The Best Third-Party Games On The Nintendo Switch

Nintendo is known for its vast array of solid first-party games. The Nintendo Switch is also known for having a deep library of indies to take on the go. But what isn’t spotlighted as much as those two points is the amount of

third-party support the Switch

has gotten since its launch in 2017.

With the help of some major companies, Nintendo has been able to build a solid catalog of high-quality AA or AAA games on the Switch that aren’t just Nintendo-made. While there are quite a few options for players to choose from, only a small handful stand out as must-plays.

Updated on October 21, 2023, by

Chris

Birsner:

Nintendo is supposedly nearly at the end of its run with the Switch. The console is halfway through its seventh year on the market and rumors have been spiraling about the future of the console and its successor. But that doesn’t mean the Switch should just be forgotten about as it has an outstanding library filled with all-time first-party classics and indie gems that more people got to play because it was on the Switch. But third-party titles have been a name for itself on the Nintendo Switch as well, and some of the

best third-party Switch games

are also some of the best third-party games on any other platform.

26


Two Point Hospital

Based on the 1997 hit simulator

Theme Hospital

and many other simulation games,


Two Point Hospital


puts players in the position of running their own hospital. Players can take on a handful of different starting scenarios as the primary goal is to build different rooms that will help satisfy the needs of the patients that will be staying there.

Players will also need to tackle made-up diseases and how to cure them by hiring the right staff to get to the bottom of them.

25


Portal Companion Collection

Commonly talked about as being among the best puzzle games in history, the

Portal

franchise came to the Nintendo Switch in 2022 with both games bundled together under the name


Portal Companion Collection


. The first-person platform puzzler tasks players with navigating a series of tests using a Portal gun.

While the most talked about parts of these

third-party Switch games

are their single-player campaigns, players can pick up the game at any time and take on the co-op mode with a friend either with split-screen multiplayer or through different devices locally and online.

24


Shin Megami Tensei 5

Exclusive to the Nintendo Switch is


Shin Megami Tensei 5


, the fifth game in the Atlus series that has been about focusing on fighting demons and recruiting them to battle alongside the main player in a turn-based combat system.

In search of their high school friends, the main character of

SMT5

fuses with a being known as Aogami to gain powers to survive in an alternative reality Tokyo known as Da’at that has collapsed thanks to the war between angels and demons. It is while traveling this land that the player learns what is happening in the world and uses their powers to fight back.

23


The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher

has become a multimedia franchise thanks to the work done on the video game series. The most beloved entry of the trilogy, and the highest-selling, is


The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt


. The

monster

slayer Geralt of Rivia returns as he searches for his adopted daughter as she attempts to escape the Wild Hunt, a group of ghostly warriors from a parallel dimension.

The Witcher 3

is an action RPG that revolves around fighting monsters and completing quests to help enhance Geralt’s abilities.

22


Ori And The Will Of The Wisps

Metroidvanias have been popular lately, especially on the Switch, with the release of

Metroid Dread

. However, there are plenty of great third-party games in the genre to check out as well. That includes a game originally published by Xbox Games Studios,


Ori and the Will of the Wisps,


developed by Moon Studios.

This sequel to

Ori and the Blind Forest

continues the game’s narrative while also enhancing graphics and combat. Players explore the world as the guardian spirit Ori, while they solve puzzles and gain abilities on their journey.

21


13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

After being a PlayStation exclusive for many years,


13 Sentinels Aegis Rim


arrived on the Switch and joined the system’s deep JRPG library. The Vanillaware game is about high school students who have been thrust into a war that they must fight in using mechas.

One of the

best third-party Switch games

,

13 Sentinels Aegis Rim

combines side-scrolling navigation of areas with epic battles that use a real-time strategy format that allows for unique approaches for every encounter. There are also multiple branches that the

story

can go down depending on decisions made by the player during the experience.

20


Civilization 6

When it comes to turn-based strategy games, there is none more iconic than

Civilization

. The most recent title in the series,


Civilization 6


, still holds up even five years after its initial release. The main format is to develop society from scratch and build up an early settlement enough to become a world power.

Along with new civilizations, the sixth installment saw the introduction of districts, which are needed to build a bunch of specific types of buildings.

19


Katamari Damacy Reroll

When it comes to truly unique video game franchises,

Katamari

is among the weirder experiences to play out there. However, they are also a ton of fun, and


Katamari Damacy Reroll


reintroduces the story that got it also started.

Gamers play as a prince who is looking to rebuild the world that has accidentally been destroyed by the King of All Cosmos. The goal of the game is to roll a ball that can pick up objects around a level and make the ball big enough to recreate the stars.

18


Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age

One of the most highly-regarded RPG series of all time,

Final Fantasy

, has a few entries out on the Nintendo Switch. However, the one port that seems to be a must-get for fans is


Final Fantasy 12: The Zodiac Age


.

This version offers both the original game that was released on the PlayStation 2, as well as an expansion called the

International Zodiac Job System

that was first released in Japan.

Final Fantasy 12

features the Active Dimension Battle system as well as a “gambit” system that helps players program character actions at specific moments.

