10 Best Adventure Games on Nintendo Switch (2026)

Storytelling is the oldest art form for good reason. How creative you can be with the characters, painting a memorable impression of eccentric personalities. The way the characters interact stirs up compelling emotions, and you might go on and sneak in precious knowledge of history and culture while at it. 

In gaming, adventure games continue to uphold oral and visual narratives. They come up with fictional or real-life inspired stories that linger after your playthrough. But what are the best adventure games on Nintendo Switch to do storytelling justice?

What is an Adventure Game?

An adventure game has a story-driven narrative at its core, whether told as a visual novel or via animated cutscenes. The player also interacts with the characters in the story and universe, engaging in light combat and solving puzzles.

Top Adventure Games on Nintendo Switch

While you’re on the go, you can whip up your Switch and enjoy the best adventure games on Nintendo Switch, solo or online with friends.

10. Persona 5 Royale

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts in Persona 5 Royal steal from the corrupt with the hope that they change their ways. It’s for a worthy cause, then, when you skip school to pull off grand heists with your friends.  

There’s exploration involved around Tokyo, and lots of Personas you can unlock that add to your weapon arsenal and abilities. The story also branches off to alternate endings. But it’s the path to becoming the ultimate Phantom Thief that’s most engrossing, fighting for justice.

9. Dredge

Kicking off with a unique and charming aesthetic, Dredge immediately grabs your attention. Its single-player story’s pacing is just right, ushering you to the dark side of the remote isles of this coastal world.

To keep you busy, you explore the isles, looking to catch rare fish species and sell them at the local shops. But as you sail further into the sea, you discover new NPCs, wildlife, hidden treasures, and, most intriguing, mystery-ridden, potentially life-threatening stories.

8. Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is such a lively world, teeming with life and lots of opportunities for adventure. You can split your time between gardening, fishing, hunting, and decorating your home. Your neighbors are the most adorable animals, who you help settle into homes they love.

And you can drop by to check in on them, catching up on previous chats, while bringing them a present to foster stronger friendships. It’s a lived-in world you get lost in and can easily spend hours at a time building its community.

7. Okami HD

Another of the best adventure games on Nintendo Switch that uses a unique art style is Okami HD. It pulls you in from the start, jumping off the screen with its sharp outlines and contrast. The story itself is also just as impressive, with themes around magic and the occult.

6. Metroid Prime Remastered

Next is Metroid Prime Remastered, which set the bar for Metroidvania adventure games. Samus Aran explores the intergalactic space of planet Tallon IV, honing her skills and abilities in preparation for ending an intergalactic threat called Phazon. 

You gradually discover more of the story while you explore, having to backtrack to previously locked areas when you unlock new abilities. All the while, you step into the shoes of a fearless bounty hunter, marveling in Metroid Prime’s mastery of fast and fluid platforming and combat.

5. Super Mario Odyssey

So much more can be found in the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond, as Super Mario Odyssey is determined to show you. A globe-trotting adventure with Mario and his new friend, Cappy, where you unlock cool abilities like controlling animals and enemies, and collecting Power Moons for leveling up your airship. Princess Peach needs saving as well. Better rescue her before she says, “I do.”

4. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

It feels, outright, like being transported into a foreign place the minute you enter Ori and the Will of the Wisps’s world. Its bright purple, blue, and green colors create an effervescent feeling. It’s even more impressive that this exotic world is hand-crafted. 

The story is emotive, supported by the moody atmosphere and visuals. And the combat is also as compelling, with a diverse set of fast-paced moves, whether wielding the Spirit Edge sword or Spirit Smash hammer.

3. Astral Chain

The combat in Astral Chain experiments with combining your character’s abilities with your Legion, which is a sentient weapon tethered to you via a chain. Together, you chain stylish combos that you can tweak based on the Legion type.

It can take a little getting used to, but no fret, with the futuristic cyberpunk metropolis keeping you engaged with investigating crimes: the whole shabang, interrogating suspects, and collaborating with your task force to solve crimes.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom continues the series tradition of adding new areas to explore, as well as new abilities and characters to meet. Link now manipulates the environment and objects around him to traverse the world and fight enemies. 

He can use his new arm to reverse time, build pretty complex automobiles, and fuse items to create more valuable tools. It adds depth to exploration, discovering every last item and secret hidden in the world. And a massive world at that, whether on the surface or the mysterious floating islands up above.

1. L.A. Noire

Taking detective work to the next level, the next entry among the best adventure games on Nintendo Switch drops you into 1940s Los Angeles. This was the post-World War II Golden Age of Hollywood, featuring an LAPD detective trying to control the spiking crime rates in the L.A. underworld.

L.A. Noire tests your determination to climb the ranks at the expense of going against your moral code. It puts you in morally grey situations that rack your brain with tough decisions to make. Will you pursue justice at all costs, even if it comes at the cost of losing your soul?