Top Nintendo Switch Games 2023

Mario Golf: Super Rush is the latest Super Mario sports title on the Nintendo Switch, and it attempts to channel the mayhem of Mario Kart and Super Mario Strikers, but for golf.

As someone who loved the original Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life as a child, I find its 2023 remake difficult to recommend over other farming sims with more expansive worlds, more interesting stories, and more satisfying progression. Marvelous has admirably updated the graphics and gameplay to cater to a more modern audience, but those improvements only do so much when the heart of it feels as dated as it does. Its standout feature is still the way the town and NPCs impressively adapt and age over the course of its potentially 30-year campaign, but there aren’t enough noteworthy characters or rewards to make me want to stick around that long, either. Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life doesn’t offend, but it sure doesn’t impress either.

Minecraft Legends veers the popular sandbox game into real-time strategy territory, but misses the mark with clumsy controls, dull gameplay, and an empty open world.

The House of the Dead: Remake is an easy recommendation for hardcore fans who have been waiting decades for a better way to play it at home, but it’s a much harder sell for anyone else. The options for difficulty and scoring make it more approachable compared to the original’s harsh difficulty curve, but frustrating controls, poor gyro aiming, and some unfortunate technical issues can be scarier than the zombies themselves. There’s plenty of fun to be had with this classic if you are willing to put the time into learning its nuances, but I can’t help but feel like more could have been done to improve and refine a return I’ve been waiting decades for.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster is mostly for the diehard Atlus and JRPG fans.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars on the Switch brings back three of Nintendo’s best games: Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy.

Paper Mario: The Origami King weighs down a fun adventure with an unsatisfying, puzzle-based combat system that misses the mark.

No Man's Sky is a gorgeous game that gives players a satisfying sense of exploration, but the experience can be incredibly repetitive.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 delivers absurd action and offers hours of replayable content, but drops the ball with its botched PC transition and lack of online multiplayer.

1-2-Switch is the Switch’s version of Wii Sports, in that it acts as an overall mission statement for the console itself. The quirky, bizarre nature of the unique mini-games make it a funny, memorable experience, but some games are hard to play at first due to unclear tutorials and dialogue cues. Despite its oddities and flaws, I have had so, so much fun playing and watching 1-2-Switch with a small group of friends that I can recommend it in that specific situation, but I don’t have much desire to go back.