Best Nintendo Switch Indie Games

The Nintendo Switch is easily one of the best consoles available for indie gaming. The console offers a diverse portfolio of games that cater to any gamer’s taste: from roguelikes, farming sims, role-playing games, interactive fiction experiences, there is a game for every type of gamer. Whether you prefer romance stories, social intrigue, or something with a little more swords and shields, the Switch is a must-have.

While it would take us months (maybe even years!) to list out every single Switch indie game, we do have some standout games to recommend that are perfect for both newbie gamers and seasoned professionals. Some, like Stardew Valley and Among Us, support multiplayer, while others are best enjoyed solo. Each one, though, deserves a space on your console’s (undeniably limited) hard drive.

Stardew Valley

Ever wanted to run away and start your own farm? Well, the opportunity is yours in Stardew Valley. After the player character’s grandfather leaves them an old farm in the country, they decide to quit their grueling office job and live off the land in a tightly-knit rural village. Players spend their days growing crops, meeting the local townfolk, going on adventures, building up friendships, and even finding true love.

As far as farm sims go, Stardew Valley is one of the most laid-back games you could imagine, with crop management easy to learn but complex to master, and friendship and romance routes relatively straightforward (but not without their dramatic intrigue). The game also hosts a co-op mode where players can work on their own farms together, making it a fantastic choice for date nights (and with up to four players supported, yes, the polycule is more than welcome to play together).

Dicey Dungeons

Terry Cavanagh’s Dicey Dungeons isn’t your traditional roguelike. Part deck-builder, part turn-based dice-rolling strategy game, Dicey Dungeons throws players into a cartoonish fantasy world where they use decks made up of dice rolls to fight off strange monsters and magical creatures. Oh, and you’re also a giant dice. Neat.

Players pick from a series of anthropomorphic dice with their own special abilities and build a dice deck from spare “equipment” (or cards) along the way, where attacks, heals, and defensive moves are applied via specific dice rolls obtained by the player. For instance, some attacks require low rolls to be used, while others rely on even or odd numbers. Players must build synergy with their characters’ abilities if they wish to advance through the dungeon, making for unique runs every level.

As far as turn-based strategy games go, Dicey Dungeon is supremely clever, and the game’s lighthearted aesthetic makes the whole experience incredibly fun for kids and adults alike. Just make sure you’re ready to do some basic math.

Florence

Video games allow us to explore grand adventures where we fight powerful monsters, tyrannical governments, and even vanquish God Himself, if Final Fantasy is your flavor. But games also let us tell stories about everyday life and the deeply meaning intimate relationships we have with others. Florence does exactly that.

The game, told through mini interactive snippets, follows 20-something Florence Yeoh as she meets and falls for a musician named Krish. The game explores how their relationship changes the two, and how the small, delicate moments of intimacy we experience in daily life can change our paths forever. Short but incredibly powerful, Florence shows games don’t need dialogue wheels to portray truly powerful romance.

Celeste

It’s impossible to write a “best-of” list without mentioning Celeste. Developed by Canadian studio Extremely OK Games, this puzzle-platformer stars players as Madeline, a young trans woman who decides to climb the highly treacherous Celeste Mountain. In order to cross the mountain’s dangerous (and oft-fatal) terrain, Madeline must rely on all sorts of parkour skills: Dashing, jumping off walls, and maintaining her own speed and acceleration in order to clear deathly gaps. Meanwhile, she must fend off a strange mirror image of herself, one that, along with the rest of the game’s story, has much to say about mental health, anxiety, and self-doubt.

Celeste is a challenging game. Expect to die a lot as you figure out how to precisely time the right jump, dash, or fall. But while Celeste is hard, it’s not sadistic: Each level is split into individual segments where, after moving on to the next screen, the player can respawn. This assures the 15th (or 150th) death doesn’t punt you all the way back to the beginning of the map, maintaining a difficult-but-fair flow to the platformer’s incredibly entertaining experience.

Among Us

Yes, at this point, you’ve probably heard of Among Us. Up to 15 players get together and run around a futuristic sci-fi map of their choosing as short, armless astronauts. Along the way, players complete little minigames, filling up the level’s task bar to win the game. But while these 12 crewmates go about the level, three players work together as imposters, picking off their opposition one by one until they have the majority. Crewmates must work together to figure out who’s killing them and eject them from the game, lest they die themselves.

