Free Nintendo Switch games are a great way to get enjoyment out of your Switch without spending any extra money.
If you're in the mood to try out some new Switch games without dropping money, this list has you covered, from popular battle royales, bright puzzle games, and MOBAs.
The Nintendo Switch OLED is due out October 8 of this year, and if you're considering shelling out some cash for the new handheld, free games are relevant now more than ever. This list will help you enjoy your Switch without touching that bank account - but do keep in mind that in order to get these games and enjoy them on the go or from the comfort of your couch, you need a Nintendo Switch online account, which does cost money.
It's important to clarify that many of these games listed below are "free to start" (as Nintendo calls it), which means you can download and play them for free, but you may have to spend extra on cosmetics or to speed up your progress. You don't have to spend money to get started, however, and in some cases you can avoid it entirely.
This list features a ton of different game genres so that every type of player is represented and can enjoy some free games. Buying consoles does cost a fair bit of money, so it's great to have a collection of free games you can tap into whenever you feel like saving a bit. That's why we've gathered the best free Nintendo Switch games in the list below. You're welcome.
10. Warframe
First up, there’s the small matter of Warframe, one of the best free-to-play shooters of the last few years that has seemingly effortlessly ported to Switch. Predictably, the adventures of the Tenno aren’t quite as sharp as they are on PS4, but that won’t stop you marvelling at just how slick and fluid the shootery action is here and wondering how on earth so much of it is absolutely free. A little like starting a TV show in the middle of season five, Warframe is initially intimidating, but once you’ve chosen your Warframe and your skills, everything seems a little easier to understand and you can concentrate on the glossy PvE-ness at hand. Think impressive free to play Destiny on Switch, complete with grind, and you’re on the right murderous space track.
9. Apex Legends
Apex Legends is an incredibly fun battle royale that allows you to pick a character based on their skill set. If you're more of a run-and-gunner, you might enjoy a character like Bangalore who can set off smoke bombs to hide her tracks and rain down a barrage of bombs on enemies. If you like to play things more tactically, you can always try out Wattson, who can build electric perimeter fences to help keep enemies away from certain areas. Apex Legends just came to Nintendo Switch on March 9, and it's free-to-play, so make sure to hop in and give another battle royale a spin.
8. Color Zen
If you don’t want to constantly be gripping your Joy-Cons with white knuckles, Color Zen is a perfect way to take a break between Battle Royale bouts. Like switching your brain to screen saver mode, all you need to do here is use the touch screen to move shapes around to make sure that the last colour that fills your screen is the same colour as the outer frame. Of course, it starts off simple - move a blue block to a blue circle and everything goes, well, blue - but things get trickier as only certain shapes can be moved and colours sneakily hide in layers. Add in a hypnotic soundtrack and that ‘just one more go’ feeling is irresistible. The free to play version generously includes the first 120 levels but, while that sounds like more than enough, your colour matching brain might disagree.
7. Arena of Valor
Arena of Valor - it's the video game formerly known as Realm of Valor and Strike of Kings and it was the first MOBA to arrive on the Nintendo Switch. It has it's problems (mainly queue times and features that are available on mobile but not on the Switch), but it's still a great game to jump into. There's nothing like playing a MOBA on your couch, am I right? With multiple gameplay modes, including 5v5, 3v3, 1v1 and a "Hook Wars" mode, there's tons of different ways to get into Arena of Valor. Arena of Valor is accessible and enjoyable, with a fairly simple control scheme and some truly enjoyable gameplay. And it's free.
6. Pokemon Quest
If you’ve ever asked yourself what might be cuter than regular Pikachu, the answer might just be a version of the electric mouse Pokemon turned into an adorable fat cube. It’s obviously not a replacement for Pokemon Let’s Go but the joyously square Pokemon Quest is a charmingly relaxing way to get a hit of the original 151 as you battle your way across Tumblecube Island. There aren’t any Poke Balls here, but don't panic. Instead, as you fight Pokemon across the world, you’ll unlock ingredients to cook stews. Thankfully it’s not Poke-meat so bear with us. Rattle these tasty treats up over the fire of your customisable base camp and you’ll attract new Pokemon to join your party. There’s not quite the depth of one of the full games but that’s definitely not the point here. Did we mention that all 151 are irresistible in cube form? And there are stews?
