With the Switch 2 having launched in June, 2025 marked the beginning of a whole new console generation for Nintendo. The more powerful hybrid console has seen an extremely busy first six months, filled with excellent first-party games, surprising third-party ports, and highly-anticipated indies. And even deep into its ninth year, the original Switch provided its players with plenty to do, too, with the long-overdue arrivals of Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles X, and a few cross-generation Nintendo games that made it to both Switches.
Nintendo itself published a whopping 16 games in 2025 – spread across new Switch 1 and 2 games and enhanced Switch 2 editions of older games – and along with the higher volume of third-party support brought on by a new console, it’s a crowded field to choose the best of the best from this year. But ranking things is what we do at IGN, so here are the Nintendo Switch games we went bananas for in 2025, starting with the honorable mentions…
Honorable Mentions
Our staff voted for a wide variety of games, but not all of them can make our shortlist of the top five Nintendo Switch games of the year. They still deserve a nod, though, and we start with Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, a Switch 2 launch game for the cozy gamers that combines chill action RPG systems with life sim mechanics. The Pokemon series wasted no time debuting on Switch 2 with Pokemon Legends: Z-A, a cross-generation release in the more experimental Legends subseries. It shook up the formula by introducing a more action-focused battle system in an adventure set entirely within Lumiose City. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment was another strong entry in the Zelda spinoff series, with flashy action that remixed Tears of the Kingdom’s abilities in clever ways. And while it arrived too late into the year to have been included in our ballot, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally here, eight years after it was first teased at E3 2017. I reviewed it, and it turned out great, with highs that rival the best moments in the whole series. Now, let’s move on to our four runner-ups…
Runner-Up – Mario Kart World
Mario Kart World had a lot of expectations placed on it. Its predecessor, Mario Kart 8, established itself as the definitive kart racer over the course of the Wii U and Switch years, and it was tough to see how Nintendo would improve upon it in a sequel. On top of that, World was also the flagship launch game for Switch 2, meaning it had the responsibility of leaving a strong first impression of the generation to come. While it feels like Mario Kart World is still living in 8 Deluxe’s shadow, at least for now, it’s still a fantastic game in its own right. It’s a gorgeous showcase for Nintendo’s new console with its vibrant, exaggerated art style, and its tight controls are the most polished of any entry in the series. Plus, its frankly enormous soundtrack is an absolute treat for longtime Mario fans, with catchy remixes of tunes drawn from across the entire franchise, from old Mario Kart games, to platformers like Yoshi’s Island.
The implementation of its open world is uneven overall, but its miles and miles of interconnected roads allow for World’s standout new mode: Knockout Tour. This tense cross-country race eliminates the bottom four drivers at designated cutoff points, leading to moments where you lean forward in your seat and press the A button even harder in an attempt to will your kart across the finish line. It’s a brilliant evolution of Mario Kart that will no doubt be a staple on family game nights for years to come. And we can’t end this without shouting out Cow, the new playable character who stole our hearts.
Runner-Up – Kirby Air Riders
Switch 2’s first-party lineup featured a couple of fascinating risks in its first six months: instead of a 3D Mario, we got a 3D Donkey Kong. And instead of starting work on a new Smash Bros., Masahiro Sakurai instead directed Kirby Air Riders; a surprise sequel to a niche GameCube racer that no one saw coming. Air Riders turned out to be fantastic – Sakurai truly gave the Smash Ultimate treatment to Air Ride – and it’s hard to imagine a better realization of this formula. It’s overflowing with wildly different modes, meaningful unlockables and achievements to chase, and a borderline absurd amount of customization. There’s an extreme level of polish and attention to detail throughout every pocket of Air Riders that makes the whole thing shine brightly. Its unique – and admittedly somewhat limited – one or two-button control scheme isn’t going to be for everyone. But if you meet Air Riders on its own terms and click with it, you’ll find a cult classic in the making that’s unlike many other triple-A games out there.
