The best Nintendo Switch 2 games so far, ranked strictly by critic score rather than sales or hype, are Hades II and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Switch 2 Edition, both sitting at a 95 on Metacritic as of October 2026. Ranking by score instead of popularity reorders the list in a way most round-ups don’t show: Mario Kart World, the system’s biggest launch exclusive, actually lands in the bottom half.
| Rank | Game | Metascore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (tie) | Hades II | 95 |
| 1 (tie) | Tears of the Kingdom – Switch 2 Edition | 95 |
| 3 | Breath of the Wild – Switch 2 Edition | 94 |
| 4 (tie) | Hollow Knight: Silksong | 91 |
| 4 (tie) | Donkey Kong Bananza | 91 |
| 6 | Resident Evil Requiem | 90 |
| 7 | Mario Kart World | 87 |
| 8 | Metroid Prime 4: Beyond | 80 |
1. Hades II (95)
Supergiant’s sequel is the system’s highest-rated game, period, and it isn’t a Switch 2 exclusive — it plays on Switch 2 as well as it does anywhere. That it ties for the top spot on a console built around Nintendo’s own franchises, with an outside developer’s roguelike, is the clearest sign of how strong third-party support has been for this generation.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Switch 2 Edition (95)
Nintendo’s enhanced re-release doesn’t change a single line of the original 2023 quest, but it does add higher resolution, a steadier frame rate in the game’s most demanding open-world moments, and GameChat-compatible multiplayer viewing. Critics scored the upgrade identically to the original, which was already one of the best-reviewed games of the decade.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Switch 2 Edition (94)
The 2017 original gets the same Switch 2 treatment as its sequel — sharper resolution and smoother performance in Hyrule’s busiest areas — and still scores a point behind Tears of the Kingdom nine years after it first released. For anyone who owns a Switch 2 and somehow hasn’t played it, this is the entry point; see our full ranking of every Zelda game for where both entries land against the rest of the series.
4. Hollow Knight: Silksong (91)
Team Cherry’s long-awaited sequel landed in 2026 and immediately became one of the system’s most-covered games on this site — see our ending explained guide and boss difficulty ranking for more. Another title that isn’t Switch 2-exclusive, but the handheld mode is widely considered the best way to play its punishing platforming.
4. Donkey Kong Bananza (91)
This is the highest-scoring true Switch 2 exclusive on the list and a record high for the Donkey Kong series on Metacritic. The destructible-terrain 3D platformer from the Super Mario Odyssey team launched July 17, 2025, and it’s the strongest argument yet that Nintendo’s first-party teams know what to do with the new hardware beyond faster load times.
6. Resident Evil Requiem (90)
Capcom’s survival-horror entry runs on every current platform, Switch 2 included, and the Switch 2 port holds up well enough that it isn’t scored separately from the PS5 and PC versions in most aggregate tracking. It’s proof the console can handle a genuinely demanding, graphically heavy game without a watered-down version.
7. Mario Kart World (87)
Here’s the number most “best Switch 2 games” lists leave out: the system’s biggest exclusive by sales, the one bundled with the console itself at launch on June 5, 2025, has a lower critic score than five other games on this list. It’s still a genuinely good kart racer with an open-world twist the series hadn’t tried before — it’s just not the system’s best-reviewed game, whatever the sales charts say.
8. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (80)
The most anticipated Nintendo exclusive on this list, in development since 2017 and released December 4, 2025, is also its lowest-scored — 15 points behind the top of this list, roughly a 16% gap. GameSpot’s Steve Watts summed up the critical split: it’s "uneven and messy in some respects, but at its best it meets or exceeds the best moments the series has to offer." Worth playing, just not the slam dunk eight years of waiting implied.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Nintendo Switch 2 game so far?
By critic score, Hades II and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Switch 2 Edition are tied at the top with a 95 on Metacritic.
Is Mario Kart World the best Switch 2 game?
It’s the console’s best-selling launch exclusive, but not its best-reviewed. Mario Kart World’s 87 Metascore places it seventh on this list, behind games like Donkey Kong Bananza and Hollow Knight: Silksong.
What is the best true Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive?
Donkey Kong Bananza, at 91 on Metacritic, is the highest-scoring game built specifically for Switch 2 rather than a multiplatform release or an enhanced port of an older game.
Is Metroid Prime 4: Beyond worth playing?
Yes, but it’s the lowest-scored game on this list at 80. Critics called it uneven in places while still praising its best moments as among the series’ strongest.
Metacritic’s full Switch 2 library rankings track every release as new reviews come in. Donkey Kong Bananza’s 91 was confirmed a series record shortly after launch.
