The 15 Best Nintendo Switch Games of 2025

The games of 2025 stood out thanks to the improved power of the Nintendo Switch and the way developers fully embraced its capabilities. With so many releases and updates, a handful of titles rose above the rest for their quality, creativity, and the way they resonated with players and critics alike.

This year, the Switch 2 proved it is here to stay. With brand-new games and refreshed versions of classics, the console solidified its place by offering experiences that are richer, faster, and full of personality. The selection below represents this new phase well, showing how different studios are taking advantage of the upgraded hardware.

If you want to know what is truly worth playing, keeping an eye on the most praised titles is a great place to start, and that is exactly why we put this article together.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Released on June 5, 2025, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch 2 Edition arrived on the Switch 2 with a series of technical improvements that take full advantage of the new hardware. The version reached a 95 Metascore on Metacritic and includes upgrades such as higher resolution, HDR support, steadier performance, and faster loading times.

The story follows Link as he explores the sky islands of Hyrule and investigates the origins of a new threat that connects different eras. Along the way, he uncovers ancient ruins and forgotten civilizations that reveal how past events relate to the dangers emerging both in the skies and deep below the kingdom.

Gameplay preserves the series’ signature creative freedom, with exploration, combat, and the construction of structures using elements from the environment. On the Switch 2, everything feels smoother, with more precise controls and more natural transitions between regions.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Also released on June 5, 2025, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo Switch 2 Edition features updated visuals, HDR, a more stable frame rate, and significantly reduced loading times. The version received widespread critical acclaim and earned a 95 Metascore on Metacritic.

In this story, Link awakens from a hundred-year slumber in a ruined and unfamiliar Hyrule with no memory of what happened. As he explores snowy mountains, ancient forests, and scattered ruins, he gradually recovers fragmented memories and pieces together the events that led to the fall of Hyrule.

Gameplay remains centered on player freedom, allowing you to climb almost any surface, use advanced physics systems, cook meals, craft elixirs, and experiment with weapons and natural elements. The Switch 2 enhances the entire experience and makes exploration even more stable and immersive.

Hades II

Hades II expands the universe created by Supergiant Games and follows Melinoë, sister of Zagreus, on her journey to stop Chronos. Compared to the first game, the narrative explores themes such as fate, legacy, and family pressure with a darker and more dramatic tone. New mythic regions broaden the map and introduce enemies with different attack patterns that require constant adaptation.

The gameplay maintains the fast-paced action of the original but adds new weapons, alchemy systems, and spells that allow for more strategic builds. The trial-and-error loop remains engaging, and each run offers new possibilities that encourage experimentation and mastery. The blend of storytelling and action continues to be one of the game’s strongest features.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

In Hollow Knight: Silksong, Hornet takes the lead in an adventure that expands the scale of the universe and reinforces the series’ metroidvania identity. Pharloom is a vertical kingdom filled with hierarchies and mechanical structures that give the world a unique identity and encourage thoughtful exploration.

Hornet’s acrobatic movement changes the rhythm of both combat and traversal, creating a faster flow than in the first game. New enemy types and tools shape how each area is explored and help strengthen the sense of progression. The atmospheric and fragmented storytelling stays true to Team Cherry’s style, revealing details of the world through encounters, ruins, and subtle dialogue.

Donkey Kong Bananza

Donkey Kong Bananza celebrates the classic spirit of the series with vibrant stages, upbeat pacing, and a strong focus on exploration and platforming. The adventure follows Donkey Kong and his family as they search for stolen mystical fruits, with the story unfolding across varied biomes that honor and reinvent elements from earlier titles.

Each level introduces unique challenges, such as shifting terrain, fast-paced action sequences, and well-hidden secrets. New moves and environmental interactions add freshness to the gameplay while preserving the franchise’s traditional style. The game prioritizes creative stage design and replayability, encouraging players to revisit areas in search of optional items.

Absolum

Absolum stands out for its atmosphere that blends magic, primitive technology, and a world fractured by a dimensional catastrophe. The protagonist, a knight with no memory, slowly uncovers his role in the disaster that reshaped reality. The narrative mixes mystery, symbolism, and memorable characters encountered throughout the journey.

Gameplay combines direct combat with exploration and puzzle solving, creating a varied rhythm. Weapons and powers evolve over time and encourage different approaches to battles. The game emphasizes atmosphere and discovery, with areas that reveal secrets as players observe, experiment, and revisit locations that were previously inaccessible.

Kirby Air Riders

Kirby Air Riders returns with its unique racing style that blends simplicity with surprising depth. The aerial tournament Kirby enters soon proves to be part of a larger mystery, and the investigation leads to new clues, machines, and characters.

Races offer constant speed, a wide variety of vehicles, and different ways to master each track. Extra modes such as time trials and special challenges add longevity and let players refine their skills. The series’ signature chaotic charm remains intact, focusing on accessible fun and mechanics that are easy to learn.

BALL x PIT

BALL x PIT builds on minimalist design and challenges based on physics, trajectory, and precision. Player-controlled smart spheres travel through geometric arenas while the AI overseeing the tests teases, comments, and gradually reveals the true purpose behind the experiments.

