The Nintendo Switch is one of the most child-friendly gaming devices out there. Small, lightweight and equipped with simple controls, it’s easy to take with on long journeys, or to hook up to the TV screen and play with friends.
In other words, it’s the perfect device for anybody looking to entertain their kids – and if you’re a gamer yourself, then chances are you want your children to be able to enjoy it too.
But which games are best? With many Switch games costing upwards of £30, it’s important to pick an option that suits your child’s playstyle and hobbies.
Fortunately, there’s a lot of variety out there these days, from the revamped badminton and tennis arenas of Nintendo Switch Sports to the good old-fashioned fun that is MarioKart (because when did nobody like racing against their friends?).
If they’re keener on adventuring, then games like Pokemon or The Legend of Zelda will suit them perfectly; if you’re in a more nostalgic mood, then many noughties games like Spyro have been remastered and are just waiting for a new audience to appreciate.
Many of them (such as Mario Party: Superstars) are multi-player, making them perfect for enjoying in groups at parties; alternatively, if you’d rather pick something to distract the kids on a plane flight, then something like Minecraft will be both fun and educational.
Best Nintendo Switch Games for Kids at a glance:
- Best for parties: Mario Party: Superstars, £36.99, Amazon
- Best for racing fans: MarioKart 8 Deluxe, £36.99, John Lewis
- Best for getting creative: Minecraft: Nintendo Switch, £19.99, Amazon
- Best for reliving old classics: Spyro Reignited Trilogy, £21.99, Argos
- Best for playing with family and friends: Nintendo Switch Sports, £32, Amazon
- Best for the trigger-happy: Splatoon 3, £29.99, Amazon
- Best for younger children: Kirby and the Forgotten Land, £39.99, John Lewis
- Best for young adventurers: Pokémon Scarlet/ Violet, £42.99, Argos
- Best for kicking back and relaxing: Animal Crossing: New Horizons, 336.99, Amazon
- Best for action and adventure fans: LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, £19.99, Amazon
Whatever mood – or, indeed, age – they are, we’re picked some of the best Nintendo Switch games for children on the market.
See our top picks below
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Mario Party: Superstars
Best for: parties with friends
Superstars is undoubtedly one of the best Mario Party games. Featuring a cast of old favourites (including Mario, Bowser and Peach among others) this game takes the form of a collection of fun, wacky mini-games that are easy to play and vary wildly in content from one to the next. There are over a hundred to choose from, and each game can be played with up to four players: in a word, it’s party gold.
Buy now £36.99, Amazon
MarioKart 8 Deluxe
Best for: racing fans
Who doesn’t like MarioKart? This game (in its various iterations) has been a classic ever since it launched back in the Nineties, and for good reason. The inventive racetracks, jazzy music and customisable racecars make it a perfect blend of fun and competitive – as is the fact that you can play with up to four different people. In MarioKart 8 Deluxe, there are 42 unique characters to choose from, and a stonking 48 racetracks, while the controls are easy and intuitive.
Buy now £36.99, John Lewis
Minecraft: Nintendo Switch
Best for: getting creative
Does Minecraft need an introduction? To the majority of today’s children, it probably doesn’t – which is what makes its move to the Switch so exciting.
With its iconic blocky graphics and simple concept, it’s suitable for kids aged 7+ – and while the Survival mode might be a bit tricky for the youngest players, its Creative Mode lets them build fantastical structures to their heart’s content with easy-to-grasp controls. Sit back and let them play away.
Buy now £19.99, Amazon
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Best for: reliving old classics
Ask any Nineties kid about Spyro and they’ll probably let out a misty-eyed sigh – now, all three Spyro games have finally been remastered and made available to the next generation of children. The adventures of a small purple dragon as he goes about saving his friends and collecting gems is beloved for a reason: it’s fun, it has very cute graphics and the challenges are easily achievable to boot. Also, you get to fly: yes please.
Buy now £21.99, Argos
Nintendo Switch Sports
Best for: playing with family and friends
This stone-cold classic is finally upgraded and available to play on the Switch – and it’s the perfect way to relax at home. The console can be connected to the television and up to four controllers connected, which in turn means that you can play tennis, badminton, chambara (a kind of fencing) and even volleyball, either alone or with friends and family. The controls are intuitive and easy to follow; for any competitive kids, it’ll be a surefire hit.
Buy now £32.00, Amazon
Splatoon 3
Best for: the trigger-happy
Splatoon 3 offers excitement and challenge aplenty – but crucially, in a kid-friendly way (ie. minus any violence or blood). It’s a fairly straightforward third-person shooter game set in a colourful cartoon world where everybody is a kind of human-squid hybrid called an Inkling. What this basically means is that players can load each other up with ink pellets, then transform into squids, swim around in the same ink and refill their supplies. It’s easy to play, it’s slightly batty and there’s a fun multiplayer mode: what’s not to like?
Buy now £29.99, Amazon
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Best for: younger children
Come along on an adventurer with this lovable pink blob as he sets out to discover new (or should that be old?) worlds. This is the perfect introduction to puzzle-based games: the challenges are easy to solve and encourage players to explore their environment. The game can be played in co-op, which means parents or siblings can join in; also, Kirby can literally take the shape of anything he ingests, be it car or boulder, which makes it a sure-fire hit from the off.
Buy now £39.99, John Lewis
Pokémon Scarlet/ Violet
Best for: young adventurers
Really, anybody can play Pokémon, young or old – but the game’s relative simplicity means that it’s easy for children to play too. Set on the island of Paldea, Pokémon Scarlet/ Violet boasts three new starter Pokémon to choose from – the brilliantly named Quaxly, Sprigatito and Fuecoco – and is the first open-world game in the franchise. You even get to go to the Pokémon equivalent of Hogwarts, which has to be a first. Sit back and get ready to explore.
Buy now £42.99, Argos
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Best for: kicking back and relaxing
Animal Crossing is truly the pinnacle of zen gaming. It’s easy to play, it’s rather therapeutic and it’s very low stakes. A child can play as any avatar of their choice, and work on exploring the world, chatting to the animal neighbours, and building their dream home. It’s the Sims, but massively simplified, and the cute graphics and straightforward tasks (ie. weed the garden, or collect bells) make it one that’s simple to get stuck into.
Buy now £36.99, Amazon
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
Best for: action and adventure fans
What kid doesn’t wish that they were a superhero? In LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, they can be. This Nintendo Switch game has a PEGI 7 rating, making it perfect for kids who are just being introduced to the Marvel universe.
With a completely new storyline to follow, they can play as superheroes like Wolverine, Captain America and Iron Man as they battle to stop a group of super-villains (including Loki, because of course) from creating a weapon capable of destroying the world.
Add in Lego, and the result is a wacky romp where heroes literally have the power to craft weapons and cars on the fly.
Buy now £19.99, Amazon
