The Best Games for the Nintendo Switch 2
What are the standouts? Which games are best for Nintendo newcomers? And what games can owners of the original Switch newly enjoy on the upgraded Switch 2?
Start with Mario Kart World.
Thanks to the franchise's popularity, Mario Kart World is a no-brainer purchase for Switch 2 owners — and possibly reason enough to buy the console in the first place. Larger races, more characters and expanded tricks invigorate a familiar kart-racing formula. For a limited time, this game, which is usually $80, can be had for $50 in select Switch 2 bundles.
Nintendo's hit franchises got upgrades.
Two critically acclaimed Legend of Zelda adventures have received bespoke upgrades for the Switch 2, and each requires an extra $10 investment. Even if you have played Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the jump in performance and fidelity makes the sensations of gazing upon a large open world and unleashing powerful attacks newly exhilarating.
Nintendo will release more paid upgrades this year, but in the meantime, a selection of its games Switch games have received free patches. The biggest updates are for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, two 2022 games in the monster-catching series that run dreadfully on the original Switch and are finally proficient on the new console. Other upgraded games, like Super Mario Odyssey and Splatoon 3, look significantly crisper.
Some Nintendo-published games that had performance issues on the Switch, particularly the Xenoblade Chronicles series of Japanese role-playing games, have yet to receive news of Switch 2 versions.
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