Gaming can be an expensive hobby, which is why it’s so exciting when companies start giving away titles for the grand price of free. Epic Games have set a new benchmark for generous giveaways, with titles like Grand Theft Auto V, Football Manager 2020, and the Batman Arkham trilogy all being free on the service previously.
It’s fair to say that Nintendo isn’t known for being too flexible when it comes to how much the company charges; the full price release of Super Mario 3D All-Stars and the announcement that The Legend of Zelda: Skyword Sword will be full-priced when it comes to the Nintendo Switch in July 2021 exemplifying this. However, Nintendo has been relatively generous to those subscribed to their Nintendo Switch Online service, offering numerous excellent games for no additional cost.
10 Asphalt 9: Legends
Asphalt 9: Legends was initially released on the Nintendo Switch in 2019 by Gameloft, a Vivendi subsidiary. Despite the realistic graphics and licensed vehicles, Asphalt 9: Legends is an over-the-top arcade racer fit with speed boosts and ramps for tricks.
The Nintendo Switch iteration’s Metascore of 61 falls short of the 74 score that the iOS version received, but it’s still worth checking out for fans of the arcade racing genre; a genre that has struggled to recapture its glory days of the mid-2000s, led by titles like Burnout 3: Takedown and Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition.
9 Pokemon Quest
Pokemon Quest was developed by Game Freak, the same company behind the recently announced Pokemon Legends: Arceus. The latter looks set to finally answer fans’ wishes by being set in an open-world and having action-RPG gameplay.
The second best-selling video game franchise of all time took a page out of the ninth highest, Minecraft, with Pokemon Quest’s blocky art style. Pokemon Quest requires a ton of grinding, but it does manage to remain interesting, thanks to its engaging level of strategy.
8 Fallout Shelter
Considering that Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been on the Nintendo Switch since November 2017, it’s understandable why many Switch owners are disappointed not to have a main series Fallout game over three years later.
That’s not to say that there’s no Fallout game on the system at all, however, as the once mobile-exclusive Fallout Shelter came to the Switch in 2018. The game lets players take the role of Overseer as they build and manage their own Vault.
7 World of Tanks Blitz
2016’s World of Tanks Blitz was released by Wargaming Group Limited, which is responsible for other vehicular combat titles such as 2017’s World of Warships and 2018’s World of Warplanes.
World of Tanks Blitz lets players pit their customizable tanks online in multiplayer seven vs. seven battles. The game suffers from some pay-to-win issues, though the gameplay has a decent level of depth, ensuring that skill prevails over money spent.
6 Warframe
Warframe‘s initial March 2013 release on PC and following November 2013 and September 2014 iterations on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One all failed to impress, exemplified by the game’s lackluster Metascores, which ranged between 62 and 71.
However, the creators have stuck with the game, and the Nintendo Switch release showed how far Warframe has come, with its far more impressive Metascore of 86 being a testament to the game’s continued improvement. The sci-fi shooter’s improved features include better story missions as well as new open-world sections.
5 Super Kirby Clash
The Kirby series isn’t one of Nintendo’s oldest, as the first game, Kirby’s Dream Land, was released as recently as 1992. However, the franchise ranks among Nintendo’s highest in terms of the number of games released, as the pink hero has had at least one new game hit stores almost every year since the first in ’92.
Super Kirby Clash is an upgraded version of Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, which was released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2017. The gameplay is simplistic, but it has a decent amount of strategic depth to ensure that players don’t lose interest.
4 Pinball FX 3
Pinball tables aren’t as widely available in stores, shops, and arcades as they used to be. Therefore, it’s great that players are able to play the old-school game from the comfort of their own home with titles like Pinball FX 3.
The free version of Pinball FX 3 is relatively stripped back, but it still has more than enough content for players to get hours of entertainment without having to purchase additional tables. There are numerous licensed tables available for those interested in purchasing new ones, such as Jurassic World and The Walking Dead.
3 Rocket League
Combining the world’s most popular sport with flying cars sounds like a winning formula on paper, and Psyonix was able to nail the execution with 2015’s Rocket League. The game became free to play across all platforms at the end of 2020, expanding its already impressive player base.
Along with the money-making idea, the game’s popularity predominantly comes from the depth in its gameplay. Rocket League nails the concept of being easy to play but impossible to master, as the game is great fun to play casually with friends while also being an ultra-competitive Esport.
2 Fortnite
Another game that nails the “easy to learn, impossible to master” concept is Fortnite. The game drops up to 100 players onto an enormous map and gives them the simple task of kill or be killed.
The game didn’t invent the battle royale genre, but the popular style of online multiplayer gameplay wouldn’t be as big as it is today without Epic Games’ shooter. PUBG Corporation took legal action against Fortnite for its similarities to their battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, though the lawsuit was dropped in 2018, possibly due to a settlement being reached.
1 Tetris 99
Tetris 99 makes numerous changes to the original 1984 iteration of Tetris, particularly by how it’s, surprisingly, another game that takes a page out of the battle royale genre’s book. The game looks to improve upon previous entries in the franchise by letting players compete with 99 other people simultaneously while having the ability to sabotage them.
The game was released just a few months after the visually impressive Tetris Effect, which is also available for next to nothing as it’s included in Microsoft’s Game Pass service.
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