Beneath, you will discover 21 video games which got here to Swap in 2023 and feedback from NL staffers who adored them. Naturally, there are titles which did not fairly make our private top-five cuts, together with a beloved late-arrival, so try our record of honourable mentions on the finish.
NL workers key: Alana Hagues (AH), Alex Olney (AO), Felix Sanchez (FS), Gavin Lane (GL), Jim Norman (JN), Liam Doolan (LD), Ollie Reynolds (OR), PJ O’Reilly (PJ)
Writer: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EPD
I’ve at all times actually loved Pikmin, however I used to be greatly surprised with Pikmin 4. It leans into the issues I like probably the most in regards to the different three video games — the weirdness, the sensation of being small and powerless, and the power to coordinate. The Ice and Glow Pikmin are excellent, and the Evening Time ranges are a incredible new addition. Pikmin 4 is pure pleasure from begin to end — even with that terrifying last boss. AH
Ready for one thing for thus lengthy after which seeing it repay is a uncommon expertise, however Pikmin 4 was completely certainly one of them. This heat hug of a sport was the whole lot that I may probably need from my beloved little technique collection and I actually, actually hope that we get extra. JN
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Writer: Sq. Enix / Developer: indies zero
That is probably the most self-indulgent decide I may make, however I’ve performed Theatrhythm Remaining Bar Line for a few hours principally each single month since I reviewed it. It is a dream sport — a follow-up and send-off to certainly one of my favorite 3DS collection’, with over 500 songs from Remaining Fantasy and Sq. Enix’s historical past.
The sport is fantastically easy to select up and play however a monster to grasp — I do not suppose I will ever be the maestro of Theatrhythm, however my goodness the push of finishing a music on Final is unbeatable. And I’ve to get each single character to stage 99, proper? That is the right celebration for Remaining Fantasy’s thirty fifth anniversary, for a franchise that has saved me going for years and allowed me to do what I do for a residing. I unabashedly love Theatrhythm, and I will be taking part in it for years to come back. AH
![Theatrhythm Final Bar Line](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/22061/100x100.jpg)
Writer: Nintendo / Developer: Retro Studios
Nothing may have ready me for Metroid Prime Remastered’s shadow drop; it was really one of the vital jaw-dropping bulletins from Nintendo for fairly a while. That it someway turned out to be much more spectacular than the GameCube unique is a beautiful bonus. OR
Writer: Sabotage / Developer: Sabotage
Sea of Stars has its faults, nevertheless it’s a sport that effortlessly saved me hooked from starting to finish. The visuals are exemplary and I like it when builders add a little bit of a ‘real-time’ twist to the usual turn-based RPG fight. OR
In a 12 months of great-looking video games, Sea of Stars may simply take the biscuit. There’s a second that lands about two-thirds of the best way wherein had me sitting with my mouth really agape on the display. There isn’t any larger reward than that. JN
![Sea of Stars (Multi-Language)](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/24843/100x100.jpg)
Writer: Poncle / Developer: Poncle
I first began taking part in this on cell nevertheless it reactivated an outdated RSI. Due to this fact, when the Swap model lastly appeared, I had an thought of what I used to be stepping into. Vampire Survivors has turn out to be the quintessential auto-shooting survival expertise, and Poncle’s glorious port introduced a collection of options, together with co-op, which makes it among the best worth time sinks on the system.
It would suck days from you when you let it. A scrumptious, harmful sport. GL
Writer: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo
After taking part in it comparatively protected with the ‘New’ 2D Mario video games, Marvel felt like a real breath of recent air. It is a 2D Mario sport with all of the inventiveness and ingenuity of a 3D title. Marvellous stuff. OR
Nintendo made me fall in love with Mr. Mario once more this 12 months. I feel Marvel manages to drag the 2D video games simply that little bit nearer to the magic and inventiveness of the 3D Mario adventures. It introduces and disposes of recent mechanics in the identical carefree means, it is intelligent and wildly ingenious, and, most significantly, it blows away the inventive mud that is been settling heavy since NSMBU and its Swap port. 2D Mario is superior once more and I’m right here for it. PJ
Regardless of being a Mario sport, I managed to maintain my expectations in verify for this, and it simply surpassed them. A delight from begin to end. GL
Writer: Nintendo / Developer: ArtePiazza
There’s a lot this sport does proper. Outdoors of being an virtually excellent remake, it’s only a actually enjoyable, charming, humorous journey. Fight is snappy and has sufficient parts to it that it by no means outstays its welcome. The writing is a number of the best I’ve seen, and all of it culminates (with assist from a incredible soundtrack) to make one thing very, very particular. FS
Writer: Capcom / Developer: Capcom
I hadn’t performed Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective till it landed on Swap this 12 months, however nice Scott, what a sport! The twisty-turny story saved me hooked, the character animations had been to die for (heh) and the central ‘Ghost Trick’ puzzle conceit was not like something I had come throughout earlier than. It additionally incorporates possibly probably the most lovable canine of 2023, which in a 12 months that introduced us Oatchi is de facto saying one thing. JN
Writer: Atlus / Developer: Atlus Persona Group
Persona 5 has fairly rightly taken the hearts of Swap gamers since its eventual launch, however of us actually should not miss out on Persona 4 Golden. Its general tone is a little more lighthearted and I personally suppose its core solid of characters is the very best of the franchise to date. Like the opposite Persona entries, it requires an enormous dedication, nevertheless it’s a sport that — very like its unique launch on PS Vita — is completely suited to handheld play. OR
Writer: Nexon / Developer: MINTROCKET
Rumblings of Dave the Diver’s brilliance over the summer season piqued my curiosity, however its arrival on Swap in October caught me hook, line, and sinker. Dave the Diver is so many alternative issues without delay, that it is actually arduous to place right into a field. It is the type of sport that I simply can’t put down — calming, addictive, and moreish on the identical time. pepper in somewhat little bit of stress — clients strolling out of my sushi restaurant sad, weeds killing my crops, and being chased by a hammerhead shark — and it is a recipe for perfection.
However I feel the factor I like most about Dave the Diver is how silly and over-the-top it’s. Each time Bancho learns a brand new recipe, or upgrades a dish on the menu, you get an incredible pixel artwork cutscene. You have received a cell with a Tamagotchi-style app on it. The writing is de facto humorous. And you may feed cats! That free Dredge DLC may be an indication of issues to come back, so I will most likely be diving much more come 2024. AH
Writer: Sq. Enix / Developer: Sq. Enix
I went into this one with virtually zero expectations, however its fourth-wall-breaking mechanics and intriguing storyline saved me properly and really hooked. There’s actually nothing else fairly prefer it on the Swap, and when you’re a fan of horror and visible novels, it’s going to be proper up your road. OR
Very like Ollie, I had valuable little thought what to anticipate from Paranormasight beginning out, and actually — because it seems — that’s one of the best ways to drop into this unimaginable story. In the event you’ve performed the like of Zero Escape you will have some grip on the final thought, however simply do not go searching up any specifics, dive into this horror gem and be wowed by simply how gripping and thought-provoking all of it is.
Paranormasight is disturbing, unsettling, thrilling, otherworldly, and completely compelling stuff from starting to finish, the type of sensible sport stuffed with great puzzles and characters that you’re going to be enthusiastic about for an extended whereas after you’ve got wrapped it up. Do not miss this one when you get an opportunity to nab it, it is genuinely been certainly one of this 12 months’s nicest surprises in my e-book. PJ