Nintendo has always prided itself on being accessible to gamers, new and old alike. And the Nintendo Switch is no exception! But with a massive arsenal of video games out there, it can be easy for beginners to become overwhelmed when it comes to the Nintendo Switch. Fortunately, we have you covered. Whether you are new to the Nintendo Switch, new to Nintendo, or new to gaming, here are the Top 10 games perfect for beginners.
Top 10 Nintendo Switch Games For Beginners
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The beginning of this game opens when your character is invited by Nook Inc. to create your own paradise on a deserted island that’s full of possibilities. Here you will literally get to build a community from the ground up and meet a cast of diverse animal residents with plenty of personality. You will explore your island (and collect things like fruit, bugs, and fish), create your getaway (with DIY projects, terraforming, and new buildings), and share your paradise (with friends and family).
One of the best things about New Horizons, Animal Crossing, or a lot of Nintendo games in general, is that the gameplay is purposefully easy to learn. This game in particular is fantastic for beginners because not only is it easy, it’s a really chill experience. Once your character gets to your island, you have Tom Nook, Timmy and Tommy, and even villagers to help explain what you need to do and how. From what button is needed for each function, to the new feature of DIYs, you don’t need a companion game guide because everything you need to know is already provided as you go.
Though the biggest motivation is building, expanding, and decorating your house, continuously paying off your loans to Tom Nook with each addition, there are many other tasks to complete. Like gathering and selling sea shells, watering and making hybrid flowers, and running errands for villagers. A wonderful game for all ages, especially with the consistent updates from Nintendo and the Happy Home Paradise expansion, it is a game you can go back to again and again and never get bored.
Kirby And The Forgotten Land
The beginning of this game opens with a dark and mysterious cloud falling over Dreamland. As the cloud has a tornado-like effect and starts destroying everything, the powerful puffball Kirby rides his trusted star into the eye to save the world! After falling through a crazy, chaotic wormhole, you play as Kirby, who has been dropped into a new land with abandoned items from old and lost civilizations.
Though it is the thirteenth main Kirby game, it is the first to feature a 3D world! And just because this is a very cute and fluffy game does not mean it isn’t challenging and requires strategy. With that said, it’s a very slow-developing game that includes its own gameplay guide (just like Animal Crossing and most Nintendo games). Not only are the buttons explained but this game actually has tutorial videos on screen to show you not only what you’re supposed to be doing but how.
Unique to Kirby, (and why he is so beloved in games like Super Smash Brothers), you can inhale enemies and copy their abilities. This is your greatest strength as you explore the forgotten land, venture through the storyline, and help save the kidnapped Waddle Dees from the evil Beast Pack. This also gives you a variety of ways to play, letting you find your own style and favorite combinations.
An interesting and diverse game you can binge or come back to later, play alone or with the co-op to help Kirby save everyone and everything!
Lego Harry Potter Collection
Lego Harry Potter combines all of the books and movies into one loveable, blocky package! Where you can play through the magical journey we all know and love, unlocking and playing over two hundred characters, explore Hogwarts, and defeat evil, by yourself or with co-op play.
This one game brings together the phenomenal world of Harry Potter with the creative capability of Lego. You will follow his story, which is full of spell-casting, position-making, puzzle-solving, lessons, dueling, and more.
Just like the books and just like the movies, things are simpler and consistently easy to follow in the beginning, and you continue to learn as you go (just like Harry, Ron, and Hermione). Because it is a Lego game, there is a lot more freedom with the controls and silly actions that can be done! Even death can be funny because your little Lego person simply falls apart and gets put back together again.
It really is a perfect game to play for any beginner or Harry Potter fan and perfect to play before Hogwarts Legacy is released.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
This one game includes the Prequel Trilogy, Original Trilogy, and Sequel Trilogy all in one package. Like Lego Harry Potter, it offers both single-player and co-op. It also has hundreds of playable characters including Sith, Heros, Villians, Scavengers, Scoundrels, Bounty Hunters, and Droids. All three trilogies can be played in any order.
Related: What are Kyber Bricks in LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga?
Just like any Padawan, you learn as you go, the controls being easiest at the beginning and harder by the end. But the great thing about the Legoverse is the limitless combination and strategies that can be used. Even if you beat it once, you can beat it again in a completely different way – what you do or do not is up to you!
So, fans from any generation can play together and experience all of Star Wars with fun and funny Legos.
Mario Kart 8 Delux
Originally released in 2014 for the Wii U, this remastered game is one of the Nintendo Switch staples. Not only is it one of the easiest games to play, but it is also one of the most fun, and one of the best for multiplayer. You can race up to four players locally or up to twelve players online on every track from the original game, including the DLCs.