Runner-Up – Hollow Knight: Silksong
This year, both generations of Nintendo Switch got two long-awaited metroidvania sequels that were, in hindsight, probably announced far too early: Metroid Prime 4, and our next runner-up, Hollow Knight: Silksong. While Prime 4 has some visible scars from its troubled development, Silksong somehow managed to arrive sparkling like a masterpiece whose artists just didn’t want to stop adding more to it. As IGN’s reviewer Tom Marks put it, “The whole world may have been waiting for Hollow Knight: Silksong’s cocoon to finally crack open, but it sure doesn’t seem to have been burdened by that pressure. This excellent sequel to an all-time great has more than managed to live up to the high expectations I had set for it, standing as both a smart continuation of the original Hollow Knight and a fantastic game of its own.” Silksong may not be developed by Nintendo, but it feels right at home on Switch 2, because of both its obvious debt of inspiration to the Metroid franchise, and the fact that the first Hollow Knight really took off after it was ported to the original Switch in 2018.
Runner-Up – Hades 2
The first Hades was a runaway success – it even won IGN’s Game of the Year award in 2020 – so it’s remarkable that Supergiant Games managed to outdo itself with a sequel. Hades 2 is an incredible refinement of the innovative story-driven roguelite blueprint laid out by its predecessor. As IGN’s reviewer Leana Hafer said, “There is no one out there doing what Supergiant does as well as it does, and this exceptional action roguelite is some of this team’s best work on nearly every level (which is an astonishingly high bar to clear)… The art is breathtaking, the characters are captivating, the combat is fast, fun, endlessly varied, and tactical, and the music is spectacular.” Just like the first, Hades 2 launched in 1.0 as a Nintendo console exclusive (alongside its PC release), giving Switch 1 and 2 players one of the year’s very best. Hades 2 is also one of only two games this year to score our highest rating on IGN: a 10 out of 10 masterpiece. But the other game that scored a 10 also happens to be a Nintendo game…
Winner – Donkey Kong Bananza
The safe option would have been to release a new 3D Mario game in the Switch 2’s launch window. But Nintendo made a bold move instead, choosing to bring one of its original mascots back in-house for the first time in 20 years. The result is Donkey Kong Bananza: an ambitious, masterful 3D platformer that brilliantly redefines one of gaming’s oldest characters while simultaneously paying loving tribute to every era of the great ape. DK and Pauline’s journey to the planet core was the Switch 2’s first essential adventure, and our staff’s pick for the best Nintendo game of 2025.
Few games feel as satisfying to play as Bananza. DK’s moveset is fast, expressive, and powerful, and the way the meticulously designed breakable world is structured around his destructive toolkit is incredibly impressive. Just ripping a chunk out of the ground leads to so many dynamic options: you can throw it, swing it, double jump, or even surf. Romping around each detailed sublevel and hunting for hundreds of well-hidden collectibles as the world crumbles before you is a blast. It’s always exciting to see what new twist the next layer’s terrain will bring, and Bananza’s focus on platforming by way of destruction is a completely fresh idea that pushes this genre in groundbreaking new directions.
Bananza also takes clear inspiration from Nintendo greats like Breath of the Wild in the way it approaches player freedom. Not only can you tear every level down to the studs, Bananza is ready for almost any sequence break you throw at it. Did you skip a layer’s challenge entirely by cleverly platforming around it? Pauline will comment on it when you’re diving to the next area. Nintendo doesn’t stop you from playing how you want, always allowing for a rewarding amount of flexibility, but it’s bold enough to also let you know the development team thought of all these tricks first.
Donkey Kong has gone through so many phases and stewards: from Shigeru Miyamoto’s legendary arcade original, to Rare’s classic Donkey Kong Country trilogy, to Retro’s fantastic revivals. But with Bananza, Nintendo finally brought Donkey Kong home again and kicked off a brand new era that’s hopefully just getting started. Donkey Kong is Nintendo’s king of 2025.
What was your favorite Nintendo game this year? Let us know in the comments! For more IGN awards, check out our pick for the best Xbox game of the year. And for a deeper dive on Nintendo’s 2025, check out our pair of year-in-review episodes of the Nintendo Voice Chat podcast over on the IGN Games YouTube channel or your favorite podcast app.
IGN Awards 2025: The Winners
Want to know more about each award? Our dedicated awards pages are a deeper dive into each category, revealing the criteria for each award and our thoughts on the big winners (and many of the runner-ups, too!)
The Best Xbox Game of 2025The Best Action Game of 2025The Best Superhero Movie of 2025The Best Nintendo Game of 2025The Best RPG of 2025The Best Horror Movie of 2025
