a complete slap in the face.
Read the IGN review .
Purchase the digital version ($14.99)
Goodbye wild heart
IGN Rating: 7.9
Gorgeous rhythm game slash interactive music video that plays like a dream (because, concept spoiler alert, it's kind of like a dream): you play as a young woman chasing (or escaping) a fashionable bunch through forests and cityscapes Bad Guy, train yours to react and hit buttons at just the right moment in the synth-pop that sounds like the whole album's Chvrches B-side. If you just want to speed through it, you can complete it in about two hours, but the gameplay and music are so addictive that you'll come back again and again, working towards that high score.
Read the IGN review .
Buy Digital ($12.99) | Buy Physical ($24.99)
messenger
IGN Rating: 8
Like Shovel Knight, The Courier takes one of the best games of the '80s and improves it by fixing anything that's broken or frustrating. The original model for this iteration was Ninja Gaiden , a classic Famicom platformer in which you played as a ninja by jumping, flipping, climbing walls, and stabbing countless infinitely generated creatures. The enemy came to avenge his father. This was one of my favorite games as a kid (I loved the story so much that I even read the novel), but I was never good enough to beat it because it was so difficult, even with the help of the game wizard. The Courier offers essentially the same gameplay, but adds useful extras like more frequent save points and the ability to enhance armor and weapons. It's easier, sure, but it's not easy either - a quirky storyline filled with self-aware humorous commentary on the game's inherent absurdity only makes it better.
Read the IGN review .
Purchase the digital version ($16.99)
iconoclast
IGN Rating: 8.4
The product of a single developer, Joakim Sandberg, Iconoclasts has all the platform polish of a game made by a large team, but also has some unique quirks that hint at a unique vision at work. You play a young engineer in a techno-dystopian world where mechanical technology is illegal and the ruling class controls access to the "ivory" of energy supplies with true religious fervor. Okay, so the story is a bit of a pain in the ass (I've finished the game and can barely understand it), but the gameplay is absolutely awesome: a Mega Man-influenced metroidvania where you use stun guns and wrenches Come blast enemies and solve complex environmental puzzles. I loved every minute of it.
Read the IGN review .
Purchase the digital version ($19.99)
death's door
IGN Rating: 9
If you like The Legend of Zelda , Death's Door is one of my favorites and one of the best games of 2021. In this isometric adventure game, you play as a soul-collecting crow hired by Death. When your latest harvest goes awry, you unknowingly become an investigator of a vast conspiracy spanning life and death, while traveling through three dungeons to collect enough soul power to open the "Door of Death." The game has a great mix of exploration and combat - maybe a little too much of the latter; unless you're a lot better than me, you'll need to grind your way through tons of generic bad guys to upgrade your spells, defenses and weapons until you're strong enough to take on the big boss. But the quirky humor, quirky characters and melancholy atmosphere make it a joy to do.
Read the IGN review .
Buy Digital ($19.99) | Buy Physical ($19.99)
celeste
IGN Rating: 10
Celeste is a breathtaking platformer in which you play as a young woman facing real and metaphorical fears as she climbs a mysterious mountain. There's not much more to the story than that, but this award-winning game has one of the most touching narratives I've ever experienced, probably because I had to work my way through some well-crafted , extremely difficult, but somehow I've never experienced a frustrating platformer. The game is built on a deceptively simple mechanic - your character is able to chain multiple jumps together before your stamina drops and forces you to hit solid ground again - which you must if you hope to successfully advance through the ranks. Master this mechanism with precision. summit. Best of all, if you get stuck, the game gives you access to a deep menu of accessibility options that can help you get through it. (Though I found finally clearing the screen after dozens or more deaths—thousands of total deaths throughout the game—so satisfying that I never turned them on.)
Read the IGN review .
Buy Digital ($19.99) | Buy Physical ($34.99)
Hades
IGN Reviews: 9
It ranks high on lists of the best indie games of the past decade, and for good reason. You play as Zagreus, a child of Hades (yes, that one), embarking on a hopeless journey to fight off the endless hordes of Hell, escape Hell, and reunite with your mother on Earth. When I say hopeless, what I mean is: by design, you're going to die a lot while playing this game (repeated failure is a hallmark of the "rogue lite" genre; every time you die, you inherit some of your powers , loot and experience for the next run). While a game designed to kill you over and over again sounds like a slog, Hades makes it fun because every time you're ready to be slaughtered, you'll progress a little less. a little. That's not even taking into account the fantastic story, which slowly develops over time as you converse with (and sometimes even slaughter) your fellow Hellmen; the storyline is unparalleled in its genre and presented to perfection Brilliant voice acting and memorable character designs.
