Sometimes, you just want to dish out a little damage, and the action game genre is the perfect place to do that. Though the Nintendo Switch might be small, it’s mighty and packed with some of the best action games the brand has ever known. But sometimes breaking blocks and pounding Goombas isn’t enough.
With that concept in mind, if you’re looking for a little more oomph in your Nintendo games, Metacritic has quite the selection of recommendations, but we’ve specifically culled together ten of the best action games on the system. Hope you’re itching for some action today.
10 Katana Zero (83)
If you think Hotline Miami needs less bullets and more samurai swords, Katana ZERO is probably what you’re looking for. Enter a neon-drenched cyberpunk future and take up the blade as a samurai assassin with a deadly set of skills, and uncover the mystery in this strange sci-fi noir tale.
This game is a mixed bag of elements that blend together to create a beautiful 16-bit action title. Though the game may be dripping with bright colors, it’s far away from a mellow sci-fi romp. With psychedelic drugs, psychotic breakdowns, murder, and an electro-funk soundtrack, it’s definitely something unique.
9 Superhot (84)
Where would the action genre be without a few first-person shooters? Though this isn’t something like Doom or Bioshock, Superhot takes the typical shooter mechanics, but ups the action by including a Matrix-inspired time mechanic, allowing the player to dodge bullets and bash minimalist-designed enemies.
The gimmick with this action-packed shooter is that time only moves when you do, which means if you stop, so do your enemies. This leads to some rather creative and impressive fight sequences, leaving the player feeling more badass than Liam Neeson in Taken.
8 The Messenger (86)
If you’re a fan of the original Ninja Gaiden series, you have to pick up a copy of The Messenger. This retro-inspired adventure will definitely put your kung-fu and katana skills through the wringer as you hack, slash, and platform your way across an 8-bit world. But it doesn’t end there.
The 8-bit platformer transforms into a 16-bit Metroidvania halfway through, upping the challenge without sacrificing the fun. Easily one of our favorite indie games on this list, with all the upgrades and skills, you’ll feel like a true ninja warrior after this acrobatic action game.
7 Cuphead (87)
Take the intense difficulty and action of the early Contra games on the original NES, mix them with the art style of a Mickey Mouse cartoon, and you get the indie darling that is Cuphead. If you’ve got an itchy trigger-finger and miss your favorite run-and-gun titles, test your might on this colorful cartoon endurance test.
Your platforming and finger coordination need to be razor-sharp to even have a prayer at this game. Its retro-cartoon-inspired appearance is as deceiving as the devil himself, but the addictive gameplay is enough to keep us coming back for more and more wallops.
6 Enter the Gungeon (87)
Absurd and artillery-obsessed are just two of the words we would use to describe the strange animal that is Enter the Gungeon. One part bullet-hell shooter, one part roguelike dungeon crawler, all types of rootin’-tootin’-shootin’ fun. Yes, the game is as goofy and disarming as it sounds, but there’s more to it than guns, bullets, and blasting. Not much more, but it’s still there.
The arcade-style action is absolutely intoxicating, the designs are adorable but ridiculous, and the fan-following this game has is surprisingly remarkable. If you’re looking to blow some enemies away with a barrage of bullets and crazy weapons, why not enter the Gungeon?
5 Cave Story+ (88)
Cave Story, in lack of a better term, is a weird little game. At times, it’s dark, lonely, and isolating, like an early Metroid title. But its characters, design, and art-style feel more like something from the Undertale universe. It’s a game of robots and rabbit people, which makes for an interesting Metroidvania.
The exploration is fantastic and the gunplay is exciting, but this action title definitely has an extra helping of story to make it stand out from something like Enter the Gungeon. Bullets will fly, enemies and bosses will fall, but can you find the real happy ending in this strange adventure?
4 Ikaruga (88)
Thanks to an interesting color mechanic, this spaceship shoot-em-up game is as much of a puzzle game as it is an action title. Though it might look like your typical shmup, like Galaga or Dragon Breed, it is a touch more brutal and brain-wracking.
Ikaruga’s unique mechanic is your ship’s ability to change its color that affects the bullets raining toward you. A white ship will be immune to white bullets, and a black ship immune to black. This creates some intense switching and shooting situations that will squeeze any arcade regular.
3 Dead Cells (89)
Dead Cells is an addictive, action-packed, Castlevania-inspired roguelike platformer with tons of enemies, weapons, and dungeons to explore to your heart’s content. But if you think you can just charge through the monsters and traps with your weapon of choice, you’d be what we in the business like to call wrong.
You will die, several times as a matter of fact, but death is a brief inconvenience on your road to glory. There’s a balance of strategy and slashing with this action game that’s sure to satisfy all types of gamers. Difficult, but not as grueling as you might think, Dead Cells is absolutely dynamite.
2 Shovel Knight Treasure Trove (91)
We’re not going to lie, Shovel Knight is our favorite title on this list. With a score of 91, can you really blame us? This fantasy platformer is a love letter to the best of the NES, taking influence from Mega Man, DuckTales, and even Super Mario 3, and it definitely learns from the masters.
Dig, slash, and tunnel your way through this 8-bit fantasy as you try to break a sorceress’s curse and save your true love. Though a shovel might not be the most conventional of weapons for a knight in shining armor, it’s one of the most useful and versatile we’ve seen in some time.
1 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (93)
Fun at parties or in single player Smash, Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series is perhaps the most beloved arena fighter in existence, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is perhaps the perfect iteration of this fighting game juggernaut, featuring nearly every single character, stage, and power-up ever featured in the game’s history.
Whether you prefer the classics like Mario, Link, Yoshi, or Donkey Kong or you feel like branching out with newer faces like Piranha Plant, Banjo and Kazooie, or the Hero from Dragon Quest, you’ll be in for a royal rumble with some of the most beloved video game icons.
NEXT: 10 Worst Things About When Your Kid Loves Super Smash Bros Ultimate