Gameplay combines fast action with spatial reasoning and requires players to learn how to manipulate angles, momentum, and impact. The arenas become increasingly complex, introducing special surfaces, dynamic obstacles, and conditions that force players to rethink every move. It is a game that rewards patience, technique, and strong environmental awareness.

Split Fiction

Split Fiction introduces a concept built around switching between two parallel dimensions that constantly influence one another. Each protagonist lives in their own world, but small actions in one dimension trigger subtle yet meaningful changes in the other, creating a continuous chain of cause and effect. Over time, both characters discover that a mysterious entity is manipulating both realities at once.

Gameplay blends exploration, environmental puzzles, and action moments, with dimension shifting acting as the core mechanic for solving challenges. Objects may shift position, paths may open or disappear, and threats may emerge in sync. The design encourages careful observation and parallel thinking, creating situations that can only be solved by noticing how small details in one world completely alter the other.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles deepens the political drama of the kingdom of Ivalice by following Ramza and Delita as they navigate conflicts involving nobles, mercenaries, and religious institutions. New chapters expand the context of these disputes and reveal hidden tensions and behind-the-scenes intrigue that shape the realm’s fate.

Gameplay retains the turn-based tactical system that made the original so respected, emphasizing positioning, terrain elevation, and job combinations. Battles remain the heart of the experience, offering extensive customization of units, abilities, and strategies. The balance between dense storytelling and mechanical depth provides plenty for veterans while remaining accessible to newcomers.

Street Fighter 6: Year 1–2 Fighters Edition

The complete edition of Street Fighter 6 brings together all content from its first two years, offering a robust selection of characters and fighting styles. World Tour expands the narrative with encounters, rivalries, and missions that reveal the human side of the fighters. Individual stories explore personal challenges and motivations that go beyond combat, creating connections between events that previously felt unrelated.

Fights preserve the series’ distinctive identity with a focus on the Drive System, which dynamically shifts the rhythm of battles. Attacks, punishes, and counterattacks require precise reads and mastery of each character’s tools. The game blends competitive depth with accessible modes for players who want to learn or experiment with new styles.

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion expands the series’ universe by introducing a new threat linked to a corrupted AI attempting to assimilate all human technology. The protagonist, a newly recruited pilot, becomes entangled in disputes between rival factions and secret projects that reveal a story rooted in manipulation and long-lost experiments.

Gameplay remains focused on fast aerial battles with highly customizable mechs. Maneuvers, ranged attacks, pursuits, and evasive movements blend into combat that rewards mobility and strong battlefield awareness. Missions range from direct confrontations to area defense, ruin investigations, and massive machine encounters, offering both variety and intensity.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time

Fantasy Life i combines everyday life, light fantasy, and time travel in an experience that encourages freedom and experimentation. The player arrives on an island where time behaves unpredictably, and by rebuilding villages and helping residents, uncovers secrets tied to a girl capable of altering the flow of time.

Gameplay revolves around different professions such as miner, cook, crafter, archer, or warrior. Each role features its own activities, challenges, and abilities that change how the world is explored. Switching between past and present reveals new paths, creatures, resources, and situations that directly influence the island’s growth and its inhabitants. You can even check out our review of the game.

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2

This collection brings together two of the most creative titles in Mario’s 3D series, preserving the focus on cosmic exploration and small-planet physics. In Super Mario Galaxy, Mario sets out to rescue Peach while discovering worlds with varied themes, eccentric creatures, and the mysterious presence of the Luma. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, the game expands on concepts from the first title with more straightforward level design and the return of Yoshi, who introduces new mechanics.

Both games stand out for their constant imagination, diverse challenges, and a soundtrack that enhances the sense of cosmic adventure. Gravity mechanics, shifting perspectives, and inventive level design remain the series’ greatest strengths, making the collection a celebration of Mario’s creativity.

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo

Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo offers a cartoony adventure full of humor and mystery. The protagonist, a curious young inventor, discovers a cursed yoyo that reacts unpredictably to the environment. As he investigates its origins, he encounters ruins, creatures, and machines that reveal clues about a vanished civilization that once wielded distorted magic.

Gameplay blends platforming with physics-based puzzles, using the yoyo as a weapon, tool, and means of interacting with objects and enemies. Its many uses create inventive scenarios such as activating mechanisms from a distance, deflecting projectiles, and adjusting trajectories to reach new paths. The pacing alternates between light action, exploration, and puzzle solving to keep the adventure lively.

The year 2025 was a special moment for Nintendo Switch 2 players. With new technology, polished re-releases, and a great deal of creativity from developers, the console built a strong and varied library that appealed to longtime fans and newcomers alike. It was a year filled with surprises, classic returns, and titles that showcased the true potential of the new hardware.

With so many quality games, 2025 sets high expectations for what comes next. If this year marked the starting point for the Switch 2’s new phase, the future promises even more adventures, improvements, and memorable experiences.

Until then, consider this an invitation to keep exploring, playing, and discovering everything this console still has to offer.

See you in the next releases!