The 25 Best Switch 2 Games

More than a year after launch, the Switch 2’s games library looks stronger than ever. Nintendo’s heaviest hitters, a new Zelda adventure and a fresh Mario platformer, are still missing. Even so, the company has kept a steady flow of appealing second-tier releases like Splatoon Raiders. It has also delivered Switch 2 Editions of beloved older games such as the Xenoblade series, along with Nintendo 64 remakes like Star Fox. Another of those remakes is arriving soon.

Third-party support is just as impressive. Nearly every indie studio has signed on, and several major publishers are bringing their flagship games to the system. Square Enix is porting the Final Fantasy 7 series. Capcom has Resident Evil, Onimusha, Pragmata, and more on the way.

Don’t forget that Switch 2 owners can also play the whole original Switch catalog through backward compatibility. For more ideas, browse our roundup of the best Switch games. At the bottom of this page, you’ll also find a short list of Switch titles that aren’t full Switch 2 Editions but have received free updates worth having on the newer hardware.

We last refreshed this list on Oct. 23, adding Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and Nintendo Switch Sports Resort.

How we choose the best Switch 2 games

Our staff plays an enormous number of games, and every entry here has the personal endorsement of at least one of us. Quality was our main yardstick. We also aimed for range, so you should find something that suits your tastes, whatever genres you favor, however much free time you have, and whatever mood you’re in.

1. Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave

Intelligent Systems’ long-running and much-loved tactical RPG series has had trouble lately balancing compelling storytelling with satisfying strategy design. Fortune’s Weave finally brings the two together. It’s a sprawling epic that reunites the houses and fills them with a lovable, eccentric anime cast, each pursuing their own goals. Even if you skip some of the branching paths, you’ll get well over 100 hours of play. What stands out most is how rich and rewarding both the narrative and the underlying systems are. —Oli Welsh

Read Josh Broadwell’s full review of Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave.

2. Nintendo Switch Sports Resort

Nintendo’s motion-controlled sports series, which started with the groundbreaking Wii Sports, comes back with a fresh collection of 12 minigames. That summary undersells how far this triumphant sequel stretches the formula. Relaxed free-roam activities like the superb skateboarding let you roam the whole island, almost like an open-world platformer. Every sport also gets a satisfying solo progression path called Island Crown, backed by plenty of customization options and achievements to chase. It’s the ideal casual game. —OW

Read Oli Welsh’s full review of Nintendo Switch Sports Resort.

3. Splatoon Raiders

Splatoon Raiders initially looked like a modest co-op side project for Nintendo’s hit competitive paintball franchise, something like a longer version of the Octo Expansion campaign from Splatoon 2. It is that, but it goes much further. Unexpectedly, it’s Nintendo’s first true looter shooter. It’s a buoyant action-RPG with surprising depth that can stand beside Borderlands and Diablo. A simple, stage-based action game gradually becomes an escalating war of attrition, especially after the credits roll and you tackle the huge, punishing endgame. —OW

Read Giovanni Colantonio’s full review of Splatoon Raiders.

4. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Square Enix has moved fast to bring its Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy to Switch 2. Remake arrived in January and Rebirth in June. The concluding chapter, Revelation, will launch on Nintendo’s console on day one next April. The port of Remake was impressive. Rebirth is more remarkable still, since it began as a PS5 game of enormous scale. It can honestly feel like too much, and the abundance of side quests and activities is sometimes overwhelming. Still, it’s a lavish, charming adventure. —OW

Read Todd Harper’s full review of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

5. Big Walk

Big Walk is a one-of-a-kind co-op puzzle adventure from House House, the Australian studio behind Untitled Goose Game. You could describe it as a refined take on “friendslop,” the chaotic, physics-driven hangout games that thrive on Steam. It has more artistry and mystery than most of those, along with plenty of room for mischief. It’s an exploration game, a puzzle game, and a lovely trek through the wilderness to share with friends and family. —OW

Read Giovanni Colantonio, Julia Lee, and Johnny Yu’s full review of Big Walk.

6. Orbitals

Orbitals is a straightforward two-player co-op adventure in the vein of Hazelight’s It Takes Two and Split Fiction. Its Tokyo developer, Shapefarm, was founded by a Hazelight veteran. Straightforward doesn’t mean simplistic, though. The co-op platforming is endlessly inventive and energizing, and the 1980s anime-inspired look is a bewitching piece of craftsmanship. It’s thoroughly enjoyable if you have a regular play partner. —OW

Read Oli Welsh’s full review of Orbitals.

7. Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup at Bellabel Park

The newest Nintendo Switch 2 Edition builds on the superb 2D platformer Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It adds a raucous set of multiplayer minigames and plenty more besides: new playable characters, new bosses, new badge modifiers, a new power-up, and loads of decorative flowers and emojis to collect. Best of all is a fresh batch of remixed challenge levels, a few of them fiendishly hard.

Most of the extras are nonessential frills. Families and local multiplayer fans will still enjoy the hilarious Vs. games as a change of pace from Mario Kart. The essential part is Super Mario Bros. Wonder itself. It’s arguably the best 2D Mario since 1991’s Super Mario World, a surreal and astonishing parade of ideas from start to finish. It’s Nintendo at its very best, and it looks gorgeous in native 4K on Switch 2. —OW

Read Oli Welsh’s full review of Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup at Bellabel Park.

8. Resident Evil Requiem

The hair may not look its best, but otherwise Capcom’s Switch 2 version of its blockbuster is essentially uncompromised. Its simultaneous launch alongside PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X is a welcome development, and hopefully a sign of things to come.

Requiem delivers everything you could want from a Resident Evil game, thanks to its two leads. Grace brings genuinely frightening, scrappy survival horror. Leon Kennedy, now a handsome, graying veteran, offers lavishly gory, chainsaw-swinging zombie slaughter in the spirit of the classic Resident Evil 4. Moving between the two can give you horror-game whiplash, but both halves of Requiem hit the mark. This is how blockbuster games should feel. —OW

Read Giovanni Colantonio’s full review of Resident Evil Requiem.

9. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The game that launched the Switch into the stratosphere during the pandemic returns with a hefty update and an official Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. There’s plenty to lure you back: a new hotel and slumber islands, game-changing quality-of-life upgrades like bulk crafting (at last!), playable classic consoles, Zelda and Lego collaborations, and more. If you burned out on it during lockdown, though, returning might feel slightly haunting.

The Switch 2 Edition adds a few exclusive features, such as mouse control. The real benefit is far shorter load times and less pop-in. For devoted Animal Crossing fans, it’s a must-have upgrade. —OW

10. Cyberpunk 2077

Vast open worlds like the one in Cyberpunk 2077 are best explored at your own speed. That makes the Switch 2 version of CD Projekt Red’s urban RPG a great way to take in Night City, and you should absolutely see it. The main story sometimes pushes its setting’s bitter cynicism too far. Beneath the grit, though, lies a sincere and even moving reflection on what makes a life worth living against steep odds, and on the danger of letting corporations accumulate too much power. Much of that shines through in the superb side quests and character stories. Despite the game’s heavy hardware demands, it holds up remarkably well on Switch 2.

Almost, anyway. Performance in Phantom Liberty is a little shaky, but the base game runs steadily with a crisp image. The console’s extra control options are a nice perk too. Motion controls work surprisingly well and ease the clumsiness of playing a first-person shooter with an analog stick. For even greater precision, the Joy-Con 2’s mouse controls work in tabletop or docked mode. —Josh Broadwell

Source: Polygon