It’s GOTY time! 2019 has been a fantastic year for Nintendo Switch owners, with a stellar lineup from the platform holder itself joined by a near-endless stream of brilliant third party games. Finding the time to play them all has been by far the biggest problem facing Switch or Switch Lite owners this year!
Nintendo’s console got off to a rocketing start in 2017 with the heavy hitters of launch game The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, and that continued into 2018 with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Third parties and indie devs really took Switch to their hearts, too, releasing quality new games and ports aplenty.
2019 has gifted us several top-drawer Nintendo-made Switch titles in the form of Super Mario Maker 2, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, the quirky Ring Fit Adventure, Luigi’s Mansion 3 and the all-conquering Pokémon Sword and Shield, but nearly every week brought more essential games to the eShop from other studios, huge and tiny alike. 2020 is going to have its work cut out to beat 2019 in pure software stakes.
The following list of the 50 best Switch games from 2019 is ranked according to the user ratings associated with Switch games on Nintendo Life’s database and, as such, it can still be influenced after publication by your ratings. If you’ve yet to give your personal score to some (or all) of the games you’ve played in 2019, the ranking below might yet change, so feel free to score your favourites. Can’t see your favourites? Just head to our library of Switch games for 2019.
So, let’s take a look at the very best Switch games from 2019 according to you lovely lot!
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is an impressive package, offering the best of modern-era 2D Mario, madcap multiplayer and glimpses of the outrageous invention that was to come in Super Mario Odyssey. The chance to replay a top-drawer Mario game on a handheld is tantalising, although gameplay aside, ageing visuals and the irritation of being kicked back to the world map after every death stand out as things that could have been improved. The bottom line, though, is that Switch has a very fine 2D Mario to its name.
Publisher: Bandai Namco / Developer: Bandai Namco
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition is a content-packed RPG with plenty to see and do. Its evolution system feels wholly unique when compared to another monster-breeding game series you might find on Nintendo hardware, and while the grind may be too much for some, it’s comfortably one of the best creature-catchers on the Switch – although Pokémon still holds the crown, of course.
Publisher: Ubisoft / Developer: Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection has come as something of a surprise to us after the disappointment of Assassin’s Creed III Remastered. Here are two excellent swashbuckling epics ported to Nintendo’s console in fine fashion. Black Flag is a revelation in portable mode and looks and performs almost flawlessly as you blast your way around the Caribbean on Edward Kenway’s captivating pirate adventures. Rogue, although it struggles to keep up slightly here and there, is always eminently playable and together with the excellent Freedom Cry, they give Assassin’s Creed fans something they’ve wanted for a very long time now – this is handheld Assassin’s Creed at a standard we weren’t sure we’d ever see on Switch.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Game Freak
Pokémon Sword and Shield succeed in bringing some new ideas to the table, although there are areas where it could be pushed further. What’s done right is done right, but there are also elements that feel like they’ve come from a decade-old design document. There are moments contained within that are the best the series has ever been, but this joy is ocasionally spoiled by contrasting moments that left us disappointed. It’s an experience full of highs and lows, from the unadulterated wonder and joy of seeing a brand-new Pokémon in a stadium full of cheering crowds, to the monotonous and dragged-out dialogue we just wanted to skip. The wonders of exploring the Wild Area feel like the true evolution of the series.
On the whole, Pokémon Sword and Shield are a very solid start to the HD generation of Pokémon games, although there’s some room for improvement with the next outing, too.
Publisher: Team17 / Developer: Playtonic Games
Donkey Kong Country fans rejoice: this is the spiritual successor you’ve been waiting for. The worst thing you could say about it is that the overworld exploration may prove to be too involved for those who are in it purely for the runny-jumpy stuff, but those who are happy to mix platforming with top-down adventuring and don’t mind adapting to the constantly changing pace will find the best of both worlds here. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a fantastic sophomore effort that pays tribute to Rare’s past and establishes Playtonic as one of the UK’s most exciting studios.
Publisher: 8-4 / Developer: 8-4, Ltd.
It’s unknown at this point just how big of a project Deltarune will turn out to be, but this first chapter proves to be a solid, if a little too safe, take on the unique gameplay and humour that made Undertale such a hit. At worst, Deltarune Chapter 1 is just a smaller and shallower version of Undertale; at best, it’s a promising glimpse into a much more ambitious project that will hopefully grow to escape the shadow of its forerunner. Regardless, you can download Deltarune Chapter 1 for free from the eShop; we’d encourage you to give it a download and see what you think.
Publisher: Konami
Despite the sheer volume of solid gold hits in the series, Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a somewhat mixed bag from Konami, with stone-cold classics sharing the spotlight with a couple of undead clunkers that really should have remained dead and buried. Still, even with the questionable inclusion of Simon’s Quest and Castlevania: The Adventure, the ‘highs’ on offer are among the highest points in the entire franchise, and a Western debut for Kid Dracula is a lovely treat for retro gamers looking for something new. As long as you’re willing to ignore the lesser titles in this package and you’re not too bummed out by the omission of other classic entries, then you’re going to have a very good time with what’s left – and there’s always room for Castlevania Anniversary Collection 2, we guess.
Publisher: Spike Chunsoft / Developer: Spike Chunsoft
AI: The Somnium Files starts out slow but once you’ve traversed a few of its delightfully surreal Somnium dreamscapes and got to an ending or two, working your way back through your flowchart and striking out in different directions, it becomes an engaging and tense affair. Fans of the Zero Escape games will feel right at home here, and director Kotaro Uchikoshi’s talent for putting the player into increasingly unsettling circumstances ensures everything takes flight in a very satisfying way as you work your way through the many strands of the loopy central mystery towards its various different endings.
Publisher: Bandai Namco / Developer: Bandai Namco
While Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition doesn’t make an major changes to the original game that launched over a decade ago, it does combine practically every piece of exclusive content into one wholesome package. With the benefit of some improved visuals in both cutscenes and gameplay, it’s very difficult to recommend this JRPG classic on any other system than Nintendo Switch thanks to how well it performs in both docked and handheld modes. If you’ve ever slept on this classic, there’s never been a better way to rectify that error.
Publisher: The Behemoth / Developer: The Behemoth
As far as beat ‘em up brawlers go on the Switch, Castle Crashers Remastered is one of the finest titles available for the platform. Tight controls, many multiplayer modes, a great art direction and a wealth of replayable content make this an easy “ol’ reliable” game that you’ll surely be revisiting with friends for years to come. It’s also far from a perfect experience, as the repetitive nature of combat and the reliance on damage-sponges to pad out the runtime make for a title that can tend to overstay its welcome in extended sessions. Still, it’s pretty tough to argue against the raw value proposition being made here between the amount of content and overall fun factor; if you’re looking for another great co-op game to add to your Switch library, look no further.