The Best Adventure Games On Nintendo Switch

Key Takeaways

• Nintendo Switch offers a variety of adventurous games like The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario for on-the-go play or at home.
• New adventures like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Neva, and The Plucky Squire offer unique gameplay experiences.
• Popular options like Ori and the Blind Forest, A Short Hike, and Super Mario Odyssey provide diverse and engaging adventures.

There’s nothing quite like setting off on an adventure in a video game, whether your quest is so grand that the world is at stake, or your adventure takes place a little closer to home. The Nintendo Switch’s library is many games like this, allowing you to adventure at home or even on the go.

Plenty of classic Nintendo series like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda fit into this, allowing you to escape into other worlds and step into the role of a hero. Alongside these fan favorites, there are plenty more adventures for you to go on — if you’re just ready to take the first step.

Updated on November 1, 2024 by Rebecca Phillips: Ready for another adventure? There’s plenty more great adventure games on Switch, so we’ve added more to this list, including some fantastic 2024 launches.

19

The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom

Link is a great protagonist, but it’s about time that Zelda got to go on her own adventure. In The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Link is pulled into a Rift, leaving Princess Zelda in charge of saving Hyrule. Zelda uses the Tri Rod to produce Echoes of monsters and items, which allows you to fight enemies and explore the overworld and dungeons.

Echoes of Wisdom is an excellent top-down Zelda game that uses the best of classic and modern Zelda. Similar to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, you can get creative when solving puzzles, but it has much better dungeons, reminiscent of the earlier games.

18

Neva

If the art style of Neva seems familiar, that’s because it’s made by Nomada Studio, the same developers who made Gris. In Neva, you play as a young woman named Alba. You aren’t alone, as a magical wolf cub is your constant companion and you must make your way through the dangerous world together.

Similar to Gris, Neva is light on challenge and heavy on emotional themes. Your adventure will be focused on forging your bond with the wolf cub and growing together on your journey, and it definitely makes for a more touching and heartfelt experience.

17

The Plucky Squire

You can’t get much closer to a traditional adventure than The Plucky Squire. You play as a storybook character named Jot, who discovers that there’s more than just the book he’s in – there’s actually an entire 3D world just outside its pages. Jot is booted out of the book by the evil Humgrump and sets out on an adventure between 2D and 3D worlds to restore peace.

The Plucky Squire is filled to the brim with charm and is a great lighthearted adventure to dive into. While the combat is pretty simple, there’s plenty of puzzles to test you and fun challenges throughout.

16

It Takes Two

It Takes Two is an excellent co-op adventure game to play with a friend or partner. Parents Cody and May are on the brink of divorce when they find themselves turned into their daughter’s dolls and must work together to figure out a way to return to their human selves. Each chapter of It Takes Two is a completely different experience, taking you through the garden, space, a snow globe, and much more.

While the game mostly focuses on puzzles and platforming, you’ll experience lots of different types of gameplay on your adventure, too. If you’re looking for a light-hearted adventure you can complete in a few sessions, check out It Takes Two.

15

Tunic

Tunic wears its Zelda inspiration on its sleeve, and that’s a good thing. Playing as an adventurous fox, you set out with the goal of freeing a fox spirit from a crystal. Your adventure sees you exploring a beautiful fantasy world and using your sword to fight the numerous creatures that will do their best to stop you.

It’s a fairly simple adventure, but one you’ll easily enjoy to its fullest as you solve puzzles in dungeons, improve your skills as a sword fighter, and just take in the classic fairytale atmosphere.

14

Celeste

Celeste is more than just a physical adventure — it’s a mental and emotional one, too. As Madeline climbs up Celeste Mountain, she faces the deeper parts of herself and learns to accept herself the way that she is. On the way, she meets new faces who become an important part of her journey.

Be prepared, though, as Celeste is a tricky platformer, with difficult sequences you’ll probably need a fair few tries to make it through. That’s what makes it all the more satisfying, though, when you finally make it all the way to the top of the mountain and finish your adventure.

13

Okami HD

Using Japanese folklore as its basis, Okami was a fantastic game when it launched in 2006, and the HD version on Nintendo Switch is the perfect way to experience it. Playing as the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, in her wolf form, your goal on this adventure is to free the land of Nippon from the curse of Orochi.

The Switch’s touchscreen takes the game to even higher heights, as you can use this to control the Celestial Brush, which is used for battles and other in-game events. If you’re looking for a tried-and-true adventure, give Okami a go.

12

Kirby And The Forgotten Land

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is Kirby’s first fully 3D adventure, and it’s a great one. After being sucked into a vortex, Kirby lands in a deserted place known as the New World. Unfortunately, lots of Waddle Dees from his home planet, Planet Popstar, have been kidnapped by the Beast Pack, so it’s up to Kirby to save them all.

This game is a pure, good-hearted adventure — while you’re wandering the mysterious New World, you’ll also get to use Kirby’s infamous Copy Abilities, including a variety of new ones introduced in this title.

