The Best Nintendo Switch Games for Kids

Animal Crossing: New Horizons strips out life’s stress and leaves behind everyday pleasures. That’s something anyone can appreciate. It might be a little too chatty and ultimately mundane to hold some young attention spans and reading levels, but then again this is a game where puppies and kitties move in next door. What kid wouldn’t love that?

Rated: E for Everyone

We’ve seen many open-world racing games since the original Burnout Paradise arrived over a decade ago. Arguably, none have come close to topping Burnout’s blistering speed, sheer arcade thrills, and wondrous sense of discovery as you stumble across Paradise City’s many challenges. The lack of licensed cars also means Burnout is free to make crashes as gnarly as possible. It’s the ultimate toy car simulator, now available to take on the road.   

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Return color to a black and white world in this whimsical adventure game from the makers of hidden gem Wandersong. In Chicory: A Colorful Tale, you play as a dog janitor who uses a magic paint brush to solve puzzles and combat darkness. It’s like Okami, but with even mellower vibes. Come for the colors, stay for the thoughtful messages on creativity. 

Rated: E for Everyone

After releasing a beautiful remaster of the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy, Activision finally gave the beloved, former PlayStation mascot a new adventure. Crash Bandicoot 4 brings back the classic 2.5D perspective, this time brought to life with gorgeous, cartoon-like visuals. The new Quantum Masks warp space and time to make levels even more mind-bending. Even with forgiving modern difficulty options, Crash offers an old-school challenge.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Fortnite is the biggest game in the world and an absolute phenomenon among children. It’s only a little uncomfortable that it’s an online battle royale about everyone shooting each other until only one person remains. If your kid isn’t playing Fortnite, it could honestly hurt their social cred. The Switch version is as good a place to hop on as any.

Rated: T for Teen

Super Mario Maker 2 offers an accessible entry point to the world of game creation. But if your budding creator is ready for something a little more hardcore, check out Fuze4. This app gives you intimidating, but robust, tools to make your own games from scratch. Learn to code. Create the art. Iterate on the mechanics. The skills you pick up here carry over into actual game development. 

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Kirby’s Return to Dreamland is a traditional side-scrolling adventure compared to Kirby’s more radical outings. Still, it’s an excellent showcase of what makes even a typical Kirby game irresistible, especially for beginners. This Deluxe version enhances the Wii co-op classic with a sweet, new art style; extra powers; and an original epilogue.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

The Lego video games consistently deliver charming, kid-friendly adaptations of popular franchises, such as Batman, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. However, Lego City Undercover, arguably the most ambitious Lego game yet, doesn’t need an extra brand to stand out. This is an open-world crime game, an only mildly violent Lego take on Grand Theft Auto. Games in this genre are especially great on Switch, because they play well over both short and long sessions. 

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Luigi’s Mansion 3 turns the green plumber’s ghostbusting antics into an interactive cartoon that’s one of the most beautiful Switch games to date. What makes it great for kids is the introduction of Gooigi, a slimy doppelganger that lets two people cooperatively explore the mansion. Gooigi’s invincibility makes him the perfect tool for novice gamers, and an opportunity for parents to play along with their kids.

Rated: E for Everyone

Kids love Mario, and Minions demonstrated that kids also love weird, loud European critters like Ubisoft’s Rabbids. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle proved that these two mascots could come together for excellent, approachable tactics gameplay. Sparks of Hope is more of the same, but even better. Equipping Sparks lets you further customize your squad’s strategic abilities. Wide-open levels provide entertaining exploration between the skirmishes.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Based on sales numbers, basically everyone who owns a Switch already picked up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. If you haven’t, this is the definitive edition of Nintendo’s gorgeous kart racer, as it includes all the DLC tracks and a revamped battle mode. New auto-steering assist features help young players stay on track.

Rated: E for Everyone

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to sell an astronomical amount of copies on Nintendo Switch, so don’t hold your breath for Mario Kart 9 any time soon. However, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit offers a new type of racing game arguably more exciting than an expected sequel. This augmented reality toy lets you create your own custom tracks inside your real home, and use the Switch to drive a physical Mario Kart car. The camera puts racers right in the action, where the toughest obstacle is a stray couch cushion or unsuspecting pet.

Rated: E for Everyone

Mario Party Superstars celebrates more than two decades of Nintendo’s infamous friendship-ruining mini-game collections. Play through beautiful new renditions of classic boards and mini-games pulled from the franchise’s history. You can even play online.   

Rated: E for Everyone

After Avengers: Endgame, the future is unclear for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the meantime, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 lets you slam all of your favorite superheroes together in a video game. This action-RPG game tasks you with battling endless goons in iconic Marvel locations, while using an ever-changing hero roster. The recent DLC season pass unlocks the Fantastic Four, Marvel Knights, and X-Men.