Among Us launched in 2018 as a relatively minor indie game, but after Twitch streamers began playing Among Us in 2020, the game saw an enormous boom in popularity that continues today. Thanks to the Switch’s portability, it’s the perfect platform for playing Among Us in bed or curled up on a living room couch. And because the game supports crossplay, Among Us owners on Nintendo Switch can even get together with their friends on PC, mobile, and other consoles without rebuying the game.

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!

Team Salvato’s Doki Doki Literature Club shook up the PC gaming world when it launched in 2017, introducing players to a horror-themed dating sim visual novel that, well, to say anymore is to spoil the game’s masterfully meta storyline. Nearly four years later, the indie team behind the game decided to bring DDLC over to consoles with Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!, which expands on the game’s original plot with improved visuals, additional side stories, and console-adapted gameplay features.

Be warned, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is not for the faint of heart, but as far as horror dating sims go, Team Salvato’s is as frightening as it is touching. You’re practically guaranteed to fall in love with the game’s four literature club members by the end.

VA-11 Hall-A

The cyberpunk dystopia is here, and honestly? It sucks. Jill Stingray knows that well, but she’s no soldier nor politician. Instead, Jill serves drinks each night at the titular VA-11 Hall-A, a working-class bar embedded deep in the Glitch City city-state. Players star as Jill, helping her mix drinks for her regulars as they chat away about their daily lives and frustrations. From a charming robot sex worker to a gorgeous professional hacker, there are plenty of deep, complex characters to meet as players help Jill get by in an increasingly socioeconomically tumultuous world. Queer undercurrents flow through the game too, from Jill’s main storyline to her friends chatting about their everyday realities, making VA-11 Hall-A a very chill sapphic experience for LGBTQ players.

Not unlike many of the other games on this list, VA-11 Hall-A is all about its storytelling. Gameplay consists of mixing the correct drinks for patrons and bonding with them along the way. So sit back, grab your preferred beverage (alcoholic or otherwise), and enjoy the story: It’s short, but truly sweet.

Disco Elysium — The Final Cut

It’s a crapsack world in Disco Elysium, ZA/UM’s groundbreaking computer role-playing games. Players star as a detective with amnesia investigating a supposed homicide in Elysium. Elysium is deeply complicated, featuring shades of fantasy realism amid its rich political commentary on fascism, communism, and neoliberalism. The game’s cast members are written with such complexity and care that Disco Elysium, at times, feels like it’s part of a larger literary series spread across a world that mirrors our own.

But it’s not just Disco Elysium’s story that has captivated players. Not unlike Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder, Disco Elysium relies on skill checks to advance through social interactions, and players can only pass these skill checks by honing the detective’s various skills, split across four core abilities. However, skills and abilities aren’t just boons. They come with their own draws, too, as do the game’s “Thought Cabinet” structure, where players can come to believe and own a thought as core to their being. As players continue, they come to build a deeply complicated player character, one filled with paradoxical skills and beliefs, creating a rich psychological portrait rarely seen in most role-playing games. It’s a truly powerful experience, one that makes Disco Elysium a must-buy for Switch owners.

Hollow Knight

The Nintendo Switch plays home to many fantastic action-adventure games, but few compare to Hollow Knight. Team Cherry’s Metroidvania stars players as the Knight, a miniature, genderless adventurer who explores the cavernous Hallownest’s post-apocalyptic remains. Travel through a forgotten world’s ruins, meet bug friends, do battle with bug foes, grow more powerful to advance through new sections, and chat with NPCs to learn more about the strange, Gothic insect-inhabited world the Knight explores.

Like most Metroidvanias, Hollow Knight gradually unveils its story and lore as players continue to advance through Hallownest’s open-world maze-like terrain. Certainly, Team Cherry’s 2D adventure is fun for its combat and platforming gameplay, but it’s this indie hit’s gorgeous aesthetic and melancholic world that ties the whole experience together. Now, if only Hollow Knight’s long-awaited sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, would launch.