Read the IGN review .
Buy Digital ($24.99) | Buy Physical ($29.99)
cuphead
IGN review: 8.8
If Hades didn't turn you into a glutton for punishment, Cuphead would have done the job. It's a "run and gun" shooter where you play a guy with a cup on his head. (Just go with it - the game's old-school cartoon visuals and humor are half the fun, and even spawned a Netflix animated series). You accidentally sold your soul to the devil and must become a bounty hunter for him if you want to get it back. There are 16 bosses to fight (90% of the game is boss fights), each one crazier than the last. As you progress, you can upgrade your weapons and gain more health, and you'll probably need it: taking the soul of each boss requires quick reflexes, a good memory of patterns, and a lot of determination - in I was victorious before hitting a wall about a dozen times, and I'd died about 300 times. This is the hardest game I've ever played.
Read the IGN review .
Buy the digital version ($19.99/$26.99, includes The Delicious Last Course ) | Buy the physical version ( The Delicious Last Course is available for $29.99)
a little to the left
If you prefer a puzzle game that puts you in a zen state (or maybe activates your OCD), then this recently released game is perfect for you. Each of its many puzzles presents you with a scene of cluttered objects—a cluttered toolbox, or a crowded bookshelf. It's up to you how to put them back into order. How you do it will depend on how your brain works and what feels "organized" to you; each puzzle has multiple solutions and finding a solution that works is like scratching an itch - Completely satisfying until it triggers another itch a little to the left.
Check it out on IGN .
Purchase the digital version ($14.99)
neon white
IGN Rating: 8
I don't know how to describe this game, watching the video above might just help a little. But basically, you're an undead demonic assassin who must race through hundreds of dangerously designed levels as quickly as possible using the powers granted to you by a mountain of weapons that you activate by burning a deck of game cards. Cards, hoping to win a place in heaven. Sacrificing specific guns/cards will grant you special moves, from extra jumps to bursts of crushing speed, to help you traverse dangerous terrain. The focus is to get it done as quickly as possible. No, I can’t understand it either, I’ve already played it. But once you get your bearings, it's a great time - and the story is pretty funny.
Read the IGN review .
Buy Digital ($24.99) | Buy Physical ($39.99)
golf story
IGN Rating: 7.5
A grim golf-themed RPG wasn't on my must-have list when I got the Switch, but here we are. You play as a determined golfer who has one last chance to live out his dream of glory on the green, but doing so means exploring, traversing, and conquering eight unique courses modeled after the ones you play on The kind of land adventure you would venture across in traditional fantasy. Only this time, instead of fighting monsters and summoning demons to fight for you, you're teeing off and perfecting your putt—and in between side missions, you can take on missions to help deal with the strange characters you encounter along the way. Because while you might not expect much from the plot of an ostensibly sports game, this game isn't kidding about the word "story" in the title. Filled with stylish humor and an otherworldly atmosphere, this one will appeal to Earthbound fans. Who is Stardew ?
Read the IGN review .
Purchase the digital version ($14.99)
Stardew Valley
IGN Rating: 9.5
OK I'll mention this too; Stardew Valley is ostensibly a farming simulation game, but it's much more than that. This is a game you can basically play forever. As Brendan Hesse says on the site:
Players sew and grow crops, mine ore, fish, and even fight monsters in the surrounding wilderness, then sell the harvest to upgrade their homes and tools. In addition to farming sims and light action RPGs, you can also venture into town and mingle with the townsfolk, running errands and side quests for them. You can even date and marry several of the characters.
Developed by a guy who goes by the nickname ConcernedApe, the game has brought in around $30 million for its creator, who deserves every penny.
Read the IGN review .
