It’s been four years since the Nintendo Switch first walked into the hearts of both gamers and non-gamers alike. And within this space of time, the Switch successfully amassed a global following and built up an impressive game library—especially when COVID-19 hit and sent the whole world into a lockdown.
Switch games span a range of categories and cater to both adults and kids alike. And for the purpose of this article, we want to spotlight games made specifically for the little ones. Follow us as we walk you through a list of the best Nintendo Switch games specially designed for kids.
Best Nintendo Switch Games For Kids
- Super Smash Bros Ultimate
- Mario Kart Deluxe 8
- Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- New Super Lucky’s Tale
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time
- Spyro Reignited Trilogy
- Overcooked! 2
- Splatoon 2
- Fortnite
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
- Luigi’s Mansion 3
- Yoshi’s Crafted World
- Among Us
- Minecraft
1. Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Price: $59.88
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Kick-starting our list is a battle royale game teeming with all-too-familiar characters: Super Smash Bros Ultimate. As its name suggests, this game is derived from the Super Mario franchise. But unlike Super Mario itself, this game is a team beat-them-up game where Nintendo characters like Mario, Kirby, and Marth are pitted against each other.
Every round of gameplay comprises six to eight players and it’s pretty simple. Essentially, your objective is to defeat every other player each round to score a win. The controls are also very easy to master, with each character coming with a unique play style.
Buy Super Smash Bros on Amazon
2. Mario Kart Deluxe 8
Price: $49.94
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ah, Mario Kart. Prepare to burn bridges with your friends in this game as you take charge of beloved Mario characters and compete with them on a series of racetracks.
Don’t let the cutesy facade of this game fool you. On the racetrack, you can not just pick up buffing items to propel you towards the finish line faster, but you can also sabotage your friends with debuffing items. Racetracks range from an easy mode with safety barriers on the sides to keep you from falling off to nightmarish mode with no barriers—you’ll need to use pure skill to navigate these tracks.
Mario Kart has every character in the Mario game franchise on its roster, from recognizable figures like Mario and Luigi to lesser-known ones like Baby Daisy. Each character is differently built, so you should exercise discretion when picking one to play with. For example, Mario is the most well-rounded between speed and stability, Baby Daisy is the best with acceleration, while Wario tops the charts for speed.
3. Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
Price: $59.99
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mario 3D World is a platformer title filled with a range of minigames. Each round of game requires you to play a course of minigames and collect stars within a given timeframe. These stars start out easy to collect in the first two worlds, but later become increasingly challenging the further you advance through the worlds.
As you progress, you’ll unlock skills and characters to help you clinch easier wins. The gameplay will also vary greatly depending on the world you play in.
Buy Mario 3D World from Amazon
4. New Super Lucky’s Tale
Price: $34.55
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
New Super Lucky’s Tale may not be very well-known, but it is most certainly one of the hidden gems in the Switch game library. Featuring a similar style of gameplay to other Super Mario game franchises, this game requires you to collect objects as you advance from one level to the next.
Instead of stars, you collect letters to spell the names of characters—a great way to hone your spelling skills. And while the game does get more challenging as you progress, it still remains easy and manageable from start to finish.
Buy New Super Lucky’s Tale from Amazon
5. Super Mario Odyssey
Price: $57.50
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Much like other Super Mario games, Super Mario Odyssey is filled with worlds and levels to complete. In each world, there are essential items to collect, such as stars to advance from one world to the next. While the game starts out easy enough, each world features difficult stars to give you an added layer of challenge.
The scale of this Super Mario-centered game, in general, makes it bigger compared to other Super Mario games. You won’t get to advance from point A to point B in a similar fashion to other games of this genre.
Buy Super Mario Odyssey from Amazon
6. Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time
Price: $39.99
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time is a platformer game where you collect fruits and gems to progress. Sounds simple enough, but there’s more to it. There are hidden gems and not-so-hidden ones across the entire game. And every level is different from the rest; the next level just keeps getting better and better compared to the previous ones. Essentially, you go through hoops and loops in lower levels before reaching the boss level at the end. The game is also pretty forgiving if you die too many times in a boss level, giving you a mask for additional life to help you win.
