Top 100 / Best Indie Budget Games on Nintendo Switch

Shatter Remastered Deluxe

If you’ve been looking for the best brick breaker on the Switch, look no further… this is it

PICROSS S7

You know you’ve really established something special when the name of your game becomes synonymous with all gam...

Kingdom Rush

While one of the sequels in the series has already been released on the system (Frontiers), the OG Kingdom Rush has now ...

One Finger Death Punch 2

Ever since the early days of the genre I’ve been a big fan of a good beat-em-up. While most people immediately think of ...

Tents and Trees

Taking the base Picross formula and adding in some extra rules and complications works out quite well here, indeed

Guardian Tales

While its gacha game essence and free-to-play screens may be irksome, the story and gameplay are spot on

Super Mega Zero

There’s something to be said for indie games that, at a glance, may feel like they’re taking shortcuts, b...

Haven Park

As much of an action and shooting game junkie as I am, looking for games that challenge me and provide thrills, a gre...

Rob Riches

A satisfying budget puzzler that’s visually polished and constantly changes things up, while crucially properly introducing new mechanics

Yars: Recharged

The classic Atari 2600 has gotten a significant upgrade, helping it more fully realize the potential it always had

Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium

When I saw the roster in this massive arcade compendium I was already pretty impressed, but having jumped into the Ar...

FutureGrind

Probably the closest game I could compare it to, though only in its more limited stunt segments, would be Uniracers back...

Spelunky

One of the last OG indie titles to finally come to Switch, Spelunky promptly gave me a nice slap in the face to remind m...

A Short Hike

We’ve truly been blessed over the past 6 months or so with a strong run of generally bite-sized exploratory adventures t...

Badland: Game of the Year Edition

While this is a title that has been around for quite some time at this point, I’m surprised by how well it has held up b...

Dodo Peak

There’s nothing I enjoy more with indies than games that defy expectation. At first glance Dodo Peak looks like a pretty...

Travel Mosaics: A Paris Tour

Even as consistently as indie titles have managed to surprise me, there are times when I’m almost taken aback by a title...

OTTTD: Over The Top Tower Defense

Tower defense titles are extremely common in the mobile space (for good reason, they’re well-suited to touchscreen contr...

Reigns: Game of Thrones

To the game’s credit there’s a ton of content to explore and digest and the fan service paid as a whole is commendable, ...

Golf Peaks

Starting out things are pretty simple as the game walks you through the basic mechanics. For each puzzle you’ll have a n...

Downwell

If you’re looking for something that’s quick to pick up and put down (you know, a great mobile experience) Downwell is a...

Pic-a-Pix Pieces

Central to the experience are two elements. First, rather than being stuck with only filling in black pixels on a white ...

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...

The Room

Brought over from the mobile and tablet space, which is normally a red flag for potentially mediocre titles, The Room is...

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 ...

MagiCat

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

Piczle Lines DX 500 More Puzzles!

For anyone who’d choose to try to throw shade for this being a release that does nothing more than drop more puzzles int...

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...

FRAMED Collection

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

Danmaku Unlimited 3

To up the ante on distracting you the key element that makes Danmaku Unlimited 3 stand out is the grazing system, a mech...

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...

Azkend 2: The World Beneath

The greatest strength the game has is the diversity of variations it throws at you, with new wrinkles and variations in ...

Mom Hid My Game!

Spanning a mere 50 levels, and likely completed in only a couple of hours, the goal in the game is to reclaim your game ...

Void Scrappers

Until Vampire Survivors arrives on the Switch, fans of that style of play will handily get their essential fix with this

Quiplash

I’m so pleased that Jackbox Games has decided to release my absolute favorite game of theirs as a stand-alone title now ...

Perchang

While Perchang isn’t terribly long I’d say it manages to deliver a unique experience that puzzle fans sho...

Rocket Fist

Delivering fast and pretty hectic action Rocket Fist reminds me most of playing Super Bomberman on the SNES and havin...

Rite

For the budget asking price, Rite may not have a ton in the way of variety, but offers up some classic challenging platforming

ElecHead

It’s always cool to see a new and inventive take on a puzzle platformer, and ElecHead certainly accomplishes th...

Galacticon

As a big fan of retro arcade games, and someone who has sunk innumerable hours to continuing to enjoy them over the y...

What the Dub?!

There are absolutely some amazing party games out there on the Switch to enjoy with friends, but if you’re on a...

Fibbage XL

The third stand-alone title released by Jackbox Games outside of its Party Pack series (the first was Drawful, a whil...

Grand Brix Shooter

While I’m a big fan of arcade-style shooters of all types I’ll admit that generating excitement for them ...

McPixel 3

Embrace the madness, and join McPixel through loads of silly puzzles, peeing on things, and violence

Lunistice

Solid old-school 3D platforming with variety, and at a super-cheap budget price? What a bargain!

SUPER FUNKY BOWLING

Despite its more humble looks, solid controls and smart design make it a great budget action game to roll with

Wizorb

The classic Breakout / Arkanoid formula meets RPG in this budget-priced retro arcade action title

TEN

Ah, challenging games… they’re a love them or hate them affair depending on how much you like having a compulsion to lau...

Dino Galaxy Tennis

With the general lack of sports games in the indie space on the Switch you can bet any new titles making an appearance w...

Circa Infinity

Simplicity in games is always a bit of a double-edged sword. Making something easy to pick up and play is great, but tha...

Ghosts and Apples

Just because a puzzle game is pretty simple in its design doesn’t mean it can’t be challenging and even m...

Centipede: Recharged

Taking classic arcade titles and trying to give them new life in the modern era tends to be a challenge, and I’ve defini...

Dojoran

It’s always great to run into humble and inexpensive indies on the eShop, and if you’re into precision platforming that’...

Luckslinger

As a fan of games that subvert expectations and are determined to simply be a bit weird, Luckslinger puts a smile on my ...

ASTRO AQUA KITTY

I like it when games manage to surprise me a little bit, especially when they’re in genres where I feel like I’ve seen j...

Stick Fight: The Game

Oh how perilous the eShop is in the budget category, filled with games that look like they could be promising but with m...

The Alto Collection

Conversions from the mobile space are always a bit of a tricky thing to review on a full-fledged gaming console like the...

Evergate

I’d consider Evergate one of those sneaky indies that has a look that gives one impression but whose level of challenge ...

Destrobots

With loads of local multiplayer titles out there on Switch it’s a tough business to find a way to stand out in the crowd...

Hidden Through Time

If you’ve ever had kids or were a kid at some point you may recall the Where’s Waldo books. Given a dense...

The Adventures of Elena Temple: Definitive Edition

Of course, if you’re a bit younger it all may feel a bit dated or some people may prefer not to turn the clock back quit...

Super Crate Box

It’s always very cool to encounter games that have simple designs and very few rules but then manage to be so well-imple...

Sydney Hunter and the Curse of the Mayan

Going old school can be a risky proposition at times, but when it is done right the results can be rewarding as well as ...

Exception

As a massive fan who has always loved the movie TRON you know that a game set inside a computer where you play a warrior...

Hue

With an abundance of puzzlers available on the Switch it is taking more and more effort to come up with ways to stand ou...

Akane

If you appreciate great pick-up-and-put-down play sessions that are intense and keep you coming back for more Akane may ...

Devious Dungeon 2

There’s always a tricky element in sequels when you understand that they’re relatively more of the same, just with some ...

Octogeddon

Aside from it feeling like it may take its sweet time to hit its stride Octogeddon works in a satisfying manner both in ...

Switch 'N' Shoot

Overall, Switch ‘N’ Shoot appears to have had a very focused vision for its design that was well-implemented. It’s simpl...

Blaster Master Zero 2

Determined not to let itself get in a rut and become too predictable, Zero 2 is a rewarding walk through nostalgia while...

Space War Arena

While overall Space War Arena is only a middle of the road strategic challenge, it fits into the Switch lineup pretty ni...

Strikey Sisters

For people who are willing to get over the initial hump of getting used to Strikey Sisters there’s plenty of challenging...

Swords & Soldiers

I’ll admit that particularly in docked mode I initially struggled to figure out what precisely I was supposed to be doin...

Build a Bridge!

For the most part if you’ve played a game like this before the setup should be familiar. You’ll need to lay down your pa...

Pang Adventures

I was thrilled last year when I played The Bug Butcher, a shooter with somewhat similar base mechanics, but a juiced up ...

Koloro

You’ll play the game as Kora, a young girl who is trying to find and save her sister. Once the action begins she’ll just...

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...

Horizon Shift '81

Trying to describe everything that happens in the game gets to be quite a laundry list but here’s an attempt at a summar...

InkyPen

I’d say mechanically everything the app does on Switch makes sense and that performance is surprisingly crisp as you fli...

Sky Force Anniversary

Starting with what really matters in a shooter of this kind the control, whether playing in docked mode with your Pro co...

Varion

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

Alwa's Awakening

In the game you’ll play as Zoe, a young girl who has been summoned to another world to save the land of Alwa. Zoe, even ...

Debris Infinity

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

Minit

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

The Lion's Song

In each of the first 3 chapters you’ll be working with a different character. In the first it will be the budding compos...

Yuso

Your challenge in the game is to clear the various colored Yuso (that’s the name of the cute little smiley circles you’r...

Hexologic

That leads to my biggest criticism for the game, though it’s not crippling, the fact that you’re unable to lock spaces i...

Nihilumbra

Playing out as puzzle platformer, Nihilumbra is all about making use of a variety of abilities you’ll acquire as you mov...

Super Saurio Fly

For the most part the level designs are straightforward and traditional but some variety gets thrown in at times like le...

#Breakforcist Battle

Given its very reasonable price, overall weirdness, and intense bursts of excitement #Breakforcist Battle is a pretty...

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 Rocket Shootout

For as fast and frantic as the action can get there’s a surprising amount of potential for nuance. While you can certain...

A Hole New World

When it comes to issues what first comes to mind is the degree of challenge. While everything can be conquered through s...

Shadow Bug

When everything is clicking the fun and flow of ShadowBug is quite a rush. While it could have probably had some success...

Toki Tori

As you move through each major world you’ll unlock new Hard and Bonus stages that step up the level of challenge substan...

Warp Shift

In the game you control a girl, Pi, who is paired with a small robotic cube and is trying to escape a series of mazes to...

Spy Chameleon

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

World Conqueror X

The key to sustained success is most definitely filling out a line-up of generals to assign to specific units who will h...

Subsurface Circular

Did I mention that all of the characters, including yourself, are robots? While, for the most part, the dialogue and mot...

Radiation Island

Keeping in mind that the game has a very budget-friendly price the somewhat simplistic graphics and overall presentation...

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