Last week my friend Grace finally managed to catch one of those super rare restocks of the switch. For those hoping to do the same at some point, you might follow both Cheap Ass Gamer and Wario 64 as they both pretty regularly announce restocks. However immediately after being excited about finally getting a switch, Grace mentioned that she would be bugging me for a list of games that I recommend. As such I en-devoured to attempt to compile such a list over the weekend, and said that I would be posting it on Monday.
I have to say… I didn’t expect my list to be quite so boring. Most of these games are pretty obvious picks, but as I said I would do this thing I am going to do this thing. Here is a list of some of my favorite Nintendo Switch games.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
This is the game that sold me a switch, full stop. I get that to some it is highly overrated, but it is a deep and immersive experience and if you have never played it I highly suggest doing so. Sure I personally have some issues with the fact that weapons break and some other things like that, however I deeply love this game.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Sure this game is essentially the same game released on the WiiU. However it is Mario Kart in your hands and playable from bed, and there is never going to be a time when this is not worth purchasing. Mario Kart will always be one of the more enjoyable co-op experiences as well.
Diablo 3 Eternal Collection
If you have read this blog for any period of time you will know that I love Diablo 3. This is Diablo 3 that I can play from bed, and that is reason enough to want it. The only real complaints that I have are that this lives on a disconnected island from my PC account, and if I could somehow PLAY my PC characters on it… I would be so much more into this title. I don’t run a seasonal character up each season, but I absolutely have in the past and it was a joy to do so.
Lumines Remastered
The PSP handheld will always hold a special place in my heart, and not just because it was easily exploitable and you could run emulators on it. I remember spending hours upon hours playing Lumines and as a result was super pumped when I saw this game available on the Switch. I still spend a non-zero amount of time hanging out in bed and playing this to chill out after a long day.
Baba Is You
Another great chill out from bed game is Baba Is You. I own this on multiple platforms at this point, but I have to say the system that it is best suited for is the Switch because it allows you to tackle the puzzles on your own terms wherever you happen to be at. If I remember it is also extremely cheap.
Nintendo Switch Online
I spend an excessive amount of time playing Super Nintendo games on the Switch through the apps that become available one you have a Nintendo Switch Online account. This is roughly $20 a year and is money extremely well spent as it gives you a SNES and NES app with releases coming out pretty regularly as well as access to exclusives like Tetris 99. Additionally if you create a Japanese game shop account you can have access to any Japanese exclusive releases as you only need one account per switch with an online account.
Sonic Mania
This game is essentially… what if you could return to the greatest era for Sonic the Hedgehog and get more of it. This game essentially extends the original three games (plus Knuckles) and gives you more courses designed with the same concepts. Really good stuff and well worth playing, and the Switch is a device well suited for it.
Super Mario Odyssey
Did you like Super Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine? Gratz then you have a great new adventure ahead of you. I don’t love Cappy, because it seems like yet another goofy gimmick mechanic that Nintendo seems to love to put into games. However the gameplay is solid and at some point I might actually beat it!
Pokemon Sword and Shield
It’s a main line Pokemon game for the Nintendo Switch, and generally speaking I shouldn’t need to say more. However this is probably my favorite Pokemon game, because it actually grows the series. I wish the entire thing were open world rather than just one zone of it. It is an awful lot of fun, and the female character option is freaking adorable.
The Touryst
This is another great, hanging out in bed and playing game. The Touryst is a visual puzzle platformer for lack of a better term, and it is freaking gorgeous and runs insanely smoothly on the Switch hardware. The idea is that you are on a vacation to an archipelago, and each island has some puzzle to unlock which in turn gives you access to more islands.
Hollow Knight
It is Hollow Knight that you can play from bed. That should be all of the selling point that you need. You are going to see a running theme here for me. A lot of these are games that I enjoy, but also want to hang out and play them from bed. Switch is very much a console that I mostly play while doing that.
Trials of Mana
Seiken Densetsu 3 was one of those games that I knew about back in the 16 bit era but was never able to play because of the lack of localization. I tried playing a fan patch, but it was buggy and the game was too advanced for most emulators at the time. Once I entered the 2000s I mostly put away any thoughts about the game and moved on with my life until it released as part of a Secret of Mana collection on the console. However at the same time they announced we were getting this fully re-imagined version of the game and I decided to wait. This is exceptionally fun, and like so many titles on the list it has a Demo that you can download and play first.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
I never played the original on the gameboy, and when I heard about this I was extremely excited. The way that this game has been remastered is delightful, and if you were ever a fan of the classic era of Zelda then this is definitely worth checking out.