Though Mario Kart is a very straightforward game with clear controls, you can also turn on the new Smart Steering feature, which makes driving easy and steering off track almost impossible. Some of the other features include customizable vehicles, holding two items at once, the ability to play all levels and cups at different difficulties, and “guest” characters from other well-known games. And with the hand-held option of the Nintendo Switch, that means you can play anywhere at any time!
A not to miss option for any beginner, it’s a foundation for the Nintendo Switch gaming collection.
Pikmin 3 Delux
After crash-landing, the insect-sized characters Alph, Brittany, Charlie, Olimar, Louie, and the adorable and loyal Pikmin, travel through the world to find not only fruit seeds to save their home planet but the pieces of their ship (to be put back together again). You have to help them in this real-time strategy game, using various Pikman as important challenges arise.
Pikim 3 Delux is arguably one of the harder games on this list. Not because the actual gameplay is too difficult, but because of the storyline mechanics. For example, one of the unique features of the Pikmin games is that you have to finish your tasks and return all your Pikmin to your ship by sunset, (least they be eaten by enemy creatures or lost). This means you have only so much time each “day” to collect what you need to collect, build what you need to build, and plant as many Pikmin as you need to plant.
Aside from making you think a little about how best to complete tasks, Pikmin 3 actually has a very similarly chill vibe to Animal Crossing. It also has the same ability to make you feel accomplished as you go through your checklist. And! Is a great game for all ages.
Sonic Origins
Sonic Origins is the 2022 collection of the first four classic Sonic games: Sonic The Hedgehog (1991), Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (1992), Sonic CD (1993), and Sonic & Knuckles (1994). [Something we haven’t seen since the Gamecube seven-game collection, Sonic Mega Collection (2002).] So, not only do you get to relive the adventures through the iconic Green Hill Zone, but you also get to thwart Dr. Robotnick and his evil Death Egg!
The gameplay involves collecting rings (as a form of health), simple controls, jumping and attacking with a single button. But just because it has simple controls doesn’t mean it doesn’t also offer challenges for beginners.
This is a great set of games for beginners because they were some of the earliest video games ever released for home systems. “Classic” is re-defined with this collection, where you get to experience the games in high resolution and with all-new opening and ending animations. There are also “Classic” and “Anniversary” Modes, where you can throw yourself back to the game’s original version with limited lives or you can celebrate one of the oldest video games in fullscreen with unlimited lives. Plus, there are plenty of new unlockables – not just new content, but new challenges, and new stages.
It has easy-to-follow controls, easy to follow storylines, but is still fun and exciting!
Stardew Valley
The game begins with you inheriting your grandfather’s old farm in Stardew Valley, with only old tools and pocket change to start your new life. Going against the Joja Corporation won’t be easy, but you can learn to live off the land, turn the plot into a thriving home, and restore Strawdew Valley to its former glory! (Now with multi-player, friends and family can work together, share resources, and build relationships with townspeople – more hands are always better than one.)
Customize your character, with hundreds of options to choose from. Create and build the farm of your dreams from the ground up (on one of five maps). Master raising animals, growing crops, developing an orchard, and building useful machines. Cook over one hundred recipes from a wide variety of items. Become a part of Pelican Town and explore relationships with the residents.
Just like Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley is a super chill, open-ended, role-playing game. It has been praised by critics, who highlighted the game’s music, characters, and relaxing qualities.
Super Mario Party
Mario Party is easily the most well-known party video game of all time. Not only has it been around since the late 1990s, but it has also been referenced across all forms of media, including memes. Eleven games later and it remains one of the best series for casual gamers.
Play against friends, family, or the computer locally or online. Play eighty mini-games with vastly different and exciting challenges. Or even play with two Nintendo Switch systems, laying them flat next to each other, to combine both screens to enjoy the interactive, tabletop style in Toad’s Rec Room.
Another not to miss option for any beginner, it’s another foundation for the Nintendo Switch gaming collection!
Super Mario 3D All-Stars
Now this is one of my personal favorites, and just like with Sonic Origins or the Lego Harry Potter and Star Wars games, is a fantastic pick for a beginner because it is another amazing collection. Super Mario 3D All-Stars brings you the best Mario games to the Switch, with Super Mario 64 (N’64, 1996), Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube 2002), and Super Mario Galaxy (Wii 2007). [The “3D All-Stars” referencing to the 3D worlds, compared to the 2D of the previous games.]
This was actually a limited-release game, that can still be found in-store or at second-hand retailers. It’s worth finding, though, because it is three amazing, complex, and full games for the price of one.
Whether you’re lounging on a beach, adventuring through a forgotten world, casting spells, wielding a lightsaber, racing on rainbow road, gathering Pikmin, saving the world at supersonic speeds, restoring an old farm, partying with friends, or rescuing the princess, the Nintedo Switch has a little bit of everything for beginners.
