Top 100 / Best Indie Games of the Year on Nintendo Switch [2019 Edition]

Children of Morta

While I have played (and generally enjoyed) a ton of roguelikes of all flavors on the Switch I can’t say any of them has...

Slay the Spire

While deck building games would usually fall into the category of titles I’d file under “an acquired taste” the Switch n...

Cuphead

With a mix of brutal boss battles and challenging run and gun sections Cuphead is notorious for being a tough game. Whil...

Nuclear Throne

Though it’s pretty clear in places that Nuclear Throne has aged a bit since its original release, its unapologetic degre...

Assault Android Cactus+

Starting with the basics the game gives you a starting roster of 4 androids to choose from, with another 5 that you’ll u...

Katana ZERO

Katana Zero was absolutely one of the best games of 2019 and I’d be shocked it if didn’t end up in my Top 10 (and those...

Untitled Goose Game

Bless indie developers and their ability to come up with weird concepts for gameplay that you probably never considered ...

Shovel Knight: King of Cards

While I haven’t formally reviewed any of the previous Shovel Knight games I’ve been a quiet fan of the series since it s...

Sparklite

Since I’m a huge fan of roguelikes and their ability to revitalize and alter how you play more classic genres I’ve alway...

Skullgirls 2nd Encore

While I’ve consistently heard nothing but great things about Skullgirls from my friends who are massive fighting fans up...

Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince

A quick admission, while I’ve always appreciated the beauty of the Trine series overall I was just never much of a fan o...

Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns

While fans of the old school original game likely won’t even need to read this review, it’s worth noting that though som...

Star Wars Pinball

If you’re either a massive Star Wars or pinball fan you can stop reading the review now and just buy this… rest assured,...

River City Girls

While the beat-em-up genre was absolutely a staple of both the arcades and the early console days more recently titles h...

Heave Ho

While having played so many indie games on the Switch is interesting and exposes you to all sorts of takes on multiple g...

The Swords of Ditto: Mormo's Curse

While I know there are people out there who’ve kind of gotten tired of the label roguelike being thrown around I continu...

Ape Out

As someone who loves playing things that are different and a bit daring, Ape Out has easily shot out as one of the games...

Killer Queen Black

After having heard so much about this killer multiplayer arcade title I was interested to see what the fuss was all abou...

New Super Lucky's Tale

A great example of how the 3D Mascot Platformer style is still alive and thriving

Jamestown+

The Switch has most certainly been blessed with a wide variety of excellent shmups since its release and with the rel...

Kine

With its challenging 3D-style puzzling and great jazz soundtrack, Kine simply has its own vibe

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...

Juicy Realm

When it comes to roguelike shooters I’m both a tremendous fan and often a picky critic. We’ve been absolutely spoiled on...

Tangle Tower

When there are so many point-and-click style adventures available on the Switch it pays to try to stand out. Smart puzzl...

Megaquarium

Manage your own aquarium and try to "lure" in the public in this pleasant sim

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

Retro games or those that attempt to recapture a certain vintage feel can be a tricky business and there’s no doubt that...

80 DAYS

Though the act of traversing the world is no longer such a grand feat in the time of Jules Verne, when he wrote Around t...

Freedom Finger

When I originally caught this title at PAX I was drawn in by its sheer attitude, blending together some great voice acti...

Hotline Miami Collection

Shadow dropped as a surprise this year, Hotline Miami was one of those indie darling titles that had shocked me continui...

Forager

When footage of this game was originally shown as part of one of the Nindie Directs any fan of Stardew Valley would have...

Etherborn

The definite stand-out title of the week is Etherborn, a gorgeous, challenging, and somewhat mind-bending 3D environment...

My Friend Pedro

All in all My Friend Pedro handily delivers what it promises, bonkers gunplay, challenging scenarios, and when you’re on...

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Whether played solo or with a friend Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons makes for a thoughtful and generally satisfying puzzle...

Crystal Crisis

All in all Crystal Crisis is a game laser-focused on a specific style of play that absolutely delivers a great value wit...

Meow Motors

When it comes to racing on Switch, there’s no doubt that Mario Kart is the king. The thing is, that’s not necessarily a ...

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...

Duck Game

As long as you’re able to find people to play with whether locally or online Duck Game one of the best multiplayer exper...

SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech

Despite my feeling that it lost some steam towards the conclusion, SteamWorld Quest is easy to count among the most poli...

Hell is Other Demons

All things considered, Hell is Other Demons is a very good platforming shooter that plays smart, is challenging, and ult...

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, ...

The World Next Door

As the final credits rolled The World Next Door felt like a satisfying experience on the whole but I was also left with ...

Baba Is You

Why settle for going the normal route and following the game’s rules to win when you can simply look for ways to change ...

Hard West

All things considered, for the price Hard West is a surprisingly competent tactical turn-based shooter than gets more ri...

Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon

While very similar to its predecessor in many ways, this sequel seems a bit more streamlined in terms of the structure o...

Cinders

Pretty well instantly upon finishing my initial version of this story I was compelled to start up and try another path a...

OlliOlli: Switch Stance

While lacking the variety and skateboarding craziness of something like the Tony Hawk series both the original and seque...

BLAZBLUE CENTRALFICTION Special Edition

As previously while you can generally figure out many of the core basics by simply experimenting a bit a walk through th...

Airheart - Tales of broken Wings

This is a game that splices together twin-stick shooting, careful exploration, and crafting, but then throwing in roguel...

