Top 100 / Best Indie Games of the Year on Nintendo Switch [2018 Edition]

Dead Cells

This was probably my favorite game of 2018, though since it's also a very challenging title it won't be for everyone. I ...

GRIS

As the game starts you’ll witness the main character, Gris, losing her voice. This seems to be both literal and symbolic...

The Messenger

Possibly one of the best retro console titles I've ever played, The Messenger actually feels like a collection of multip...

The Gardens Between

When we first saw footage of this title in one of the Nindie Directs it was already clear that the game was brilliant v...

Horizon Chase Turbo

Oh, to go back to the arcades, hearing the sound of quarters being dispensed from the bill changer, and diving into s...

Flipping Death

Whenever you talk about classic adventure titles there's roughly a standing assumption that they'll bog down at some poi...

Everspace - Stellar Edition

As a massive fan of the classic Wing Commander series this is a title that easily caught my eye while it was on PC. Ther...

Guacamelee! 2

While I really enjoyed the original Guacamelee I actually thought it got a bit more hype than it deserved overall. Whate...

Ms. Splosion Man

I'd heard of this title before but nothing could prepare me for just how weirdly, brilliantly silly it all is. While in ...

Transistor

As the follow-up to Bastion, Transistor has some of the same base elements as an action-oriented RPG but they're very di...

Mark of the Ninja: Remastered

While it may be a port of an older title I can't say that I've played any other game that has nailed making stealthy pla...

Pinball FX3 - Williams™ Pinball: Volume 1

In order to add a personal touch each of these tables has been enhanced with side art (which I love across the board), a...

Bastion

While people with access to other systems may well have played Bastion before since it's been around for a number of yea...

Hyper Light Drifter -Special Edition

The first thing to know is that the only way to digest the game’s story is through still images and small in-game moment...

Flat Heroes

While it may look visually pretty simple, featuring geometric shapes for the most part and a very clean design, the game...

Pool Panic

This was hands down my favorite title I'd never really heard about that I got to check out at PAX East. Thoroughly weird...

Miles & Kilo

Keeping in mind that the levels in Kid Tripp were always designed to support speed running, while you could choose to ta...

Just Shapes & Beats

Possibly one of the more bizarre titles I played in 2018, Just Shapes and Beats pretty well gives away its secret in the...

Shantae: Half- Genie Hero Ultimate Edition

Oddly up until this year I'd only consistently heard good things about Shantae but I'd never had the chance to indulge f...

A Robot Named Fight

If Nintendo were to decide to turn the Metroid series into a roguelike it would likely end up looking quite a bit like A...

Slayaway Camp: Butcher's Cut

To start out in the game you’ll initially be playing the part of Skullface, a homicidal maniac determined to slaughter t...

Tesla vs Lovecraft

As a massive fan of shooters you knew there would have to be some love thrown in that direction. While there were many o...

Steredenn: Binary Stars

Moving in a very different direction Steredenn is a bullet hell roguelike space shooter that has some truly bonkers weap...

Bridge Constructor Portal

While there have been a few different bridge construction games on the Switch I'd say this one, by far, stands out from ...

Super Meat Boy

One of the original poster children of brutally challenging platforming is now on the Switch and he's as tough as ever. ...

Yoku's Island Express

In general, everything you need to accomplish is some riff on classic pinball mechanics. You’ll have flippers, bumpers, ...

Stardust Galaxy Warriors: Stellar Climax

To think that when this title snuck onto the eShop I almost missed it. Since I'd not heard of it in advance of its relea...

This War of Mine: Complete Edition

Combine this somewhat bleak situation with survival game mechanics and you get a very interesting take on the genre, one...

Super Hydorah

While inspired by the classics like R-Type and Gradius, Super Hydorah has a great feel and style all its own. You're abl...

SNK 40th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION

If you're a big fan of classic arcade games you've probably heard of or even get nostalgic for a fair number of games fe...

The Bug Butcher

This is another title I hadn't heard too much about and almost missed that I'm very glad I go to check out this year. Es...

Moonlighter

One part Zelda-esque combat and dungeon exploration and another part shop simulator Moonlighter is a title that looks gr...

