Top 100 / Best Indie Story-Driven Games on Nintendo Switch

Sea of Stars

In practical terms without flaws, and filled with thoughtful and creative touches from top to bottom, this game truly is a star

Spiritfarer

While many gamers enjoy blowing away enemies, racing through hairpin turns, or guiding their team to victory there’s a g...

GRIS

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

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...

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...

Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth

If you don’t mind the sometimes glacial pacing of the adventure aspects, the art and story here are top-tier within the space

Chained Echoes

This single-developer passion project sets a standard for how the classic 16-bit JRPG can still be improved upon

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical

Absolutely one of the most original games I’ve played recently, this story-driven affair swings for the fences and somewhat gets there

A Musical Story

I’ve truly enjoyed the diverse set of indie titles that have come to the Switch under the category of rhythm and music. ...

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!

First developing quite a notorious reputation as a free title, DDLC has finally made its disturbing way to Switch… and w...

Overboard!

While I typically look to games to provide some action and excitement there are sometimes games that come from less h...

Signs of the Sojourner

There’s just something about this game that feels so brilliant and yet there’s also something unassuming about its natur...

Shady Part of Me

There’s something pretty delightful when you encounter games that you’ve never previously heard of that, once you begin ...

Horace

Horace is an odd title in that much like the title character robot of the same name it is quite unassuming and humble bu...

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...

Bastion

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

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie

In many ways playing out as a more mature and deeper Choose Your Own Adventure take, Harmony offers great dynamic storytelling

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood

Undoubtedly different and wide open for possibilities based on your choices, this is a text-heavy but interesting affair

The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero

While it very much feels like a traditional JRPG, there’s just a flair to this title that pulled me in

Beacon Pines

Can you make the crucial decisions it takes to save your friends and your struggling town?

Killer Frequency

While perhaps its VR-ish setting is only minimally functional, the parts that deliver like the voice acting, suspense, and humor work wonderfully

Gerda: A Flame in Winter

Discover the challenge of navigating Nazi-occupied Denmark in this historically-inspired indie

Lost Words: Beyond the Page

I’ll admit that this is a title that got off to a bit of a rocky start for me, with me essentially wondering wh...

The Excavation of Hob's Barrow

Delivers a mix of rural character, old-school adventure, and some legitimately chilling revelations

Hindsight

There’s just something about playing the right story-driven game that speaks to some aspect of your own life or trials t...

South of the Circle

Telling a tale that spans multiple times and places, it makes for a different sort of romantic journey

FAR: Changing Tides

Picking up roughly where the original FAR left off, and generally offering up a very similar (though longer and refined)...

Welcome to Elk

One of the subgenres of games that has been extremely well-represented on the Switch has been story-driven games, and th...

Wytchwood

When I think of games that heavily involve crafting my mind usually goes to survival titles, a genre I’ve struggled with...

Life is Strange: True Colors

While there are many excellent story-driven titles in the Switch eShop, the tendency is more usually on grand tales or b...

Lamentum

I’m sad to say that more often than not, on the Switch, games pushing “horror” in some way have struggled and failed in ...

Black Book

Whenever you see new titles show up in a genre that seems to be currently having its moment you end up taking a moment t...

Sumire

Though I love running and gunning and high-intensity games there’s no denying that games with a compelling and heart-fel...

Layers of Fear 2

“Walking simulators” that play out as horror titles on the Switch, more often than not, have tended to be a bit of a bus...

Cozy Grove

While bludgeoning or blowing away bad guys can always be good fun, everyone should have some time in their lives to slow...

Chicken Police Paint it RED!

While it has been a pretty long time since the genre was even remotely in style I’ve always been a fan of the hard-boile...

Along the Edge

On a general level interactive fiction titles haven’t been my cup of tea. It isn’t that I don’t appreciate that such an ...

Roki

When you’re young your imagination can truly be a powerful (and sometimes scary) thing. Being fed by your parents, the m...

Through the Darkest of Times

While games are a great vehicle for departing from reality and enjoying an escape they’ve increasingly been used as a me...

The Complex

Having played “interactive movie” style games since way back when CD-ROMs first allowed them to exist with the likes of ...

Afterparty

The indie scene, in general, has seemed to fully embrace the concept of a “story-driven adventure”, less focused on acti...

Knights and Bikes

Memories from my childhood, while often involving playing games on a variety of systems or in arcades, involve a pretty ...

198X

As a child of the 70s and 80s who spent an enormous amount of time in the arcades there’s no doubt 198X was made for me....

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...

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...

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 ...

Cinders

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

Figment

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

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...

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...

Children of Silentown

Forgoing the typical adventure tendency towards humor, Silentown instead sprinkles in a sense of foreboding that’s refreshing

The Gallery

Two different and tense stories from different eras come to life in this well-acted FMV game

Ten Dates

This well-timed release drops you into the bumpy ride of looking for love, as you try to make a positive impression on a variety of dates

Trek to Yomi

Despite its action mostly being on the middling side, the game’s artistic style and story make it a compelling experience

A Space for the Unbound

Some surprising depth and creative storytelling mechanics help this pixel adventure stand out

Foretales

How do you make a splash on the Switch eShop? You polish, polish, polish…

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’...

