Unless you’ve been living under a rock, the Nintendo Switch 2 is less than 2 months away from arriving in stores. With this in mind, now feels like the time to reflect on the first machine’s 8 years of releases and name the best of them.
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
I played Kirby and the Forgotten Land in a COVID fugue, and when I say I played it, I played it from beginning to end. It starts off as a soft, comfortable walk through the post apocalypse, and then it turns into one of the most brutal 3D platformers I’ve ever played. Do not sleep on this all-timer. I literally did not.
- Mario Kart 8
Everybody who has played this game loves this game. It is one of the best racing games ever made. I played it a lot on the Wii U though, so that’s why it’s not ranking higher.
- Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age S
DQ XI S is 3 different stories that build on each other. Each story introduces depth to what, at first, appear to be very plain characters. The difficulty also increases exponentially in each new story, to the point where it feels like each of the stories are 3 different role-playing games. Staggering in its eventual scope, and unforgettable despite its awful soundtrack. Also of note, DQ XI S has THE best in-game slot machines. I could (and did) play them for days.
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses
When I played Three Houses for the first time I almost fell asleep. The visuals (particularly the colour palette) were dreary and I’ve played more than a few Fire Emblems where the protagonist is a mysterious and powerful stranger. Returning to it years later (spurred on by the power of a later entry on this list) I found some truly wonderful characters and a soundtrack that is among the best in the series. I only finished 1 of the stories, but there’s so much to do in here.
- Quake II
I love Quake II. I’ve loved it for many years, dating back to the first time I played it on the PlayStation. The most recent remaster of Quake II is the definitive version, and includes its iterations across expansions and less technically capable consoles. A love letter to, in my opinion, an under-appreciated classic which runs like a dream on the Switch.
- Super Smash Bros Ultimate
I haven’t actually played Smash Ultimate half as long as I’ve watched others play it. It is endlessly entertaining, with a low skill floor and a ceiling so high it hasn’t been fully charted years after its final balance patch.
- Balatro
Everything you’ve heard about Balatro is true. It causes time to compress and disappear. It is addictive. It is an obsession. It’s also cheap and you should try it right now.
- Fortnite
When Fortnite was announced for the Nintendo Switch, I thought it would have to be compromised somehow. Maybe you wouldn’t be able to build forts as fast. Maybe the environments wouldn’t be as destructible as they are on higher end consoles and PC. I was amazed to find not only where there very few compromises (the graphical quality is probably it, to be honest), but it was actually the version I enjoyed the most. Hundreds of hours spent killing Star Wars characters, WWE Wrestlers, professional sportsman, and so many pop culture avatars. Not a single moment wasted.
- Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes
For more than 20 years, I have turned my nose up at musou games. Dynasty Warriors: boring. Hyrule Warriors: pretty, but boring. Three Hopes did something to mix that all up: it gave me characters and relationships to develop and care about. It also introduced enough different moves and mechanics to the combat to make it interesting. Crucially, it was so good that it made me go back to its narrative inspiration (Fire Emblem: Three Houses) to give it a proper college try. My save file has more than 100 hours on it. I have finished every campaign, and even had a good crack at Crushing difficulty. Finally, the music is so powerful, I can still hear the main battle theme in my head whenever I want it to.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Breath of the Wild (BotW) is a story about failure. It presents you with the 100 year legacy of your failure, and it is still wonderful and uplifting. Despite failing, despite all of the death and destruction, there is still so much beauty in this world. It’s the first Zelda game I played from beginning to end. It’s the first Zelda game I finished more than once. It is an open world without equal.
Honourable mentions: Hades, Bayonetta 1&2, Super Mario Odyssey, Metroid: Dread, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