Rated: T for Teen

Of all the Mega Man spin-offs, the Battle Network series might be the most fascinating. These games trade running and gunning for tactical deck-building action with Saturday Morning Cartoon flair. The Battle Network games received many sequels, with each title coming in two versions. Legacy Collection combines a whole bunch of them into one package. 

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Miis can do more than just play Wii Sports. Miitopia is a casual role-playing game where you play as a party made up of your own avatars. Turn yourself into a heroic knight. Cast your best friends as pop star healers or literal tanks. Breezy, streamlined gameplay makes it easy to get right to the comedy. 

Rated: E for Everyone

Minecraft’s virtual construction sandbox has become Lego for a new generation, and the game enjoys the success that comparison implies. Previously, Minecraft was slightly different on whatever console it was on, with a different codebase and servers. Now, the game enjoys one, unified version. Build, craft, and defend, young ones.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Minecraft games can be about more than just stacking blocks. Minecraft Dungeons is a full-on action-RPG set in a world of Creepers and Endermen. Customize your character with a wide variety of weapons and abilities, from fiery swords to helpful llamas. Team up with friends to beat back the adorable hordes.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Did you know that Dig Dug, perhaps the most famous Namco arcade character after Pac-Man, has a son? More than a bizarre bit of gaming lore, Mr. Driller is an under-the-radar puzzle franchise about digging through colorful blocks while saving oxygen and not getting crushed. Mr. Driller DrillLand—the long-awaited, American, HD rerelease of the series’ biggest entry—is filled with unique events that turn the standard digging mechanics upside down. 

Rated: E for Everyone

The original Pokemon Snap was one of the absolute coolest and most creative Pokemon spin-offs. Why battle Pokemon when you can non-violently take pictures of them instead? New Pokemon Snap beefs up the formula with new monsters, new locales, and beautiful new HD visuals. In handheld mode, your Switch literally becomes your camera. 

Rated: E for Everyone

New Super Lucky’s Tale proves you don’t need a legacy mascot character to build a great, expressive, new 3D platformer. Originally a virtual reality game, New Super Lucky’s Tale follows in the footsteps of Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. You jump around big playgrounds to look for secrets, stomp bad guys, and just have fun.

Rated: E for Everyone

Super Smash Bros. isn’t the only platform fighter in town. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl brings together all your favorite Nicktoons for the cartoon smackdown of the century. Finally, you can see who would win in a fight between SpongeBob SquarePants, Aang, Helga Pataki, and Leonardo. The production value could be higher (no voice acting is a bummer), but the novel promise and pure fighting gameplay is more than impressive enough to make up for it.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Although it’s not made by Nintendo, Ninjala is reminiscent of the company’s modern multiplayer phenomenon, Splatoon. Instead of squid kids, you play as ninjas. Instead of shooting ink at the ground and at each other, you beat each other senseless with chewing gum weapons. The quick, melee combat may seem a little brainless if you’re looking for something with more tactical depth, but the game is enjoyable, eye-catching, and free to play. 

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Nintendo was never shy about the fact that its Labo construction sets were targeted toward curious kids. After all, they let you build and program gadgets literally made of cardboard. Nintendo Labo VR Kit is the best of the bunch. It’s a shockingly effective, accessible, and affordable take on infamously expensive and unwieldy VR hardware. Plus, the new programming tools let kids’ imaginations go wild designing games of their own.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

This Wii Sports successor revives motion-controlled sports for the next generation. Nintendo Switch Sports turns your Joy-Con controller into a tennis racket, bowling ball, and even a sword as you compete in casual events. Not all sports are as successful as others, but the motion controls add a level of unmatched intuitive immersion for athletes of all ages when done well.  

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville takes a Battlefield-style, class-based shooter and swaps soldiers with anthropomorphic plants and animated zombies. How was this not on Nintendo Switch already? As the first Switch game running on EA’s demanding Frostbite engine, the cartoon world retains much of its visual charm. In this Complete Edition, you can unlock all the bonus cosmetics without spending real money.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

The newest Pokemon remakes bring you back to the Sinnoh region. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl hew closely to the original DS RPGs, with a modest chibi reinterpretation of the games’ sprite art. So fans of the familiar Pokemon formula, or players young enough to check it out for the first time, should be pleased. The biggest change is the Grand Underground, a sprawling subterranean environment full of undiscovered, wild Pokemon to capture.   

