Considering how saturated the Nintendo eShop is with various console ports, indie titles, and new releases, it should be no surprise that great games can fly under the radar for most gamers. While the likes ofCyberpunk 2077get the spotlight for all the wrong reasons and amazing titles likeBreath of the Wildfor all the right ones, others slip through the cracks while they attempt to compete with higher marketing budgets and hype.
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Nintendo may be most well known for their first-party titles likeMarioandZelda, but in recent years, particularly with the Switch, they have been more willing to allow third-party games onto their consoles which, unfortunately, can slip through the cracks when up against their more famous work.
10Kunai
Due to the Switch being saturated withMetroidvania titles, some with a lower quality than others, the good ones that aren’t as well known can easily be missed by fans of the genre. One such game isKunai, a game where players take the role of a non-descript tablet called Tabby who wields the powers and weapons of a ninja, as well as several firearms of escalating power. The main draw of this game, however, is the kunai themselves, which allow Tabby to swing around the world like Tarzan with a rocket launcher and makes combat that much more exhilarating, particularly in the boss fights where the player’s ability to use said kunai are put to the test.
9The Banner Saga
Tactical RPGs, like Metroidvanias, are a dime a dozen on the Switch. While the likes ofFire EmblemandInto The Breachget a lot of love from their fans, this also means that severalgreat tactical gamesfall under the radar, such asThe Banner Sagatrilogy. While the combat sometimes takes a backseat to the survival and narrative elements of the game, it has some of the best tactical gameplay players can find on the Switch and has a unique take on standard turn-based combat that incorporates something of a risk-reward system when dealing with enemies.
8Furi
Since games likeGhost of TsushimaandSekiro: Shadows Die Twicearen’t on the Switch, gamers will have to look elsewhere if they want to take part in some greatsword-based action. One of those places that gamers can look is the indie titleFuri, which takes elements of sword-based combat and adds a touch of bullet hell to the mix for some seriously unique battles.
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Furiis a little different from most games in that all combat takes place during boss battles, being akin to something likeShadow of the ColossusandMaliciousFallen, though with some differences, including a three-life system that can be replenished by successfully clearing one of the boss’s health bars, allowing players to fail repeatedly while not having to restart the battle.
7Steamworld Quest: Hand of the Gilgamech
The combat inSteamworldQuestmay not be too unique, borrowing heavily from the likes ofSlay The Spire, it is one of the more fun card-based RPGs on the Switch. Taking place in an indeterminate time in theSteamworlduniverse long beforeSteamworld Dig,Questchanges up the formula from a Metroidvania into a turn-based RPG using punch cards as the main attacks and abilities. Alongside this punch card system, players also have a choice between several characters for their team of three, with each character playing much differently from the next and opening up the game to a lot of replayability options.
6Super Daryl Deluxe
If there was any Metroidvania on the Switch that deserves far more love than it gets, it’sSuper Daryl Deluxe. A somewhat bizarre mash-up ofSymphony of the NightandNapoleon Dynamite, this game takes place in a high school where players control Daryl, a new student with a very vivid imagination, as he uncovers the mystery and conspiracies going on around him. Unlike other Metroidvania games, each face button is assigned to a different special attack, each with its own cool-down time, that forces players to use a mix of fast, low damage attacks alongside large and heavy attacks in order to keep the pressure up in battle.
5Fire Emblem Warriors
For the most part,Hyrule Warriorsand the recentAge of Calamityget a lot more love among their fanbase thanFire Emblem Warriors, but this doesn’t mean fans of theWarriorsseriesshould overlook the game. While it does have the issue of many characters essentially being skin changes of one another, the combat itself implements elements ofFire Emblemthat otherWarriorstitles could take a lesson from, such as better unit management and the ability to pair up characters for more powerful attacks.
4Hob
Something of an older title that has since lost all of its traction,Hobplays out like a 3DZeldagame in terms of combat, story, and world design, but has a completely silent storytelling narrative reminiscent ofJourneyand does a just as good a job at showing the player its world and story asJourneydid.
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The combat inHobis very much reminiscent of other action platformers, though has a bit of a higher difficulty curve and necessity for the player to learn the dodging and blocking aspects fairly quickly. That being said, if gamers are looking for aZeldaalternative and have already playedOkamito death, they should look no further than this game.
3Lichtspeer
There are many bizarre games on the Switch, the majority of them either being adored by fans or completely ignored by the community due to their poor quality. One game that seems to fall into neither of these categories isLichtspeer, a strange game that is partAngry Birdsand part tower defense where the player takes control of a champion of the Lichtgod and must defend themselves against hordes of enemies that want to tear them apart. While this game can be incredibly hard at times, it is alsoone of the funnier gameson the Switch and has a two-player option that adds to the hilarity.
2Aegis Defenders
Aegis Defendersis something of a hard game to define, as it falls into both the 2D sidescrolling platformer genre while also borrowing heavily from tower defense games and adding in a splash of light RPG mechanics. Players control one of three characters as they traverse the world, using character-specific powers to solve puzzles and defeat enemies while also trying to reach the final part of the level, where the game shifts into a tower defense game that uses similar variations of those same powers in battle over multiple rounds and waves of enemy encounters.
1Arms
For some reason, this fighting game doesn’t get nearly as much love as it deserves despite its unique take on the genre. InArms, players take control of one of a variety ofdangly-armed fightersto duke it out in the ring, having full control over their character in a 3D space while also being able to control the trajectory of their punches in battle. The characters themselves may have shown up again inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, but it seems as though this title for the Switch has been entirely forgotten by the player base since its release in mid 2017.
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