Nintendo Switch games of the year

admin December 25, 2025 Features

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With a brand new console, some epic ports, and plenty of excellent indies, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to choose which ones are the best. Nintendo Switch games of the year for 2025. That’s why the team at Pocket Tactics have taken it upon themselves, with each member of the team picking their absolute favorite and letting you know why it’s worth trying out this holiday season.

It was hard to shorten this list, but that only makes us more excited about what could be coming to Nintendo Switch next year. However, I have to say that it will be hard to get much better than all the great games from 2025.

Here are our picks for the Nintendo Switch games of the year 2025:

Xenoblade Chronicles

Despite all the great new games and Nintendo Switch 2 exclusives released in the second half of this year, Xenoblade Chronicles

In my 9/10 Xenoblade Chronicles My thoughts still ring true nine months later, and I see myself playing this game again in 2026.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I’m hoping that the new Definitive Edition ending can be a sequel to this impressive game, so I’ll call it out now: Xenoblade Chronicles X 2 will hopefully be revealed next year, so you better get involved!

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Cronos: The New Dawn – Kayleigh’s choice, Deputy Editor

Horror games are a dime a dozen, but really good games that come with a new IP aren’t as common as I’d like. Still, I had a good feeling about Cronos: The New Dawn after experiencing Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 Remake, and my confidence was well placed as Cronos is by far my favorite Switch game this year.

Set in devastated Poland, you play as the Traveler, an agent on a mission for the Collective in the 1980s. A catastrophic pandemic causes people to turn into monsters known as Orphans, and throughout the game you can find documents and notes to piece the story together. Gosh, I wonder what recent historical event might have inspired this story?

Cronos is very atmospheric and, like any good survival game, supplies are limited. Therefore, you should think carefully before using anything, because there is no telling when you will find ammunition next time. Likewise, you need to take your upgrades into account; there is only so much rescue possible, but I like the pressure of knowing that my entire survival depends on me relying on the right equipment. If you’re looking for some fantastic horror to tide you over until Resident Evil: Requiem, Cronos: The New Dawn is perfect.

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Two Point Museum – Tilly’s choice, guide editor

Two Point Museum, the third entry in this silly simulation series, is a truly wonderful little gem where you can manage a series of museums. But instead of dusty artifacts and old-fashioned costumes, you’ll go on expeditions to find alien relics, ghostly spirits, crazy fish, and all kinds of other creatures and contraptions.

If you like my Two Point Museum review or even my Two Point Museum: Zooseum DLC review, it will come as no surprise to you that this is not only my Switch GOTY, but one of my main GOTYs in general. The base game takes the already excellent foundation that the previous Two Point games built and elevates it to new heights, and the Zooseum DLC successfully addresses most of the (very minor) flaws I found in the game, which I’ve had a hard time putting down ever since.

Even if you’re not the biggest fan of museums, this game has something for you. Whether you’re into dinosaurs, science, space, DnD, animals or even vampires, you can build an entire museum around it, filled to the brim with crazy specimens and beautiful beasts. It’s relaxing yet challenging; casual yet all-consuming. And considering the hours of fun on offer, I think it’s worth every penny, even with the disappointing lack of touch and mouse controls in the Switch 2 version.

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Donkey Kong Bananza – Connor’s choice, hardware editor

I’ve played a lot of great games this year, but none can match the greatness of Donkey Kong Bananza. Considering this was DK’s first 3D platformer in over twenty years, I had pretty high expectations before the big launch. Yet nothing could prepare me for the sheer joy of a new adventure starring the great ape and his unlikely sidekick, Pauline, in a race to the planet’s core.

In my In the Donkey Kong Bananza review, I gave the game a score of 10/10, describing it as “the most exciting platform adventure since Mario Odyssey.” It delivers right from the start, with destructive gameplay that allows you to explore the different levels or layers in your own way, which is a fun creative twist on the platforming genre. It also features one of the best ending scenes I’ve experienced in a Nintendo game, building to a satisfying crescendo that should serve as a blueprint for future Mario games.

