The Nintendo Switch is home to many excellent first-party Nintendo games, as well as titles from third-party developers. But there's another huge category worth exploring on the eShop: indie games.
Let's take a look at some of the best indie games you can play on your Nintendo Switch. Whether they're ports of classic indie titles or new experiences exclusive to the Switch, there's a lot to explore here.
1. Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
Shovel Knight is a 2D platformer that's been going strong since its release in 2014. The Treasure Trove edition gets you all four full campaigns, including the original Shovel of Hope plus three additional games where you play as some of the bosses.
Each one has their own unique platforming style and story to explore. With extras including a Super Smash Bros.-esque fighting mode and challenges for each character, there's a lot to love here. The game's soundtrack is also a pleasure.
2. Stardew Valley
Ever wanted to manage your own farm from scratch? Stardew Valley lets you live that dream. It's a simulation game where you take on tasks like raising crops, mining for resources, and mingling with people in your town (including getting married).
Stardew Valley has limited time in each day, but is open-ended. It has seen tons of updates over time, including multiplayer support. If you like laid-back management games, this is one to try.
3. Cuphead
An homage to 1930s "rubber hose" animation, Cuphead is a boss rush game that sees you trying to defeat a wild group of baddies. While the game's hand-drawn animation is absolutely stunning and the catchy jazz soundtrack is fitting to the period, don't underestimate it.
Cuphead is quite difficult; you'll have to challenge the bosses many times to learn their patterns and overcome them. If you're up for it, this experience is a must-play.
4. Undertale
Undertale is a unique RPG with a great sense of humor, lovable characters, and fantastic music. Anyone who's a fan of RPGs should experience it at least once. But do yourself a favor and go in completely blind; spoilers will ruin the experience.
5. Celeste
Celeste is a challenging 2D platformer about a girl named Madeline who works to climb a mountain. Your difficulty as a player is mirrored by Madeline's battle against her inner voice that tells her she can't complete the task.
The relatable story, fine-tuned controls, and catchy music all add up to a phenomenal platformer. There are additional challenge levels if you want to really test your skills, plus an assist mode if you need some help.
6. Golf Story
Similar to Mario Golf on Game Boy Color, Golf Story is a light RPG that revolves around the game of golf. You play as a man returning to the sport after the death of his father and work to win tournaments at various courses.
Even if you don't care for golf, this is still a fun adventure. It adds mechanics that change up the golf courses, plus minigames to break up the tournaments. Golf Story is a laid-back adventure with humor that anyone can enjoy.
7. Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight is one of the best Metroidvania (one of the lesser-known video game genres) titles of the generation. It doesn't hold your hand as you wander through the land of Hallownest---you don't even start with a map at the beginning.
As you explore, you'll find dozens of bosses to fight and lots of upgrades to equip. The amount of content for a budget price is staggering, so this is a great world to get invested in.
8. Wargroove
If you enjoy turn-based strategy games like Advance Wars, Wargroove is for you. It's a tactics game where you control commanders and have to complete various objectives to overwhelm the enemy.
In addition to a campaign, there's a wealth of extra modes to explore, including online multiplayer. The game even features a full editing tool: you can make your own levels, connect them however you want on a world map, then share your levels with others.
9. Crypt of the NecroDancer
One of the most unique games on this list, Crypt of the NecroDancer combines the roguelike and rhythm genres for an interesting mashup. Like many other roguelikes, the main gameplay involves descending through a randomly generated dungeon full of enemies, picking up items and restarting from scratch if you die.
Crypt of the NecroDancer is unique, however, in that you must move to the beat of the music to be effective. If you step out of time, you'll lose valuable multipliers that help you survive.
This is a challenging game for sure, but it's rewarding to finally conquer a level that gave you tons of trouble. Plus, there are several variations of the soundtrack to check out, including chiptune and rock.
10. SUPERHOT
SUPERHOT is a first-person shooter with a unique twist: time only moves when you do. In most scenarios, you're totally outnumbered and so must think carefully about when to move, fire, and throw melee weapons at enemies.
The game uses a minimalist art style for simplicity and offers some extra modes upon completion. As one of the most innovative shooters in years, SUPERHOT is definitely one to check out if you've been itching for an FPS on your Switch.
11. Gorogoa
If you enjoy puzzle games, Gorogoa will be right up your alley. The game presents you with four storybook-like panels that you must manipulate to guide a boy through the various locales. You'll interact with both the position of the panels themselves and their content to figure out how to proceed.
The game only takes a few hours, but uses some really clever puzzle setups that bring "eureka" moments when you finally figure them out.
12. The Messenger
The Messenger starts out as an enjoyable level-based 8-bit action platformer, similar to the Ninja Gaiden games. After some time, however, the game opens up into a Metroidvania and lets you explore new parts of areas you visited earlier.
Even cooler, this gameplay switch comes with an aesthetic upgrade too. Once you get to that part, you're able to switch between 8-bit and 16-bit versions of the worlds to aid in exploring. Add in an excellent soundtrack, enjoyable humor, and a free DLC expansion, and you have a winning package.
13. Return of the Obra Dinn
In this game, which takes place in the early 1800s, the titular ship suddenly turns up after five years of being lost at sea. You play as an insurance investigator sent to find out what happened to everyone onboard.
To do this, you use your Memento Mortem stopwatch, which lets you replay the moment of death for people on the ship. Using the logbook information you have, you must determine how each passenger died.
The game uses a simple graphical style that mimics the look of old computer games, and takes a good bit of logical reasoning to piece together. It's a great choice if you prefer holistic puzzles to bite-sized brainteasers.
14. Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling
Bug Fables is an RPG that takes heavy inspiration from the beloved first two games in the Paper Mario series. You control a team of three explorer bugs who set out to claim treasures for the queen.
Like Paper Mario, the battle system uses action commands, which are small prompts you complete to deal extra damage or reduce incoming damage. In addition to the charming story, there's plenty of optional content to take on. Whether you're a Paper Mario fan or not, this is a Switch RPG you'll enjoy.
15. Baba Is You
Baba Is You is a puzzle game in which you push blocks containing words to change the rules of the level. For example, if three blocks forming the phrase "Wall is stop" appear in the stage, pushing "stop" away will let you walk through walls. Using other blocks like "win", you must manipulate the rules to complete the win condition.
It requires a lot of thinking, so you may start scratching your head in the later levels. But if you enjoy logic and breaking the rules, you'll have a good time here.
An Amazing Collection of Indie Titles
These indie titles across a variety of genres are some of the best experiences you can have on your Nintendo Switch. While there are many more worthwhile indie games on the eShop, these stand out as the absolute best.
We picked games that mostly revolve around single-player, but don't forget that there are tons of great multiplayer offering available on the Switch, too.
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