17


Dragon Ball FighterZ

Fighting game fans have likely played a ton of

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

on the Switch. However, there are many other fighting experiences to give a shot on the device. A solid one to try is


Dragon Ball FighterZ


. The game takes place between the “Universe 6” and “Future Tanks” arcs of the

Dragon Ball Super

manga and anime.

Dragon Ball FighterZ

revolves around using a team of three fighters and unique assist abilities to take on another player or AI.

16


Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition

Platformers are a major part of the Nintendo Switch’s library. A 2D platformer that tends to get a lot of love from fans of the genre is


Rayman Legends: Definitive Edition


from Ubisoft. A sequel to

Rayman Origins

, this game takes place 100 years after the events of its predecessor.

Rayman and friends must rescue the ten princesses that have been captured by the Bubble Dreamer’s nightmares.

Rayman Legends

can be played with up to four players and features well over 120 levels that include new and old levels.

15


Theatrhythm Final Bar Line

As mentioned earlier,

Final Fantasy

is one of the most beloved franchises out there. And while fans love the stories and gameplay that these experiences provide, the games are also known for their incredible music. To celebrate the incredible score of the series,


Theatrhythm Final Bar Line


was released as a third-party Switch game.

The fifth entry in this spin-off series,

Final Bar Line

is a rhythm game mixed with an RPG. Similar to the regular games, the player is in charge of controlling a party of players in battle sequences against foes. The battles consist of rhythm gameplay that will require single or multiple inputs be played at once for specific notes.

14


Octopath Traveler 2

Square Enix has plenty of RPGs that it has released on the Nintendo Switch, and while it isn’t a Switch timed-exclusive like its predecessor,


Octopath Traveler 2


is still a solid follow-up to its 2018 entry that tells a story with a brand-new set of characters.

As with the first game,

Octopath Traveler 2

has a narrative that is told from eight different perspectives. These stories begin as separate tales but collide as news of an evil organization is looking to bring eternal darkness to the land of Solistia, the main world in which the game’s events take place.

13


Diablo 3: Eternal Collection

As fans eagerly await the eventual release of

Diablo 4

, it’s always nice to go back to previous entries in the franchise to re-experience what makes the games so special. The Switch has one version of

Diablo

on it with


Diablo 3: Eternal Collection


. The top-down hack-and-slash once again puts players in a position to pick their class and join the fight against the Lord of Terror Diablo.

This version of the game automatically comes with the two expansion packs that were released after it first came out.

12


Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2

When thinking about skateboarding video games, one of the most famous is easily

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

. And while it has been years since a completely new entry was released, the latest release came in 2020 as a remake called


Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2


.

Released on Nintendo Switch in 2021, this version of

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

features maps and tricks from the original two releases of the classic skateboarding franchise as well as later entries in the franchise. The gameplay loop revolves around getting high scores and collecting objects on each map to advance through the game.

11


Persona 5 Royal

Considering its rave reception upon its release, it took a while for


Persona 5 Royal


to come out on other platforms. Now, it puts itself among the

best third-party games on Switch

, bringing the story of the Phantom Thieves to a new audience.

Persona 5 Royal

focuses on a transfer student named Joker who, after a dream that spoke of a doomed future, teams up with other students to help fight back against corruption using newfound powerful versions of themselves that are called Personas.

Bethesda is known for its open-world western RPGs, which can reel players in for hundreds of hours. The best-known of these titles is their 2011 hit


The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim


. Players are about to be killed for illegally crossing the border into Skyrim when Alduin the World-Eater destroys the town they are in.

As the legendary Dragonborn, the player must complete quests that will help them reach the goal of slaying the dragon that threatens to destroy the world. Of course, along the way, there are side quests to complete, mysteries to solve, and guilds to join in

Skyrim

.

9


Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

What would it be like to have the power to revert someone’s death by going four minutes back in time? The puzzle adventure game


Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective


answers this question. As a recently departed individual who is trying to find their identity, players are tasked with helping the people that might figure out their identity.

Players will be placed in situations where they have a limited amount of time to figure out what objects can be controlled that could change the fate of an individual who has recently

died

. The main story of

Ghost Trick

is known for its many twists and turns, which is what makes its port to Nintendo Switch all the more exciting.

8


Monster Hunter Rise

The most recent entry on this list, Capcom’s


Monster Hunter Rise


is one of the best Nintendo Switch exclusives to come out in 2021. Similar to the other entries in the franchise, the RPG revolves around the player, a hunter, going after large monsters and either killing them or capturing them.

Using the seamless map introduced in the previous entry

Monster Hunter World

, new mechanics in

Monster Hunter


Rise

include new ways to explore the map including Wirebugs and riding a Palamute.

7


The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

When it comes to visual novels, one of the biggest franchises of the genre is easily the

Ace Attorney

series. While the original trilogy is available on the Nintendo Switch, the most recent entry in the series has gotten plenty of critical acclaim as well.

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles


is a two-game collection that tells the story of Ryunosuke Naruhodo. An ancestor of Phoenix Wright, the protagonist of the first three games, this university student stumbles into becoming a lawyer. The two games take place in the late 19th century and early 20th century Japan and Britain.