Back To Page 1
Deep Beyond
$9.99 on the eShop
Who Is It For? Players who are cool with short, linear experiences that deliver a great narrative will enjoy Deep Beyond. There aren’t a lot of choices and the gameplay is sparse, but that’s made up for in its presentation. It’s worth the price of admission.
Beyond Galaxyland
$19.99 on the eShop
Who Is It For? Do you like science fiction and RPGs? If you haven’t had enough of games like Star Ocean: The Second Story R, you will want to pick up Beyond Galaxyland, even if it’s much smaller in scale.
Skautfold: Into the Fray
$14.99 on the eShop
Who Is It For? Twin Stick shooter fans will adore this beautiful yet gory action game. It goes by fast, has many difficulty options, and has an interesting story. Just note that this is the third game in the series.
Keylocker | Turn Based Cyberpunk Action
Who Is It For? Do you like rhythm games? Do you like RPGs? Tactics? Strangely enough, Keylocker combines all of those things. It just works. Fans of those genres and Cyberpunk should be in heaven, even if it is a little rough around the edges.
Bakeru
Who Is It For? What a pleasant surprise. Astro Bot might have gotten all the love as the best platformer of the year, but Bakeru deserves tons of praise for its excellent combat and platforming. It’s so fun and whimsical, making it a must-play for those who want their games to be fun.
Xuan Yuan Sword 7
Who Is It For? Players who want excellent action RPGs and have already played heavy hitters like Witcher 3 will want to check out Xuan Yan Sword 7. Players don’t need to play the previous entries to enjoy the narrative, and somehow this port runs great. It’s not the prettiest way to enjoy the game, but it’s one of the miracle ports on the Nintendo Switch.
Moonglow Bay
Who Is It For? Fans of cozy fishing sims will likely enjoy this heartfelt game. It has its share of problems, but it does tons of things just well enough to make it worth checking out. Still, if you haven’t explored all the other great cozy games on the Switch yet, I recommend checking those out first.
Touhou Mystia’s Izakaya
Who Is It For? Fans of Touhou Project are the target demographic here. It’s a nice cozy management simulator where players can run an Izakaya while also interacting with fan-favorite characters. Even if one isn’t a fan of the franchise, there is still enough good and cozy here to give it a try on a good sale.
GRIME
Who Is It For? Metroidvania lovers will enjoy GRIME even if it’s far from being one of the greats. It doesn’t do anything new for the genre, but it does everything that it’s supposed to do well. The gameplay is excellent, making it worth playing for fans who have exhausted all other Metroidvania options. You could certainly do way worse.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island
Who Is It For? Mystery Dungeon games are niche, but some of them are worth checking out. Shiren the Wanderer makes its case for being the best in the genre, making it essential for fans of dungeon crawlers and tactical games.
Tengoku Struggle -Strayside-
Who Is It For? Visual novel fans, especially those who consume Otome, will love Tengoku Struggle. It’s got everything they want – A great heroine, a compelling story, and of course, hot guys with steamy scenes.
WitchSpring R
Who Is It For? Fans of magical RPGs with tons of cozy elements will feel right at home with WitchSpring R. It’s the best game in the series, which makes its higher price tag a bit easier to justify. It suffers from a few typos and performance issues, but this is an otherwise solid RPG.
Legend of Grimrock
Who Is It For? Do you like old-school dungeon crawlers? If so, this is the game for you. The exploration is rewarding, the character builds are diverse, and the gameplay is challenging but fair.
KILL KNIGHT
Who Is It For? Here is another one for the twin-stick shooter fans. It’s brutal but hits all the right notes as players unleash their wrath and try to top online leaderboards. It’s not too long of a game, but it offers a fair amount of replayability, especially for high-score chasers.
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
Who Is It For? This is another dungeon crawler for fans of the genre, but this isn’t just another dungeon crawler. Wizardry is a 1981 dungeon crawler and is often considered to be the pioneer of RPGs. This game is as punishing as the original, but feels much more modern, making it easier to swallow and worth diving into to understand Wizardry‘s place in history.