True Fear: Forsaken Souls - Part 1

Who knew that having played a number of horror-esque games on the Switch that the one that would be the most consistent ...

Marble It Up!

The baseline key to games of this kind is to get the physics and feel of it right and they’ve absolutely nailed it. The ...

MagiCat

You’ll be playing through the game as the pretty nimble and capable MagiCat, collecting coins and gems in a variety of c...

Reigns: Kings & Queens

Borrowing its left/right swiping interface from the likes of apps like Tinder, Reigns is all about making choices and th...

Velocity2X

Working with a quick-warping mechanic, some tricky stage designs, and an ever-growing arsenal of abilities that you’ll n...

Speed Brawl

Taking the genre to a slightly different destination with its focus on combos and keeping things moving Speed Brawl can ...

The Spectrum Retreat

You begin by waking in a somewhat modern-looking hotel room and are pretty quickly greeted by one of the staff, an almos...

Into the Breach

Coming from the people behind the infamous FTL (which somehow still isn't on Switch), this bite-sized strategy title wor...

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Who knew that disarming a bomb could be so difficult and tense? With only one person actively trying to work on the bomb...

Overcooked! 2

Starting with the basics you’ll be playing the part of a chef who is trying to prepare what becomes a variety of dishes ...

Guns, Gore and Cannoli 2

Another sequel that took what worked in the original and then made it better on all levels, this side-scrolling zombie-b...

Semblance

This is a title I got to check out at PAX East that definitely left me wanting more and the final product was no disappo...

Figment

This is probably the most action-oriented and challenging game in this small list but it also has a somewhat sad family-...

Ikaruga

Though it's a carry-over from the previous generation there's still no other space shooter quite like Ikaruga. Not only ...

FRAMED Collection

While its comic book-style presentation is clean and outstanding it’s the unusual gameplay in both Framed and its sequel...

Battle Chasers: Nightwar

While this RPG is turn-based and has more of a classic JRPG feel to it, there's no question that its comic book art insp...

Don't Starve: Nintendo Switch Edition

Starting out the game with only the game’s main character Wilson as an option you’ll find yourself dropped into the wild...

Bombslinger

Asking the question perhaps nobody answered: How do you finally give the tight gameplay of the classic Bomberman series ...

The Adventure Pals

With a look and quirky sense of humor that feels like it came from a Cartoon Network show, The Adventure Pals is a silly...

Last Day of June

In order to reveal next to nothing at all of the overall narrative, for fear of ruining pretty well anything, I’ll leave...

Flinthook

The exciting and dangerous life of a swashbuckling bounty hunter is the focus in Flinthook, and the mix of shooting, swi...

Bleed 2

While sharing a lot in common with the original title Bleed 2 made critical refinements to make this run and gun shootin...

Joe Dever's Lone Wolf

If the game was merely an interactive novel of sorts, where you’re simply making decisions that branch the storyline, it...

Night in the Woods

Returning from a failed attempt at going to college you'll play the part of Mae, a young woman with a checkered past who...

Clouds & Sheep 2

At its base this is a resource management game, you’ll want to keep your sheep provided for with ample food and water. Y...

Sundered: Eldritch Edition

Coming from the same team that worked on the boss fight-centric Jotun, Sundered has the same signature gorgeous hand-dra...

ABZU

Moving a bit further into the abstract you have Abzu, a game that relates the framework of a story with no words and tha...

Gelly Break Deluxe

Don’t let its somewhat cutesy appearance fool you, Gelly Break is going to challenge you. It starts out pretty simple, l...

Crashlands

By far the lightest survival title of this bunch, Crashlands is a great introductory journey into survival games. Sporti...

Varion

While there are quite a lot of multiplayer arena shooters to choose from they're often hard to tell apart from one anoth...

GRIP

Combat racing has always been something I've enjoyed and it's also a style of play that's challenging to get right. Whil...

I Hate Running Backwards

Though I initially struggled with it, wanting it to be a twin-stick shooter, once I got into the unique rhythm of I Hate...

The Jackbox Party Pack 5

Starting with the known quantity You Don’t Know Jack is really where these games originally got started so it’s always g...

Tricky Towers

Offering up a mix of iconic tetronimoes with a tower-building mechanic and some real concerns with gravity and your crea...

