The Best Nintendo Switch 2 Games Right Now

Dare I say that this is the ultimate cozy Nintendo experience? Developer Omega Force channeled its experience with the Dragon Quest Builders series to make the most adorable Pokemon game ever. In Pokemon Pokopia, environmental disasters have caused humans and pocket monsters alike to disappear. But one determined Ditto (that's you) is ready to create new habitats to make the world bright and beautiful again.

The best open-world cozy game elements are present here: You can collect resources, relandscape the world and create and decorate homes for your new friends. Each Pokemon oozes with its own unique personality, rewarding your efforts to find and care for different species. Pokopia endeared me to monsters I've never cared about before -- like Bonsly and Rolycoly -- which is a truly impressive feat, considering my favorites have been set in stone for decades now.

Within a week of its release, Pokopia sold more than 2.2 million copies. This game is the type of exclusive that markets a console, and for good reason: The world of Pokemon has never been more charming.

Release Date: March 5, 2026

Genre: Block-based town builder featuring pocket monster friends

Developer: Omega Force

There's a reason why Donkey Kong Bananza was released just a month after the Switch 2. Created by the same development team responsible for Super Mario Odyssey, this pedigreed platformer was the console's first must-have exclusive. It's a joy to use Donkey Kong's brutish strength to tear apart the colorful layers of Bananza's hollow earth as Nintendo's great ape quests toward the planet's core.

Bananza's lengthy list of Banandium collectibles feels a bit reductive -- it's just Odyssey's moons (or Super Mario 64's stars) all over again. But the game's unparalleled player freedom in navigating the open world and the budding friendship between DK and a young, inexperienced Pauline hold this experience together, ensuring that this platformer never feels like a rote repetition of its Italian plumber-led predecessors.

Donkey Kong Bananza's impressive world destruction, inventive power-ups and lighthearted narrative made it my personal pick for Game of the Year 2025. Quit monkeying around and pick up a copy for yourself.

Release Date: July 17, 2025

Genre: 3D platformer featuring super satisfying terrain destruction

Developer: Nintendo EPD

Pokemon Legends: Z-A isn't a pretty game. It doesn't really have a compelling story, and its characters are mostly one-note caricatures. But this follow-up to Legends: Arceus shakes up a stagnant franchise with the first truly massive change to Pokemon's gameplay mechanics in 30 years: This time around, you're commanding your pocket monsters in real-time battles.

It's a novel treat to watch your favorite Pokemon navigate the battlefield, moving in tandem with the player character and executing powerful moves. Whether you're taking on other trainers in cash prize matches or defending yourself against the massive, out-of-control Alpha Pokemon that roam cordoned-off wild areas around the city, Pokemon Legends: Z-A lets you feel like you're playing out an anime battle.

The fan-favorite mechanic of mega evolutions returns, adding an appreciable layer of depth to battles: You can only have one mega Pokemon on your team, and the powerful form needs to be charged up through attacking enemy monsters. You don't need to be worried about running out of new battles to fight in this game: Rogue mega Pokemon are stand-ins for the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Tera Raids, giving players an ample amount of repeatable endgame boss fights to cut their teeth on.

Release Date: Oct. 16, 2025

Genre: Open-world pocket monster role-playing game with new real-time battle mechanics

Developer: Game Freak

The latest Mario Kart is the equivalent of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo's premier racing franchise. Everybody's here, from franchise staples like Mario, Luigi, Bowser and Princess Peach to fan-favorites like Dry Bones and Shy Guy. Yes, you even get to zip around the new iteration of Rainbow Road as a go-karting cow, for some reason.

More importantly, Mario Kart World shakes up the game modes in a big way: In addition to the Grand Prix cups and party games present in previous Mario Kart games, the Knockout Tour adds competitive depth and replayability to the arcade racer.

Gone are the days of waiting in the back of the pack to find the best item pickups -- the Knockout Tour mode prunes the worst-performing racers at each checkpoint along a massive track, ramping up tension as up to 24 players scramble to outpace one another. If you want to get acquainted with those big new tracks, Mario Kart World also features an open-world free roam, complete with secrets and collectibles to discover as you cruise.

Mario Kart World is a great game to whip out at parties, but it has plenty of content for the solo player completionist. The Switch 2 pack-in bundle is a great way to get your hands on the latest Nintendo arcade-like experience for a cheaper sum, but it's also well worth shelling out for if you already have the console.

