E-Shop is very feature poor compared to Steam. I use Deku Deals to get notified when something I want goes on sale. They offer a pricing history as well to gauge how often a title has price cuts.
Hijacking top comment:
Thinking of picking up Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen ($4.99), Okami HD ($9.99) and maybe Spyro Reignited Trilogy ($15.99) from the eShop.
Anything I should be wary about regarding performance on the Switch?
Just remember the handheld usually runs in a lower rez and you'll be fine :)
Well of course, I'm not expecting it to run like my desktop lol
Nintendo’s exclusives are where the Switch really shines. Unfortunately, they’re expensive. I’ll echo the DekuDeals recommendation for finding sales.
Other Nintendo titles that are worthwhile, aside from the obvious Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom and depending on your tastes:
There are also tons of great indie games that play well on Switch (especially handheld):
I’ll add Stardew Valley for indie titles as well. I have hundreds of hours between both switch and PC, and the Switch is a great platform for it.
Not sure how I forgot Stardew. I also have two copies.
Katana Zero and Hotline Miami are also great games
Ori and the Will of the Wisps might be my favorite game. Beautiful all around.
You can never go wrong with Stardew Valley!
My husband has one flaw and it's that he doesn't get Stardew Valley. These people do exist, in the midst of our society, unseen.
Unfortunately I am one of those people though not for lack of trying.
I think I'm just bad at games that give you too much freedom in what to do next. It's why I could never get into something like Minecraft either.
Unfortunately I am one of those people though not for lack of trying.
I think I'm just bad at games that give you too much freedom in what to do next. It's why I could never get into something like Minecraft either.
Nintendo first party titles are very stingy with sales. Many third party titles however, go on some pretty good sales with decent regularity. You might also want to make a Japan/Hong Kong/Singapore account to grab Asia-exclusive games sometimes, if those interest you.
As for the games I own and would recommend, there's:
-BOTW
-Metroid Dread
-Dead Cells
-Hollow Knight
-Crimzon Clover: World EXplosion
-Burnout Paradise
-Fast RMX
-Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (or Rise)
-Atelier Ryza (or Sophie)
-Mario Kart
Just some general, off the top of my head recommendations. If you want recommendations of specific genres, I might be able to recommend further.
Do you have a PC?
If you do, obviously most of Nintendo's titles are worth having. Zelda games are an easy recommend, but also Splatoon is pretty great.
If not, there's tons of games that are good that aren't Nintendo games that I think are worth having.
Used physical copies for older flagship titles (SM Odyssey, BoTW, etc.) can sometimes be found for cheap online! I bought most of my favorite games this way, even if I owned the digital copy.
Pointing out on top of this that physical carts are pretty future proof if your console/account go sideways: you can resell them when you are done, or give them to a friend. They are usually cheaper second-hand than it will ever be on sale if you don't mind a missing case. I find people selling collections on local online markets at respectable prices regularly. Be careful with physical pokemon scarlet/violet copies though: defunct/dead on arrival cartridges were shipped to the USA.
As for the fav games: animal crossing new horizons is what I got the switch for and it was a blast. Next most hours played are BOTW, Skyrim, TOTK, and ironically Kirby and the Forgotten Land (and other Kirby games, if you have a buddy to play with).
I had a surprising amount of fun with the Dragon Quest games, DQ Builder I/II and Treasure Hunters. Squeaky clean polish and very focused, nearly arcade-like gameplay. Don't forget the various Marios and Kirby Forgotten Land.
Cadence of Hyrule is a bit of a weird departure but very fun and replayable with a kickass track. You can get the Binding of Isaac physically, as well as the Ori collection which is incredible and Stardew Valley. Moonligher is a bit repetitive but that can be good comfort. Celeste, if you've never played it, is potentially life changing if you struggle with perfectionism and/or anxiety.
For a very obscure digital game, Chasm was an amazing randomized full-length metroidvania.
It might help if you give some examples of games you like. I’ve been playing Dead Cells and love it. It’s a side scrolling rouge like. Some others I would recommend are Metroid Dread, both of the Ori games, and Hades.
A lot of people will disagree but I did not care for BotW to the point that I didn’t bother with TotK. Not saying you won’t enjoy them but that’s a lot of money to spend on something you may not like. Nintendo does not do refunds after all.
At most you're gonna get like $10-15 off on most 1st-part titles. Better off going physical and buying used, if you want to save money.
As for games, Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Luigi's Mansion 3 are great. Link's Awakening, also. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are good too, but overrated imo.
My most played games are Breath of the Wild, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Pokemon Violet, and now Tears of the Kingdom. And Mario Kart 8 Deluxe but I feel like that one's more of a multiplayer experience. Nothing else comes close to those on the Switch for me and I can recommend all of them.
Nintendo tax is so real — was a big factor in my deciding to buy a Steam Deck despite having a Switch (a gift).
Anyone know if there’s typically any change there when Nintendo announces a new console?
Spaltoon 3 if you get switch online and totk is a masterpiece
Everyone has different tastes. My switch almost only has strategy games with Fire Emblem Engage/Three houses, Triangle Strategy and Wargrove. If you like games like that i would either start with Fire Engage if you like character focused games or if you like to do decision on a story then play Tiangle Strategy
You played divinity original sin II? It plays great handheld and IMO is at the same level of those tactics wise while being an open world RPG.
I own the game on maybe ps4. Not a fan of open world games so i stopped playing it after few hours. Was maybe not fair to rank this game, but i like more character focus games like typical jrpg's than western games that are not like that.
I recommend Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
It's a tactical role playing game which means you have a bunch of characters that you level up in and outside of tactical battles.
