The Nintendo Switch has been around for more than five years and shows no signs of slowing down. The $299.99 console's innovative home-and-away design allows you to play your favourite games on a big-screen TV when docked or in portable mode while standing in line at the post office. It's especially useful for commuters or people who have hectic lives. With a little more money, you can get the $349.99 Nintendo Switch OLED variant, which has a large, stunning screen and a superior kickstand. If you don't want to bother with a TV, there's also the $199.99 portable-only Nintendo Switch Lite.
In the nearly six years since its release, the Nintendo Switch has had a lot of success. The console-handheld hybrid has been available since 2017, and a bevy of amazing titles from first- and third-party developers have been released over the system's lifespan. Heavy hitters like Metroid Dread, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land have recently increased the system's attractiveness, while a strong lineup of planned games continues to pique interest.
Right now, the Switch has a plethora of fantastic games to enjoy. But which ones should you investigate? These are the greatest Nintendo Switch games for 2023 (including free-to-play releases).
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Is there anything else to say? It's one of the best Zelda games of all time. The flagship release is without a doubt one of the best games on the Switch and any system, period. While the Zelda name alone will pique the interest of most purchasers, Breath of the Wild aims to update the series' basic formula and bring Link's adventures into the modern era. The kingdoms of Hyrule have opened up, allowing you to explore and accomplish quests at your leisure. Weapons and objects now have limited lifespans, requiring you to seek for and build stuff to aid you on your trip.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a ground-breaking new game in the acclaimed franchise, transports you to a realm of discovery, exploration, and adventure. In this breathtaking Open-Air Adventure, you will travel over wide fields, through forests, and to mountain summits to discover what has become of the kingdom of Hyrule. Your trip is now freer and more open than ever on the Nintendo Switch platform. Take your system wherever you want and adventure as Link however you like.
Metroid Dread
There have been a few Metroid games released since Metroid Fusion in 2002, but none of them were direct sequels. The Metroid Prime trilogy is its own series, Metroid: Samus Returns and Zero Mission were remakes, and Metroid: Other M is best left unsaid. That means Metroid Dread was the first original 2D Metroid game to be released in 19 years, which is mind-boggling to consider. Fortunately, the wait was worthwhile. It's one of Samus' most memorable journeys to date, as well as one of the best Nintendo Switch shooters. Metroid Dread starts up where Fusion left off in terms of story, but it's a much more mechanically current title.
After nearly two decades, Metroid Dread returns Samus Aran to her 2D bounty-hunting roots in preparation for the actual Metroid 5. It has you exploring a dense, dangerous new world full of powers to acquire and opponents to defeat. Dread more than lives up to its namesake, with harsh boss battles and harrowing chases. If anyone is capable of defeating the terror, it is Nintendo's leading lady.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is an excellent remake of the 1993 Game Boy classic. It's throwback Zelda with a revamped art style. Link's Awakening, the strangest game in the series, amplifies its mystery personality even more with a cutesy graphic style that makes everyone and everything look like toys in a playhouse. Koholint Island is the best non-Hyrule setting in franchise history, thanks to engaging characters and a mystery plot centred on a huge egg. In the remake, Nintendo considerably improved Link's Awakening by modifying the inventory system to improve gameplay, adding map pins for exploration, and significantly boosting the number of Heart Pieces, Secret Seashells, and other collectibles placed throughout the island.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening holds up exceptionally well and is widely regarded as one of the best top-down Zelda games ever created. Excellent dungeon design and a brilliantly designed overworld make it a treat to return more than 25 years after its first release.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The long-awaited Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now over two years old, and it may be the best game in the series ever. New Horizons, set on a lonely island that players must build from scratch as part of a vacation getaway package, offers unprecedented freedom and customisation opportunities. Furniture and decorations can be placed anywhere on the island, and bespoke patterns for flags and even face paint can be produced. It's one of the best multiplayer games on the Switch, and it's already sold over 31 million sales, making it one of the Switch's best-selling titles.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons maintains the series' online multiplayer legacy by supporting up to eight people, and players can still exchange commodities like fruit back and forth to assist each other build their houses. Tom Nook is still in charge and expects mortgage payments, but the fun of New Horizons games makes it seem insignificant. New Horizons is sure to be around for a while, with regular improvements on the way and seasonal fish to catch.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Nintendo Switch game that could become your single fixation, is one of those fighting games that is so thorough that it is worth purchasing a Switch just for it. Every character ever included in the series' nearly 20-year history is included in the latest universe-melding fighting game, and more than 100 stages are available as soon as you boot it up for the first time. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is nostalgic for Nintendo's history without being old, and it plays at the speed of a competitive fighting game while remaining simple enough for inexperienced players to enjoy. There's something for everyone on the lineup, and newcomers like Incineroar and Simon Belmont fit right in alongside oldies like Mario and Jigglypuff. A substantial single-player campaign
A robust single-player story mode and additional local multiplayer possibilities are just the cherry on top.