Release Date: June 5, 2025

Genre: Party game kart racer with plenty of characters and cartoonish antics

Developer: Nintendo EPD

Nintendo consoles aren't known for their first-person shooters. For the family-friendly gaming giant, the genre is usually an afterthought. But the one big in-house exception is Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, where Samus' FPS alien-blasting adventures continue for the first time in nearly 20 years.

This is a game that takes advantage of the Switch 2's full potential, featuring gorgeous graphics that are lovely on their own and marvelous at 4K resolution running at 60 frames per second while the console is docked. The new Joy-Cons' mouse mode is also a treat, allowing you to emulate classic PC shooter controls for precision aiming.

While Prime 4: Beyond isn't a particularly innovative FPS, it's a polished spacefaring adventure where players get to explore an unknown planet. Laser battles segue into motorcycle chases across an exotic world -- even when the gameplay isn't difficult, there's enough beat-by-beat bombast to keep players engaged.

The Switch 2 might not be the first piece of hardware you think of for an FPS game, but Metroid Prime 4: Beyond proves you shouldn't count the console out. And if you're looking for a more classical Nintendo bounty hunter experience, Metroid Dread is always available as well.

Release Date: Dec. 4, 2025

Genre: Spacefaring linear FPS adventure

Developer: Retro Studios

At this point, seeing developer Hazelight Studios' name stamped on a co-op game is a bona fide seal of quality. Split Fiction is perhaps the studio's most ambitious game to date, featuring familiar platforming and puzzle-solving gameplay combined with world-jumping visual bombast. You and a partner play as Mio and Zoe, two young writers who have been selected for a corporate experiment that allows people to experience their fictional story ideas as if they were reality.

When an accident occurs during the initial test, our heroines end up trapped and forced to fight their way through a mix of sci-fi and fantasy stories pulled straight from their own heads. It's an absolute thrill to jump between cyberpunk train heists, medieval dragon flights and wacky side stories that range from lackadaisical wizard market visits to dystopian gameshow action.

Split Fiction represents a massive leap in gameplay quality over Hazelight's previous game, It Takes Two. The studio has refined its approach to couch co-op action, producing a final product with more difficult platforming challenges and boss fights that require a high level of coordination to overcome.

But sticking with your partner and beating this game (even if you need to restart a section more than once) rewards you with some of the most bombastic on-rails action setpieces in recent history. Getting to experience these frenetic genre-bending moments alongside a cherished friend or loved one is what gaming is all about: Split Fiction is a must-have for Nintendo's family-friendly console.

Release Date: March 6, 2025

Genre: Couch co-op platformer requiring plenty of teamwork and coordination

Developer: Hazelight Studios

It's always a treat when Nintendo revives one of its dormant spin-off games. Kirby Air Riders is an arcade racer just like Mario Kart, but the pink puffball's version benefits from being a nostalgic reimagining of a signature GameCube-era game. All of the best modes from Kirby Air Ride return in the new game, but the scope and scale of the race tracks, character roster and progression systems have been drastically expanded.

Traversal and combat combine with Kirby's signature copy abilities, which means you can choose to outrun up to 15 other players in a good, clean race or take them down with tricky attacks. If you beat Kirby Air Riders' story mode, there's even a cinematic boss fight at the end -- something you won't see in any Mario Kart game.

Vehicle cosmetic customization (and sharing with Nintendo Switch Online) is the perfect way to add some personality to your favorite rides, and there are plenty of achievements and collectibles to collect as you compete against other racers.

If you're a longtime Nintendo fan, Kirby Air Riders marries your childhood memories with updated graphics and plenty of in-game achievements to work toward. But this is also a cutesy arcade racer that serves as a great jumping-on point for people who have never touched a Kirby game before. Air Riders is a family-friendly party game that's perfect for any prospective fans of the pink Powerpuff.

Release Date: Nov. 20, 2025

Genre: Arcade racer featuring customization and combat

Developer: Bandai Namco Studios

I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't a huge fan of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet when it was released in November 2022 for the original Nintendo Switch. I was already skeptical about the graphical fidelity of the Paldea region and its pocket monsters, but it was the plethora of performance issues these games suffered from on the original Switch console that pushed me away before I ever beat the story.

But underneath those flaws, there's a fundamentally solid Pokemon game here -- certainly one that's better than the franchise's previous outings during the Switch era, like Pokemon Sword and Shield. The Switch 2's hardware capabilities provide the power Scarlet and Violet need to shine, letting players explore this open world of roaming pocket monsters without stutters or frame drops for the very first time.

