Four months into 2026, and it feels like things aren’t going to be slowing down anytime soon, does it? It also means that it’s time for eShop Selects once again, and we’re looking back at April 2026, a time where many of us have been Living the Dream.
Now, despite what we just said, this month has been a little quieter. But the sun is finally starting to make more of an appearance — just in-between the April showers. Perfect time for games, then?
So, let’s go through the best of this past month, then shall we? Here are the rules: our writers and contributors vote for their top three eShop games we reviewed (and scored at least a 7/10) that launched in April 2026 on the eShop for Switch 1 and/or Switch 2. We’ll then tally up the votes and the three games with the highest number of votes will make up the top three.
Honourable Mentions
It’s been a much steadier month as we approach the summer season of announcements and reveals. We wanted to give a quick shoutout to Darwin’s Paradox and Moomintroll: Winter’s Warmth, which we didn’t have a chance to review, and inKONBINI — we will have a review of that one soon.
But even a quieter month gave us seven games that met the score threshold. One of these is getting a physical release later in the year, but the rest are available on the eShop only, so now’s the time to download if you want to squeeze some gaming in before Yoshi, Rhythm Heaven, and Splatoon eat up the summer.
Before we get to the top three, here are the four that just missed out:
After a handful of delays, Mouse: P.I. For Hire proves its more than just a fresh take on the rubber hose art style. A noir-esquel bomber shooter where everything looks like it’s from a 1920s cartoon, Mouse: P.I. For Hire brings challenge and charm in spades.
It might not come out of the gates swinging, but within a few hours, you’ll find yourself utterly hooked by the tone, the shooting, and the exploration. Fumi relish in the mix of styles and genres and run with the puns to make one of the most unique-looking shooters we’ve played in some time.
In fact, Mouse: P.I. For Hire is our highest-scoring game of the month at a 9/10, and it manages third place from our staff vote.
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Sigono are four-for-four on heartbreaking narratives that’ll make you sob more than once. And OPUS: Prism Peak might be the the best of the bunch.
The central relationship between Eugene and Ren is the carrot that keeps you going. Using your camera, you’ll take photos to solve problems and help the residents of the Dusklands, while also confronting Eugene’s past — both good and bad. It’s a truly beautiful game, and we can’t wait until it truly shines once it receives a performance patch on Switch 1 & 2.
Even so, we scored OPUS: Prism Peak an 8/10, and it’s one of our favourite experiences of the year so-far.
poncle could probably just coast on the success of Vampire Survivors for the rest of time and we’d be happy. But nope, the developer just had to release a blobber-style spin-off, complete with roguelike and deckbuilding mechanics. Oh no.
Vampire Crawlers is yet another moreish timesink, a game that is so determined to get you to break its systems so you can demolish waves and waves of enemies. The formula translates from Survivors perfectly, and now you’re trawling through cards and skills instead of relying on pick-ups to do the work for you.
Vampire Crawlers is our eShop Selects game of the month, and we scored it an 8/10 on the Switch. But it’s also available on Switch 2 as well. Congrats to poncle for another fantastic game!
< Nintendo eShop Selects – March 2026
Do you agree with our ranking? Tell us about your favourite eShop releases of last month by voting in our poll and sharing your thoughts in the comments.
How we decide our eShop Selects top three: As we reach the end of every month, the Nintendo Life staff vote on their favourite titles from a list of games selected by the editorial team. To qualify for this list, these games must have been released as a digital-only Nintendo Switch eShop title in that particular month, and must have been reviewed on Nintendo Life; we select the qualifying games based on their review scores.
Staff are then asked to vote for three games that they think deserve to sit right at the very top of that list; first choice gets three points, second choice gets two points, and third choice gets one point. These votes are then tallied to create a top-three list, with the overall winner taking that month’s top prize.