Over a year in, the Switch 2’s software lineup could scarcely be looking healthier. Although it’s still lacking the biggest of big hitters from Nintendo’s own stable — there’s been no Zelda or Mario platformer yet — the platform holder has kept up a consistent stream of interesting second-tier titles like Splatoon Raiders, Switch 2 Editions of past classics like the Xenoblade series, and even Nintendo 64 remakes like Star Fox. (There’s another one of those coming soon…)
That’s in addition to stellar third-party support, with almost unanimous buy-in from indies and several big publishers going all-in on porting their biggest titles to Switch 2 — notably Square Enix, with the Final Fantasy 7 series, and Capcom, with Resident Evil, Onimusha, Pragmata, and more coming.
Switch 2 players shouldn’t forget they also have access to the entire Switch library, playable under backward compatibility on Switch 2. You can check out our list of the best Switch games for inspiration — but at the foot of this article, we’ve also included a quick list of our recommendations of Switch games that, while not considered full-blown Switch 2 Editions, have received worthwhile free updates on the new console.
Our latest update to this list, on Sept. 15, added Splatoon Raiders, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Big Walk, and Orbitals.
How we pick the best games on Switch 2
The Polygon staff plays a lot of video games, and everything in this list comes personally recommended by at least one of us. We determined what should be on our list of the best Switch 2 games by looking at the quality of each title, but also with an eye for breadth and variety — so you should find something on the list you’ll enjoy, no matter what genres of game you like, how much time you have, or what vibe you are after.
1
Splatoon Raiders
Splatoon Raiders first seemed to be a minor co-op spinoff of Nintendo’s winning competitive paintball series, like an extended take on Splatoon 2‘s Octo Expansion campaign. And Raiders is that, but it’s also so much more: Improbably, it’s Nintendo’s first full-blown looter shooter, an ebullient action-RPG of surprising depth that can hold its own alongside Borderlands and Diablo. What begins as a simple level-based action game turns into a wildly escalating war of attrition, especially once you clock the campaign and get stuck into the massive and murderously hard endgame. —Oli Welsh
Read Giovanni Colantonio’s full review of Splatoon Raiders.
2
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Square Enix has been positively sprinting to bring its Final Fantasy remake series to Switch 2; Remake came out in January, Rebirth in June, and final chapter Revelation will come to Nintendo’s console on day one in April next year. The version of Remake was impressive, but Rebirth is even more amazing considering it’s based on a PS5 game of absolutely vast scale. Honestly, it’s almost too much — stuffed with sidequests and activities, Rebirth can be overwhelming at times — but it’s a wonderfully lavish and charismatic adventure. —OW
Read Todd Harper’s full review of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
3
Big Walk
Big Walk is a completely unique co-op puzzle adventure by Australian studio House House, which made Untitled Goose Game. Broadly, you could call it an elevated example of the friendslop genre: the anarchic, physics-based hangout games which do so well on Steam. It’s like that, but made with more artistry and mystery as well as plentiful opportunities for mischief; it’s an exploration game, a puzzle game, and a beautiful journey through the wilderness you can take with your family and friends. —OW
Read Giovanni Colantonio, Julia Lee, and Johnny Yu’s full review of Big Walk.
4
Orbitals
Orbitals is a pretty uncomplicated co-op adventure for two players in the style of Hazelight’s It Takes Two and Split Fiction (its Tokyo-based developer, Shapefarm, was set up by a Hazelight veteran). But uncomplicated doesn’t mean unsophisticated. The co-op platforming design is constantly inventive and invigorating, and the 1980s anime-style presentation is a work of gorgeous witchcraft. Extremely solid fun if you have a regular playing partner. —OW
Read Oli Welsh’s full review of Orbitals.
5
Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup at Bellabel Park
The latest of Nintendo’s Switch 2 Editions expands the magnificent 2D platform game Super Mario Bros. Wonder with a riotous suite of multiplayer minigames and a whole bunch of other stuff: new playable characters, new bosses, new badge modifiers, a new power-up, tons of decorative flowers and emojis to collect, and best of all, a new set of remixed challenge levels, some of them devilishly difficult.
Honestly, it’s mostly inessential fluff, although families and local multiplayer fans will find the hilarious Vs games make for a welcome gear-change from Mario Kart. What’s not inessential is Super Mario Bros. Wonder itself, probably the best 2D Mario game since 1991’s Super Mario World and an astonishing, surreal cavalcade of invention from start to finish. It’s Nintendo at its asbolute best and looks stunning in native 4K on the Switch 2. —OW
Read Oli Welsh’s full review of Super Mario Bros. Wonder + Meetup at Bellabel Park.