Frank and Drake

Aside from featuring the fantastic city of Baltimore and a wonderful rotoscoped style, there’s an intriguing story to enjoy here

Hello Goodboy

If you’re into dogs and feel-good vibes, even if there’s not a load of compelling gameplay to match it, this is a soothing and touching adventure

Jack Move

Fans of Cyberpunky vibes, turn-based battling, and a bit of techno-jargon being thrown around should enjoy this one

Aspire: Ina's Tale

From an “elevator pitch” angle there’s something great about being able to cite popular and success...

A Juggler's Tale

With its marionette characters and associated string-based challenges, rhyming narration, and a healthy dose of charm...

Project Dark

Focused almost entirely on what you hear, allowing you to even play it with your eyes closed, Project Dark is a unique experience

FATAL FRAME: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse

While its predecessor had the elements of a creepy good time present, Mask of the Lunar Eclipse brings it all together

RE:CALL

With its time and reality-bending story-telling revisionism, RE:CALL makes for a unique experience

Wayward Strand

In a world of narrowly-focused objectives in games, it’s sometimes nice to simply choose your own path

ANNO: Mutationem

If you enjoy exploration and world building with a cyberpunky edge, you'll likely find ANNO to have some appeal

Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery

While I love blasting off faces and racing to the finish line, there’s absolutely something to be said for slowing down ...

A Memoir Blue

I’ve been impressed so far this year that story-driven games on the Switch have continued to show up in force, but most ...

Unforeseen Incidents

With the classic point-and-click adventure genre in full-on renaissance mode and a preponderance of options available to...

The Artful Escape

One opportunity that the smaller teams and budgets behind typical indie games have is to take bigger risks, either blend...

Lacuna

I’ll admit that I tend to always be excited to check out an adventure with a noir sort of flavor, even if in the case of...

Necrobarista - Final Pour -

I realize that more often than not I’m a sort of wet blanket in the area of visual novels, especially those that allow l...

Night Book

I’ve continued to be impressed with the strides the FMV game genre has made since its more humble CD-based beginnings. I...

Mutazione

With an unusual art style and even more unusual characters you’ll encounter on a remote island Mutazione just feels diff...

Astrologaster

Inspired by the spirit of Shakespeare’s Renaissance England, Astrologaster features a unique pop-up book art style, chor...

Embracelet

This, for me, is one of those titles where it’s hard to articulate why I’m so taken in by it. With its low-poly look, it...

Liberated

This is a title that easily caught my eye the first time I saw footage of it, the black-and-white comic book style and c...

Monster Prom: XXL

In the event your days as a teenager in high school weren’t traumatic enough, and you’re looking to recapture some of th...

A Fold Apart

When looking at an eShop full of puzzlers and story-based experiences it can be difficult to separate the merely average...

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

When a game starts up showing a warning that establishes it isn’t meant to hold your hand I’ll admit my “Ruh Roh Raggy” ...

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...

Late Shift

I must say that on pretty well all levels Late Shift is an amazing exercise in interactive storytelling. While I’d imagi...

A Normal Lost Phone

Overall, if you’re receptive to what I would consider a very honest and genuine study of someone going through a difficu...

Old Man's Journey

The gameplay over the pretty brisk 2 - 3 hours is interesting, mainly because of the beautiful hand-drawn landscapes tha...

Journey of the Broken Circle

Who knew that an incomplete circle (who looks suspiciously like a certain gaming icon) and an oddball mix of plants a...

Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly

This return to the all-night coffee shop means more brewing satisfying drinks and taking the time to listen to, and often help, your patrons

Venba

One part exploration of culture, another puzzles in the form of food prep, Venba has a fresh feel but requires some patience

GrimGrimoire OnceMore

Interesting characters, some drama, and a pretty light but engaging take on real-time strategy help this stand out some

The Smile Alchemist

Combining together an upbeat tone, some fun characters, and a mix of puzzles and crafting this keeps things light and fun

Operencia: The Stolen Sun

While there have been quite a number of dungeon crawler RPGs on the Switch none of them has quite convinced me to sta...

Moon Hunters

All said, Moon Hunters is an ambitious and well-executed exercise in storytelling as much as it is in implementing th...

Fall of Porcupine

While the story it tells feels unique and worthwhile, the inconsistency of the mini game implementation detracts from the experience

End of Lines

If you don’t mind opportunities to make decisions being periodic, even if seemingly of consequence, the post-Apocalyptic story does work

Evan's Remains

This is a bit of a tough one as the overall package is an interesting mix, but whether you’ll be game for it wi...

MADiSON

Undoubtedly dark and creepy, the survival horror of MADiSON can grab you but isn't perfect by any means

The Cruel King and the Great Hero

It’s great that this far into the Switch’s lifespan there are enough RPGs that even genre fans don’t necessarily have to...

A YEAR OF SPRINGS

While I’m not typically a huge fan of visual novels there are times where one does something that helps is stand out fro...

Bloodshore

It has been fascinating in the last generation or so to watch the FMV genre not only return to the fold, but really make...

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