Table of Contents
Table of Contents
20. Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
19. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
18. Ring Fit Adventure
17. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
16. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
15. Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
14. Astral Chain
13. Splatoon 3
12. Bowser’s Fury
11. Tetris 99
10. Luigi’s Mansion 3
9. Xenoblade Chronicles 3
8. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
7. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
6. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
5. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
4. Super Mario Odyssey
3. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
2. Metroid Dread
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
When the Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, our expectations have been excessive. The hybrid console immediately felt like a dream console, and the truth that it might launch with a model new Legend of Zelda recreation was an excellent signal that Nintendo was able to help it with top quality video games. The bar was excessive proper out the gate — and Nintendo cleared it time and time once more over eight memorable years.
The Nintendo Switch period isn’t totally ending anytime quickly, however it is going to take a backseat to the age of Switch 2 on June 2. That impending date has left us reflecting on the bounty of video games we’ve gotten on the platform since 2017. Third celebration builders returned to Nintendo in an enormous approach with ports that helped widen the Switch’s library, however the console’s actual calling card has been its exclusives. We acquired Nintendo’s studios on the high of their recreation right here, reviving a large swath of forgotten sequence whereas giving previous standbys a few of their finest installments ever. Zelda, Mario, Fire Emblem, and extra all made the Nintendo Switch a must-own system, and that good will is certain to spill over to Switch 2.
To have a good time that historical past, we’re counting down our 20 favourite Switch exclusives of all time. For this record, we’ve centered on video games which might be solely obtainable on Switch. That means no video games that have been ported to different consoles later and no Wii U ports (sorry, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe). Even with these caveats, we had an extremely exhausting time narrowing the record right down to 20. In truth, this record was initially going to be a high 10, however that felt inconceivable. You’ll see why as quickly as you see the ultimate record, which might have been minimize up and rearranged in tons of of the way relying in your tastes.
20. Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
Nintendo
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is remembered as 2020’s defining pandemic recreation, however Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics was simply as essential in my family. The easy assortment pulled collectively tabletop video games like Checkers and Shogi right into a tactile and tightly design bundle that was customized constructed for bored households. It’s the least flashy recreation on this record, nevertheless it didn’t must be. I personally spent hours upon hours enjoying Mancala with my accomplice presently, which I’d by no means actually tried earlier than Clubhouse Games. The bundle did such an ideal job at explaining the foundations that I ended up shopping for an actual Mancala board after every week. Clubhouse Games‘ capability to show and culturally contextualize 51 totally different video games earns it a spot on this record amongst some mascot-filled heavy hitters.
19. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
Ubisoft
When Nintendo first introduced that Mario was crossing over with Ubisoft’s Rabbids, it felt like a joke destined to change into bizarre historical past. That wasn’t the case, as Ubisoft created a surprisingly nice ways recreation with Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. It was the beginning of a promising sequence that wouldn’t take lengthy to completely understand its potential. Mario + Rabbid: Sparks of Hope builds on every little thing its predecessor did so effectively, doubling down on its action-packed turns that allow gamers pull off so many strikes directly. That was largely due to a reworked motion system that did away with the primary recreation’s grid for one thing slightly extra versatile. The finish result’s the Switch’s finest ways recreation and an actual contender for one of the best Mario spinoff ever.
18. Ring Fit Adventure
Nintendo
Perhaps greater than any recreation on this record, Ring Fit Adventure is a major instance of why Nintendo’s knack for innovation is so commendable. It would have been simple to make a motion-controlled health recreation, ala Wii Fit, on Switch that simply requested gamers to imitate workouts. Rather than settling for that, Nintendo created its personal pilates ring and turned it right into a controller for a full-scale RPG. Ring Fit Adventure is a superb method to the health style, one which understands that steadily constructing your muscular tissues isn’t that far off from an conventional RPG grind. The little fights add up over time as long as your affected person sufficient to maintain up with them. It’s an impressed little bit of recreation design from Nintendo that turned out to be a much-needed pressure for good in the course of the years of social isolation that outlined the platform.
17. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Nintendo
It’s not shocking to see a number of nice Mario video games on a Nintendo console. What is extra shocking is to see a stellar 2D Mario recreation as of late that feels simply as thrilling as a 3D one. That’s what we acquired with the shocking Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a reinvention that the 2D Mario system so desperately wanted. Rather than aping the drained nostalgia of the New Super Mario Bros. sequence, Wonder gave Mario an expressive makeover, colourful new enemies, and a slew of inventive surprise results that utterly spun the concept of a conventional platforming stage on its head. While it doesn’t fairly have the endurance of Mario’s finest adventures, Wonder does a improbable job at rediscovering the magic that made Mario’s first video games so interesting within the first place.
16. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
Nintendo
The Switch period gave us a number of shocking collaborations with Koei Tecmo, each Zelda and Fire Emblem into Dynasty Warriors-like Musou video games. These have been among the Switch’s most area of interest exclusives, however they aren’t ones to disregard. That’s very true of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. The Breath of the Wild pseudo-prequel takes gamers to the times earlier than Calamity Ganon’s reign over Hyrule as Zelda tries to assemble a military of fighters to cease the approaching catastrophe. The result’s Zelda’s tackle Rogue One, enjoying with historical past to inform an exciting piece of alternate historical past that gave us one of the best characterization of the sequence’ titular princess ever. And in fact, slashing up 1000’s of moblins in between all that could be a cathartic pleasure all its personal.
15. Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club
Nintendo
I’d wager that you just gained’t discover Emio — The Smiling Man on loads of lists celebrating the Switch’s library, however the eerie narrative journey deserves its flowers. A shocking comeback for Nintendo’s Famicom Detective Club sequence, Emio tells a darkish, mature story a couple of bag-faced serial killer stalking a quiet Japanese city. The story performs out by a sluggish, grounded visible novel about childhood trauma and the ways in which children endure in silence. It’s a deeply efficient sluggish burn that also sticks in my thoughts at the moment. And if nothing else, it’s an ideal instance of how area of interest franchises thrived on the Switch due to Nintendo’s willingness to take extra dangers with its most forgotten franchises.
14. Astral Chain
PlatinumGames
Nintendo wasn’t the one firm dedicated to creating nice Switch exclusives over the previous eight years. PlatinumGames was the system’s third-party RPG, giving us the improbable Bayonetta 3 in addition to its surprisingly charming spinoff. Astral Chain would possibly simply be its crown jewel, although. The cyberpunk motion recreation had gamers slashing by demons with each a cop and an entity chained to them. That idea opened the door for an experimental battle system that had gamers juggling two folks directly and utilizing the chain between them to carry out maneuvers that weren’t nearly urgent the best buttons. It’s one of many Switch’s most authentic video games and one I’m hoping to see revisited on Switch 2.
13. Splatoon 3
Nintendo
It took Nintendo three tries to essentially excellent its Splatoon sequence over a seven 12 months blitz, however the last result’s improbable. Splatoon 3 is a superb, fully-featured multiplayer effort that I want extra video games would take notes from. It’s not simply that it has an ideal suite of enjoyable on-line modes. It additionally sports activities a killer marketing campaign, a inventive card minigame, a tense PVE mode, and even a worthwhile roguelike twist in its glorious Side Order DLC. Splatoon 3 proved that Nintendo’s inky sequence actually can do all of it, justifying the corporate’s aggressive push to make it a high franchise within the Switch period.
12. Bowser’s Fury
Nintendo
Super Mario Odyssey could be regarded as the Switch’s nice 3D Mario recreation, however Bowser’s Fury isn’t far behind. Included as a pack-in recreation alongside a port of Super Mario 3D World, Bowser’s Fury imagined what a real open-world Mario recreation might appear like. It created one totally traversable set of islands made up of transitional platforming ranges that gamers can fluidly bounce into. It’s not only a enjoyable experiment with type, however a wonderful, compact Mario recreation in its personal proper that I think about paved the best way for Mario Kart World ultimately. We would possibly look again on Bowser’s Fury and see it as one of many sequence’ most influential video games by the tip of the Switch 2 period, mark my phrases.
