With the Nintendo Switch 2 out in the wild for more than six months now, we’ve had plenty of time to check out the biggest games that have made it largely attractive for the average gamer. Overall, we’d say we’re quite impressed by Nintendo’s first-party kick-off and a fair number of third-party releases, but coming up with a list of the best Switch 2 games to play right now hasn’t been easy.
This is positive, actually, as the big ‘problem’ is that, so far, many developers have taken the ports and upgrades very seriously, pushing the hardware to its limits in many cases and making good use of its hybrid form factor and the extra control options. Thus, reducing our favourite Switch 2 games to just 10 entries has been tricky to say the least. We’d love to include more notable picks, but we don’t want this article to be a chore to read through.
Needless to say, we’ll keep this list up-to-date with the hottest Switch 2 video games releasing in 2026 and beyond, but we can confidently say that even its limited launch-era lineup has made us hopeful about the console’s future and its surprising capabilities to punch above its weight.
Kirby Air Riders
Kirby Air Riders has quietly pushed Mario Kart World aside and become our favorite casual racer that’s exclusive to the system. After its middling GameCube predecessor, it wasn’t surprising to see most people a bit confused by Nintendo’s huge bet on the game as we approached the end of 2025. Following only a couple of hours of play, it’s hard not to see the light and embrace its mechanical depth hidden in plain sight. After that, it’ll quickly become your new obsession.
The Masahiro Sakurai-directed follow-up is fast, furious, and more varied than you’d expect going in, rewarding raw skill and quick reflexes over item management and getting lucky with drops. Whether you stick to the stunningly chaotic City Trial in ranked online battles or focus on beating increasingly more difficult CPU opponents in regular races, Kirby Air Riders is unlike anything else out there. Moreover, a very replayable ‘story mode’ of sorts keeps things unpredictable, taking cues from other breezy bangers from entirely different genres.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom (a massive duology) occupy top spots on most lists collecting Nintendo Switch 1’s best-ever games. Thanks to their (paid) Switch 2 upgrades, we’ll continue to celebrate them as some of the very best games on Nintendo’s new console. Ideally, these two would’ve received updates that didn’t ask for more money out of veteran players, but if you haven’t played them yet or want to revisit Hyrule’s gorgeous open world with boosted resolution, framerate, and visual settings, you can’t go wrong with their native Switch 2 versions.
Mind you, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom performed well enough on the original hardware, but things could definitely get choppier than desirable, especially in the second one when players got too creative with the many tools at Link’s disposal. In the Switch 2 releases, expect 100% silky-smooth framerates and shorter load times that make both games even more time-consuming and gorgeous. As far as sandbox action-adventure RPGs go, they don’t much get better than these two; you ought to give them a proper try. Our personal recommendation? Getting the upgrades via the Switch’s Online membership with the Expansion Pack; it’s good bang for the buck overall.
Star Wars Outlaws
If Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2 (learn about it below) was the console’s first impossible port and a great sign of good things to come from third-party developers, then Star Wars Outlaws marked the second time a massive current-gen open-world experience was successfully ported to Nintendo’s little brave machine. The most shocking bit is that Ubisoft Massive didn’t have to sacrifice the base-level ray tracing features to make it run smoothly (at 30 FPS) and markedly better than on any of the handheld PCs in the market.
The game itself, which lets us embrace the scoundrel fantasy in a galaxy far, far away, already wowed us last year, but after a number of substantial updates to rework a few systems and better deliver on combat and stealth (plus two pretty decent expansions), it sits among the best Star Wars games in recent memory. Whether you’re speeding through the Dune Sea on Tatooine, winning several Sabacc rounds at a cantina, or taking on entire fighter squadrons inside an asteroid field, Outlaws impresses with a highly detailed (and always fun) simulation of living a dangerous life in the Star Wars universe.
Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt Red’s long-awaited future-set RPG was a hard sell back in 2020 due to its many technical issues and some half-baked systems. Almost five years later, it’s easily one of the best RPGs ever. Cyberpunk 2077’s Nintendo Switch 2 port – complete with the current-gen-exclusive Phantom Liberty expansion – sounded like crazy talk at first, but now that it’s here and we’ve played it, we’re super impressed. It just feels illegal to play, like it shouldn’t be possible, yet here we are. Considering the size of Nintendo’s new console versus handheld PCs like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, this is the best and most painless way to enjoy Night City on the go.
As long as you’re okay with 30/40 FPS caps (depending on which graphical mode you choose) and some hiccups while traversing the Dogtown area of the map, Cyberpunk 2077 is the most impressive piece of software you can install on your Switch 2 at the moment of writing. This isn’t a greatly dialled-down version of the gorgeous-looking RPG. By and large, it looks roughly the same even without ray tracing and running at much lower resolutions. It also plays fine because it’s not an extremely fast-paced title. Moreover, it’s the most feature-complete Switch 2 game we’ve come across at launch, packing gyro and mouse controls, touchscreen options, and even cross-save support.
