Best Games on Switch 2 So Far: September 2026

Two Directs in two days just handed the Switch 2 its clearest roadmap yet: an Ocarina of Time remake on November 5, a new 2D Metroid in January, a new 3D Kirby in spring 2027, Persona 6, and the finale of the FF7 remake trilogy in April 2027. But a console gets judged by what you can actually buy today, so before the roadmap takes over the conversation, here is the Switch 2 library as it stands heading into the holidays: the keepers already on the eShop, the games that just landed, and the dates that matter for the rest of the year.

This is the September 2026 state of the console, written from the perspective of a studio that ships games and buys hardware.

The Big Three You Can Buy Today

Donkey Kong Bananza

If you own a Switch 2 and buy one first-party exclusive, this is the one. Donkey Kong and Pauline burrow through a destructible underground world, and the destruction is the point: the game is engineered around what this console's hardware does better than anyone else's hardware. Months on, it has aged into a genuine platformer-of-the-year contender rather than a launch-window curiosity, and it remains the clearest argument for why this console exists. Donkey Kong Bananza

Mario Kart World

The launch flagship and still the console's best-selling game. The open continent of interconnected courses, 24-player grids, and the free update Nintendo shipped on September 9 (10 classic Super Mario Kart courses hidden across the map, playable in VS Race with ? Panels that grant items like the SNES original, plus two new Knockout Tour routes and a Spectator Mode) make it the definitive version of Mario Kart. There is no other current console where a free post-launch update of this size is the norm rather than the exception.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Retro Studios' long-awaited return is the closest thing the Switch 2 has to a technical showcase, with an open planet-hopping structure and the series' trademark isolation finally rendered at a fidelity the concept always deserved. Sylux finally gets his story, and the console's mouse-mode controls give the FPS combat a feel that is genuinely new for the series. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

The First-Party Bench

Star Fox

Velan Studios' ground-up remake of Star Fox 64 launched June 25 at a reasonable $49.99, and it is the rare remake that respects its source while fixing what aged badly: cinematic presentation, modern controls, online multiplayer, and a Challenge Mode. Day-one critics landed around an 81 Metacritic, and the free update arriving September 29 (four-player local Battle Mode, three new stages, online team play) keeps it current. For newcomers this is a revelation; for veterans it is the same story told better, which is not a bad deal at this price. Star Fox · Our review

Splatoon Raiders

Nintendo's first true Splatoon spin-off swapped 3-minute Turf Wars for roguelite treasure raids across the Spirhalite Islands, and the pivot worked: Metacritic 81 across roughly 70 reviews, OpenCritic 83% recommend, gadget-loaded Speed/Power/Tactical tanks, and a design rule that failure is progress on solo runs. Up to 4-player co-op, local wireless or online. It is also the clearest showpiece of the console's handheld-native strengths in the whole library. Splatoon Raiders

Kirby Air Riders

Masahiro Sakurai's vehicular Kirby spin-off is the console's best pure multiplayer time sink: pick a rider, pick a machine, and fight for air. It launched in the November 2025 window and has quietly become the default pick when a whole room of people wants one game. Kirby Air Riders

Quick hits worth your money

• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom - These landmark Switch releases have reached their final form on Switch 2, with enhanced graphics and smooth performance that simply wasn't possible on the previous generation. If you haven't played these masterpieces yet, you have to make it happen.
• Pokémon Legends: Z-A -- Lumiose City as an urban redevelopment story, and the most interesting Pokémon structure in years.
• Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 -- two of the greatest 3D platformers ever made, enhanced, in one package.
• Mario Tennis Fever -- over-the-top tennis with heavy spin mechanics and a surprisingly deep roster.
• Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment -- the Imprisoning War as a musou, landing this holiday season.

The September Wave

Onimusha: Way of the Sword (Sep 4)

Capcom's first mainline Onimusha in twenty years launched across PS5, Xbox, PC, and Switch 2 simultaneously, and the Switch 2 version is the best-reviewed of the bunch: Metacritic 90 (85 PS5, 82 PC/Xbox), OpenCritic 94% recommend, a 10/10 from IGN.

It's hard to beat a brand-new Musashi story, running on the RE Engine with a parry-first swordfighting loop, and a tight 20-hour structure. It is a Day-one Switch 2 launch at parity with the PlayStation release, and that is what everyone said wouldn't be possible on this machine.