11. Tetris 99
Nintendo
Tetris 99 is the Switch’s impossible success story, so far as I’m involved. The Switch Online freebie felt prefer it was doomed when it was first introduced. It seemed like Nintendo making an attempt to capitalize on the battle royale pattern of the period by needlessly stuffing it into Tetris. As it turned out, that elimination format is an ideal match for the puzzle sequence. A spherical of Tetris 99 continues to be thrilling to today, forcing gamers to suppose quick with a purpose to outplay 98 different gamers. Consistent updates have solely constructed on that core enjoyable, including Nintendo-themed occasions, extra modes, and single-player content material for conventional Tetris gamers. It might not be a cause to subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online, nevertheless it’s a improbable perk that I’ve performed greater than most Switch video games at this level.
10. Luigi’s Mansion 3
Nintendo
Plenty of video games attempt to do comedy and wind up falling flat. Luigi’s Mansion 3 is the uncommon recreation that actually will get the best way to craft a genuienly humorous recreation with out relying an excessive amount of on hammy writing. The ghost-hunting journey accomplishes that by specializing in nice slapstick comedy constructed round Luigi, considered one of Nintendo’s most expressive mascots. He’s an everyday Buster Keateon within the journey, leaping and screaming his approach by a haunted home filled with ghouls. That combines with sturdy puzzle design and an creative vacuuming hook to create one of many Switch’s most pleasant single-player adventures.
9. Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Nintendo
Depending on who you ask, the highest 10 of this text might have featured a number of Xenoblade video games. The RPG sequence actually discovered its voice on Nintendo Switch, turning one thing area of interest right into a mainstream phenomenon. You can see why that occurred with the Game Awards-nominated Xenoblade Chronicles 3. The huge journey tells a dense battle story set in one of many Switch’s most engrossing open-worlds. Battles really feel huge, using an MMO-inspired fight system that lets gamers carve their foes up with aptitude. A brief blurb can’t do it justice, as Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a huge, systems-heavy accmplishment that must be performed to be totally understood. What are you ready for?
8. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Nintendo
A contemporary Nintendo console is barely pretty much as good as its Super Smash Bros. recreation in my e book, so it’s no shock that Ultimate is a pinnacle for the preventing sequence. Rather than inventing new gimmicks to clean up an ideal system, Nintendo merely went massive by together with each character that’s ever been within the sequence. The consequence is a gigantic retrospective of online game historical past that pays tribute to a complete mess of iconic franchises from Mario to Persona. That’s all backed by its finest in school brawling, which works each at an off-the-cuff celebration stage and in a severe aggressive setting. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is an inconceivable act to observe up, which is probably why its creator is engaged on a Kirby Air Ride sequel for Switch 2 as a substitute.
7. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Nintendo
The Kirby sequence has at all times been considered one of Nintendo’s secret weapons, giving its studios a spot to check out inventive new concepts. Kirby and the Forgotten Land didn’t simply observe that pattern, however made Kirby plain. The pleasant platformer is each bit as creative as a 3D Mario recreation due to its wealth of mouthful powers that rework Kirby in methods by no means seen earlier than. Like Luigi’s Mansion 3, it’s one other nice work of slapstick comedy that will get at what’s so interesting about Nintendo’s finest characters. And by all of these vibrant colours and informal enjoyable, Forgotten Land nonetheless weaves in a wealthy, lore-filled story that goes to some surprisingly difficult heights. It’s a terrific chapter for Kirby that I think about can be remembered as a turning level for the sequence at some point.
6. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Nintendo
Animal Crossing: New Horizons might not be the easiest Nintendo Switch recreation, nevertheless it’s undoubtedly crucial. Released in March 2020, it rapidly grew to become a main approach for folks to attach when the Covid-19 pandemic pressured folks into lockdown. It’s a product of its time, nevertheless it isn’t simply nice due to circumstances. New Horizons is a improbable installment of the Animal Crossing system that spiced the life sim up with crafting, terraforming, and extra. With much-needed on-line options that allow a number of pals socialize collectively, New Horizons had every little thing it wanted to change into the best recreation for the best second. It couldn’t have taken on that position if the muse wasn’t glorious.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Nintendo
Following up Breath of the Wild felt like a really inconceivable activity by 2022, however the truth that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pulled it off is a testomony to what the sequel does so effectively. Rather than ranging from scratch, Nintendo turned Breath of the Wild’s open-world right into a extra immersive sandbox by which gamers might craft dream machines. It utterly modified the best way gamers acquired round Hyrule, solved shrine puzzles, and took down enemies. While it wasn’t as a lot of a stunning shock as Breath of the Wild was at launch, I nonetheless maintain so many nice tales from my time with Tears of the Kingdom, just like the time I by accident crashed a flaming airplane right into a moblin camp in my very first hands-on with it. Those reminiscences will keep on with me eternally.
4. Super Mario Odyssey
Nintendo
How are you able to reinvent the identical sequence time and time once more? That was a query plaguing Nintendo forward of the Switch period, because it struggled to seek out new methods to spin Mario. In that sense, Super Mario Odyssey felt like an announcement in Switch’s first 12 months. The wildly inventive installment introduced the character to utterly new worlds and adjusted the best way he interacts with them due to the journey’s signature hat possession. It was a complete delight, and one which immediately proved that Nintendo nonetheless had loads of inventive juice left within the tank to gasoline the Switch period. With its wealth of bite-sized challenges, Odyssey felt completely designed for a hybrid system and stays among the best promoting factors for console-quality Nintendo video games on the go.
3. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Nintendo
Prior to the Switch’s launch, Nintendo had steadily turned Fire Emblem into considered one of its flagship sequence. That effort got here to a head in 2019 with Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the Switch’s very best RPG unique. On its floor, Three Houses is a well-known ways recreation that revolves round a wonderful rock-paper-scissors fight hook. That’s just one piece of a a lot greater puzzle although, because the RPG is full of engrossing methods. From educating college students to happening tea dates, Three Houses is the grandest entry within the Fire Emblem sequence but, one that offers gamers extra methods to hook up with their heroes as a political drama brews within the background. I’ll eternally maintain onto my Golden Deer satisfaction, even when the Switch 2 sends me on one other Fire Emblem journey.
2. Metroid Dread
Nintendo
It could be slightly shocking to see Metroid Dread beating out the likes of Mario and Fire Emblem right here, however there’s an excellent cause it’s our runner up. When we requested our writers to choose their favourite recreation of 2021 years in the past, Metroid Dread was their unanimous recreation of the 12 months selection — and I nonetheless agree with that vote. The 2D journey wasn’t only a welcome return for considered one of Nintendo’s finest sequence, however an atmospheric masterclass that introduced Samus’ lengthy saga to unsettling new heights. Dread tells a narrative of chickens coming dwelling to roost, as Samus has to face the results of the reckless bounty searching of her early profession. It’s a gripping story bolstered by difficult fight, glorious exploration, and sharp controls that pushed the Metroidvania style ahead. Dread might not be as universally referred to as Super Mario Odyssey, however its completely executed imaginative and prescient is tough to argue with.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo
What are you able to say about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild that hasn’t already been mentioned. The open-world didn’t simply redefine the Zelda sequence; it modified the best way builders method the style, interval. With extra open-ended gameplay that was much less about taking a look at a map and extra about fluidly exploring a world, Breath of the Wild felt like the beginning of a psychological shift in direction of making video games about discovery once more. We noticed its system taken to new heights in Elden Ring and even smaller ones in indies like A Short Hike. Within eight years, it felt as foundational to gaming’s DNA as Super Mario Bros. Tears of the Kingdom might have expanded on that concept much more, however Breath of the Wild nonetheless earns its spot on the high for its magnificence and readability of ambition that’ll maintain it on the high of “best games of all time” lists for the following few many years.
Honorable mentions: Bayonetta 3, Cadence of Hyrule, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Mario Party Superstars, New Pokémon Snap, Pikmin 4, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Snipperclips, Super Mario Maker 2, WarioWare: Move It!, Xenoblade Chronicles 2