The best Nintendo Switch 2 games for 2026

With Tears of the KingdomNintendo has managed to continue the reinvention of the Zelda series with a game that adds more to discover and more to play, and it even adds a mystical LEGO kit. Link soon discovers Ultrahand, which lets you grab and stick objects, batteries, engines, weapons, food (and more) onto other objects. This is the most notable addition compared to its predecessor; a creative toolbox of solutions (or insane efforts) to solve every puzzle, fight every beast, and explore every part of Tears of the Kingdom.

The Switch 2 edition adds the type of improvements and upgrades that, arguably, justify paying to upgrade your Switch edition. For starters, I had trouble choking the frame rates in my current playthrough. On the original Switch, the beautiful world of Hyrule often stuttered and slowed down when transitioning between sky, surface, and underground. The game’s frame rates would peak at 30fps, while busy moments (or lots of custom builds) could significantly lower those rates.

On the Switch 2, ToTK runs at 60 frames per second, locked. The game plays smoothly, almost all the time, and is a big improvement on what remains a great adventure. The new hardware adds HDR to graphics. This extended dynamic range really comes into its own in the deep underground sections, with low-light areas being a bit clearer and easier to navigate. No surprise: loading times are also faster when fast traveling and when first loading the game.

There are also quality of life improvements to the game, including audio logs that you can experience and listen to on the companion smartphone app and the ability to store and share your items, weapons, and ingredients. If your favorite part was building rotating laser death machines and the like with your Ultrahand, the ability to save builds as QR codes and share them with friends is a fun addition, even if its usefulness is a bit limited at first. You’ll have to manually scour the internet for creations from people who aren’t on your friends list.

That limitation aside, the Switch 2 edition offers a lot for that $10 upgrade fee – and Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass subscribers get both. ToTK And OTW upgrades for free. – M.S.