Buy Digital ($14.99) | Buy Physical ($36.80)
cave story
IGN Rating: 8.5
Don't let Cave Story's super-simple graphics fool you - this game isn't a relic from the 8-bit era, but a loving homage to old-school adventure platformers like Metroid and Castlevania (as well as some Controversial Improvements) - as well as Stardew Valley, Valley and Iconoclasts, which was developed and programmed by Daisuke Amaya, a game designer, for five years. You play as a robot who has lost its memory and must travel across an underground landscape in search of escape, solving the mystery of your origins along the way. As you upgrade your weapons and acquire new gear, the controls that seem stiff at first eventually reveal themselves to be perfectly calibrated, and the gear soon has you zipping through the areas you first traversed.
Read the IGN review .
Purchase the digital version ($29.99)
Fall into the water
In the interactive narrative "Choose Your Own Path," you play a 1930s actress whose star is fading—and on a cruise ship just hours from New York Harbor, a passenger's husband goes missing... because You pushed him into the water at night. It's up to you to pilot the ship, and your conversations with other passengers, so that your crimes aren't discovered until you get off the ship. With humor and a branching narrative that allows for multiple paths to victory, it's the cozy interactive mystery you didn't know you were missing.
Check it out on IGN .
Buy Digital ($14.99) | Buy Physical ($26.99, 80 days included)
Untitled Goose Game
IGN Rating: 8
In this game, you play as a curious goose who loves to cause havoc in and around a formerly idyllic village community. As you waddle from place to place, you're given a laundry list of random tasks to complete, from collecting the entire venue's surroundings from an outdoor restaurant to locking the hapless gardener out of his yard. Figuring out how to accomplish them requires creativity and a mastery of cause-and-effect logic that borders on the absurd. When it gets too frustrating, you can take a breather and run around honking at kids and stealing shopkeepers' wares. It's pure feathered confusion.
Read the IGN review .
Buy Digital ($19.99) | Buy Physical ($22.49)
What's left of Edith Finch
IGN Rating: 8.8
A sombre and rewarding psychological journey, What Remains of Edith Finch is an interactive narrative in which you explore the fractured history of one family over generations. As you explore the family, the story unfolds. Expanded in the form of chapters. Calling it a game might be a stretch, as you mostly play in a straightforward fashion without encountering any obstacles along the way, but wandering the estate under your own steam yields a haunted story - one that could involve a generation Another generation of family curse – a truly immersive quality.
Read the IGN review .
Purchase the digital version ($19.99)
Return of Obra Dinn
IGN Rating: 9.2
A decidedly lo-fi puzzle game with a grainy aesthetic that feels like a badge of honor, The Return of the Obra Dinn is an atmospheric first-person detective game that takes you aboard the titular ship. of the ship, which had returned from the journey without all passengers. You need to explore the ship and find out all the information about the people on board and what happened to them. Unlike video game clichés, there are no glowing arrows or glowing objects to guide your investigation, meaning you'll have to be both creative and thorough in your search to solve the mystery of what happened to the ship.
Read the IGN review .
Buy digitally ($19.99)
coat
IGN Rating: 9
This game became my savior after I finished Death's Door , and I was desperate for another experience like it. Like the contender game from earlier this year, Tunic is a Zelda -style adventure game starring an adorable critter who embarks on a quest for pure magic (when it's not mind-blowing) Maddeningly tough combat and complex puzzles to solve). The weird thing here is that all of the signs and speech in the game are printed in unintelligible non-verbal language, meaning you have to work extra hard to figure out how to navigate the land and clear the many roadblocks in your way. It can be frustrating at first, but once you get the hang of it, the game opens up and becomes a truly satisfying action-adventure experience - familiar, but completely different.
Read the IGN review .
Buy digital version ($29.99) | Buy physical version ( $44.99 )
hollow knight
IGN review: 9.4
Not listed on the original version of this list, nor its absence pointed out in the reviews (as expected), Hollow Knight is one of the most successful and cult-like indie games of recent years, and deservedly so. This is a massive metroidvania adventure game in which you play as a cute little bone knight, exploring a post-apocalyptic world, searching for your past, and facing extremely complex environmental puzzles and extremely difficult battles. Its clever aesthetic looks like a cross between Tim Burton and classic Disney animation, and it's certainly worth getting lost in (which is good, since it'll take you dozens of hours to complete).
Read the IGN review .
Buy Digital ($14.99) | Buy Physical ($34.99 )
This article was originally published in December 2022 and updated in May 2024 to add new context, additional headings, and links to ratings and IGN reviews.
