The Nintendo Switch will be an astounding seven years old in March, which is kind of hard to believe. Its longevity and its popularity means it has one of the best, if not the best, libraries of games in history. With so many incredible games to choose from, we turned to the members of the NVC cast, past and present, to come up with Switch hidden gem recommendations. There's almost certainly something in this article you'll love.
Logan Plant
Game List
- The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
- The Touryst
- Paper Mario: The Origami King
- Mario Tennis Aces
- Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido
Everyone knows the name Phoenix Wright, but for some reason no one seems to pay attention to the other entries in the Ace Attorney series that don’t bear his name. It’s why two out of three games in the upcoming so-called “Apollo Justice Trilogy” don’t even feature poor Apollo’s name in the title. So it’s a shame that the best game in Capcom’s long-running legal drama series is so criminally overlooked.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles takes place over 100 years in the past during Japan’s Meiji era, where themes like globalization and rampant technological innovation are the backdrop for the story. The plot centers on rookie lawyer (and Phoenix Wright ancestor, because of course) Ryunosuke Naruhodo, who travels to the UK to solve mysteries alongside world-famous detective Herlock Sholmes (Yes, that’s spelled correctly).
Herlock is laugh-out-loud funny, and the overall scenario penned by series creator Shu Takumi is one of the most bonkers, twist-heavy stories I’ve ever seen in a video game. I’ve been playing Ace Attorney since I was 11 years old and at this point I usually feel like I can predict what’s going to happen. But the reveals near the end of The Great Ace Attorney left me absolutely stunned. The pair of games housed in The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles contain some of the best cases in the entire series, and if you’ve never tried an Ace Attorney game before, you owe it to yourself to pick this collection up to see the franchise at its very greatest.
Also, I have to give a shoutout to my guy Captain Toad. Similar to Luigi’s Mansion, there’s something undeniably charming about a cowardly character thrown into a situation where they’re forced to be the hero. That’s exactly what happens to the lovably pathetic Captain Toad in Treasure Tracker. This often-overlooked Wii U port is a collection of wonderfully clever puzzle boxes stuffed with collectibles, secrets, and optional objectives. It’s really unlike anything else set in the Mushroom Kingdom and there’s a crazy amount of content here for a title Nintendo only charges 40 bucks for. You should jump at the chance to play this one… Even if Captain Toad can’t.
Peer Schneider
Game List
- The Making of Karateka
- Moving Out 2
- Diablo III: Eternal Collection
- Horizon Chase Turbo
- Return of the Obra Dinn
- Advance Wars 1 + 2
- Steamworld Dig 2
- Pocky & Rocky Reshrined
- Live A Live [Remake]
- Luigi’s Mansion 3
Switch’s library has gotten so big, it’s tough to just narrow things down to a list of great games that aren’t talked about enough. For example, do Switch owners know about the glory of Vampire Survivors? Or is it overlooked because it arrived late? Should I recommend Tricky Towers as the ultimate family versus game – or would that be irresponsible because it could lead to fights and possibly, divorce? Picross? You thought I’d recommend Picross? Never heard of it.
So, instead, I assembled a list of 10 games that few Switch owners – at least in my circle of friends and followers – talk about. These aren’t the absolute best games on the system. You already know these. These are games you keep ignoring because they don’t star Mario or Link or they’re now a little old and you think they might not hold up. But I also picked some games that play to the strength of Switch as a portable and couch-co-op/party machine.
First of all: the brand-new Making of Karateka is such a wonderful labor of love, I wrote a mini-review here. Next up is a trio of four-player co-op games that are impossible to quit: Moving Out 2 is hilarious couch co-op mayhem that has you work together (poorly) to move and smash stuff, Diablo III – especially with four players with their own Switches sitting in the same room – is roleplaying multiplayer bliss, and Horizon Chase Turbo (sequel is now out, but doesn’t quite capture the magic) is an ode to the Top Gear (soon to be rebranded Top Racing) 16-bit racers, music and all. Super-fun to play with friends and try to unlock new tracks and get medals. If you want even more Switch co-op recommendations, I made a Best Switch Co-Op games list on IGN Playlist for you.
Return of the Obra Dinn is one of the most unique experiences I’ve played in my entire gaming life. The less you know about it, the better. It’s an adventure game that relies entirely on you puzzling out a mystery through observation and investigation. I’m sure you’ve heard someone tell you it’s great. Just play it.
Wargroove 2 is out and I’m looking forward to playing (the first one’s great), but I was a bit surprised by how muted the reception of Advance Wars 1 + 2 was. It’s such a great way to revisit these two turn-based strategy games. Lots of missions, some beautiful new character animations, kick-ass music. If you love Fire Emblem’s battles (and not necessarily the town-building), give it a shot. The perfect on-the-plane game featuring airplanes, where you can just play a mission or two in between watching bad in-flight entertainment action movies that have all the plane scenes edited out.
Steamworld Dig 2 is one of the best metroidvanias of the last decade. If you’ve finished all the Metroids and Hollow Knight, this one’s next on the menu. Then there are two classic remakes that stand out based on the amount of love and care put into updating them from their 16-bit originals: Live A Live (I dedicated Issue 1 of my Forgotten Gems column to it) and Pocky & Rocky Reshrined. Amidst the growing swell of up-res rereleases, these are two examples of obscure game resurrections made by people who really care.
And last: Luigi’s Mansion 3. It’s still one of the best-looking games on the system – and it’s unfortunately one of the least-discovered Mario-themed games in Switch’s big lineup. Next Level Games clearly demonstrated here that it belongs in the Nintendo family of star developers. Clever puzzles, beautiful locations, incredible character animations (seriously), and even online and off-line co-op. If you’ve held off because the first two games didn’t click (I’m with you!), give this one a shot.
Seth Macy
- Axiom Verge 2
- Boomerang X
- Panzer Paladin
- Loop Hero
- Arcade Paradise
Axiom Verge 2 is not only one of my favorite games on Switch, it's one of my favorite games of the last 10 years. I don't know exactly what it was about it that grabbed my attention so aggressively, but when I started playing it all my free time in the following days was spent parked in front of the TV. I played every evening until I beat it, a couple hours at a time, and it was by sheer self-discipline that I didn't just spend the entirety of a single night making my way through its story. It's not particularly long – I think I spent about 10 hours from beginning to end – but I loved everything about it. It's weird because I own the original Axiom Verge on cartridge but I never actually got around to playing it.
The reason I started Axiom Verge 2 was primarily because I was impatiently waiting for Metroid Dread's release later that year and wanted to play a Metroidvania. I'm super glad I did, because its resemblance to Dread is at its most superficial, and Dread (another of my favorite games) was different enough that I didn't feel like playing one game diluted my experience with the other. Seriously, I liked it so much more than I expected, and I'd put my level of enjoyment right up there with Dread. But they're both very different games – I just enjoyed them both at an equal level, sort of how I love Metroid Prime and Flight Simulator.