6
Resident Evil Requiem
OK, maybe the hair isn’t great, but otherwise, Capcom’s Switch 2 version of its smash hit is pretty much uncompromised, and its day-and-date release alongside PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X is very welcome. Here’s hoping it augurs a new trend.
Requiem itself is everything you want a Resident Evil game to be, thanks to its dual protagonists: Grace delivers truly terrifying, hardscrabble survival horror, while almost-silver fox Leon Kennedy serves up extravagantly bloody, chainsaw-wielding zombie murder in the manner of the classic Resident Evil 4. Switching between them can give you a kind of horror-game whiplash, but each of Requiem‘s two halves totally hits its mark. This is what blockbuster gaming is supposed to be like. —OW
Read Giovanni Colantonio’s full review of Resident Evil Requiem.
7
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The game that sent the Switch into the stratosphere during the pandemic is back with a weighty new update, and an official Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. There’s lots here to tempt you back: the new hotel and slumber islands, a bunch of game-changing quality-of-life improvements such as bulk crafting (finally!), playable classic game consoles, Zelda and Lego collabs, and more. It’s definitely enough to tempt you back, although if you overdosed on this game during lockdown it might still give you a mildly haunted feeling.
The Switch 2 Edition boasts a few exclusive features, including mouse control, but the real added value is vastly improved load times and reduced pop-in. For the real Animal Crossing heads, it’s an essential upgrade. —OW
8
Cyberpunk 2077
Big, open worlds like Cyberpunk 2077‘s are best explored at your own pace, which makes the Switch 2 version of CD Projekt Red’s urban RPG an ideal way to see the sights of Night City. And you should see those sights. The game’s central tale occasionally takes the gruff cynicism of its setting a bit too far, but under the grittiness is a sincere and even poignant take on what it means to live a worthwhile life against all odds, and on the dangers of letting Big Business amass too much influence. Much of that comes through in Cyberpunk 2077‘s excellent side quests and character stories, and despite how demanding the game is on hardware, it holds up brilliantly on the Switch 2.
Well, almost. Performance in Phantom Liberty is a bit dodgy, but the base game is stable with clear resolution. The Switch 2’s additional control options are a nice bonus as well. Motion controls work with surprising effectiveness and help mitigate the awkwardness of playing an FPS game with an analog stick, and if you want even more precision, you can use the Joy-Con 2’s mouse controls in tabletop or docked mode. —Josh Broadwell
9
Deltarune
Undertale‘s magic happens in the touching character moments and smaller stories amid Toby Fox’s bigger, often hamfisted tale about how getting along is better than hurting everyone. Deltarune, Undertale’s spiritual successor, leans heavily into the former and becomes a playground for ideas more than a traditional story. It’s so much better for it. Kris, Deltarune‘s protagonist, gets caught up in a supernatural plot involving Dark Worlds, distinct civilizations themed around specific real-world problems like obsessing over public image or refusing to acknowledge death and loss. It’s endlessly inventive, and it lets Deltarune explore a broader variety of emotions, storytelling styles, and methods of character development than its predecessor.
Charming as Toby Fox’s characters and quirky worlds are, the best thing about Deltarune is its clever battle system that adds a bespoke touch to Undertale‘s options of fighting or taking a pacifist route. You guide a little heart through torrents of enemy projectiles to keep the party from taking damage, but Fox also weaves elements of whatever’s happening in the story into most encounters — forcing you to work around an old man’s walking stick, for example, or changing the battle depending on whether you play along with a narcissistic TV host’s twisted quiz. Deltarune might not attract as much attention as something like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but it quietly has one of the best turn-based battle systems out there. —JB
10
Donkey Kong Bananza
Oh, banana! Nintendo took the unorthodox step of holding back what many might regard as the system’s first must-have title until six weeks after launch. It’s not the only thing that’s unexpected about Donkey Kong Bananza. Many were anticipating a new 3D Mario game from the Super Mario Odyssey team, but instead they got a revival of the plumber’s original costar, the first Donkey Kong game developed in-house by Nintendo in 20 years.
In most other ways, Bananza is everything you expect of a platform game from Nintendo, the undisputed masters of the art. But, where Mario is all about precision, this version of Donkey Kong is all about delightfully messy brute force as he pummels his way through the scenery. It’s a tactile thrill of the game, initially on the easy side, but building to a spectacular conclusion over time. —OW
Read Josh Broadwell’s full review of Donkey Kong Bananza.