TOP 10 Games For The Nintendo Switch

1 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a monumental artistic achievement, a video game so creative and full of surprises that we’ll be talking about it for years to come. It’s also unlike any Zelda game before it. For years, Zelda games were defined by “no.” You can’t reach this place until later; you can’t solve this puzzle until you get the right item. Breath of the Wild is the best Zelda game to date, and it accomplishes that simply by saying yes.

2Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is an already-great game made indispensable by the Switch. The 2016 farming/dating/life sim lets you forget your worries and embrace a soothingly banal life in the countryside. You water your crops in the morning, and think about how you’re going to improve your farm. You head in to town and stop by the general store to get seeds and chat up the cute boy you’ve had your eye on. And if you want, you explore the mysterious mine, gather magical materials, and uncover the deeper secrets of the valley. It’s a game with a seemingly endless amount to do, and it fits perfectly onto a handheld.

3 Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

Look, we weren’t expecting much from Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle either. We were right there laughing along with the rest of the internet when we first saw those leaked promotional images of Ubisoft’s annoying Rabbid mascots dressed up as iconic Mario characters. But then Ubisoft showed the game itself, and… wait, a Mario-inspired take on XCOM tactics? One that looks like a first-party Nintendo game thanks to Nintendo’s developers lending a hand with production? As it turned out, yep, Mario + Rabbids is a fantastic game. It’s a smart, streamlined take on the XCOM style of turn-based, positional tactics. It’s beautiful looking, and has an excellent musical score. And it’s just really goofy and fun. Each fight is an unpredictable scrum between team Mario and a bunch of chittering, idiot Rabbids, and the constantly escalating challenge will force you to think on your toes. And its digestible, 5-10 minute battles and “just one more match!” addictiveness make it a perfect fit for the handheld Switch.

4SteamWorld Dig 2

SteamWorld Dig 2 takes the backtracking, exploration and gradual upgrades of a Metroid game and combines them with the strategic spelunking of Dig Dug. The result is a charming, engrossing side-scroller loaded with smart ideas and clever challenges. That’s... pretty much all we need to say about it. It’s a straightforward gaming pleasure.

5Mario Kart 8

Ah, the blue shell. There may be no better metaphor for the bleakness of life. One minute you’re cruising along, on top of the world, and then… BAM, you’re totally hosed. Just when you thought you had it in the bag, life throws a blue shell.
Mario Kart 8 isn’t really all that philosophical, of course. It’s the same Mario Kart formula re-tuned and polished to an absurd degree, easily one of the most fun party games you can play on the Switch or any other console. Best of all, the Deluxe version on Switch includes all the DLC maps and characters from the Wii U game and also completely overhauls that version’s woebegone battle mode. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the definitive version of an already great game.

6Golf Story

Golf Story is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a story about golf, and the emphasis is placed equally on both words in the title. It’s a narrative game with light RPG elements that also happens to have an in-depth golfing system. Combining aspects of pop golf movies like Caddyshack and Happy Gilmore with a more traditional underdog sports story, it tells the tale of a talented young wannabe golf pro and his rise through the ranks to the heights of golfing glory. To do that, you’ll need to master the intricacies of its golf gameplay, which gracefully walk the line between realistic and arcade-y. This one’s a real charmer, and a lovely Switch surprise.

7Splatoon 2

Splatoon 2 builds on the foundation laid by its fantastic Wii U predecessor with a more fleshed-out singleplayer mode, an addictive new co-op mode, and league play at launch. At its core, though, it’s the same brilliant mix of fine-tuned gameplay, Nickelodeon slime and J-pop dazzle that made the original great. It’s a simple idea: you paint the floors, then swim through your paint to move faster and reload your gun, and it works beautifully. It’s easy to get sucked into the grind for the freshest fashion and the highest ranks, but none of that would work if the game weren’t fun, which it most certainly is.

8Overcooked

Overcooked asks you to team up with your friends to fill orders at a restaurant. Sounds easy, right? Of course it is not, and of course any one person’s failure leads to all sorts of hilarious chaos. The fun of the game is in keeping a cool head as things go off the rails, and it works well with the Switch joy-con, making Overcooked a perfect couch co-op game. The Switch version had some performance issues at launch, but it’s been subsequently patched, making it a cinch to recommend.

9Skyrim

If you play video games, you’ve probably played Skyrim at some point. Even if you haven’t played it, you probably know what it is. Bethesda Game Studios’s epochal 2011 RPG is one of the most widely known, beloved role-playing games ever made. Even if you’ve already played it for hundreds of hours, it’s different to be able to take it with you on the go. Skyrim makes the jump to Switch without missing a beat, bringing along all the DLC and improvements that were included in 2016’s Special Edition, along with motion controls that, like in Breath of the Wild, actually make aiming a bow a lot easier.

10Shovel Knight

Shovel Knight is a brilliant reminder of what we loved about the best classic NES-era platformers. It combines tight controls, bouncy game feel, an extremely good soundtrack, and a charming cast of characters into a game that feels like a classic, even if it comes with many of the conveniences we associate with newer games. The Treasure Trove includes two expansions, with a third free one on the way. The first two let you play as Plague Knight and Specter Knight, and while the latter campaign is more fun than the former, both expand on an already fun game. It all looks and plays great on the Switch, and is a natural fit for on-the-go gaming.

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