There’s not much narrative in this game, unlike other Nintendo games. It’s simple but it’s hard; it’s challenging but it’s fun.
Buy Crash Bandicoot: It’s About Time from Amazon
7. Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Price: $45.99
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spyro Reignited Trilogy follows the story of a world where almost all the dragons were turned into stone. All, except Spyro. Spyro goes on a journey filled with puzzles and challenges with an end goal to reverse the petrification of the rest of the dragons in his world.
Along the way, Spyro collects a number of items that are key to waking the dragons. Once each dragon is freed, they would give Spyro pieces of information that he can use as he progresses in his journey.
Buy Spyro Reignited Trilogy from Amazon
8. Overcooked! 2
Price: $29.99
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overcooked! 2 is basically Diner Dash meets Masterchef. Your task is simple: fill your restaurant’s orders within a set frame of time, from preparing them right down to serving them to your customers. Sounds simple? Think again: this game emulates an actual restaurant during rush hour, piling orders that you have to complete within a tight span of time.
And to make things much harder, the game’s various levels are further infused with obstacles that can impede your progress. You’ll have to work around these to make sure that your food gets to your customers in time.
Grab a friend or three to play this game, and your experience will change entirely. Each of you will assume different roles like the main chef, sous chef, and waiter. Healthy communication is key to ensure all orders are filled efficiently. In co-op mode, the game is best played physically together; attempt to play it online and it will be the source of much frustration and annoyance for everyone.
Overcooked! 2 has a lot more levels and characters, along with increased performance as compared to its predecessor.
9. Splatoon 2
Price: $61.57
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Think of Splatoon 2 as the juvenile version of the popular video game, Call of Duty. Instead of rifles and pistols, your characters wield ink guns that are loaded with colorful paintball ammo. To help you get started, the game offers a story mode that acts as a sort of training ground to help you learn the basics and hone your skills for multiplayer mode.
Multiplayer mode is where things get heated up, as you’re pitted against other players in a battle royale. Survival of the fittest, as they say, and only the most skilled and experienced players will be able to survive till the end and emerge victorious.
10. Fortnite
Price: Free on Nintendo
Fortnite is a free-to-play first-person shooter MMO set in a world infested by zombies. You’ll be pitted against other players in a battle royale, where your task is simple: kill everyone else and be the last man standing. While this might seem simple at first sight, Fortnite is in fact skill-focused; you’ll have to play daily to get better at the game and increase your odds of surviving every round of gameplay.
Though the game is a tad dated at four years old, it still continues to be a global hit, with both new and old players alike continuing to keep it alive. And with updates implemented on a regular schedule, there’ll always be something to look forward to each time you fire up the game. You can even team up with your friend and play Fortnite on cross-platform.
A word of caution though: while the game is technically free-to-play, it is riddled with microtransactions, where real money can be used to purchase premium currency known as VBucks. Be sure to unlink your credit card from your Nintendo Switch system to prevent your child from making unwanted purchases!
11. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
Price: $59.99
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Marvel fans, this one’s for you: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order brings together all your fav Marvel characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Scarlet Witch together in a team battle royale-styled game.
Each round of the game starts with you choosing four characters to form a team. Choose wisely, as your team composition will determine how strong it will be, with certain combos giving you specific bonuses that’ll enhance the efficacy of your team. During each round of combat, you can only control one character at a time. Where necessary, you can switch to other characters making up your team at will.
Buy Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 from Nintendo
12. Luigi’s Mansion 3
Price: $53.85
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a game set in a haunted hotel and the goal is to get past each level teeming with challenges and ghosts. On top of that, you need to reach the top floor of the hotel to save Mario. While the levels aren’t particularly challenging, the difficulty does become increasingly higher the further you progress in the hotel.
Each level comes with its own set of puzzle challenges that you’ll have to beat. And as you advance further, you’ll get to unlock skills and collect scores.