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time
Fantasy Life i has quietly become one of the sleeper hits of the year across all current platforms, and Level-5 made sure to release a simple yet robust (and cheap) Switch 2 upgrade to go with the console’s launch. It’s a perfectly enjoyable experience on Switch 1, but we all love having better resolution and FPS alongside bonus visual effects, don’t we? The Girl Who Steals Time is a perfect subtitle, as that’s exactly what this game will do to you. It’s got exploration, crafting, building, and rather deep dungeon-delving. Just don’t expect a fully-fledged multiplayer experience… for now.
Described as a ‘slow-life RPG’ (whatever that means), Fantasy Life i feels gigantic. It has 14 unique jobs (aka ‘Lives’) to choose from, and switching between them is quick and effortless. This means you have 14 different job-related questlines and progression tracks to complete as you explore vast environments across three distinct eras. There’s a bigger story to follow too, but most of the time you’ll be meeting and helping plenty of friendly NPCs, all while farming resources to reshape an entire island and go creative whenever you want. In the absence of a new Animal Crossing, we’re adoring this one, but it’s also so much more, and its RPG systems (challenging endgame included) are no joke.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Assassin’s Creed Shadows on Switch 2 might not be every bit as impressive as Star Wars Outlaws when it comes to visual tech, but it’s arguably a far more complex open world that’s filled to the brim with dynamic content. Therefore, seeing it also hit a smooth 30 FPS with ease and complete feature parity when compared to the other versions impresses.
The game itself also delivers a more focused (it’s still massive nonetheless) and refreshing take on the modern AC formula than its immediate mainline predecessors, plus the Japan setting is something most of us had been hoping for. While the story doesn’t land all its shots and the overall structure is often loose, this is the sort of sandbox anyone who enjoys Ubisoft’s big-budget games will be returning to over and over again. Even if you’re limited to Switch 2, you’re still getting a remarkable, dense adventure in a gorgeous historical setting.
Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption’s Switch 1 port in 2023 (which arrived alongside other ports for modern consoles) was a success, but after Switch 2’s launch, we were left wondering if we’d get the patch or native version that could make it truly sing. It’s now finally arrived for all current-gen consoles, and the modern classic has never looked or played better.
Following the resolution bump and raised FPS cap, Red Dead Redemption has gained a second life, looking better than lots of later games (this one’s from 2010!). It also plays smoother, which isn’t a total surprise considering how shooting-heavy it is. Moreover, mouse controls have been added to the Switch 2 release, and all of the upgrades are available at no extra cost if you already had the original Switch release. More of this, please, and get working on porting Red Dead Redemption 2 now.
Fast Fusion
Almost every console launch comes with an overlooked banger that gets little coverage, and we’re aiming to fix that. Fast Fusion is a launch-day exclusive that’s no doubt this console’s first hidden gem. Back when the Switch 1 launched in 2017, Fast RMX was praised as an all-new riff on Sony’s Wipeout and Nintendo’s F-Zero series, and veteran developer Shin’en Multimedia has knocked it out of the park with this new iteration. It’s fast, furious, and traditional in its structure and unlock system. Moreover, you can ‘fuse’ different racing ships to come up with new ones that might have the exact stats you’re looking for.
As a tech showcase for Nintendo’s new console, it’s also one of the better games to grab during its early days, as it makes great use of the custom DLSS upscaling which should be giving Switch 2 an edge over recent handheld PCs like the Steam Deck. If you play docked, there are five different graphical modes to choose from, with the game hitting up to 4K at 30 FPS, and handheld play supports two. Needless to say, you may want to target 60 FPS, as reaction times are key to come out on top in this game.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
The Switch 2 Edition of Hollow Knight: Silksong, one of 2025’s most celebrated (and long-awaited) games, is a tremendous success. Metroidvania lovers know it’s a must-play, but if you still haven’t made the jump or decided which version to get, grabbing its Switch 2 native version is a smart play… as long as you can endure brutal difficulty and more dungeons than anyone expected.
Whether you’re playing in portable or docked mode, the game can sacrifice some of its resolution output to hit 120 FPS. On the hybrid console’s own VRR-capable screen, it’s amazing to see running so smoothly, and since it’s a game that often asks for quick reflexes and split-second decisions, every extra frame counts. If you’re good with 60, you’ll get the sharpest 2D graphics you can currently get on this console. In any case, Silksong is both gorgeous and a marvelous piece of game design.
Donkey Kong Bananza
In the absence of a new 3D Mario (for now), Donkey Kong Bananza has quickly set a gold standard for new Nintendo-developed platformers on Switch 2. It’s big, loud, consistently inventive, and cheerful in ways that even Nintendo often fails to completely capture. Old-school game design can feel fresh with the right ideas behind it, and Bananza is the living proof of that.
Sure, this ‘collectathon’ adventure is often on the ‘too easy’ side of the scale, but when you take into account who the main target is and where the game’s strengths lie, resisting everything it confidently does is hard. From start to finish, this is one of the most rewarding first-party games of 2025, and one we’ll be playing (or replaying) for a long time as we seek to extract all ores and fossils from its almost fully destructible levels.
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