The Nintendo Switch has officially entered its twilight years, but that hasn’t stopped a tide of brilliant, innovative, exciting games landing on the console this year. Despite all odds, the Nintendo Switch has had a fantastic 2024, with Nintendo itself contributing the lion’s share of great times.
In a single year, we saw both Princess Zelda and Princess Peach take the reins of their own adventures. We saw the return of classics, in Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. We even saw some brilliant third-party games popping up on Nintendo Switch, like the affable and adorable Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, which steals a spot on this list, as it’s stolen our hearts.
While we’re all more than ready for the Nintendo Switch 2, there’s no doubting the “OG” Nintendo Switch was still supreme in 2024. To celebrate the console as we wind down the year, here’s a list of our favourite (and the best) Nintendo Switch games of 2024.
Table of Contents
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank
To kick off this list, let’s take it away with some kind words for Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, delivered by GamesHub Managing Editor, Steph Panecasio:
“Who could have predicted that one of my absolute favourite games of the year would involve the escapades of a thieving vegetable? Turnip Boy Robs A Bank is a truly delightful romp that had me grinning stupidly at my Switch for hours.”
Read: Turnip Boy Robs A Bank review – Full of beans (and assorted vegetables)
“From the art style to the dialogue and everything in between, this is a sequel that brings higher stakes, loftier goals, and one heck of a heist. I love this game so much – it’s so funny and sharp that it makes you feel like robbing a bank is the most reasonable thing in the world for a turnip to do.”
Mario & Luigi: Brothership
There were plenty of questions about Mario & Luigi: Brothership ahead of its launch. The Mario & Luigi series remains beloved, but without the guidance of AlphaDream, could Brothership live up to expectations? Delightfully, the answer to this was emphatically yes. This sequel is an absolute delight, and charts a new course for the franchise with delight and glee.
Read: Mario & Luigi: Brothership review – A stunning RPG infused with charm
It really is a cohesive adventure, buoyed by a commitment to a bright and colourful aesthetic, and a story that speaks of friendship and connection through rough waters. It’s all tied together with a brilliant turn-based combat system, and a sense of humour that buzzes with sharp wit. Don’t miss this game.
The Plucky Squire
The Plucky Squire, the debut title from All Possible Futures, is a real marvel. It’s brimming with cool, novel ideas and endearing characters, and made even sweeter by its innovative puzzles and creativity. There’s so many layers to this adventure. You’re roaming across story book pages. You’re leaping out of those pages, into the real world. You’re jumping into wordplay, taking part in rocket mini-games, playing a version of Magic: The Gathering. There’s so many elements here, and they’re all fantastic.
Read: The Plucky Squire review – A real page-turner
Across multiple chapters, protagonist Jot and his friends take on all manner of challenges, with each being more different and ambitious than the last. It makes The Plucky Squire a smorgasbord of cool ideas, all tied with a neat art style, a snappy story about persevering, and a wonderful message of embracing your inner joy.
Princess Peach: Showtime!
Princess Peach: Showtime! is an incredibly cutesy game, much like its starring protagonist, Princess Peach. It’s bright and colourful, and oh so feminine, with each level featuring a new costume to dress up in, and new mechanics to explore. In one level, Princess Peach is a figure skater, defeating enemies with whirls of power. In another, she’s a cowgirl riding through a Western town. No matter which costume she’s wearing, her journey is one of beauty and power.
Read: Princess Peach: Showtime! review – A well-earned spotlight
It’s a sight to behold – and most importantly, it just feels right. Princess Peach: Showtime! doesn’t attempt to make a “Mario” of Princess Peach. She doesn’t have to change herself to become an action hero. Rather, the game embraces her femininity, grace, and style, for an adventure that allows her true self to shine, in levels that are wonderful to experience.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown successfully reinvented the Prince of Persia formula, for an action-adventure “Metroidvania” that brims with edgy style, and is buoyed by a cool plot and incredibly snappy, satisfying mechanics that feel great on Nintendo Switch. The game just oozes effortlessness. On the sheer strength of its exploration and fighting mechanics alone, it’s a wonderful achievement.
