5 Switch Games You Should Try (or Revisit) if You’re Not Getting a Switch 2

No Switch 2? No problem. Here are five great games you can play or revisit on the original Switch.

5 Switch Games You Should Try or Revisit if You’re Not Getting a Switch 2

Are you not planning on getting a Switch 2 for the time being, or are you just waiting for your local store to finally have some in stock? Whatever your reason for not getting a Switch 2, here are five great games you can play—or replay—on your original Switch.

Super Mario Odyssey

You may find yourself reaching over to boot up Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to fill the Mario Kart World-shaped hole in your heart, but hear me out: grab Super Mario Odyssey instead. 3D Mario platformers have the distinct honor of getting better with each new title, even though they started with a masterpiece. Super Mario Odyssey is stunning, exciting, and filled with countless collectibles, so it never grows stale. It’s enough to leave you wondering how on earth Nintendo can ever top it.

You can play Super Mario Odyssey again from the start to relive the goofy, charming story, or return to your old file to grab some more Moons and costumes to fill out your collection. If you haven’t played it at all yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up. You’ll be so enchanted by its buttery-smooth gameplay and gorgeous worlds that you won’t even remember that you’re playing it because you don’t have a Switch 2.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition

Bravely Default is one of my favorite RPGs of all time, so I know all too well the pain of the HD Remaster being exclusive to the Switch 2. But the original Switch has more than its fair share of amazing RPGs to play and replay. One that’s well worth checking out is Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. It features the great combat and amazing open-world exploration of the Xenoblade series, with a fully customizable main character and mecha piloting.

While Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has some ties to Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2, X is more of a standalone entry, making it a great starting point for series newcomers. The Definitive Edition is the only way to play Xenoblade Chronicles X outside of its original release on the Wii U, and it’s well worth picking up and sinking hundreds of hours into on the original Switch.

New Pokémon Snap

New Pokémon Snap is the best Pokémon game on the original Switch: the Pokémon and environments are brimming with personality, it has an unbelievable amount of activities to do and secrets to discover, and it looks great, to boot. If you already started the game when it released back in 2021 but then set it aside, you’ll have a sizable free update to look forward to, including multiple new stages to explore and new Pokémon to find. There’s also a small online component where you can share your photos and get “Sweets” (likes) from other players, with an achievement for receiving 100,000. Whether you’re picking it up for the first time or returning to it after some time away, New Pokémon Snap is the Pokémon game of choice to play on your Switch 1.

Famicom Detective Club: The Two-Case Collection

When you want to take a break from action-oriented games, it’s worth giving Famicom Detective Club: The Two-Case Collection a try. This remake includes two games for the price of one: The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind. This is the first time these two classic Nintendo titles have been made available in English, and they’re pieces of history well worth investigating.

While they can feel a bit dated at times, they’re easy to get into even for point-and-click adventure game beginners, thanks to their intriguing mysteries and outstanding visuals. The clean art style and natural, fluid animations make it feel like you’re inside an anime. If you’ve already played the Famicom Detective Club duology, you can catch hints and meaningful details you might have missed the first time around when you didn’t know how the story would pan out. And when you’re done, you can also play the all-new series entry Emio — The Smiling Man to keep the mystery-solving going.

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time

It’s tempting to say that now’s the time to boot up your abandoned copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and check on your neglected island and villagers, but sometimes it’s better to work towards something new. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is the long-awaited sequel to Fantasy Life on the Nintendo 3DS. Fantasy Life i is what you’d get if an RPG had just as much emphasis on crafting classes as it did combat classes—with an entire New Horizons-style island and home builder mode added in for good measure.

There is a Switch 2 upgrade for the game, but it’s only for performance, and it already runs fine on the original Switch. The game has a lot of content and even multiplayer to keep you invested while you wait for the right time to get a Switch 2, just like Animal Crossing: New Horizons kept us hooked when it was fresh off the presses.