Dicefolk
Who Is It For? Roguelike fans who want a dose of tactical gameplay will love what Dicefolk has to offer. Of course, if you like dice too, you’ll fall in love. They are customizable, adding to the depth, and if all that wasn’t enough, there are monster-taming mechanics too. Dicefolk has it all.
Tavern Talk
Who Is It For?
This one might be obvious, but if you love Coffee Talk or VA-11 Hall-A, you’ll want to check out Tavern Talk. It’s got more of the same stuff you love, from great conversations to life-altering drinks.
Card-en-Ciel
Who Is It For? Fans of card-based battlers will be delighted by what Card-en-Ciel offers. It has lots of cards to collect, roguelike mechanics, and plenty of ways to alter gameplay, making it a worthy successor to Mega Man Battle Network.
Moonstone Island
Who Is It For? Fans of Stardew Valley or Pokémon will love this charming life-sim. It’s not just one of the best cozy games of the year, it’s one of the best in the genre. There is so much to do here, and if players don’t want to farm, they can go collect monsters and go dungeon-crawling.
Magical Delicacy
Who Is It For? It’s a little slow, but once they get into it, fans of cooking and exploration will fall in love with Magical Delicacy. It does so much right and delivers a satisfying gameplay loop from beginning to end.
Death Trick: Double Blind
Who Is It For? Mystery lovers will enjoy this visual novel/point-and-click hybrid. The gameplay isn’t anything new, but the setting and characters are exceptional. Players will find themselves caring deeply for these characters as they reach the end and yearn for more.
Bread & Fred
Who Is It For? Fans of co-op platformers who don’t take things too seriously will enjoy Bread & Fred, even if it isn’t perfect. It’s brutal and will test relationships, but that’s the charm of it.
Thronefall
Who Is It For? Tower defense and strategy fans will find Thronefall to be one of the best games in the genre on the Switch. It simplifies much of what makes the genre complicated but still has a high skill ceiling. It looks great, plays great, and is simply addictive.
Quilts and Cats of Calico
Who Is It For? Board game lovers and crafters will enjoy this digital adaptation of the board game, Calico. It’s an excellent adaptation that does more than just port the board game, it has customization options and a full single-player mode for extra tile-placement sweetness. This is one of our favorite board games at home, and this adaptation is a sweet way to experience more Calico.
ANTONBLAST
Who Is It For? Fans of 2D platformers need to know that one of the best games of the year came out just a week or two ago. This is an exceptional game that does absolutely everything that it does right.
Loco Motive
Who Is It For? Fans of murder mystery games will love this clever point-and-click adventure set on a train. The story and mystery are excellent, the animations are lively, and the sound design is exceptional. It’s a full package, rounding out a great year of point-and-click games.
FANTASIAN Neo Dimension
Who Is It For? A game by the father of Final Fantasy is obviously made for JRPG and Final Fantasy fans. It’s a love letter to classic RPGs while remaining modern. The character designs and music are lovely. The turn-based combat is also exciting and fun.
Great God Grove
Who Is It For? Anyone looking for games with exceptional narrative and wildly charming presentation will fall head over heels for Great God Grove. The speech bubbles alone will energize players throughout the game. It’s hard to pick just one reason why this game is special, so you just owe it to yourself to play it.
Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles
Who Is It For? Slay the Spire fans who are cool with swapping out cards for dice will want to check this one out. It’s stylish and cool as hell, and that’s not even the best part of the game. Building decks of dice is satisfying, and chaining combos rules. This is a must-play game for fans of the genre.
The Holy Gosh Darn
Who Is It For? We have done so many, that it’s only right that we finish this list with one more for fans of narrative games. It doesn’t do too many new things for the genre, but the writing is tight and the jokes are actually funny. The puzzles throughout are clever, and while there isn’t much reason to replay the game once finished, it’s still worth experiencing at least once.
There you have it! What were your favorite games of 2024? Let us know in the comments below! Don’t forget to check out our lists for 2023, 2022, and 2021 – A lot of those games are likely cheaper during the holiday sale!