Read: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown review – Sharp as a knife
Whether you’re a fan of the genre or not, there’s no doubt The Lost Crown is an impactful, well-designed Metroidvania that delivers plenty of reasons to keep forging ahead, and striving to see its final stanzas. Add in very cool boss fights, and fantastic post-game content, and you’ve got a real winner here.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door returned in remastered form this year, and this release for Nintendo Switch proved exactly why this game is so enduring. In short, the adventure has aged incredibly well, with strong humour buoying an ambitious, wild tale that is frequently silly, irreverent, and hilarious. That’s not to mention it being so, so clever in its approach to combat and exploration.
Read: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door – Review
The Paper Mario series remains beloved, based largely on the strength of The Thousand-Year Door – and it’s easy to see why. It’s a game filled with memorable, wonderful characters, starring in a bizarre plot that charts deep and occasionally dark themes about the nature of living, and love. It really is an all-time classic, and it was great to see it returning to a Nintendo console in 2024.
Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed
As with the previous entry, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is a port of a classic Nintendo adventure. The original Epic Mickey for Nintendo Wii was roundly praised for its aesthetic, narrative, and design choices when it launched – but criticism was focussed on its in-game camera, and a few other little quirks that held it back from true greatness. Rebrushed corrected these issues, as any good remaster should, allowing the original game to shine much brighter.
Read: Epic Mickey: Rebrushed review – All you need is a lick of paint
This game felt right at home on Nintendo Switch in 2024. For new and returning players, Rebrushed was a chance to experience a Wii classic in its proper form, with all the modern bells and whistles to elevate it – and it certainly did just that. In its refined puzzles and exploration, Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed solidified the legacy of the Epic Mickey franchise for years to come.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom attempted something fresh and new for the Legend of Zelda franchise, not only as Zelda is the protagonist, but also in its approach to exploration. As with Princess Peach: Showtime!, this game didn’t want to make Zelda into a “Link,” but instead aimed to elevate her strengths of creativity and kindness. To that end, Echoes of Wisdom relies on a novel building system that allows for a great degree of experimentation.
Read: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Review
Presented with roadblocks, Zelda is able to literally build a bridge to get over them. Rather than fight solely in sword combat, Zelda can switch between a super-powered form and summoning creatures to fight on her behalf. It means you’ve got options – and with a clever eye, Echoes of Wisdom invites you to play within its sandbox, finding new and novel solutions to its many challenges.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is the third returning classic to appear on this list. In a year of great, novel adventures, we also had quite a few remasters and ports – and really, that speaks to the quality of Nintendo games over the years, as well as the rise of nostalgia for past eras. For those who grew up with Dark Moon, the original Nintendo 3DS port of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, there was certainly a nostalgia attached to this release.
Read: Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD review – Dark Moon rising
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is a greatly improved version of its predecessor, with a fresh lick of paint and a slight redesign to exploration allowing this game to shine brightly on Nintendo Switch. In each episode of this tale, you’ll find brand new ghosts to hunt, and new, darker corners of the titular mansion to explore. There is backtracking required, but this only enhances your journey, as you venture further into the mansion, and poor Luigi finds more and more ghosts to fret over. Even in his anxiety, he makes for a strong, loveable protagonist, in a spooky romp filled with ghostly secrets.
Super Mario Party Jamboree
Who knew Super Mario Party Jamboree would come out swinging in the final years of the Nintendo Switch’s lifecycle? While Mario Party has always been a stalwart of Nintendo consoles, it’s fair to say there’s been varying quality between each release. There’s been good Mario Party games, and lukewarm Mario Party games. Super Mario Party Jamboree is a fantastic entry in the series.
Read: Super Mario Party Jamboree review – Everyone is invited
Rather than simply releasing a standard compilation of new and returning mini-games, Nintendo brought Super Mario Party Jamboree to life with a cavalcade of fresh and exciting ideas.
There’s a whole bunch of new modes in this release, including standalone mini-games that could very well be their own games, and an entire campaign mode where players can “set up” their own Mario Party boards. Even when you play through a standard round of Mario Party, you can see the innovation and cleverness in this title, represented by brand new mini-games and boards, all put together with deft and passionate hands. This game really surprised me, and after years of being a game critic, that’s the best thing a game can do.
