The Switch had an unbelievable run, returning Nintendo back to the head of the table as the dominant player in video gaming. A killer console concept tied with exceptional software, the Switch should rightly go down in history as arguably the greatest console of all time. With that, there’s no better time to look at the games that defined my experience. Obviously, I can only choose from what I’ve played (sorry Xenoblade) and, more importantly, this is my own list. So if anything is missing, or out of place, assume that’s by design, not by accident. Without further ado, here are my top 20 Nintendo Switch 2 games

10 – Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

It’s become a bit of a sticking point among Zelda-heads, but I adore Age of Calamity. Yes, it kind of mis sold itself. It absolutely isn’t canon, it absolutely isn’t the story of how Hyrule fell a hundred years before Breath of the Wild. But as an experience, and as a story for what it is, it’s up there in terms of anything the series has ever done. There are some performance issues, no question. It isn’t what it says it is on the tin. But, if you can look past both, you get a great Warriors game, and a great game full stop. And I’m all in on Age of Imprisonment, especially if it really is going to be canon.

9 – Metroid Dread

My relationship with Metroid is a weird one. Super Metroid is great, Metroid Fusion is great, and I’ve owned every Metroid Prime at one point or another, and enjoyed them. But yet to finish any of them. Yes, I’m embarrassed by that. Metroid Dread, however, is one I did finish, and loved it. Developed by MercurySteam, Spanish studio that headed up the Lords of Shadow Castlevania games, Dread is the most fluid 2D Metroid I think I’ve ever played. Rewiring my brain to play it with a joystick rather than a d-pad took some time, but it makes sense. It looks so good, too (no wonder Nintendo released it alongside the OLED Switch). Until the day I finally finish Prime, this is the best Metroid I’ve played, I think. Banger.

8 – Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Comfortably the most interesting Pokemon title on the Switch. Pokemon Legends Arceus was a spin off, developed Game Freak, set centuries in the past, and explored the world of Sinnoh before it was built up. The focus is no longer on battles and training, and more on exploration and discovery, as you’re tasked with building the first ever Pokedex. It’s a really good game, one I’m convinced contributed to the somewhat frosty reception Scarlet and Violet got later in 2022. With Pokemon Legends Z-A coming out later this year, it’ll be interesting to see how much of this foundation makes it over.

7 – Splatoon 2

Splatoon on the Wii U completely passed me by. Being literally the only person in my friendship group to own a Wii U, and having played the bulk of my shooters over headset online, the idea just didn’t appeal. In 2017, however, I was willing to hoover anything with the Nintendo seal of approval on it. I absolutely loved Splatoon 2. A team shooter with an emphasis on not attacking your opponent. The aim of the game is to cover more of the map with your team’s paint than your opponent. Its a very Nintendo way of entering the shooter space, but one that works. I did play a bit of Splatoon 3, but the months after Splatoon 2 came out, I played it religiously. An excellent shooter.

6 – Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Number 3 on our top 5 games of 2024. Thank Goodness You’re Here! is the funniest game ever made. You just walk around the fictional town of Barnsworth hitting things and seeing what happens. Best to describe it as a point and click adventure, I think. Utterly stupid from the first minute, it hit every spot I wanted from a game. I can see myself returning to it every couple of years like a film, or something. Oh, and it’s getting a gorgeous physical release too. If you’ve ever laughed at a Monty Python sketch, this is for you.

5 – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Yes, it’s a Wii U game. But it’s also sold nearly 70 million copies, on Switch. This is a core text of the console, whether you or I like it or not. It’s very lucky that it’s a banger, isn’t it? Kart racing has never looked or felt this good. So many of the new tracks that make up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe feel like the peak of what can be done in this form (Wario Mountain is a personal favourite). Want something a bit more classic? MK8D has, what feels like 5000 tracks from the older games on here too. The DLC just kept adding track after track to the point where if Nintendo changed the name to Mario Kart Ultimate you couldn’t argue it wasn’t warranted. This is the very best the series has to offer. Your move, Mario Kart World.

4 – Hades

I waxed lyrical about Hades back in 2020, and time has made the heart grow fonder. Hades is yet another banger from Supergiant, a studio everyone should want to support at every opportunity. Set against the backdrop of Greek mythology, Hades asks you to escape the Underworld again and again as Zagreus, the son of Hades. Listen, I’m not a roguelite fan by any stretch, but this had me hooked. Treat Hades as a pure action title, and you forget it even has that moniker. Supergiant’s magnum opus has some of the tightest combat of any game on the platform. Hades II comes out on both Switch and Switch 2 later this year. Play this now and get ready for that.

3 – Animal Crossing: New Horizons

In 2020, something happened globally and we couldn’t go outside for a while. Things looked bleak. About 2 weeks prior, however, Nintendo released Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and things seemed a bit brighter as a result. An absolute phenomenon in a series of phenomenons. Instead of moving into a new village, you, and two NPCs, move to a remote island, and set up camp. Over the course of however long you’re willing to play, you shape the island into whatever you can imagine it to be. An absolutely vital part of the Switch canon, and possibly the most important game Nintendo have ever released.

2 – Super Mario Odyssey

The first 3D Super Mario since Super Mario 3D World in 2013, Super Mario Odyssey returned the 3D series to expansive worlds rather than individual levels, and the results are exceptional. Super Mario Odyssey capped off a, frankly, unbelievable 2017 for Nintendo’s new console, and cemented it as the name in the industry. Super Mario Odyssey gives us the best of every 3D  Mario before, with charm and wonder not seen since maybe Galaxy. A blend of the platforming Nintendo perfected decades ago, with the discoverability and adventure Breath of the Wild gave us months prior. One of the best games ever made, certainly the best Mario to date. A must.

1- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

To this day, I will argue that Breath of the Wild is the best game ever made. Nintendo chose to launch its game changing new console with a series changing, and genre defining, new Zelda. In their first ever open world, Nintendo perfected it. Every inch of Hyrule is filled with secrets and rewards worth discovering. Every mechanic is so brilliantly devised that you wonder how no one thought of it before. And, while you can technically just run straight into the final battle within an hour of playing, you won’t. Because Breath of the Wild is worth putting hundreds of hours into, to absorb every aspect of it. Its world is matched by its story, which is both brutal and beautiful. The Nintendo Switch game. A masterful achievement that provided a moment in gaming that might never be topped.