Players are allowed more freedom to tackle a Pokemon story than ever before, choosing to battle raid bosses, gym leaders and the misunderstood evil Team Star in whatever order they like. And the new mechanic, Terastallization, adds more depth to fights than anything that came before it, allowing you to swap a Pokemon's innate typing once per battle.

Once you complete the game's main story, the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC adds even more pocket monsters to meet, defeat and capture. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet aren't perfect creature-collecting RPGs, but they're the most innovative mainline Pokemon games we've seen in a long time.

Release Date: Nov. 18, 2022

Genre: Classic creature-collecting RPG

Developer: Game Freak

The super tough pink puff's most recent outing was one of the best games on the original Switch console, and it only gets better on the Switch 2. Developer HAL Laboratory's Kirby and the Forgotten Land plucks our protagonist out of Dreamland and drops him into familiar territory -- this time around, Kirby reckons with a world that isn't all that different from our own.

It's a blast to explore overgrown cities and dilapidated waterworks while beating up classic Kirby enemies with iconic copy abilities. The puffed-up protagonist has some new tricks up his sleeve, though, with the addition of the drill and ranger abilities and the mouthful mode, which lets Kirby stretch around cars, traffic cones, vending machines and more for a power boost.

While Kirby and the Forgotten Land isn't exactly a difficult game, experienced players may be pleasantly surprised by the optional boss rush challenge available after the story. You'll have to hone your skills with all of Kirby's abilities in order to fully complete the game.

There's even more to do on the Switch 2. In addition to some much-appreciated graphical updates, the upgrade pack for Kirby and the Forgotten Land includes a new set of levels known as Star-Crossed World. These stages are mirror versions of the base game's levels, requiring players to find new ways to navigate familiar areas. Star-Crossed World breathes new life into one of my favorite Switch games, making it a must-have on the next-generation console.

Release Date: March 25, 2022

Genre: 3D platformer in an eerily familiar world

Developer: HAL Laboratory

Nintendo's friendship-ending party game is back on the Switch 2, and it's still causing sweet angst between all of my pals. Super Mario Party Jamboree is the latest release in the plumber's virtual board game franchise, and it features the most maps and minigames of any Mario Party game. There are 110 different free-for-all, co-op and team-based games to discover, so the bite-sized competitions don't wear thin for a long time.

The Switch 2 upgrade, Jamboree TV, adds even more party games to the mix. These minigames largely use the new Joy-Con motion controls to force players to get moving as they face off against one another -- it's the closest thing the new console has to a 1-2-Switch experience. It almost feels like what you'd expect from a console pack-in, but it's nonetheless a nice value add to a fantastic Mario Party game.

Super Mario Party Jamboree is a ruthless game -- you never know which of your loved ones will stab you in the back for one extra star. Expect laughter, begging and pleading and a pinch of rage from the folks in your friend group during your next get-together.

Release Date: July 24, 2025

Genre: Competitive board game and minigame hybrid experience

Developer: Nintendo Cube

When The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released in 2023, it instantly became one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch. It refined the open-world gameplay of its predecessor, adding new quests, threats and abilities to Hyrule. What's more, the entire kingdom was split into three layers as castles were lifted into the sky or plunged into corrupted sinkholes below the ground. Breath of the Wild players found echoes of a once-familiar world, but the sense of mystery and wonder was baked back into the game.

While the story is nothing to write home about (Link must save Zelda and defeat Ganondorf yet again), Tears of the Kingdom becomes something akin to a sandbox game by giving players the tools to manipulate boulders, planks and ancient mechanical contraptions to build vehicles and other machines. The added complexity might alienate some players, but it allows shrine puzzle design to shine through in a way that it couldn't in Breath of the Wild.

The Switch 2 version of Tears of the Kingdom is the definitive way to play the latest chapter in the legendary hero's journey, as the game can run in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second while docked. Even if you've already defeated Ganon on the original Switch console, it's well worth dropping back into Hyrule on the Switch 2 to take advantage of the new lore drops and player-shared Ultrahand builds on the Zelda Notes app.

Release Date: May 12, 2023

Genre: Open-world RPG with heavy emphasis on player freedom

Developer: Nintendo EPD

More than 40 years removed from the first side-scrolling Super Mario game, Nintendo still finds ways to keep the series' formula fun and fresh. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a classic 2D platformer with a twist that allows up to four players to run, jump and stomp their way through constantly shifting levels together.

