27 best Nintendo Switch games for every kind of player, from Zelda to Mario

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a pure masterpiece. As soon as the game was released, we knew it would be knocking Breath of the Wild – one of the best games ever made – off its perch. The sequel to the 2017 title expands the Kingdom of Hyrule almost beyond recognition. Islands float in the sky, great gaping chasms have opened up in the ground, and there are ruins everywhere.

Familiar but new, Tears of the Kingdom is breathtaking in its scope, engaging in its narrative, and the limitless freedom to explore meant we never wanted to put down the controller. You can craft weapons out of anything, splice objects together to build planes, sear fruits to your shield to dazzle enemies and explore for hours and hours on end.

So beautiful to look at and with so much to do, Tears of the Kingdom is the very best game on the Nintendo Switch.

Where would Nintendo be without its famous Italian plumber? Selling more than 750 million titles across different genres, Super Mario is one of the most recognisable fictional characters around the world. With Odyssey, Mario returns to the 3D platformer genre in this globe-trotting adventure with a new sidekick “Cappy”.

It blends the classic action and mobility of previous Mario titles, such as Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy, with a unique twist that allows Mario to take control of new abilities to explore many of Odyssey’s different worlds, such as New Donk City. It just narrowly misses out on the top spot for best Nintendo Switch game but only marginally. This really is one of the best Mario games out there.

Read our full review of Super Mario Odyssey

Pokémon Legends: Arceus was the gust of fresh air the series desperately needed. Taking the same stride from Pokémon Sword and Shield, players can explore wide-open vistas of the Hisui region and capture the Pokémon therein.

Creatures can be spotted roaming the fields from afar with careful planning and approach necessary to avoid startling them before capturing them and sending them back to the village for research.

Legends: Arceus feels like a necessary departure for the series, and Game Freak seemed to take its positive reception to heart, releasing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in 2022.

Find out more about Pokémon Legends: Arceus

PlatinumGames has made a name for itself with its fair share of over-the-top action titles, pushing the envelope on combat loops that take time to learn but are ever so satisfying to master.

Bayonetta 3 is not only a world-class action game in its own right, but it’s also the strongest showcase for the series to date, with meaningful improvements made to its core combat mechanics.

In our review of the game, we said: “It’s an outrageous and fitting return to form for the umbra witch and her posse of occultish heavy hitters. Substantial improvements and additions to combat mean there are seemingly endless options for different styles of play, as well as making the prospect of revisiting each stage, verse and hidden objective more compelling than it ever has been.”

Read our full Bayonetta 3 review to find out more

Splatoon 3 is an online-focused multiplayer shooter that sees Inklings shoot paint to cover arenas, “splat” opponents and swim through their ink to quickly outmanoeuvre incoming attacks. It’s a delightfully chaotic take on online games and brims with personality.

In our review, we said: “Splatoon 3 is one of the most enjoyable and accessible multiplayer experiences currently available on the Switch. By sticking to its guns (or paint rollers), Nintendo has crafted a competitive shooter with near-universal appeal in both its presentation and simplistic take on team-based deathmatches.”

Read our full review of Splatoon 3 to find out more

It’s been more than a decade since Nintendo released a completely new and original 2D side-scrolling Super Mario game (long live 2012’s New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe). But it’s sure been worth the wait. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is genuinely a wonderful platformer.

Bright and colourful, it takes place in the Flower Kingdom, where Bowser has merged himself with Wiggler-like Prince Florian’s castle, causing havoc throughout the realm. To bring back order to the land, you have to traverse through the six different worlds and many levels, capturing Wonder Seeds. But there’s also a new item called a Wonder Flower, which makes unexpected things happen.

Piranha plants will start singing and bouncing out of pipes as you try and dodge them. The world flips, so you’re looking at it top-down, in a bird’s-eye view instead of side-on. On another level, Mario turns into a Goomba, and you spend the whole level playing as the enemy, trying to avoid being seen and eaten. It’s heaps of fun, very inventive and gorgeous to look at.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 bridges the two previous games both thematically and mechanically with the introduction of the “Ouroboros” battle system as well as six playable characters. In our review of the game, we described it as “the strongest entry into the series yet. Even after the credits roll close to the 60-hour mark, each of the characters’ personal journeys are fulfilling and memorable while contending with heavier subject matter than the series has been known for”.