11

Hollow Knight

If you’re looking for a challenging adventure, Hollow Knight will be right up your street. Taking inspiration from the Souls games and classic Metroidvanias, Hollow Knight sees you exploring the world of Hallownest. It’s full of tough (and we mean tough) boss fights to take on, as well as tricky platforming areas that you’ll need skill and patience to complete.

Despite the difficulty you’ll likely face on your adventure, the land of Hallownest is beautiful, if hauntingly so. It’s a joy to wander every nook and cranny of the forgotten kingdom, discovering more and more about its forgotten past as you do so.

10

Monster Hunter Rise

Is there anything more adventurous than being a hunter and slaying huge, monstrous beasts? Not really, and that’s what makes Monster Hunter Rise a fantastic adventure game. Your goal is to improve your skills as a hunter, taking down these hulking monsters with weapons and armor you’ve crafted from your previous spoils.

Whether you’re new to the Monster Hunter series or not, Rise provides thrilling action and adventure for everyone. There’s a wide variety of monsters to encounter as you explore the sprawling environments, making this adventure a dangerous but adrenaline-pumping one.

9

Sonic Frontiers

Sonic Frontiers is Sonic the Hedgehog’s first open-world adventure, spanning numerous islands featuring side stories, enemies to defeat, and, of course, platforming challenges for you to take on.

As part of the main story, you’ll be investigating the Starfall Islands to learn more about Chaos Emeralds, and how they might be connected to the islands themselves. Platforming in the open world is one of the biggest highlights of the game, and the boss fights are up there with the series’ best, adding lots of fun to this Sonic adventure.

8

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

When Chicory, the wielder of the Brush, disappears, so does all the color in the world. As her biggest fan, it’s up to you to take up the mantle and start coloring in the world once more.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale has a poignant story to tell alongside its fun gameplay, where you literally take up a paintbrush and color in the world as if it were a coloring book. It’s a great adventure game to play in handheld mode too, as you can use the touchscreen to wield the Brush.

7

Paper Mario: The Origami King

Paper Mario is a beloved series, where the paper-thin version of Mario goes on an RPG-style adventure. In The Origami King, Mario pairs up with Olivia in a bid to take on the Folded Soldiers and stop King Olly, who has taken over Princess Peach’s castle.

Like its predecessors, the game is full of humor and charm, making the adventure fun and light-hearted throughout. The story still has some heartfelt moments, though. The classic turn-based combat makes a return here too, adding a touch of strategy.

6

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX

A comprehensive remake of the original Pokemon Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team on the GBA and Nintendo DS, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX pays homage to the fan-favorite spin-off.

The pixel graphics have been traded in for a smooth, watercolor-like art style, but the adventure is just as exciting. You wake up as a Pokemon with no memories and join a Rescue Team to help out local Pokemon, recruiting more members as you explore randomly generated dungeons. What begins as small quests soon turns into something much bigger…

5

The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

If you’re looking for a traditional The Legend of Zelda adventure on Nintendo Switch, Skyward Sword HD is the ideal choice. As a remaster of a Wii game, it’s been polished and enhanced, allowing you to switch between motion and regular controls as you please.

Skyward Sword has some of the series’ best dungeons, with satisfying puzzles to solve and gorgeous environments to explore. It’s one of the most story-rich Zelda games, too, following Link as he descends from the sky in search of Zelda, who is his close childhood friend, rather than a princess.

4

Ori And The Blind Forest

Taking inspiration from Metroidvania-style games, Ori and the Blind Forest is an enchanting adventure game where you play as a guardian spirit named Ori. As you explore the forest, you’ll gain new abilities, allowing you to access even more areas.

The game’s graphics are stunning, and the art style has a magical quality that immerses you in the world. The story is simple, as you must adventure to restore the forest, but it’s filled with charm that encourages you to keep exploring.

3

A Short Hike

Developed by indie game designer Adam Robinson-Yu, A Short Hike is a more relaxing adventure game – there’s no princess to save or grand journeys to go on, but that doesn’t stop it from being a fantastic experience.

You’ll explore Hawk Peak Provincial Park, deciding which way you go and where to stop and smell the roses. As you walk through the mountainous landscape, you’ll meet other hikers, find treasures, and much more. It’s a small-scale adventure, but one worth embarking on nonetheless.

2

Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey is one of the best games in the Super Mario series and an adventure you should certainly experience if you have a Nintendo Switch. Alongside Cappy, a sentient cap that allows Mario to possess enemies and objects, Mario traverses various Kingdoms, in hopes of rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser.

It’s the classic Super Mario story, but completely enhanced by the new game mechanics and return to the sandbox-like gameplay seen in previous beloved entries, like Super Mario 64. If you’re going to play any Mario adventure on the Switch, it should be this one.

1

The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

The long-awaited sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom is one of the greatest adventures you can have on the Nintendo Switch. After losing Princess Zelda at the beginning of the game, Link wakes up on the Great Sky Island with a new Zonai arm.

Alongside searching for the missing princess, you must investigate the strange happenings across Hyrule. Your adventure takes you across the surface, sky, and underground, meaning there’s always something to explore and discover in this expanded world.