Orbitals (Sep 3)

The most exciting original IP on Switch 2 this year: a mandatory 2-player co-op puzzle adventure from Shapefarm and Kepler Interactive, playable locally in split-screen or online via GameShare, with a Friend's Pass so the second player does not need to own it. Two explorers, one cosmic storm, a hand-crafted retro anime world with full voice acting. It is the kind of mid-budget original most publishers will not greenlight, and it leans on exactly the features that make this hardware different. Orbitals

Welcome to Elderfield (Sep 10)

Hand-drawn cozy horror that mixes farm-sim routine (farm, fish, cook, romance) with Old Gods and things dying in your sleep, from solo developer Chris Cote and publisher Kwalee. If the "spooky Stardew" pitch lands for you, the demo has been live since June's Next Fest, so you can try before the holiday rush swallows it.

The Direct Roadmap: What Changed This Week

November 5: The Ocarina of Time Remake

Nintendo closed the Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct with everything fans had waited on since June: November 5, 2026, Switch 2 exclusive, $59.99, 27 GB, pre-order and pre-load live now. Link can jump. Link can swim. Castle Town is a third-person space where time actually passes. Cutscenes are fully voiced while Link stays silent, Threads of Time tracks your progress across Hyrule Field, and you can hum learned ocarina songs into the Switch 2's microphone to play them in-game. The first print run gets commemorative foil packaging, and the 40th Anniversary Edition console lands October 29. This is the holiday's biggest exclusive, and it releases two weeks before GTA 6. The Legend of Zelda.- Ocarina of Time Remake

December 4: Monster Hunter Wilds

The Switch 2 version ships with every Title Update included and full cross-platform multiplayer, which is the strongest possible version of a port and the kind of third-party support the original Switch never got for this franchise. The Ascendance expansion follows in 2027. Game page

The Winter Gauntlet

Between those two: Nintendo Switch Sports Resort (Oct 22), Resident Evil 2 Deluxe/RE3/RE4 Gold (Oct 16), Xenoblade Chronicles 3 S2 Edition (Dec 3), Pikmin 4 S2 Edition + Dandori Academy (Nov 12), Stellar Blade Complete and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Encore (Nov 5), and Professor Layton and the New World of Steam (Dec 10). That is a real holiday calendar, not a placeholder one.

2027: The New-Entry Wave

Metroid Ravenous (January 28, 2027) is the Direct's headliner: an all-new 2D Metroid where it is literally eat or be eaten, with a Special Edition steel case and a Chozo Statue amiibo at launch. ( more info )

Kirby and the World Beyond (spring 2027, the series' 35th anniversary) is a brand-new 3D Kirby. Add Persona 6 and Persona 4 Revival (May 20, 2027), Final Fantasy VII Revelation (April 8, 2027), Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis (Feb 12, 2027), and Age of Calamity Definitive (Feb 25, 2027), and the Switch 2's 2027 is already more packed than most consoles' launch years.

Who This Console Is For Right Now

Buy one today for: Donkey Kong Bananza, Mario Kart World, and the best portable version of multiplatform hits like Onimusha and Monster Hunter Wilds in your hands on a couch, a commute, or a flight. The handheld form factor quietly wins for run-based games, and this library is increasingly built on that target.

Wait six weeks if: you only care about Ocarina of Time, because it lands November 5 and the 40th Anniversary Edition console will sell out around you if you hesitate.

So far Nintendo's first year has followed the pattern of every successful platform. The launch window was carried by one system-selling exclusive and a multiplayer flagship. The mid-life is being carried by third-party day-and-date parity, which the original Switch never reliably had. And the second year is where Nintendo keeps its own new entries (Metroid, Kirby, Persona-adjacent third-party exclusivity). If you bought at launch, your library is already good. If you are waiting, the November 5 to December 10 stretch is the strongest six weeks of software this console has had.

Happy Gaming!

More on GameMinr: Ocarina of Time Remake Gets a Release Date -- full recap of the Zelda 40th Direct · Star Fox review -- our verdict on the Velan Studios remake · Splatoon Raiders launch -- the spin-off that turned Turf War into treasure raids