Streets of Rage 4
Streets of Rage as a franchise is really important to me, for weird reasons. I was the kid that had a Super Nintendo and my best friend had a Genesis, and SoR was the game that we spent most of our time playing together. When I also got a Genesis I ended up playing the hell out of the later two games as well. This game is a loving recreation of that era of Beat Em Ups, with a gorgeous hand drawn art style. Probably one of my favorite games out this year.
Animal Crossing New Horizons
You can’t make a Nintendo Switch list without including ACNH, because it is effectively a cultural phenomena. This was my first real AC game, and I played the shit out of it for the first few weeks. I have not logged in for a really long time, but if Grace were to pick it up it would be reason enough to do so. The only problem with the game is that it is extremely time consuming, especially playing it how I chose to do so… and not partaking of time skipping. I might back away from that so that I could feel less beholden to the 24 hour clock.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
I’ve not spent anywhere near enough time with this, but I am extremely excited to have the entire Spyro Trilogy sitting in my hands. It plays more or less like I remember the original, which is both a good and a bad thing. The movement is a little kludgy, but so was the PlayStation era game. I would have rather they did with the thing that Ratchet and Clank did, and present the old story with updated gameplay.
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition
I have never played a Xenoblade game prior to this, and for right this moment this is my main squeeze as far as Switch games go. This very much plays like a single player MMORPG, in that the way that the questing and such are set up feels like MMO style questing. I am enjoying myself so far, but i can’t say I have made it terribly far into the game itself. The world seems interesting and the game is extremely pretty. I had picked up Xenoblade 2 but never got around to playing it, and now I am sorta thankful given that I can play the games in sequence.
What Did I Miss?
So what games did I miss from the list that you would have suggested? I didn’t suggest Bloodstained because the Switch port is not good. I didn’t suggest Smash Bros, because I never got into that and I am not part of that broader fandom. Super Mario Maker 2 is another good choice because it is in theory an infinite number of Mario games, but I have not really spent anywhere near as much time as I would have liked to with it.
I have a lot of games on my switch that I didn’t talk about, but I am curious what games you think I should have included. Drop me a line below and let me know.
I love most of these picks (some I haven’t tried …yet), but I have to add Fire Emblem: Three Houses to the list. I really dig the strategy gameplay and the mix of day-to-day time management bits. I still haven’t played through all of the houses, but I’ve enjoyed the two that I’ve finished. Of course, given the context, the story can be on the heavy side but some of the support conversations manage to add some humor, too.
I may not be able to pet the cats, but I can at least feed them.
Cannot reinforce this suggestion enough. Fire Emblem: Three Houses I think would be my favourite Switch game of all so far.
I wish I could, like this was my first Fire Emblem game and whatever it is doing… I bounced out pretty hard. I hear it is wonderful by the people who feel it is wonderful, but it was not for me, or at least has not been yet.
I understand that — I was the same way with ACNH after all.
I personally recommend Splatoon 2. Even if you are not a fan of multiplayer shooters (as I am) it is pretty fun since it is mostly about territory control rather than Capture the Flag or killing the opposition. Although there are those modes too if you are feeling more competitive, plus a few other modes.
It is also a good game for people who can’t shoot the broadside of a barn (like I am) as I find that aiming with the joycons (in docked mode) is easier than trying to do it with thumb sticks as in other consoles. I haven’t really tried to play it undocked though so I am not sure how easy that would be.
The matches are timed to 3 minutes so if you only have 30 minutes a day to play there are plenty of matches you can play. There are also some options you can setup to play with just friends if you prefer to not play with strangers although I don’t think you level up and get the in-game currency to buy new weapons and gear that way. I could be completely wrong about that part though as I have only played with strangers.
Plus the Inklings are adorable characters and have some pretty good customization. 🙂
Thanks for putting this list together! Some of these are obvious, but there are definitely a few I didn’t know about or had forgotten about. The hard part is going to be deciding what to play first!