Summary

• The Nintendo Switch is perhaps the premier console for multiplayer gaming.
• Even when considering the Switch's exclusive titles, there are a number of must-play games for local co-op and online multiplayer.
• The best multiplayer games on the Switch range from classic platforming, to unique shooters, to iconic racing games.

The Nintendo Switch can be a wonderful console for playing multiplayer games, particularly with its several Nintendo-exclusive cooperative titles, as well as many games that can be enjoyed with friends on other systems via crossplay. Nothing can quite match the fun of playing a game with friends or family in the same room in local play, which many Nintendo games are designed for. If looking for online multiplayer fun, the choices available for Nintendo players are vast and can help people feel connected even over long distances.

Anyone looking to play online with friends using the Nintendo Switch will need to make sure they have a Nintendo Switch Online , which is required for any kind of online play, in addition to giving access to some of the service's catalog of games. For local play, this should not be necessary, even if connecting two Switches, as long as they are on the same Wi-Fi. Whether local or online, here are some of the best games to try out on the Nintendo Switch with friends and family to have a great time.

10 WarioWare: Move It! (2023)

Up To Four-Player Local Co-Op

WarioWare: Move It! is only available in local play, mainly because the physical movement required for the game is much more enjoyable when shared in the same room. The game features many microgames where the Joy-Cons are used for motion sensing as players take on certain poses and ridiculous games that can involve fishing for a hotdog octopus or unrolling toilet paper. The main story of the game can be played with one to two players, and then there is a Party Mode that is for two to four players. WarioWare: Move It! earned 4 stars in Screen Rant's review, and has a Metacritic score of 75.

9 Overcooked! All You Can Eat (2020)

Up To Four-Player Online Or Local Co-Op

For chaotic, fast-paced action that is supposedly cooperative, Overcooked! All You Can Eat is a true test of communication and working together in a hilarious multiplayer environment. The game is all about quickly making food, filling orders, and occasionally putting out fires. It can be played locally as well as online, with cross-platform play ed on all systems. Overcooked! All You Can Eat is a compilation of Overcooked! and Overcooked! 2, with remastered visuals and a handful of new content, and has earned a Metacritic aggregate score of 84.

8 Mario Party Superstars (2021)

Up To Four-Player Online Or Local Competitive

Mario Party games are a great way to enjoy a board game-like experience in a video game setting, with the extra ability to enjoy silly and fun minigames. As the minigames are the star of the show, it is fitting that this game takes the best of the experiences from the past two decades of Mario Party games and puts them all in Mario Party Superstars, offering 100 minigames in this iteration. The game can be enjoyed by up to four players locally, or in an online mode with either random players or friends. Mario Party Superstars was given 4.5 stars in Screen Rant's review and has a Metacritic score of 80.

7 Splatoon 3 (2022)

Up To Eight-Player Online Competitive & Co-Op

Nintendo's exclusive properties traditionally try to present themselves as more family-friendly, without an emphasis on a lot of blood and gore that can appear in many of the popular games in the industry. Splatoon 3 is, therefore, Nintendo's flagship shooter series, giving players a non-traditional third-person shooter environment using ink that is more graffiti than dangerous. As players spray their color of ink across the map in its base Turf War mode, they try to occupy the majority of the map and take out opponents at the same time. The Screen Rant review of Splatoon 3 gave this colorful shooter 4.5/5 stars, and it has a Metacritic score of 83.

6 Kirby And The Forgotten Land (2022)

Up To Two-Player Local Co-Op

The hungry little pink Kirby uses all kinds of new powers in his adventure game Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and perhaps surprisingly, he can bring a friend along for the ride. Though it is designed as a single-player game at its core, a second player can on the same screen as Bandana Waddle Dee using a second controller. Bandana Waddle Dee cannot float like Kirby, and some of the attacks are different, but they do have a special spear that is a powerful weapon. Kirby and the Forgotten Land received 4.5 stars from Screen Rant and has a Metacritic score of 85.

5 Luigi's Mansion 3 (2019)

Multiple Local & Online Multiplayer Modes

Luigi's ghostly action-adventure game can be played with friends in a few different ways. Once the slimy green Gooigi character has been unlocked on Floor 5, Professor E. Gadd will introduce the various options for players. Luigi's Mansion 3 has a Screen Rant review of 4.5/5 stars and a Metacritic score of 86.

• Two-player co-op mode for local play lets one person take over the gooey doppelgänger version of Luigi and the rest of the main story campaign can be enjoyed together.
• Local wireless or online play is available in Scarescraper Mode where up to four consoles can connect online for a co-op challenge to clear as many levels of the Scarescraper as possible before time runs out.
• ScreamPark Mode lets up to eight players locally on one console compete in mini-games.

4 Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2013)

Up To Four-Player Online Or Local Co-Op

Super Mario 3D World was previously on the Wii U, and made a jump to the Nintendo Switch while being packaged with a short new game called Bowser's Fury. Both of the games offer cooperative multiplayer, although where Super Mario 3D World allows up to four players to forces from among several playable characters, Bowser's Fury only lets up to two players enjoy it, with one playing as Mario while the other controls Bowser Jr. Screen Rant's review of the game scored it a rating of 4.5/5 stars, with a Metacritic score of 89.

3 Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)

Up To Four Players In Local Co-Op, Or Up To 12 Online

Super Mario Bros. Wonder was released in October 2023 and quickly ed The Game Awards' nominees list for Game of the Year. Although it did not win that coveted title, it did take home the award for Best Family Game. Mario's platforming adventure in the Flower Kingdom lets up to four players play together in local multiplayer, or up to 12 people can connect in a private room, although only four at a time can play the levels together. Screen Rant's review of Super Mario Bros. Wonder gave it 4.5 stars, and it has received a must-play Metacritic score of 92.

2 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017)

Up To Four Players Local, Or Up To 12 Online

Mario's kart-racing phenomenon is a classic when it comes to multiplayer gaming on the Nintendo Switch, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's numerous DLCs that add more tracks, characters, and more to the game have kept this version going strong. Up to four players can race each other on one Nintendo Switch, or multiple Switches can connect together with two people per Switch for up to eight players on a local wireless connection or 12 players total online. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has a Metacritic score of 92.

1 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)

Up To Eight Players Local Or Online

Nintendo's ultimate fighting experience, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate pits the most iconic characters on the system against each other with the added chaos of random items and moving stages. Up to eight players can face off on the same Nintendo Switch or over online play, although it gets to be a bit chaotic if more than four players are fighting at once. Screen Rant's review of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate gave the game 4.5/5 stars, and it has a Metacritic score of 93.

Sources: Metacritic (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)