Best New Nintendo Switch Games to Play Now

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom headlines the Switch-studded lineup of Nintendo’s highly anticipated 2023 releases. The May 12 release nears, but the best new Nintendo Switch Games right now combine the past and present to settle restless gamers.

Chained Echoes

Deck13

Chained Echoes recites an impassioned love letter to Nintendo’s throwback JRPGs from the ‘90s. Updated gaming mechanics allows for a more accessible gameplay experience than in the genre’s glory days. The Switch’s modern speeds for character switching and text navigation streamline the historically cumbersome process of getting into action.

RNG tucks its tail and runs away this time. The pleasantly balanced combat system breaks troublesome tradition by not forcing players to conserve power moves based on health or stamina. Full-forced onslaughts of trios amplify the epicness of encounters where gamers can give their all for once, which greatly helps immersion.

Chained Echoes

Atari 50: The Collection

Atari

Nintendo steeps in gaming tradition that is as proud as it is enduring. Atari 50 commemorates half a century of memories by bringing classics to the Switch and making new moments by introducing new games tasteful to tradition. For example, AirWorld completes the 1980s SwordQuest series.

Whether you want to revert to Pong’s simplicity, anger yourself with the difficulty of Centipede unsquashed by the Switch, or crawl to the court with Basketbrawl, seasoned gamers get nostalgia and younger players get a new challenge. An interactive documentary with commentary from Atari developers throws a bone to vets looking for something new to dig up themselves.

Atari 50: The Collection

PowerWash Simulator

Square Enix

How in the name of Billy Mays can a game simulating cleaning fluids and tedious chores scream “must play?” That’s not all PowerWash Simulator offers! The game relaxes overworked minds by acting as a potent form of fun white noise. The ensuing water on the screen hypnotizes usually overstimulated eyes that certainly won’t need drops after this soul and screen-cleansing experience.

An entrepreneurial story of upgrading equips washes away far more time than many readers surmise they’d spend on selecting angled nozzles. Whether you’re the real-life version of Hank Hill unable to leave lawn care outside, or you’re looking for a new virtual sector to figuratively and literally clean out, there’s a lot of value in this game that believe it or not takes over 50 hours to complete.

PowerWash Simulator

Tunic

Finji

Gin and Tunic might be the go-to Friday night combination for Switch gamers wanting enough cuteness to say “aaw” and RPG substance to be awed by. A tiny fox embarks on a huge, adventure heavily influenced by the path Link paved in Legend of Zelda games.

Mystery marks a key difference. Tunic keeps players guessing as to what exactly the artsy storyline is trying to convey. Everything connects right as nothing seems to make sense except randomness. Leveling mechanics join story quality in the well-done category. The growth of a tiny fox to a sly striker satisfies the long journey it takes to get there. Each major step leads to cool abilities and crazy entities worth battling.

Tunic

Have a Nice Death

Gearbox Publishing

Mortals insist are dying to get the Grim Reaper job. Have a Nice Death makes no bones about the fact that being Death is only for the faint of heart. Overzealous boneheads ruined the balance of souls within Death Incorporated.

Beheading hancho Death takes matters into his scythe to thin the 2D herd of unattentive employees. Death can’t die obviously, but players are assessed a performance review for how effectively they implemented a lethal reprimand. Nobody wants issues with inhumane resources.

Have a Nice Death

Curse of the Sea Rats

PQube

Few scenerios exist where anybody welcomes roaming rats into their living room. Curse of the Sea Rats looks much better than it sounds. The gorgeously hand-drawn animations depict pirates turned into rodents by a witch.

A magical touch eludes the combat system. Action-adventure gamers treasure the witty, diverse pirate stories that breathe life into the animated world. Metroidvania lovers relish the chance to where they please in an experience that lets gamers take their time in uncovering the many secrets and old-school gaming references hidden like a good gaming treasure.

Curse of the Sea Rats

Meg’s Monster

Odencat

Starting a game with maximized health points is nothing to cry about. However, the game ends if Roy’s vulnerable companion Meg whimpers. She’s a small girl possessing the ability to break the planet if she becomes upset.

NPC protection missions earned a longstanding reputation for annoying gamers. Unique mechanics mixing humor and badassery pacify concerns better than most efforts built around this premise. The payoff to this surprisingly emotional story rewards skeptics’ trust.

Meg's Monster

Two Point Campus

Sega

Tired of loans, unreasonable professors, and equally grating lectures from pesky campus police? Two Point Campus admits students into a program that lets the attendees build a university from the ground up. Those last four words take literal meaning, given even individual trees can be planted wherever green gamers wish.

A complex system of mechanics aces worldbuilding while keeping bankroll and profit in mind — much like strong American colleges, minus the annoying collection calls. Virtual university life flashes a much brighter smile. Humor ranges from poking fun at cliques and dress codes, to becoming an actual class clown or culinary prodigy that bakes pies large enough to make Gordon Ramsay jealous.

Two Point Campus

Card Shark

Devolver Digital

Card Shark treads the deep waters of cheating at card games. Anyone who has watched a Western or mob movie instantly recognizes that won’t end well. The Switch hosts the sole exception via a mini-game fest unlike any other.

Analog controls shuffle the crooked cards. QTEs dictate the action that lands in your thieving favor or backfires on the dastardly dealer you control. Unpredictable puzzles resume the game of voluntary dishonor that seemingly never ends away from the table.

Card Shark

NeverAwake

Phoenixx

Freddy Krueger’s ideal scenario is a nightmare on Dream Street. Players control an inconsolable girl who takes out her frustrations on everything she hates, ranging from plants to puppies. She eviscerates everything in her challenging path without waking up. It’s game over when the game of real life begins.

NeverAwake answers the call of docile duty to never answer the alarm with a user-friendly design that doesn’t compromise itself. The stock shooter aims at over 80 levels of targets filled with wrath and wackiness. The process guarantees failure. Unlike Souls games, there are plenty of opportunities to pick up your progress when you didn’t fall asleep on the job.

NeverAwake/Nintendo

Final Thoughts

There’s more to Nintendo life than overweight plumbers and overprotective knights. Fun nights are literally in the cards for those requesting some trickery from Card Sharks. Shuffle through the Switch’s catalog and you’ll find the best new Nintendo Switch games stack the deck.