Rated: E for Everyone

Pokemon Legends: Arceus finally gives the Pokemon franchise its long-overdue reboot. Taking place in the distant past of Diamond and Pearl’s Sinnoh region, you capture and study wild Pokemon in a world where humans still fear the creatures. Vast open fields, revamped battle mechanics, and an utterly addictive approach to exploration make your childhood Pokemon fantasies come to life like never before. It’s amazing for veteran Pokemon masters, and even more potent for young newcomers.

Rated: E for Everyone

Pokémon Sword and Shield and Pokémon Legends: Arceus experimented with expansive zones, but Pokémon Scarlet and Violet finally turns the monster-catching game into an open-world RPG. As we always suspected, the addictive Pokémon formula works brilliantly when you can go wherever you want, exploring towns and catching whatever monsters you encounter. Lingering technical issues keep it from reaching its full potential, but this is Pokémon’s shining future for young and old players alike.

Rated: E for Everyone

Pokemon games are a storied institution when it comes to childhood gaming. Pokemon Sword and Shield are the flagship Pokemon games for the Nintendo Switch, and the first to really take advantage of a modern home console. Gone are the days of looking at tiny sprites. In this fake England, not only are the landscapes massive, but so are the Pokemon. DLC expansions blow out the experience even more.

Rated: E for Everyone

It may not have the Lisa Frank art and euphoric “Ode to Joy” remix of PopCap’s classic casual Peggle series, but Roundguard maintains the core fun of shooting a little ball and watching it plunk down a board. In this roguelike, the pegs are enemies you defeat by bouncing onto them, and they have their own attacks and properties that make you rethink your approach during a run. Unlock new weapons, armor, and skills to better your odds. 

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

If Mario Party’s board game chaos, with its random minigames and dice rolls, tears your family apart, don’t fret. Instead, learn to work together with Snipperclips, an adorable budget game about friends cutting each other into the right shapes to solve puzzles.

Rated: E for Everyone

Nintendo has already convinced legions of young players that Splatoon is the new hotness. Old folks just need to stay fresh. The latest entry in this team-based competitive shooter doesn’t change all that much. You still control a squid-kid who inks the ground to control space and shooting opponents until they go splat. But robust multiplayer modes, a creative solo campaign, polished mechanics, and a gimmick that no other shooter can match make Splatoon 3 the best version of an already great game. 

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Whether it’s due to irony or a bizarrely dedicated speed-run community, this PS2-era SpongeBob SquarePants game has been lavishly remade in 2020 as SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated. There are times when it’s tough to ignore the clunky, old-school control scheme. Still, this is the best a SpongeBob game has ever looked, and switching between different characters makes for moments of surprisingly varied platforming. Plus, kids care more about hanging out with SpongeBob than experiencing cutting-edge gameplay.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

If you’ve enjoyed Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley, or any other contemporary farming game, you’ll enjoy Summer in Mara. In addition, quests, crafting, sailing, and exploring open towns give the game a RPG-like structure reminiscent of Rune Factory and Dragon Quest Builders. Heck, the plucky heroine has major Moana vibes. 

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Super Mario 3D World came out seven years ago on the Wii U, so there are a bunch of kids who have never touched it. For them, this madcap multiplayer take on 3D Mario platforming will be a brand new experience, and an excellent one at that. Meanwhile, veterans can enjoy Bowser’s Fury, an ambitious side game that drops 3D World’s assets into a new sandbox format that teases an exciting future for open-world Mario games.

Rated: E for Everyone

As far as I’m concerned Nintendo never needs to make another 2D Mario sidescroller again because Super Mario Maker 2 empowers us to make platformers ourselves. This concept was already genius on the Wii U, but the Switch sequel gives us way more tools and features for creating and sharing courses. Classic Mario levels are the closest thing we have to a shared, democratic game design language. So if your kid wants to make video games for a living, this is a great place to start.

Rated: E for Everyone

Super Mario Odyssey is a delightful, Super Mario 64-like action game with a focus on exploration. Mario’s ability to possess items and enemies with his cap is one his coolest skills yet. This game offers welcoming assist features to let gamers of all skill levels enjoy themselves.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

I’m one of those people who treats Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a serious fighting game. I really dig the mechanics, and the specific strengths and weaknesses of each character. However, if all you want to do is see a bunch of video game characters pummel each other with crazy items on chaotic stages, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s sterling quality and sheer quantity of content won’t disappoint.

Rated: E10+ for Everyone 10 and Up

Just one look at Yoshi’s Crafted World should let you know it’s the perfect Switch game for kids. The cute, little, green dinosaur is made of fabric, and makes his way through textured levels that look like pre-school dioramas. The game encourages you to discover adorable secrets, rather than punish you with precision platforming sequences. If you want, you can even turn on Mellow Mode to have Yoshi safely fly through each level with his wings and flutter jump. 

Rated: E for Everyone