Action gaming is, unsurprisingly, the industry’s most popular genre, ahead of sports and adventure games which are in second and third place respectively. What makes the action genre so successful is that it factors into numerous other styles of gaming. The action genre featured in many arcade games like beat em’ ups and shoot em’ ups, factored into the platforming games that dominated the 90s, the realistic shooters that thrived in the 2000s, and the open-world adventure games that have recently found success in the 2010s.
Unsurprisingly, the Nintendo Switch has been flooded with numerous fantastic action games that have helped Nintendo bounce back from the disappointment of the Wii U. With the line between what is and what isn’t an action game often being hard to determine, it’s worth pointing out that the titles on this list were chosen as they are categorized in the action genre by Metacritic.
10 Sonic Mania Plus (91)
Today, many people associate the action genre with over-the-top shooters and hack and slash games, though it’s platformers that spearheaded the genre’s rise during the early generations of home console gaming.
Following an almost impressive run of disappointing 3D games, Sega’s mascot character Sonic finally found success by taking the series back to its roots. Sonic Mania recreates some of the blue hedgehog’s most iconic stages while implementing numerous design changes. Sonic Mania Plus, an enhanced version of the game, was released in July 2018 and featured new characters as well as an Encore Mode.
9 Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (91)
From one side-scrolling action-platformer to another, Shovel Knight was initially released in 2014 and recaptured the essence of classic 8-bit titles while implementing modern gameplay mechanics.
Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove is an expanded edition of the original game that includes the King of Cards, Plague of Shadows, and Specter of Torment campaigns. Shovel Knight won numerous awards upon release, including The Game Awards’ accolade of Best Independent Game, and IGN’s Best 3DS Game.
8 INSIDE (91)
Winner of the Action accolade at the 2018 Webby Awards, INSIDE released in 2016 and is the successor of Limbo. The game was praised by fans and critics for its minimalistic take on audio; INSIDE predominantly saves its audio for musical cues and diegetic sounds. Playdead’s audio choice was evidently a smart one, as the game won the accolade of Best Audio at the Game Developers Choice Awards.
INSIDE‘s audio wasn’t its only award-winning feature, as Playdead’s game also picked up awards for Artistic Achievement and Narrative at the British Academy Games Awards, as well as Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction at the D.I.C.E. Awards.
7 Celeste (92)
The fourth side-scrolling action-platformer to appear in a row on this list is also the last; Celeste was released in 2018 by Matt Makes Games and tasked the playable character, Madeline, with scaling Celeste Mountain while facing her inner demons, often literally, along the way.
Celeste is recognized today for being one of the gaming’s best modern side-scrollers, as well as one of the toughest since Team Meat’s Super Meat Boy. Celeste is also known for its prevalence in the speedrunning community, helped by the game’s integrated timer.
6 Bayonetta 2 (92)
Directed by Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya, the first Bayonetta game set a new standard for modern hack and slash titles. Its sequel, Bayonetta 2, was released in 2014 and received even stronger praise from fans and critics; the game performed particularly well with IGN, who gave the game a score of 9.5 and awarded it with their Best Action Game accolade.
A sequel, Bayonetta 3, was announced at The Game Awards 2017 along with a Nintendo Switch port of the first two games. News of the upcoming game has been few and far between, though when it does eventually get a release date, it will almost certainly be one of the Nintendo Switch’s most highly anticipated titles.
5 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (93)
Originating in 1999 on the Nintendo 64, the Super Smash Bros. series lets players live out the fantasy of seeing some of gaming’s most iconic mascots battle it out in over-the-top action battles.
The latest iteration of the game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, released on the Nintendo Switch in December 2018 and offered the most impressive roster of characters yet; along with mainstays like Mario and Link, the game features numerous obscure characters such as R.O.B. and Mr. Game & Watch.
4 Hades (93)
One of 2020’s most critically acclaimed games along with The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima, Supergiant Games’ Hades has already become one of the most beloved modern roguelike titles.
Aided by numerous unlockable abilities, Hades tasks players with reaching Mount Olympus by escaping from the Underworld. The bulk of the action game’s praise came from its excellent storytelling, combat, and postgame content.
3 Ori and The Will of the Wisps (93)
Action-platformer Ori and the Wills of the Wisps, along with other critically acclaimed titles like Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, has been fundamental in the Metroidvania subgenre’s recent return to prominence.
Ori and The Will of the Wisps has one of the most well-designed Metroidvania maps in modern gaming, not just because of its ingenious interconnectivity, but with the supplementing visual art that earned Moon Studios a nomination for Best Visual Art at The Game Awards 2020.
2 Super Mario Odyssey (97)
With an eye-watering Metascore of 97, Super Mario Odyssey is the joint-top entry on this list. Nintendo’s latest Mario adventure once again saw gaming’s most iconic mascot take a shift in direction, with the implementation of the unique capturing mechanic.
By giving Mario the ability to take control of objects, enemies, and more, Nintendo was able to offer players an incredible range of gameplay mechanics. The capture feature makes Odyssey Mario’s most action-pact adventure yet, as he takes control of tanks, dinosaurs, chain chomps, and much, much more.
1 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (97)
Much like Super Mario Odyssey, the latest main-series Legend of Zelda game took a drastic shift in direction from its predecessors. Along with the Dark Souls-inspired way of storytelling and influx of side quests, Breath of the Wild differentiated itself with its freely explorable open-world inspired by the original Legend of Zelda game.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild‘s 97 Metascore makes it the second-highest entry in the iconic Legend of Zelda series according to Metacritic, just two points behind the highest-rated game of the site and series, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
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