The 6 best Nintendo Switch games

Now that the Nintendo Switch 2 has launched, bringing Mario Kart World into people's homes means I can finally say goodbye to my Nintendo Switch. While games will still be released for it, all of them will work on Switch 2, and in some cases run better thanks to Switch 2 versions. That means I can power off my Nintendo Switch and put it away, and it also means I can finally settle what the best games for the Nintendo Switch are. There are tons of heavy hitters, and in some cases the best games ever made, making it a deeply competitive list, even with six slots. There's a good chance that your favorite game isn't on the list, because there are legitimately a few dozen games that could have made this list. For the sake of this list, a game needed to launch on the Nintendo Switch, which cuts out a number of high-quality Wii U ports, just to make this list easier to decide.

6 Luigi's Mansion 3

An underrated Switch game

Luigi's Mansion 3 isn't the first Switch game you might think of when someone says heavy hitter, but it is a heavy hitter. While the Gooigi co-op mode is lackluster, as a single-player puzzle game, I love Luigi's Mansion 3. Set in a hotel with numerous floors, this premise is used to create over a dozen unique levels, ranging from kitchens and basements, to strange levels, like the TV Studio and an Egyptian Pyramid. It's bursting with Nintendo creativity, has great puzzles, and Luigi, being terrified of everything around him, just never gets old. I understand that some people find it a bit too easy to catch ghosts, perhaps entering boring territory, but personally, I found the puzzles to be compelling and the ghost catching to be satisfying to do, even if it never presented that deep of a challenge. It's a delightful experience, and one that really captures what makes Nintendo games special.

5 Fire Emblem: Three Houses

A fantastic SRPG with a great story and characters

Fire Emblem: Three Houses was a massive hit on the Nintendo Switch, bringing the classic strategy RPG series into a modern form with a deep narrative and a cast of lovable characters. Fire Emblem: Engage might have slightly improved combat, coming out after Three Houses, but it falls flat from a narrative and character perspective. Fire Emblem: Three Houses uses its school setting to allow you to form more personal connections with the characters, spending time training them and improving their capabilities outside of combat with a strong narrative wrapper. Its multiple branching narrative paths make it fun to replay too, as you can swap which house you're training, and what late-game story choices you are making. There are a few issues, like the romance aspect, that feels a bit off-putting given the narrative setup of the school, but overall it's an incredible SRPG, and one I want to revisit on Switch 2.

4 Animal Crossing: New Horizons

A global phenomenon for a reason

Animal Crossing: New Horizons exploded when it launched on Switch, partially due to it aligning with a global pandemic that made people more likely to stay home and play games. As a huge fan of the series, I love New Horizons, as it felt like an improvement over what I liked about the series. It had all the museum collecting I've enjoyed, with a nice variety of fish and bugs to find. The random islands you can travel to add a nice element of finding out-of-season items, or just items that were far less likely to appear on my island. There were so many more furniture options as well, letting me get more into the decorating aspect than I had in the past. The crafting system added a nice layer to the game, even if some aspects of it, like tools degrading over time, felt unnecessary for the kind of experience I wanted out of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It's an excellent Switch game, and one that has got some pretty compelling DLC if you haven't checked it out.

3 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

One of the best launch titles of all time

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild might have launched on the Wii U the same day it launched on the Nintendo Switch, but it is a Switch game to most people. I never owned a Wii U and played Breath of the Wild on my Switch, which was a magical experience back in 2017. As someone who isn't a huge Zelda fan, Breath of the Wild offered exploration and discovery so strong that I learned to love the puzzle solving that had turned me away from previous games. The combat felt pretty good, and was incredibly tense against tough enemies like the Lynels. But the best parts of Breath of the Wild were discovering new Shrines and other secrets hidden in Hyrule. The Eventide Island trials were a highlight for me, along with the four main temples and the final boss fight. I also loved teh weapon durability system, as it forced me to actually use the new weapons I found, leading to me discovering new favorites. The Switch 2 version of Breath of the Wild might be better than the original, but Breath of the Wild is a Switch game through and through.

2 Mario Odyssey

It's Mario, what more do you need?

Mario Odyssey might not be my favorite 3D Mario game, but I do consider it the best one. I think the Cappy mechanic varies wildly in the quality of gameplay. Depending on what exactly you are taking over, the actual platforming is unmatched. The movement in Mario Odyssey feels incredible, especially with the large sandboxes Nintendo built across the different levels. There are moments, big and small, that I will never forget. The first time I went from 3D to a 2D platforming challenge on a wall, it was magical, and the New Donk City musical number is one of the best moments in gaming. The Dark Side of the Moon provides an incredible challenge at the end of the game, and having 999 moons to collect means you can pour a ton of hours into the game and still have new challenges to overcome. Mario Odyssey combining with Breath of the Wild to make for an incredible launch year for the Nintendo Switch.

1 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

A predictable number one, but still deserving

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the best game on the Nintendo Switch, and while not everyone agrees with that, even the dissenters understand why it's considered the best. Following up Breath of the Wild seemed like an impossible task on paper, and the idea that it would take place in the same Hyrule made it seem like it could be a retread instead of a sequel. But the addition of both the underground and sky islands added tons of new areas to explore, and the new tools drastically changed the way I interacted with the parts of the world I was familiar with. Ultrahand making it so you could build nearly anything, meant that every puzzle in the game could be approached anyway I wanted. That may have resulted in a ton of long bridges, but the puzzles constantly demanded I work a bit harder than that to find a solution. It's incredibly impressive how Nintendo built upon Breath of the Wild to make a sequel that transformed one of the best games ever made into an even better experience.

A fantastic console with a great line-up

The Nintendo Switch had an incredible line-up of games, even outside the ones that made this list. I have tons of hours in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and deeply enjoyed my time with Metroid Dread, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and Kirby and the Forgotten Lands, just to name a few more incredible games on the platform. This list also ignores multiplatform games that are great on Switch, like Hades. While I'm excited to move onto the more powerful Switch 2, I think its important to recognize what a great console the Switch was.