Welcome to our master list of the 50 best games ever released on the Nintendo Switch, ranked by your rank. As the Switch enters its eighth year March 3, 2024 — yes, it was launched exactly seven years ago! — we’re republishing this list of the top 50 absolute best games on the system, as ranked by readers.
As you can see, it offers a clear answer to the question ‘Which is better, BOTW or TOTK?’ To enjoy!
The Nintendo Switch has amassed a huge amount of excellent games since the console launched in 2017. Of course, this abundance of riches leaves us in something of a pickle – too much software, not enough time to play it all. Frankly, it’s a nice problem to have. Help! There are too many great games to choose from!
But what are the best games for nintendo switch? Which Switch games are must-haves? What should I play? First on the switch?
Well, we asked Nintendo Life readers to rate the best Nintendo Switch games since launch – for themselves the best Switch games to play right now — and the list below is the result. As with our roundup of the top 50 games from various consoles, years and series, the ranking is governed by the user rating of each title in the Nintendo Life game database and is subject to change in real time. This means that our list of the best Switch Games will always include new games as soon as they are released.
If you haven’t rated your favorites yet, simply click each game’s rating below to rate it from 1-10. Game must have at least 50 ratings to be eligibleso it’s quite possible to influence the ranking of the best Switch games and put your favorites on the list.
Can’t see your favorite? If the game you want to rate isn’t in the top 50, feel free to find it using the search tool below and rate it out of 10. If it’s below, it might jump to the lower rankings.
Without further ado, let’s dive into this selection of the best Nintendo Switch games you can play right now…
This beautiful Switch remake of the classic Game Boy entry has been revamped all from the ground up. On top of a beautiful new art style, it added modern perks, a dungeon creator, amiibo support, and lots of little quality-of-life improvements while infusing every single square inch of Koholint—every secret passage, Piranha, Pokey, and Pig Warrior—with a level of detail and depth that completely brought its timeless story and classic Zelda gameplay to life for a new generation.
If there’s anything slowing down The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, some frame rate issues could be annoying for some players. Others may not even notice, but if you’re sensitive to dropped frames, you could be distracted from otherwise engrossing gameplay. It’s a small thing, but with the legacy of technical wizardry behind the Game Boy original, it’s a small chink in this game’s otherwise shining armor.
It’s hard to overstate our satisfaction with Portal: Companion Collection. Portal and Portal 2 they seemed incredibly fresh when they were first released, and the years since have not diminished their immense impact. Having two of the most unique and most fascinating puzzle games on a Nintendo console, and on the go, if you choose, is pure pleasure. If it weren’t for the frequent loading screens punctuating the experience, we’d have nothing to complain about here. Motion controls work like a dream, games run at a near-solid 60 frames per second, you have local co-op play available to you instantly, and the text remains as funny now as it was all those years ago. If you haven’t played the Portal games before, this should be a no-brainer. If you have… well, just play them again.
Despite coming from the previous generation, Bayonetta 2 shines brightest on the Nintendo Switch. It runs smoothly at 60 frames per second, looks amazing in both TV and desktop mode, and offers an addictive free-to-play combat formula that incorporates platforming, light exploration, and a funny story to create something that simply need experience. If you’ve never played it before, you’re in for a treat. If you’ve played it before, it’s even more enchanting as a handheld gem.
Triangle Strategy is an absolute triumph for Artdink and Square Enix, a fantastic mix of satisfying strategic battles, an excellent choice-driven campaign narrative, and superb world-building, all of which add up to one of the best tactical RPGs I’ve played in a long time. There’s an absolute ton of content here, with a massive story that includes multiple paths you can take depending on the choices you make, and a few impressive endings to enjoy on repeat visits. Serenoa Wollfort’s epic journey is a delight from start to finish, a grand and ambitious adventure that stands proudly as one of the best examples of its genre on the Switch.
Splatoon 3 is more of the same, but refined to the limit of mechanical perfection. It’s the most fun we’ve had with an online shooter in years, and for veterans of the Splatoon 2 series, it makes it completely redundant for anything but unique single-player content. It seems like the development team fixed every issue the Splatoon community was bleating about, and then fixed some more that we didn’t even realize were issues until they were fixed. There’s nothing revolutionary about it compared to its predecessors, and it may lack the Big New Idea™ you’ve come to expect, but Splatoon 3 is the pinnacle of the series and the pinnacle of shooters on the Switch.
Blasphemous 2 sticks to the extremely dark and gory style of its predecessor while building on the core combat and platforming we saw the first time around. Game Kitchen could have served us more and we would have been perfectly happy. However, they’ve made significant upgrades here, with deeper and more satisfying combat and three upgradeable weapon sets that pair perfectly with a cryptic environment that feels more cohesive and fluid overall. The return of the Penitent to Cvstodi is an absolute blow.
The short hike is a fat-free experience from top to bottom – or should we say bottom to top? It’s the kind of game that makes us just sigh with happiness when we think back on our time with it, and even after playing it to its apparent end multiple times, we know for sure that there’s still stuff to see and do on that mountain. What we have here is something of an apotheosis – a turning point in indie games similar to Cave Story, or Spelunky. The best bits of multiple game genres, stripped of all padding and bloat, perfectly blended into a delicious video game stew that gets richer and richer the more you play. An exploration in every sense of the word, A Short Walk is endearing but not boring, challenging but not unpleasant, and emotional but not boring. A great game for all ages. Don’t miss this one.
Super Mario RPG is here in all its weird, wonderful glory for new generations to experience and sets new standards for how to do a proper remake. Providing a beautifully preserved, clean experience for fans of the original and an accessible entry point for newcomers to the genre, the game’s addictive charm, writing, and polished gameplay do so much to elevate this beyond what could just be a simple Mario RPG.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective was one of the best games on the Nintendo DS. It is now one of the best games on Nintendo Switch. If you’re a fan of Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, AI: The Somnium Files, or just a fan of a good time with a brilliant story and stunning art, then why are you still here? Go and get the game. Now. To go!!!!
Labeled a flagship entry in the series by Game Freak itself, Pokémon Legends: Arceus feels like the result of 25 years of learning the lessons the developers have honed, perfecting the formula and finally taking the franchise in a new, incredibly exciting direction. Technically it can stumble in places, but with a focus on extremely rewarding research, addictive catching mechanics, a good Pokémon roster, and a true sense of grandeur unlike anything else in the series, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is up there with the greatest Pokémon games ever made. our book.