Read our full review of Xenoblade Chronicles 3

The Pikmin franchise of real-time strategy games – in which you play a tiny astronaut stranded on an Earth-like planet, with an army of colourful creatures – hasn’t gained the legions of fans that games such as Pokemon and Zelda have, but the fourth instalment in the series might change that.

Pikmin 4 is the most accessible Pikmin game to date. As in all Pikmin games, players command nine little creatures, who all perform different roles, to defeat enemies, build passages of safety and collect crucial resources. It’s a resource-management game, where your attention is taken to different parts of the map, like a watered-down Starcraft.

But instead of being a race against the clock to finish the story, there’s no limit to the length of a mission in Pikmin 4, making it far less stressful. You don’t have to worry about resources running out, and the game starts much more gently, so you can really get to grips with the mechanics.

The scenery is beautiful, with a new subterranean area, as well as night-time expeditions. While it’s not as challenging as previous games, beginners won’t feel overwhelmed playing the latest Pikmin title. There’s still plenty of strategy involved, but it’s leaning further into the puzzle adventure genre this time around.

Nintendo Switch Sports is a strong continuation of a tried and tested formula that will find near-universal appeal with anybody who remembers the glory days of the Nintendo Wii. There’s also the added benefit of online play for gamers looking to hit the courts with friends and players all over the world.

Tennis and bowling are firm favourites, with sports such as volleyball and badminton making worthy additions to the overall package. With the promise of even more games arriving in the future, it’s an excellent time to pick up a joy-con and have a go. Just remember to wear the wrist strap so you don’t break your TV.

Read our full review of Nintendo Switch Sports

As Link emerges from the Temple of Restoration and gazes over the aftermath of Hyrule’s destruction in the game’s introduction, Breath of the Wild makes a simple promise: every corner of this vast landscape can be explored and none of it will be forgettable.

Sharing a launch window with 1-2-Switch and Super Bomberman, the titles were noticeably sparse compared with previous generations. But, thanks to Breath of the Wild, the Switch became a must-buy immediately, with the game setting a precedent for every first-party Nintendo title that came after it.

While Breath of the Wild is still one of the best Legend of Zelda games in the franchise’s 37-year history and one of the best games ever made, its sequel Tears of the Kingdom has just pipped it to our top spot.

Read our full review of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Live a Live is a modern remake of a 1994 SNES title that was only ever released in Japan, until now. It gained a cult following, thanks to translated emulations of the game and has since seen an official release in the west. Following on from the success of Octopath Traveller and Triangle Strategy, this latest title makes use of the “HD-2D” graphics that combine pixel art within a modern 3D setting.

In our review of the game, we described Live a Live as: “a natural fit within Square Enix’s focus on bringing older titles to newer audiences. As the blueprint for other potential titles to come, it’s clear why the 1994 SNES title was chosen as the first remaster.”

Read our full Live a Live review to find out more

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the spherical pink hero’s first 3D outing and it’s one of his best yet.

Transported from Planet Popstar, Kirby finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world, along with his Waddle Dee friends. Each level sees the title character rescuing each one of his pals, by inhaling enemies to inherit their powers, while the “mouthful mode” sees him engulf large objects to take on their forms, such as cars and vending machines.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is an excellent platforming adventure enjoyed alone but it also has a fantastic two-player mode, with the second player taking control of “Bandana Waddle Dee”. He isn’t able to transform like Kirby but his mobility and spear attacks more than make up for it.

It’s an easy, breezy action adventure that Kirby fans have always wanted and Nintendo fans will appreciate.

Find out more about Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Metroid has long been considered the black sheep of Nintendo’s vast list of original works. Mario, Zelda and Kirby are all easy sells to a market of children and adults but the promise of a space-faring adventure with horror elements doesn’t have the same broad appeal. That’s why it’s so satisfying to see Metroid Dread lean heavily into its horror roots in this latest adventure.