Maybe you like it.
The first party nintendo series are worth checking out across the board; Mario Odyssey, Zeld 1&2, Metroid Dread, Smash Ultimate, Fire Emblem 3h, etc. etc. *edit: except pokemon, those ones are trash. Play Casette Beasts instead.
Indie titles like Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley, Celeste, and Gungeon I end up liking more than their PC versions since you can lounge in bed and play them.
Skyrim, Dark Souls really don't need me to sell them, pick em up if you haven't played them before, or just want to play them again. Wondeful 101, Astral Chain and Bayonetta 1 & 2 are fun.
I like Warframe, so I'll plug that too, even though you're probably not going to want to play it undocked since it's an online thing.
Honestly, check out some of the smaller games as well. Botw and Totk and other Nintendo-based games are amazing, but I've found a lot of indie games fun (e.g., Cult of the Lamb, Hollow Knight, Oxenfree, Spiritfarer, Gris, etc.). The smaller games also get deals the most.
Yes, for sure! I second this - these indie games are well worth it. (Also dont forget Stardew Valley! Its been my go-to switch game for years.)
My personal favourites on the Switch are Metroid Dread and Mario Odyssey, so I'd definitely recommend those. Another game I love that I don't see mentioned very often is Cadence of Hyrule, it's a crossover between Crypt of the Necrodancer (a rhythm roguelike) and Zelda. With Zelda soundtrack of course! If you like 2D Mario you'll probably want to get Mario Maker 2, but be aware that it's not worth it if you don't want to pay for a Switch Online subscription since wouldn't be able to play other people's levels.
Mario Kart 8 and Smash Ultimate are both really good, but I'd only recommend them if you intend to play multiplayer. Especially local multiplayer is fun, but online works too of course (again, needs a subscription).
The Switch also has some cool remasters and remakes of games you might have missed, like Zelda: Link's Awakening, Metroid Prime, Zelda: Skyward Sword, or the first three Pikmin games (the fourth one comes out this week and I'd be surprised if you needed knowledge of any previous games to play it). Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl were a bit lacklustre, but if you like classic Pokémon games they might still be worth it. Just don't expect a lot of new stuff if you've played the originals.
I've played them on PC, but Stardew Valley and Celeste are some of my favourite games. If you haven't played them on another platform already check them out as well!
Smash Ultimate definitely has more than enough single-player content to warrant buying it
Maybe it's just me then but I don't really find the singleplayer content in Smash particularly interesting. I've only played it for a few hours. But yeah especially Ultimate does have a lot of stuff.
Deku Deals is your friend. Any game you have in mind just throw it on a waitlist there and you can get notified when price drops!
I really enjoyed metroid dread and hollow knight. I also played a fair bit of hades and going under. Dredge is also really good. I wouldn't worry too much about sales unless it's a first party game. It's really the first party games that don't really go on sale often.
I really enjoyed metroid dread and hollow knight. I also played a fair bit of hades and going under. Dredge is also really good. I wouldn't worry too much about sales unless it's a first party game. It's really the first party games that don't really go on sale often.
I really enjoyed metroid dread and hollow knight. I also played a fair bit of hades and going under. Dredge is also really good. I wouldn't worry too much about sales unless it's a first party game. It's really the first party games that don't really go on sale often.
If you like Harvest Moon, the new games are trash but the Story of Seasons games are really good for scratching that itch.
Metroid Dread and the Metroid Prime Remaster are both excellent.
In spite of their technical limitations and lazy graphical fidelity, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are legitimately fun games.
DioField Chronicle and Triangle Strategy if you like strategy games.
Octopath Traveller 1 and 2, Bravely Default II (the first game was a 3DS title), and the Xenogears games if you like story heavy RPGs.
There are decent multi-platform ports like The Witcher 3 and Persona 5 Royal if you missed them, as well.
Smash
With that username and you don't say Hollow Knight right out the gate, I am disappoint 😂
(Seriously though, OP, Hollow Knight is cheap and amazing.)
You're the first person the get the reference, congrats! 🎉
I'm mildly obsessed with HK lol. I only got it in Dec 2022 and I just beat The Radiance for the first time a few weeks ago. I can't seem to manage it a second time, so I literally just bought the game on Steam and got an Xbox controller because it's more responsive than my Switch. I'm not sure what happened to my life haha
(Still waiting for someone to get my reference though. Not HK related :)
Congrats on beating the radiance, that's as far as I got before putting down the controller. Now eagerly awaiting for silksong
If you have someone to play with, definitely get sniperclips. One of the best coop experiences on the switch. This is one of those couch coop games you can play even with people that usually don’t play video games
If you have someone to play with, definitely get sniperclips. One of the best coop experiences on the switch. This is one of those couch coop games you can play even with people that usually don’t play video games
The games I've spent the most time on (since I got mine before Christmas) are BOTW, TOTK, and funnily enough Factorio. The E-shop does have some decent sales, so just keep an eye out!
You can get Mario + Rabbids very cheaply from time to time, it's one of the few exclusive Switch games you'll get a good price on.
Thank you everyone for the suggestions! I'll be checking these all out
The Metroid Prime Remake was beautiful to see on my Switch. Really appreciated playing through that. I had to have a online walkthrough on hand, but that's just me!
Well worth the price.
From video gaming to card games and stuff in between, if it's gaming you can probably discuss it here!
Please Note: Gaming memes are permitted to be posted on Meme Mondays, but will otherwise be removed in an effort to allow other discussions to take place.
See also Gaming's sister community Tabletop Gaming.
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.