5. Super Kirby Clash
A HD version of the largely ignored Team Kirby Clash Deluxe on 3DS, this multiplayer actioner is a surprisingly in-depth RPG. It turns out that there’s far more to Kirby than just inhaling everything he sees, and in Super Kirby Clash you must choose between the Sword Hero, Hammer Lord, Doctor Healmore and Beam Mage classes to take on Kirby bosses. It’s a little heavy on the requirement of Gem Apples - the game’s in-app purchases and rewards for performing quests - but the online battle system is brilliant fun and upgrades genuinely feel like progression. Plus, if you don’t want to go online, AI friends fill in almost too well for each brawl, proving that you don’t need real humans after all. Just spherical colourful blobs with swords. Yay.
4. Brawlhalla
Even among fighting game fans, Super Smash Bros: Ultimate can be divisive. The brand of gravity-wrangling, weapon-raining combat might not be for you, even if you ‘enriched’ your youth every available quarter into Street Fighter II. And that’s where the excellent Brawhalla comes in. It’s a free, immediate, beautifully-designed fighter that will give a clear sense of how you’ll manage Smash’s frenetic combat. But more than this, it’s an excellent standalone scrapper in its own right. There’s a huge selection of characters, pixel-perfect platforming, and an active, engaged community. And if anything, the crisp design and cartoony presentation might actually be easier to parse than Ultimate’s boisterous and explosive design. The bad news though is that this means you'll have no excuse when a cartoon Viking smacks you into oblivion with an axe.
3. Fallout Shelter
Released all the way back in 2015 for those jonesing for a radioactive hit in the lead up to Fallout 4, this cartoony vault builder is somehow more compelling than ever. Fallout Shelter lets you realise all those dreams you just didn’t know you had of constructing the ultimate radiation proof resort. Wannabe vault dwellers quite literally line up to become cogs in your colourful yet well-oiled machine as you balance food and electricity production with bedrooms and armouries. A fresh new quests system has even been added since release too so it’s not just about appreciating the chat-up lines when you pair up some dwellers to, well, make some new ones. Even better is the fact that you can largely choose to ignore the in-app purchases as there are no paywalls when it comes to your day to day Overseer duties. Although resisting adorable pet cats is still tricky…
2. Fortnite
Introducing Fortnite at this stage feels a bit like being the person at a party acting like the MCU is a little-known series of indie movies that only they know intimately. The good news though is that Fortnite fits on Nintendo Switch like a certain apocalypse-causing glove from aforementioned not-so indie movies. Whether you’re handing Epic Games your credit card details or not, the colourful 100 player carnage runs beautifully on the handheld at 30fps and fully supports cross platform play. As battle royale games go, nothing can compete with Fortnite’s constant evolutions to keep the world playing, making it still one of the most exciting games to arrive on Switch. That Nintendo’s console can happily stand alongside its bigger brothers and still deliver a perfect hit of cinematic chaos is a feat worth flossing about.
1. Tetris 99
If you think Battle Royale Tetris sounds like a fever dream as a genre, you're not entirely wrong. It just shouldn't work but, somehow, 99 Tetronimoe spinning players all desperately trying to reign supreme as the music gets faster and faster is one of the most exhilarating multiplayer experiences in years. Maybe it’s the fact that you can choose to attack only the weakest of players or just the glorious idea that all those decades of lone block spinning are finally paying off, but Tetris 99 has managed to effortlessly become one of the best free games on Switch. It’s definitely not the calmest experience on this list - you’ll need to get to 8 for that - but as tests of your reaction times go, it doesn’t get much better than blocky Battle Royale. It's worth noting that while it is technically free-to-play, you will need a Nintendo Online subscription.
Check out our list of the best upcoming Nintendo Switch games to stay on top of the all the latest titles coming to Nintendo's console.
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