Hades

Supergiant Games’ Hades took the gaming world by storm when it launched from early access in September 2020. Part mythological love letter and part Hellenic roguelike, Hades follows Zagreus, the prince of the Underworld who yearns to break free from his tyrannical father’s grasp. Along the way, the gods of Olympus decide to help Zagreus escape. But not even a half-dozen boons can save Zagreus from dozens upon dozens upon dozens of deaths in the afterlife. Expect to die, a lot. Luckily, with each run Zag grows a little more powerful, until he can finally go toe-to-toe with the god of the dead himself.

Hades dangles a chthonic carrot over the player, forcing them to overcome increasingly challenging obstacles as they gain both more power and refine their tactics in battle. But it’s not just the game’s combat that has earned its critical acclaim. Supergiant’s writing, character design, and voice acting provide a fresh take on Greek mythology, a feat in and of itself in an industry where games like God of War and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey already dominate.

Azura’s Crystals

Looking for a fun-filled adventure to fuel your gaming time? Then check out Azura’s Crystals, a game adorned with beautiful landscapes, challenging puzzles, and unique creatures to interact with. Here, you play as Azura, a brave and nature-loving adventurer who sets out to discover the secrets of the Primali creatures and their link to powerful crystals.

Azura’s Crystal stands out with its story-driven exploration and its fun combat system. To beat enemies, the player must harness elemental crystal powers and summon Vesperians, which are creatures that help you in combat, research, and exploration. The game also has elements of alchemy, as the players can craft potions, tools, and more with rare items you pick up during your adventure!

Nine Sols

Nine Sols immediately catches eyes with its unique art style, which fuses Japanese, anime-styled art with cyberpunk aesthetics. Nine Sols is a hand-drawn 2D action platformer set in the fictional Taopunk world of New Kunlun. You play as Yi, a vengeful hero who embarks on an adventure to slay the 9 Sols, the rulers of this world.

My favorite part of Nine Sols is the unique 2D Sekiro-inspired combat. Here, pacing is key. Nine Sols makes use of platforming mechanics in its combat, which requires the player to use their brain to unleash hard-hitting attacks with martial arts, Taoist talismans, and Yi’s bow. You will be fighting strong, ancient deities and dangerous monsters, so make sure to use all tricks up your sleeves to achieve your goal!

Neva

Are you a furparent with a deep attachment to their furbaby? Then I highly recommend you check out Neva (but prepare your tissues!). Neva is an emotional action adventure that centers on Alba, who forms an unlikely bond with a curious wolf cub after experiencing a traumatic experience.

Together, Alba and the wolf embark on a journey through a world that is decaying around them. Over time, the bond between Alba and the wolf grows, working together to escape life-threatening situations. The wolf will grow from a cub to a wolf longing for her own identity, causing her relationship with Alba to constantly walk on a tightrope. Will Alba and the wolf survive and find a new home together?

Thank Goodness You’re Here!

Thank Goodness You’re Here! is a comedy slapformer which gets more and more absurd the more you play. The game centers on a traveling salesman who arrives early for a big meeting with the mayor of a Northern English town called Barnsworth. He decides to take some time to explore and meet the locals… which is his first mistake! Each person he meets is eager to give him an odd job to do. The more jobs the player completes, the more areas of the town open up, and the larger their mark is on Barnsworth. As the clock ticks towards the salesman important meeting, even stranger tasks become available.

Thank Goodness You’re Here! features beautiful and bright visuals, which perfectly compliments how quirky the citizens of Barnsworth are. The more jobs you accomplish, the more difficult incoming tasks become, leaving you antsy to to get to your meeting. Will he make it to his life-changing meeting on time?

(Image: Supergiant Games)

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Update: This article was updated on January 7, 2025, by Alexandria Lopez to include more games.

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Ana Valens

Ana Valens (she/her) is a reporter specializing in queer internet culture, online censorship, and sex workers' rights. Her book "Tumblr Porn" details the rise and fall of Tumblr's LGBTQ-friendly 18+ world, and has been hailed by Autostraddle as "a special little love letter" to queer Tumblr's early history. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her ever-growing tarot collection.

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Alexandria Lopez

Alexandria "Alexa" Lopez (She/Her) is a Freelance Writer for TheMarySue.Com. She graduated with a degree in Integrated Marketing and Communications from the University of Asia and the Pacific and has been writing online since 2017. Currently residing in Metro Manila, Alexa has been a fan of K-pop since she was a child, and this is a phase she will likely never outgrow. Besides that, Alexa loves video games, anime, and keeping up her Duolingo streak.