Pilot Sports

Each major set of levels includes 10 total stages and in order to unlock additional ones you’ll need to complete the maj...

Wandersong

Another adventure game that takes its own path when it comes to resolving conflicts in this title you'll play as a bard ...

Debris Infinity

I absolutely love me some classic arcade shooting action and Debris Infinity was one of my go-to titles for providing th...

Broforce

While playing with friends adds a layer of frustration, and potential for brutal trolling, to the mix, Broforce gets abs...

Ninjin: Clash of Carrots

This is another title changing up the classic formula, combining elements of a runner with the mechanics of a brawler. P...

Blade Strangers

Without a doubt the biggest surprise for me was this title from the folks at Nicalis, starting out with a new fighter co...

Little Dragons Cafe

Consistent with the fact that last year's Stardew Valley isn't a game that everyone adored, Little Dragons Cafe seems to...

Minit

Going with visuals that are very simple and reminiscent of the likes of Undertale (another indie darling), pretty well t...

Hand of Fate 2

Part card-based game of chance, part classic D&D-esque dungeon exploration, and part action game Hand of Fate 2 has ...

Runbow

While this is a hold-over from the previous generation this multiplayer runner is a lot of fun. Though in principle it's...

Lanota

Without a doubt Lanota was a massive surprise for me, as its unassuming presentation and opening levels completely gave ...

BLAZBLUE CROSS TAG BATTLE

In the end I’d consider BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle a pretty impressive fighting game that will easily fill the void left ...

Smoke And Sacrifice

This survival title has a mix of a main storyline driving your progress and some challenging survival play as well. You'...

Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood

The classic hidden item puzzle game genre has made some real strides over the past few years. Throwing in a story, some ...

Runner3

Taking it all in, scoring this game for a general audience is a challenge. On the one hand it has a ton of very cool con...

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

On a general level if you were to make a game with a spirit similar to that of the Zelda series and then remove the comb...

Hyper Sentinel

Where things get complicated, and nuanced, is in everything layered on top of that. You’ll have to constantly keep an ey...

Skies of Fury DX

While we'll overlook the fact that for the most part it utterly ignores gravity as you loop through the air, Skies of Fu...

Streets of Red - Devil's Dare Deluxe

What you’ll find as you play is that while you can certainly work through enemies one by one the key to success is getti...

Super Daryl Deluxe

For me there's something really funny about such an unassuming (and honestly dumb-looking) burnout of a kid looking to s...

Clustertruck

While endless runners have become a pretty popular genre you'll find that they're almost always in 2 dimensions. This is...

Spy Chameleon

This is an action puzzle game that may not appeal to everyone, whether too frustrating or too simple, but that continues...

Aegis Defenders

Mixing together action platforming with tower defense, Aegis Defenders has a style all its own. While the game works wel...

Darkest Dungeon

Fans of tough games have no doubt already heard plenty about this dark and difficult RPG experience with a roguelike unp...

Furi

This was a tough title to find a genre for since it isn't so much of a strict beat-em-up as a tough-as-nails boss rush t...

I Am The Hero

This surprisingly-good side-scrolling brawler has more than a cool look going for it. The core moveset you begin with is...

Zarvot

While mechanically this is a sort of shooter adventure in terms of gameplay it's the presentation and story of Zarvot th...

Chiki-Chiki Boxy Racers

Anyone who had a NES back in the day should probably remember RC Pro-Am and the great racing it offered up. While not co...

Garage

This title which, at a glance, looks like a twin-stick zombie shooter meets Hotline Miami won't be for everyone but I re...

Raging Justice

If you're a massive fan of the classic beat-em-ups of the 80s there may not be a game that's more of a love letter to th...

Puzzle Puppers

With a pretty disgusting level of cuteness Puzzle Puppers manages to make solving some clever puzzles a bit of fun. With...

Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition

Possibly the most aggravating aspect of the game, especially when you pair it with the relative difficulty of dealing wi...

Cake Laboratory

There are really two aspects to the game, the stacking game itself and then customizing your own cakes. Stacking is quit...

Nefarious

Thoroughly turning your typical expectation for games of this type on its head, in Nefarious you'll find yourself playin...

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