The story of Metroid Dread follows on from the last 2D game, Metroid Fusion, which was released in 2002 on the Game Boy Advance. You would be forgiven for missing an instalment that appeared 20 years ago but Metroid Dread’s introduction does fine work of catching up new players with the events to date.

By the time the credits roll, roughly eight hours in, Samus is far from the vulnerable yet determined bounty hunter trapped under the planet’s surface, she’s a tour-de-force and proof the 2D Metroid formula hasn’t aged in its 35-year history. While many fans of the series will have more familiarity with the Metroid Prime series, Metroid Dread is proof the 2D platformer is Samus at her best.

The Fire Emblem series has always been popular in its native Japan. Among its hallmarks are turn-based combat, large tactical maps as well as being one of the first series to introduce “permadeath” to its characters – if they died, they were gone for good.

Three Houses is the latest instalment in this series. You play as Byleth, a mysterious mercenary-turned-professor of Garreg Mach Monastery, who must choose one of three houses to lead into battle.

It balances equal parts strategic combat and social interaction with a wide cast of characters, all with different traits and personalities. A single campaign can take up to 100 hours, and, with four possible endings to choose from, there is a tremendous amount of replay value.

Read our full review of Fire Emblem: Three Houses

If at first you don’t succeed, die and die again. That’s the mantra of Supergiant Games’ critically acclaimed roguelike Hades. You play as Zagreus, son of Hades who wants nothing more than to escape his father’s realm. With assistance from the gods of Olympus, players will traverse through the ever-changing halls, as they make their way to the world’s surface. If Zagreus fails in his attempts, he is sent back to the start and must make his escape again.

There’s a reason it was named 2020’s game of the year by different publications. Its excellent writing, gameplay loops and soundtrack all amalgamate into a beautifully realised depiction of Greek mythology and its denizens with modern sensibilities.

The juggernaut that can’t be topped, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has continued to be the bestselling game on the Switch since the title was released, early in the console’s lifespan. The best Mario Kart has ever been, this version sees a large roster of racers, gravity-defying circuits and power-ups all contributing to the series’ timeless appeal. With a flexible control scheme designed to cater to audiences of all ages, it finds the perfect balance of being simple to learn and difficult to master.

There’s all the more reason to pick up a copy in 2024, as the booster course pass continually adds additional content to the game, meaning more of the series’s renowned circuits to speed along.

Read our full review of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

We love WarioWare’s quick action appeal, and the latest game in the franchise is just as bonkers and frantic as we’ve come to expect from the genre.

At the start of every game, WarioWare: Move It! gets you to perform a series of absurd (and sometimes humiliating) poses with your Joy-Cons (just like Smooth Moves), before throwing you into a bunch of short 10-second micro-games. Expect to find yourself laying an egg, lighting a bomb with a birthday candle or catching a fish... with your thighs.

Great for kids (lots of toilet humour) and all your family and friends, Move It! can be played solo or with other people. It’s heaps of fun, and with motion controls back on the menu, it’s so much more interactive than the previous WarioWare title: Get it Together!

Who would win in a fight between Donkey Kong, Pikachu and Steve from Minecraft? Super Smash Bros. Ultimate can help answer that question. In the latest instalment of Nintendo’s fighting franchise, every fighter that has ever appeared in the series – a grand total of 89 characters – battles it out across different stages from some of Nintendo’s most beloved franchises and beyond. With up to eight players on screen at once, each match is a chaotic mess but incredibly fun.

Even if you’re not a fan of the books or the Netflix series starring Henry Cavill, many gamers will be familiar with Witcher 3. First released in 2014 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has finally made its way to the Switch, with this impressive port from Saber Interactive.

Sure, this is hardly the definitive version of the game, which was graphically demanding even on the previous generation of consoles, but the fact it can be played portably is nothing short of witchcraft. If you missed it the first time around, you will definitely want to toss a coin to this Witcher.

Read our full review of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Super Mario Party tried to update the party formula with unique dice rolls for different characters, grid-based boards and team-building mechanics when it was released in 2018. Not all of these worked, which is why Mario Party Superstars is a welcome return to a well-trodden formula.