Wonder's main gimmick is the titular wonder flower, a pickup located somewhere within each level that completely changes the stage. These flowers might hinder you by summoning hordes of enemies or minibosses, but there's also a chance that they transform Mario and his friends into novel forms with special abilities that we've never seen before. The wonder flower makes every level feel like a new discovery, at least on its first playthrough -- that's the type of freshness that 2D Mario games have largely struggled to achieve in recent years.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder's Switch 2 upgrade adds in additional playable content with Meetup in Bellabel Park, a new theme park filled with a boss rush, Toad-themed challenges and a suite of couch co-op multiplayer modes. Truthfully, it's probably pretty hard to get excited about Bellabel Park unless you regularly play with friends (in-person, since there's no online matchmaking here). Even still, this is a solid value-add to an already wonderful 2D Mario game.

Our favorite mustachioed plumber has yet to go on a truly novel adventure exclusive to the Switch 2, but this upgrade pack is a great way to fill out your game library until our next romp through the Mushroom Kingdom.

Release Date: Mar. 26, 2026

Genre: Co-op 2D platformer a la classic Mario

Developer: Nintendo EPD

Developer LocalThunk's debut game is the ultimate roguelike deckbuilder. Though it's themed around poker, you need no prior knowledge of how the popular gambling game works in order to succeed in Balatro. You simply need to understand what hands generate points -- and then build a deck of Joker card power-ups that will multiply your chips to meet increasingly high thresholds.

The score you're required to hit to keep playing ramps up quickly, which means you'll need to look for strong deck synergies in order to make it to the end of the game. Playing well unlocks even more Jokers to use in later runs, adding layers of strategy to your decision-making process as you figure out which cards pair well together. Since its initial release, LocalThunk has added many collaboration packs -- gamers will be happy to see free DLC cards themed around other popular video games like Vampire Survivors, Stardew Valley and Warframe.

Once Balatro has its hooks in you, it won't let go. Its theme song even frequently worms its way into my gaming Spotify playlist. It might even consume more than your waking hours. Ante up if you dare -- but know you'll never be able to go back afterward.

Release Date: Feb. 20, 2024

Genre: Poker-themed deck-building roguelike

Developer: LocalThunk

Developer Lovely Hellplace's debut project, Dread Delusion, is one of my favorite indie games from the past few years. This open-world action RPG may have been first released in 2024, but it's a spiritual successor to older fantasy adventures, borrowing most heavily from the alien world and narrative freedom of The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind.

If in-depth combat is what you're looking for, this might not be the game for you. But if you want to explore questlines with multiple solutions (and no right answer), Dread Delusion might scratch that itch. And in classic RPG fashion, certain quest outcomes may only be achievable if your character specializes in brute force, peaceable compromise or sneaky subterfuge. It's entertaining to play out each character archetype to its full potential, which makes Dread Delusion extremely replayable.

Where Dread Delusion really shines is its worldbuilding -- this is a game where you'll seek out every non-playable character to exhaust their dialogue options, read every book and explore every secret just to discover more about the Oneiric Isles. We're living in a dark fantasy gaming renaissance, and Dread Delusion's depiction of a crusader church forcing an inquisition on a native peoples' floating island homeland is a wonderful synthesis of grim fiction and real-world history.

There's no handholding in this game, so it's up to you where to go first, what you'll discover and who you'll ally with in the conflict brewing between the crusaders and the old god worshippers. Dread Delusion is just as good as some of Bethesda or Obsidian's best work, which is high praise from an open-world RPG fan. And with PlayStation-inspired graphics, this is a perfect fit for the hybrid Switch 2 console.

Release Date: May 14, 2024

Genre: Open-world Morrowind-inspired RPG

Developer: Lovely Hellplace

Developer ConcernedApe's Harvest Moon-inspired farming simulator may be more than a decade old, but no cozy game released in the time since has captured public excitement quite as much as Stardew Valley. Maybe it's because the game is still receiving new updates well past the time the solo developer said he was finished -- including more romanceable non-player characters and quality-of-life features.

Stardew Valley's idyllic take on country life may not quite replicate real-life farming, but it's the perfect getaway from real-world mundane stressors like work deadlines and bills. Planning a farm while caring for plants, vegetables and livestock is relaxingly repetitive, and mining, fishing and meeting new townspeople is a great way to break up your in-game days.

There are plenty of long-term goals to plug away at, including fixing the town's community center, braving the dangers of the daily Skull Cavern layout and exploring the exotic Ginger Island. And once you think you've seen everything in the valley, you can build a new farm with a friend. The Switch 2 is perfect for couch co-op gaming, and there's no cozier game to play with your loved ones than Stardew Valley.

Release Date: Feb. 26, 2016

Genre: Harvest Moon-like farming simulator with foraging, fishing and combat

Developer: Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone