The adventure genre of gaming, particularly the action-adventure genre, has started to dominate the industry. This is largely thanks to improvements in gaming hardware that has allowed developers to create more immersive experiences than ever before. Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda series has been one of, if not the most influential franchise in the history of the adventure genre.
Unsurprisingly, the iconic The Legend of Zelda series returned on the Nintendo Switch, and the latest main-series title, Breath of the Wild, is already being touted as one of the best entries in the critically acclaimed Legend of Zelda series. A sequel, currently referred to as Breath of the Wild 2, has been teased by Nintendo and is one of the most the gaming industry’s most highly anticipated titles.
The release of Breath of the Wild 2 may still be many months away, but thankfully, there are numerous other excellent adventure titles on the Nintendo Switch to fill the void.
10 Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition is a fitting game to kick off this list as it takes players back to the early days of adventure gaming. Point and click titles were a dominant force in adventuring gaming during the 90s, led by LucasArts and Sierra. One issue with the genre that led to its downfall is that the plethora of tough puzzles that would flesh the games out would often break-up the story’s flow. Grim Fandango, one of the point and click genre‘s most beloved releases, is a prime example of this, as its excellent story was extremely disjointed due to the game having some of the toughest puzzles in the genre’s history.
Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition differentiates itself from the 90s titles by simply removing puzzles from the game completely; putting Kentucky Route Zero‘s story at center stage and letting it flow naturally.
9 L.A. Noire
Originally released in 2011 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, L.A. Noire came to the Nintendo Switch six years later. Rockstar’s game put players in the shoes of a 1940s detective and tasked them with solving crimes around Los Angles.
The original release is somewhat divisive today; some see it as being revolutionary in the improvement of facial animations, whereas others dismiss it and believe that it has aged extremely poorly. The enhanced edition that released on the Switch made significant strides in fixing the game’s shortcomings, by improving the visuals and changing the fairly ambiguous “Truth,” “Doubt,” and “Lie” buttons with “Good Cop,” “Bad Cop” and “Accuse.”
8 A Short Hike
One of 2019’s most critically acclaimed indie titles, A Short Hike came to the Nintendo Switch in 2020. The game tasks players with finding golden feathers in a beautifully designed open-world that has numerous side activities to partake in.
Adam Robinson-Yu’s A Short Hike will only take players around 2 hours to complete, but that didn’t stop the game from receiving an 88 Metascore and winning the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the 2020 Independent Games Festival Awards.
7 Hollow Knight
Team Cherry’s Hollow Knight is one of the key games responsible for the recent resurgence of the Metroidvania genre that was prominent in the late 80s and early 90s.
With beautiful, eerie visuals and a wonderfully designed, interconnected map, Hollow Knight was able to capture the essence of titles like Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night while implementing enough innovative mechanics to make the game appealing to modern audiences.
6 INSIDE
From one eerie, atmospheric title to another; INSIDE was released on the Nintendo Switch in 2018 to universal praise. The game was developed by Playdead, who also created 2010’s Limbo.
INSIDE is one of the Nintendo Switch’s highest-rated games on Metacritic with an impressive score of 91. Along with the impressive Metascore, INSIDE won numerous awards upon release, including the Game Critics Awards’ Best Independent Game and the D.I.C.E. Awards’ Outstanding Achievement In Art Direction.
5 Bayonetta 2
Directed by Hideki Kamiya, the creator of the Devil May Cry franchise, the Bayonetta series has become a cornerstone of the hack and slash genre. PlatinumGames managed to improve upon the original Bayonetta with its sequel, Bayonetta 2, which has become one of the most critically acclaimed hack and slash action-adventures ever released.
Now a Nintendo exclusive, the series is set to receive its third entry; an official teaser for the game released in 2017, though there has been very little news about the game since.
4 Luigi’s Mansion 3
It’s safe to say that the Luigi‘s Mansion series didn’t get off to the smoothest start in 2001. The release of Nintendo’s latest console, the GameCube, was just around the corner, and players were excited to see what Mario and Zelda game would be kicking the console off. Instead, players got neither, with Luigi’s Mansion being the most highly promoted launch title. Nintendo fans were understandably disappointed about this, though the quality of the game soon silenced frustrated players.
The series’ third title has continued the franchise’s impressive form and was awarded The Game Awards’ Best Family Game.
3 Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is another game that has been fundamental in rejuvenating the Metroidvania genre. Moon Studios found numerous ways to improve upon the game’s predecessor, Ori and the Blind Forest, particularly with the implementation of open-world mechanics and side quests. Moreover, the game managed to improve upon Blind Forest‘s spectacular art design, earning Moon Studios a nomination for the Golden Joystick’s Best Visual Design award; like many 2020 nominees though, the game lost out to Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps is currently the Nintendo Switch’s third highest-rated game on Metacritic, with an excellent score of 93.
2 Ōkami HD
Ōkami is predominantly known for two things: being the best Zelda-like adventure, and being of the most underrated games of all time.
Capcom’s game switches the land of Hyrule for an artistic interpretation of Japanese folklore. Clover Studio’s adventure was extremely well received when it first released, scoring 93 on Metacritic; however, the game struggled to perform sales-wise and was initially considered a commercial failure. Thankfully, the “commercial failure” tag can finally be removed from the game, as following numerous re-releases over the last fifteen years, the game has finally been rewarded with the financial success that it has always deserved.
1 Super Mario Odyssey
Taking a series like The Legend of Zelda away from a list of best adventure titles would usually result in the top spot being seriously weakened, but thankfully for Nintendo, they have not one but two of gaming’s most legendary franchises.
Super Mario Odyssey is Mario’s most ambitious adventure since the Nintendo Wii’s Super Mario Galaxy. Nintendo continued their tradition of drastically changing the latest Mario title’s gameplay formula, this time with Odyssey‘s capture mechanic. The capture mechanic offered players incredible gameplay variety and resulted in one of the best entries in the iconic Super Mario series.
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