The Best Nintendo Switch Lite Games for 2023

The Nintendo Switch is a unique two-in-one console that works as a portable handheld player or a full console on bigger screens. This makes it ideal for playing games with friends and family, whether you’re all gathered in one place or playing remotely.

The best Nintendo Switch Lite games combine slick action gameplay with stylish worlds and great dialogue. Here are a few of our favorites.

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The venerable LEGO video game franchise is taking on one of the biggest blockbusters ever with this new entry. The trailer has just been released, and it looks as charming as you might expect from a game that takes famous scenes from an already beloved movie and reworks them with Legos.

Developer TT Games has had some bad experiences with porting console games to handheld devices, but this looks to be an improvement on those. The level breakdowns make the long console levels manageable, and the addition of a handful of flight levels provides some variety to the gameplay.

Super Mario Maker 2

One of the best Wii U games ever is getting a sequel this June. Super Mario Maker 2 is a game and a tool that lets players create, play, and share their own 2D-style Super Mario levels.

During a recent Nintendo Direct, the company showed off tons of screenshots and character art from the game. Most notably, the game now has slopes, which allows you to create angled surfaces for Mario to jump over.

The trailer also highlights new power-ups, enemies, and course parts such as the Koopa Troopa car, cat-eared Bullet Bills, and side-scrolling Thwomps.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

The Animal Crossing franchise has become a massive hit with kids and adults alike. The social simulation game has a gentle gameplay that allows players to take their time and relax in the town they build.

During E3 2019, Nintendo released a trailer for the upcoming Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The trailer featured Tom Nook promoting his Deserted Island Getaway Package.

The trailer also showed off the new features in the game. This included the ability to place furniture outside, a new beach, a revamped Tree Trunk, a revamped Island Designer, and 8-player multiplayer.

Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a farming simulation game that is incredibly popular on PC, Mac, Linux, and Nintendo Switch. It features an interesting way for players to record and showcase their progression, character, farm, and other elements of the game.

Players take control of a character who inherits an old farm plot from their grandfather in Pelican Town. From there, they work to clear the land and turn it into a prosperous homestead.

They can also become part of the local community, with more than 30 unique residents to befriend and each person having their daily schedule, birthday, and unique mini-cutscenes. The game also offers the chance to explore vast caves that are filled with dangerous monsters, valuable treasures, and raw materials for crafting.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

A new trailer shared Tuesday for Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl shows how the remakes of the 2006 DS games will work on the Switch. From Poketch to Poffin cooking, it looks like the classics will be well-suited for Nintendo’s hybrid console.

One of Nintendo’s biggest successes in the past few years is Breath of the Wild, which is a sprawling open world that provides players with a sense of exploration and adventure. Another upcoming open-world game is Fantasy Life, which will allow players to build cities and take on job roles on a ruined island.

Assassin’s Creed III

While plenty of Assassin’s Creed III info has leaked ahead of the game’s official release, Ubisoft has managed to keep one major surprise under wraps. This cinematic trailer focuses on the game’s new historical protagonist Connor, and offers a glimpse of the game’s huge untamed frontier (supposedly bigger than the map in Assassin’s Creed Revolution) and chaotic battlefields.

In a brief fight sequence, we see Connor clocking several British soldiers with his fist, axe, and pistol. A whistling frontier soundtrack accompanies the action. A bald eagle soars above, both an emblem of the series and a nod to American history.

Celeste

Celeste is a super-tight platformer from the makers of TowerFall. It tasks the player with climbing a mountain, which is no small feat when you’re dealing with falling floors, spikes and a personification of self-doubt trying to stop you.

Fortunately, the game offers a range of tools for the player to find their comfort level. These include a robust Assist Mode which allows players to adjust game speed and turn on infinite stamina.

Since winning the Rising Star Award last year, Jorja has been busy – releasing her debut album ‘Not Your Muse’ in 2021 and performing in the 2020 John Lewis Christmas advert.