The Nintendo Switch may be coming to the end of it’s lifecycle, but that means you have 8 years worth of great games. Today I’m going to run through what I think are the best games for Nintendo Switch, so if you’re new to the platform, then this is a great place to start.

If you like the video then subscribe for more Nintendo content here on Power-up Direct, plus turn on notifications to never miss a Nintendo update.

Without further delay, let’s dive into the best games for Nintendo Switch.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

First of I’m going to start with the best selling console on the platform, and that’s Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. This started out life as a Wii U game, Nintendo’s previous console to the Switch, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe brings all the content together from the base game and DLCs.

The game contains all your favourite Super Mario Brothers charcters including Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser and a whole load more. In 2022 and 2023 Nintendo surprised everyone by releasing additional tracks as part of the Booster Course Packs. These can be picked up individually through the eShop, or if you have Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion pack, then you’ll get this additonal content at no extra charge. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remains one of the best mutliplayer games on Nintendo Switch, and it’s great online as well as local co-op, and especially good when getting family and friends together for the holidays.

Hades

Hades is the first indie game on the list. This is from Supergiant games and is an action roguelike, which has inredible writing, design and a very satisfying gameplay loop, which keeps bringing you back for ‘one more run’.

You play as Zagreus, son of Hades, and you attempt to escape the Underworld to reach Mount Olympus. Along the way you’ll get help from other ancient greek gods such as Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Ares and Hermes to name a few.

This one has crisp movement and a range of weapons. The idea is to progress as far as possible without dying, otherwise you’ll have to go back to the start. Along the way greek gods will provide you with power-ups to make your journey easier.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate

This is the culmination of Super Smash Brothers, bringing together all of the characters who have featured in past games. This is a fighting game, where you have to knock your opponents off the stage. Each character has it’s own moveset, and the game features Nintendo characters, plus a range of characters from other games including Sonic, Ryu (from Street Fighter), Cloud (Final Fantasy) and a whole load more. Other than Fortnite, this is the ultimate crossover game. In total there are 89 players to choose from. The game has a huge range of modes including a single-player campaign and a wide range of multiplayer modes available for local or online play. It’s a must-have for any Nintendo fan.

Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

Tears of the Kingdom is the second open-world Zelda title on Nintendo Switch and builds upon the sucess of Breath of the Wild. This is a massive 100+ hour game where you explore Hyrule, the Depths below and the Sky Islands above. Link has brand new abilities including Ultrahand allowing you to build a wide range of contraptions and vehicles.

Originally this was DLC for Breath of the Wild, but the team had so many ideas they wanted to pack in it became it’s own game. From a story point of view it’s classic Zelda, Link is searching for Zelda and had to take down the Evil Ganondorf. This is a grand adventure that iterates on Breath of the Wild, plus will provide hundreds of hours of gameplay building things, side quests and getting to know the inhabitants of Hyrule.

Hollow Knight

This is another indie title from early in the Switch’s lifecycle. Hollow Knight is from Team Cherry. This is a Metroidvania where you have to explore Hallownest as the Knight. The game takes place underground in a vast maze of caves, while you battle other insectoid enemies, and get to know friendly NPCs. Inspirations for the game include Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Super Metroid and Mega Man, so if you are a fan of these titles, then you’ll love Hollow Knight. Over the years the base game has been added to with four free expansions.

Luigi’s Mansion 3

Luigi’s Mansion 3 is an underrated Nintendo Switch game, and one of the best looking games on the platform, even though it was released in 2019. You play as Luigi, Mario’s brother, who has to explore a hotel overrun by ghosts and save Mario after they are all tricked into visiting by King Boo. Luigi has a doppleganger in the game called Gooigi, a goo-based version of Luigi who helps you out in puzzles. The game builds on previous entries in the series with puzzles, battling ghosts plsu there is multiplayer co-op and competitve gameplay locally and online too.

Metroid Dread

This is the second Metroidvania on the list, but this is the OG, from the franchise that inspired hundreds of modern day Metroidvanias. Metroid Dread is the franchises first outing in 2D for a long time, which is set after Metroid Fusion. You play as Samus Aran, investugating the source of a mysterious transmission on planet ZDR. It’s a sidescroller and including tough action and stealth sequences too. The EMMI’s are particularly terrifying here, whcih are killer robots intent to eliminating Samus and you either have to evade them or kill them with a powered up version of your blaster. This is a very different falvour of Metroid compared to Metroid Prime, but it’s one of my favourites for the Nintendo Switch.

Celeste

This is my final indie game for the list, but probably my favourite indie game of all time. This is Celeste, a story of a girl who climbs a mountain, and it’s a platformer that also has a hard hitting story. The gameplay is so crisp with Celeste, plus I am a big fan of the graphics with the throwback pixel art style.

You play as Madeline, a young woman who suffers from aniexty and depression and she decides to climb Celeste Mountain. Along the way she meets a number of characters, including the embodiment of her own self doubt. The story is fantastic, but it’s the gameplay feel with the combination of jumps and dashes that truely make the game unforgettable. This is a game that’s often on sale, either way, this is one of the best platformers ever made, and I’d recommend it to any platformer game fan, or any fan of video games – plus it’s perfect in Switch’s handheld mode too.

Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey is Mario’s major solo outing on Nintendo Switch, and while it came out very early in the lifecycle of the Switch, it’s still one of the best games on the platform. You take control of Mario, trying to save Peach from marrying Bowser, and travel through a variety of worlds to get there. Mario isn’t alone, this time he has Cappy with him, a sentient hat character who helps you traverse the environment with additional jumps and tricks. Super Mario Odyssey went onto become the biggest selling Super Mario game of all time, and while Nintendo supported the title with minimal DLC content, much more could have been done. It was the first Nintendo Switch game I truely became obsessed with leading to learning how to speedrun the game.

Zelda Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild was the launch game for the Nintendo Switch, and the game that helped realise the dream of being able to play traditional console games on the go. The Zelda formula had become stale with Skyward Sword, so the Zelda team invested a lot in a brand new open-world Hyrule with many convention breaking features like smaller shrines instead of larger dungeons, and breakable weapons to incentivise discovering new ones. Breath of the Wild would go onto become the highest selling Zelda game of all time, and is arguably one of the best games ever made. It’s still a fantastic game today and a must-have for your Nintendo Switch collection.

Let me know what you think in the comments. Do you agree? What would you swap in or out if you don’t?