As if all that wasn’t enough, Donkey Kong Bananza also continues a tradition of the series with an absolutely roaring soundtrack, especially when you use the powerful Bananza shapes, with Pauline singing her heart out. I’m not sure exactly what Nintendo has in store for 2026, but if it’s anything like this game, it should make for another great year of gaming.

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Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake – Daz’s Choice, Staff Writer

If you want to spend hours delving into two fantastic JRPG masterpieces, Square Enix’s Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is the title for you. As the name suggests, this double pack reprises two of the stories that started the now iconic Dragon Quest franchise, re-adapted for the Nintendo Switch.

In my Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake review, I talk about how these games helped me fall in love with the HD-2D art style and reaffirmed my love for this series and its lovable characters and crazy monsters. If you’ve played the Dragon Quest III Remake, you’ll definitely want to pick up this bundle, as it continues the Erdrick Trilogy setup in that game.

I know I’ll be curling up on the couch this winter season with hot chocolate and Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake on my Switch 2. The new art style, the modern quality of life changes, and the voice acting in Dragon Quest II make this the definitive way to experience the beginning of the series.

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Pokémon Legends ZA – Holly’s choice, staff writer

Tepig is one of the best starter Pokémon. Oh, isn’t that what this is about? Either way, it’s a big plus for Pokémon Legends: ZA. I immediately picked up a little fiery piglet and immediately proceeded to explore Lumiose City’s government-enforced Wild Zones, fighting some humans in dark corners at night and having fun exploring the French-inspired environment again.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet left a terrible taste in my mouth, so I was worried about ZA, to say the least. Fortunately, it turned out to be better than I had hoped, and so it will be my game of the year on Nintendo Switch consoles. Hyrule Warriors, however, is a close second. But Hyrule Warriors doesn’t have Hawlucha or the shiny new Mega variant.

I just love Pokémon. It’s been a mainstay since…well, I don’t want to age myself too much, but since I was really little. I especially love Pokémon games where I can be followed around the world by a little friend, enable XP share, and dress in the latest Lumiose fashion. You can read what else makes this game so special in our Pokémon Legends ZA review.

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Skate Story – Sam’s Choice, Staff Writer

Have you cried during a skateboard game? Before 2025, I went through life without shedding a tear at the majesty of Skate 2 or the perfection of Tony Hawk’s Underground. Sam Eng’s Skate Story changes all that. This is a skating experience unlike any other.

Like a glass demon skating through the underworld to devour moons, there’s enough in that one line to make your head spin. But Skate Story is so much more than satisfying, realistic skating and the most dazzling Nintendo Switch 2 visuals around. It is an emotional masterpiece, exploring what it means to be human, to love, to care, to fail. Skateboarding has always been a sport about community and sharing, which Eng shares his admiration for.

But at the end of the day, it’s okay if you don’t have everything figured out, whether that’s skating or what to eat for dinner today. Ultimately we will get there together. Like ARC Raiders, my Skate Story’s review has the only other 10/10 rating I’ve given this year.

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Hades 2 – Quinn’s choice, staff writer

Hades 2 achieved the impossible in 2025 and somehow managed to surpass its predecessor. Every single element of the game feels improved and perfected, with developer Supergiant clearly putting love and care into it. That’s what makes Hades 2 so special: the series knows what it’s good at and leans into it with enthusiasm, opening up possibilities that were previously unthinkable. Fate can indeed guide you.

Besides a classic Hades soundtrack that will provide an earworm or ten, the highlight of the game for me is the expansion of the mythology through the story. Like, yes, I want to take a bath with the incarnation of vengeance myself, and I would absolutely love to receive favors from Dionysus while he parties into the night to forget his misery. I haven’t even mentioned the fun of Odysseus and Circe.

Hades has always made sense for Switch, and the sequel is no different. As I furiously erode the markings on my A, B, Be sure to check out our 10/10 Hades 2 review for some more information on what makes this game great.

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Those were all our favorite Switch games this year! We’ve also compiled lists of the Mobile Games of the Year for 2025 and the Steam Deck Games of the Year for 2025. It’s a good time to be a portable gamer.