This is one of those Nintendo Switch games for kids that aren’t complicated and nothing much to dig into the narrative. It’s just perfect for kids to have a great time with their Nintendo devices.
Buy Luigi’s Mansion 3 from Amazon
13. Yoshi’s Crafted World
Price: $59.99
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Yoshi’s Crafted World is another Nintendo platform game, this time with the spotlight shining on Mario’s close friend Yoshi. Like other games of the same genre and make, the premise of Yoshi’s Crafted World is simple: move to a designated objective in each level and collect important items along the way to progress.
With a quirky art style where the environments are lovingly designed to resemble elaborate arts and crafts projects, Yoshi’s Crafted World is definitely a visual delight for kids—this is especially the case if you play the game in docked mode, allowing the full details of the game’s colorful world pop out.
Buy Yoshi’s Crafted World from Amazon
14. Among Us
Price: $5.00
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Among Us is definitely a strange little game that only became a cult favorite during the global COVID-19 lockdowns last year—a full two years after its original release in 2018. And this is for good reason too: the game is not graphic-intensive and is easy for anyone—both kids and adults alike—to jump in.
This game is basically a space-themed Werewolf, with the role of the antagonistic werewolf replaced by one or more sinister imposters. Every player in the game is assigned a role at the start of each game: crewmate or imposter. As a crewmate, you’ll have to complete tasks assigned to you around your spaceship and try to identify the imposter(s) along the way. And if you’re an imposter, your task is to wipe out the crewmates—you can do so by your own evil hand or by framing the crewmates.
With the latest update introducing a whole new Airship map, you can expect Among Us to continue receiving love from its developers for a long time to come.
15. Minecraft
Price: $29.99
Store Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wrapping up our list of Nintendo Switch games for kids is (drumrolls) Minecraft. This build-your-own-world game has most certainly stood the test of time, transitioning from its original release on the PC to taking root on the Nintendo Switch. In this game, you get to design your world in any way you like using materials that you mine and farm. Hostile mobs will pop up from time to time to sabotage your efforts, and this is where your crafted weapons come in handy to fend them off.
Minecraft supports co-op play, and this is probably the best way to enjoy the game. With friends on deck, you’ll be able to gather materials more efficiently and work to fortify the defenses of your creations. Minecraft also has cross-platform support, which would allow you to explore the open world with mobile and PC players.
Nintendo Switch vs Nintendo Switch Lite
With all these great games you can buy for your kids, it’s now time to decide on a Nintendo Switch system to purchase. At present, there are two models available: the original Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite.
In terms of dimension, the Nintendo Switch is bigger at 4” high, 9.4” long, .55” deep (with Joy-Con attached). To compare, the Nintendo Switch Lite is 3.6” high, 8.2” long, .55” deep. This means in terms of display, you’d get more out of the Nintendo Switch than the Switch Lite. We think, given the playfulness of a kid’s mind, getting a device with a bigger display would give any kid the best experience.
In terms of battery life, the Nintendo Switch Lite performs better; its HDH-001 battery model allows it to last up to seven hours. This is different from the original Nintendo Switch, whose HAC-001 battery model only lets it last for 2.5 to 6 hours of use.
In terms of what you can do with the devices, the stark difference is that the regular Nintendo Switch can be docked to a smart TV for a better resolution and gaming experience. This is something not available for the Nintendo Switch Lite. Finally, the regular Nintendo Switch is sold for $299.99 while the Switch Lite is sold for $199.99.
Buy Nintendo Switch Lite from Amazon
The Best Nintendo Switch Games for Kids
This question poses an easy dilemma and an easy answer. For one, you can have all these games bought and downloaded into your kids’ or your own Nintendo Switch devices. There is no harm in trying all these games; they are fun, thrilling, exciting, sometimes educational, and sometimes frustrating. However, if you want to be a little realistic, there’s just so much you can put in your Switch device given that these games costs money and storage. Money and storage are some of the main factors to consider in choosing what games you can allow your kids to play. Of course, the end-decision lies in your hands.
Enjoy these games! Have fun! And let us know if your favorite made it into this list!