Taking the lead from the Nintendo 64 era of Mario Party titles, Superstars goes back to basics with a number of familiar mini-games for long-time fans, with a focus on button controls rather than motion-based games. Players take turns rolling dice and moving around the board, collecting coins and stars to win. Anyone who has ever played a board game like Monopoly will understand the premise but, like the family favourite, it can also quickly lead to arguments.

Fitness games have been synonymous with Nintendo since the days of the Wii Fit, and Ring Fit Adventure is the natural evolution. But rather than taking up space on your living room floor with a bathroom scales-like device, Ring Fit Adventure uses a pilates ring-type gizmo and leg strap to perform its range of aerobic exercises.

What also makes this game stand out is its framing as an RPG in single-player mode. Like an RPG, you wander a path by jogging on the spot and fight monsters with ab-crunches, squats and stretches. It’s a fun take on “gaming as exercise”, and, after just a few minutes, you will really start to work up a sweat.

Released in the early days of lockdown, Animal Crossing: New Horizons seemed like the perfectly idealised destination. Players venture to a tropical island to begin life anew as one of several villagers looking to settle down in paradise, overseen by the enterprising Tom Nook.

This is the biggest the series has ever been, with custom paths, terrain building and house placement, players can make the island feel truly like their own. There’s also plenty of fish, bugs and fossils to collect, as well as furniture to purchase at the shop. It’s a cheery enough title but with local and online multiplayer options, it’s also a good way to spend some quality downtime with friends and loved ones.

Read our full review of Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Originally released exclusively in Japan in 2015, The Great Ace Attorney was a popular spin-off of the Ace Attorney series that saw the protagonist travel from 19th-century Japan to become a defence attorney in Victorian London, with the assistance of a copyright-safe detective named “Herlock Sholmes”.

As a defence attorney, players must investigate the scene of murders, to gather evidence before taking it to court and cross-examining witnesses. By pulling apart testimony and using evidence to spot contradictions, each mystery is slowly unravelled during court proceedings. While very text-heavy, these games are light-humoured and incredibly rewarding to pick apart.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles contains both the first and second games, so there are plenty of mysteries to solve.

As it says on the box, 51 Worldwide Games includes more than 50 traditional tabletop games played all over the globe. Obvious classics such as chess, backgammon and draughts are included but it’s also an excellent opportunity to learn how to play other games, such as mancala, nine men’s morris and renegade.

Not every game included is as timeless as chess, and some of the card games vary in quality and difficulty, but there is enough in the box to at least warrant learning their rules.

Nintendo’s clean presentation of each game and facts about their origins make the whole package feel like an exhibition of play throughout history, and Nintendo’s own origins as a manufacturer of Hanafuda cards in 1889 is also a nice reference.

This is a combat-sport game that sees two teams of five battle it out on the pitch. The make-up of each team means players control four of the characters on each side, with the goalie being controlled independently by Bowser minion Bam Bam.

It’s quite chaotic for a football game, with offensive tackles, power-ups and “hyper strikes” dominating the screen but it’s all part of the fun. While single-player modes might be on the easier side, Mario Strikers really shines in online multiplayer mode.

Read the full Mario Strikers: Battle League Football review

At its core, this is a skateboarding game stripped down to its most basic elements, with flips, grinds and wallrides controlled with the left stick, and grabs and other variations controlled with the right. But after getting to grips with the basics, skating through each level becomes almost transcendental in the pursuit of “Gnarvana”.

With an updated art style and lo-fi soundtrack, Roll7’s latest entry into the OlliOlli series is its most fully realised yet, and easily stands out as one of the best skateboarding games ever made.

This is a point and click adventure game for the modern age, with streamlined controls and a brand new story following on directly from the events of the 1992 title LeChuck’s Revenge.

In our review of the game, we said: “It’s a thoughtful retread of a genre that was once the pinnacle of adventure games, yet now feels rarely revisited, despite its influence. A lot has changed since The Secret of Monkey Island debuted more than three decades ago, but now Return feels like a fitting conclusion to everything that spawned from the original.”

Read our full review of Return to Monkey Island