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: SEGA / Developer: M2
Virtua Racing is by far the most impressive Sega Ages release to date, offering an incredible remaster that doesn’t just replicate the arcade game but actively improves its resolution and frame rate. Newcomers should be aware that it still only offers three tracks and one car, but those willing to accept this fairly meagre offering will find that the new 20-lap Grand Prix mode and the online leaderboards give it a much-needed boost of longevity. Not for everyone, then, but those who ‘get’ it will adore it.
Publisher: Devolver Digital / Developer: Dennaton Games
While time has somewhat diminished the freshness of Hotline Miami’s creative violence, both games in this collection still offer some of the most addictive and rewarding experiences you can play. Sure, the Nintendo Switch versions don’t bring anything particularly new to the table (even the touchscreen aspects were present on PS Vita), but if you’re looking to experience these games for the first time (or again) on a portable platform, this is the place to do it. The pixel art visuals and synthwave soundtrack have aged incredibly well – especially in the original – and while the lack of a map editor stings to this day, its brutal story missions are as engaging as they day they were released.
Publisher: THQ Nordic / Developer: Kaiko
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition is a faithful port of the original that brings every slash of Chaoseaster and every bloody execution to Nintendo Switch in all its glory. While still the inferior entry in the Darksiders trilogy, this first outing is still a robust action-platformer full of satisfying melee combos, open-ended levels and a suitably over-the-top story. Easily one of the most underrated franchises to appear in the previous generation, Darksiders is a solid port that finally unleashes the Apocalypse in handheld form.
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: 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: 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: Spike Chunsoft / Developer: MAGES. Inc.
A stylish visual novel that incorporates footage from the anime into the original game, Steins;Gate Elite struck a chord with fans and non-fans alike and Switch is arguably the best possible venue for such a game. Its slick presentation extends to all aspects of production (font lovers and Star Trek: The Next Generation fans will immediately recognise the Swiss 911 Ultra Compressed type used on the main menus) and it improves on the original release while retaining the same compelling narrative.
Publisher: Square Enix
Nearly twenty years later, Final Fantasy VIII proves to be just as weird and polarising a release as it was when it first came out. Cool new ideas like Guardian Forces and Triple Triad are hamstrung by an absolutely wack story and the tedium of the Draw system, making for an experience that’s great in some regards and not so great in others. Taken as a whole, however, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered proves to be a fun and enjoyable romp through the weirder side of the Final Fantasy series, notably bolstered by the new HD presentation and the inclusion of helpful quality of life features. This is easily the most skippable entry of all the mainline Final Fantasy games on the Switch right now, but if you find yourself to be a fan of either the Final Fantasy series or the JRPG genre, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered proves to be a release that’s certainly worth your time.
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: 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.