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...

Unruly Heroes

Especially considering it’s pretty modest price Unruly Heroes is a rock-solid platformer that looks phenomenal and plays...

DEMON'S TILT

Pinball is absolutely a cornerstone of retro gaming so I’m always excited to see what people come up with to ce...

The Talos Principle: Deluxe Edition

Among the indie titles that I’ve played and loved on the PC there aren’t too many that still haven’...

Grand Brix Shooter

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

Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition

Damn RPG lovers, the Switch has been a terrific return to Nintendo fully delivering a variety of options in this genr...

EarthNight

When you see or hear the words endless runner the typical reaction is to go straight into eye-rolling mode. More often t...

A Hat in Time

When it comes to 3D platformers and you’re looking to release on the console that Mario helped make you’d better be read...

Little Town Hero

When you’re a game studio responsible for what may be arguably one of the biggest and most successful franchises in the ...

Valfaris

If you’ve been looking for an experience on Switch that takes some of the core shooting mechanics of games the likes of ...

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...

Jet Kave Adventure

When it comes to reasonably-prices platformers typically retro pixel art games are what comes to mind, but in the case o...

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 ...

Blasphemous

From first glance during a Direct there was no question that Blasphemous, visually, was something pretty special. With a...

Creature in the Well

With Creature in the Well there’s just so much to like and appreciate. The art style is distinct and interesting, the mi...

Agent A: A puzzle in disguise

Puzzle fans have both a blessing and a curse when it comes to the Switch. Let’s just say that there’s an abundance of ri...

Milkmaid of the Milky Way

When it comes to adventure games, the Switch is very well (and possibly too well) represented. The good news tied to tha...

FAR: Lone Sails

This is one of those titles where I walked into the experience not really knowing much about it, being surprised by it b...

Chiki-Chiki Boxy Pro Wrestling

While I haven’t played a wrestling game in years, back in the day it was fun to throw down with some buddies for some ar...

War Tech Fighters

While there have been a few big robots battling in space games on Switch to date none of them have quite clicked for me....

Gato Roboto

While there’s certainly an abundance of Metroidvania titles on the Switch, to date Nintendo’s premiere ass-kicking heroi...

Super Cane Magic ZERO

Though it’s not an experience everyone will enjoy Super Cane Magic Zero does more right than wrong and is simply a game ...

Akane

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

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows

In terms of downsides I’d say there aren’t many with the primary concern being whether you’re looking for something that...

Aggelos

Rocking great 16-bit-ish looks, some great chiptune tracks, and plenty of retro gaming feels Aggelos is definitely a tit...

Death Coming

If you’ve got a bit of a sick streak this game absolutely delivers great moments that will make you break out your most ...

Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!

All in all if you’ve been a fan of food prep games of this type, or have been watching them from a distance, there’s qui...

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...

Mechstermination Force

Mechstermination Force is a pretty tight and enjoyable retro sci-fi robot stomping party… though it will typically take ...

Windscape

Though I may have felt a bit conflicted on how to score Windscape, I like its concept, most of its simple but workable d...

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...

X-Morph: Defense

I’m really impressed by everything the folks behind this game have put together. The campaign is challenging and at a sa...

My Memory of Us

Overall, this is yet another great visually-impressive puzzle adventure to add to the Switch library. The art and the na...

Pikuniku

If you’re interested to know anything at all about the story in the game you can check out the video, but as a whole I’d...

When Ski Lifts Go Wrong

While the system has a number of bridge building physics games, this one takes that general premise and does some new th...

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...

Dragon's Lair Trilogy

Starting with the original you’ll play as Dirk the Daring, on a quest to save the lovely (and a bit inappropriately sexy...

Caveblazers

On the whole Caveblazers is a ton of challenging fun and currently has no direct competition on the Switch. If you can g...

Catastronauts

So how well does it work? Depending on the experience you’re looking for and whether you have other people available to ...

Pang Adventures

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

The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game - Definitive Edition

While deck building and card battling games have made their appearance on the Switch in a few different forms, none o...

Super Mega Baseball 2: Ultimate Edition

At long last a high-quality and very broadly accessible baseball title is available on the Switch. After the disappoi...

Fight'N Rage

After many years where the classic beat-em-up wasn’t getting much representation indie developers have really b...

Blazing Chrome

As a huge fan of the classic arcade run n’ gun shooters I hold Contra in very high regard, so it’s always...

Woven

Most modern games tend to feature protagonists who are ready for action and tough as nails. Moving in precisely the oppo...

Pig Eat Ball

When a game comes along that has classic arcade-style sensibilities and it is just plain weird it is pretty well sure to...

Roof Rage

OK, Smash fans, hear me out. When it comes to fast-paced and somewhat crazy fighting Smash tends to be in a class all it...

Way of the Passive Fist

While I wouldn’t recommend the game to everyone due to its overall difficulty and what ends up being a fair amount of re...

Iron Crypticle

Who said you couldn’t have a great time with a budget retro arcade shooter? Iron Crypticle has a smart but classic arcad...

Snowboarding The Next Phase

For the price the level of polish on this title is impressive and if you set your expectations within its limits it’s a ...

Timespinner

With some great pixel art and a story that takes you through a variety of eras to change things up, Timespinner has its ...

Earthfall: Alien Horde

When it comes to co-op PvE gameplay I don’t think any other title has managed to top the Left 4 Dead series, even though...

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