Summary
When Nintendo unveiled theSwitch, people were excited, to say the least — excited, but cautious. After the Wii U’s rocky life and less-than-desired sales, this could have been another disappointing attempt at something new. However, as is well known today, the Nintendo Switch quickly became one of the most popular consoles available, and still dominates the industry.
With the option to either play at home on the TV or take it with you at any time, the simple feature was something everyone kept loving, and so more and more games made their way to the hybrid console. With ports, remasters, and plenty of original titles, these are the best Nintendo Switch games of all time.
While judging games as the ‘best of all time’ is subjective, we’ve tried to be objective here, considering gameplay, narrative, and the overall experience these Nintendo Switch titles offer.
We’re also including some games that aren’t exclusive to Nintendo Switch, but are essential to experience nonetheless.
Updated on June 17, 2025 by Rebecca Phillips:We don’t quite have the Nintendo Switch 2 in our hands yet. So, while we wait, take a look at another fantastic game to play on your Switch.
If you’re looking for a game like Hollow Knight, Nine Sols is the ideal pick for you. Similar to Hollow Knight, its graphics are hand-drawn, and both its platforming and combat will prove a great challenge. The game is inspired by Eastern fantasy and folklore, and you’ll be playing as a hero driven by vengeance as you travel the lands to destroy the titular Nine Sols.
The developers describe the combat as being similar to Sekiro, with a focus on deflection. There arenumerous tough bossesto defeat and a lot of places to explore in the regions of New Kunlun.
If you love playing cozy games on your Switch (particularly Animal Crossing), then Hello Kitty Island Adventure should be on your radar. Rather than decorating the island from scratch, the focus is on building your friendships with popular Sanrio characters like Cinnamoroll and My Melody, and fixing up the island you’ve all moved to. you may even encourage visitors to the island to meet more friendly faces from Sanrio.
The island is full of puzzles and nooks and crannies to explore, so there are plenty of activities to keep you occupied. you’re able to catch critters to fill up the Nature Preserve with Kerokeroppi, bake delicious dishes with Hello Kitty, and a lot more.
Ready for some difficult puzzles? Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is an exceedingly clever puzzle game that tests your logic and thinking - you definitely need a pen and paper on hand to play this game. You arrive at a mysterious hotel and are tasked with unlocking doors, passageways, puzzle boxes, and plenty of other things to uncover the truth behind a mysterious artist and the maze he was creating alongside the character you play as.
While the puzzles are difficult (and change depending on your playthrough, so you’ll still need to work things out for yourself even if you use a guide), it’s extremely satisfying when things start clicking and you unlock the next area.
When Stray originally launched, everyone couldn’t get enough of it. Now, it’s finally on Nintendo Switch, so if you missed it on other consoles or simply prefer playing handheld, you can experience the fun, too.
You play as a ginger cat who gets separated from his friends and ends up in a strange city, inhabited by both friendly robots and dangerous creatures known as zurks. Alongside doing everything a cat loves to do, like napping, scratching, and snuggling up to people, you’ll be platforming across the city, looking for a way to escape and find your friends again.
Check out our 4 / 5 review ofDragon Quest 3 Remake!
If you love old-school RPGs, then Dragon Quest 3 Remake will be right up your street. As a faithful remake, it’s got all the charm of the original, as well as some handy quality-of-life improvements and additions that take it even further.
For example, you can speed up battles if the original speed is too slow for your tastes, and a new vocation, Monster Wrangler, has been added, alongside new quests. As Dragon Quest 3 Remake holds on tightly to the original’s roots, it’s not much of a story-rich game, but exploring the beautifully reimagined world more than makes up for it.
Check out our4 / 5 review of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom!
It’s about time Zelda got her own adventure (we don’t talk about those CDi atrocities…). In The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Link is dragged into a Rift, meaning it’s up to Princess Zelda to save Hyrule in his stead. Using the magical Tri Rod,Zelda can make ‘echoes’of items and enemies, allowing you to explore the world and take on dangerous monsters.
Echoes of Wisdom is an excellent entry in the series and is much more than the gimmick of playing as Zelda. The graphics are stunning for the Switch, which makes the world a joy to explore, the series’ classic dungeons make a return, and there are lots of great characters to meet too (the Deku Scrubs finally make a reappearance as well). Whether you’re already a Zelda fan or new to the series, Echoes of Wisdom is one of the best Switch games to play.
Check out our4.5 / 5 review of the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection!
While the Ace Attorney series typically has you playing as a defense lawyer, the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection lets you take on the role of Phoenix Wright’s rival, prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. The collection includes two games — Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit — with both titles starring Edgeworth, Detective Gumshoe, and new sidekick Kay Faraday.
Instead of courtroom battles, you’ll investigate crime scenes and grill the witnesses about what they saw on the crime scene. Then, you’ll analyze the witness' testimonies to find contradictions and the truth. Both games have excellent cases to unravel, and you’ll soon see why Edgeworth is a fan-favorite character.
In Chicory: A Colorful Tale, you explore a black-and-white world with your trusty paintbrush in hand, aiming to bring color back into the world. You can also use your brush to solve various puzzles in the environments you explore and attack bosses.
Thanks to the Switch’s handheld mode, you’re able to make use of the touchscreen when using the brush, which makes the game feel almost like a playable coloring book.
Alongside the colorful gameplay, Chicory: A Colorful Tale also has a touching story — you play as an anthropomorphic dog named Pizza, who finds that Chicory has discarded the magical Brush because of the responsibility burdened upon her. Pizza takes the Brush themselves and helps Chicory to see color in the world again.
Tunic has you playing as an adorable sword-wielding fox (okay, we’re already sold) as you fight your way through dungeons and various other locations. The game takes a lot of inspiration from the original The Legend of Zelda, and combat is a bit more difficult than its cutesy art style would have you think.
Speaking of which, Tunic’s graphics are stunning. Walking around each location is a joy, but you definitely have to watch your back (and your step) if you want to make it through in one piece. If you like top-down Zelda, you’ll like Tunic.
Always bring bombs, bombs, and more bombs.
Check out our5 / 5 review of Animal Well!
Animal Well is one of the best Metroidvanias in recent years. If you enjoy exploring andfinding hidden secrets, then you’ll enjoy Animal Well a whole lot. Playing as a blob, you explore a winding labyrinth filled with puzzles and mysterious animals.
While there is no combat, there’s more than enough to satiate you through its challenging platforming, boundless exploration, well-structured puzzles. There’s a lot more than meets the eye with Animal Well, and you’ll be surprised how deep the well goes.
