The Nintendo Switch has the performance of an Nvidia Shield tablet with a Tegra chipset inside, which makes it the weakest of the 8th-gen consoles, despite it releasing nearly four years after the launch of PS4 and Xbox One. But the sheer number of sales of thishandheld consolepushed developers to port some of the most expansive and demanding open-world games to the system.
6 Open-World Games That Were Way Ahead Of Their Time
Though an open world that players could explore was a big deal, these six titles had on top of that additional things that were ahead of their time.
Third-party titles on the Switch will always feel like worse versions of the same game running on a console, but despite that, it’s a technical marvel that some of these games even manage to run on the system. First-party titles, however, were created keeping the Switch’s hardware in mind, and without having to worry about releasing the game on other systems, which meant that developers managed to extract every bit of power out of these games. Here are the best first and third-party open-world games on the Nintendo Switch that push the hardware to its limits.
10Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
A Living, Breathing World of Pokemon
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
Despite being the best-selling Pokemon games on the Switch,Pokemon Scarlet and Violetare infamous for technical performance that makes even the most die-hard fans cringe. But for all its shortcomings, the open world of Paldea represents the boldest step Game Freak has taken with the franchise. The entire region is accessible from the get-go, and for the first time in Pokémon history, there are no barriers preventing players from tackling gyms, Titan Pokémon, or Team Starbases in any order.
The three major questlines, Victory Road, Path of Legends, and Starfall Street, add variety beyond the standard gym challenge, but it’s The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC that truly fleshes out the world. The expansion introduces entirely new areas like Kitakami and the Terarium, reinforcing that Scarlet and Violet’s ambitions extend beyond what the Switch could handle.
9Hogwarts Legacy
A Portkey to the Wizarding World, With Some Trade-Offs
Hogwarts Legacy
BringingHogwarts Legacyto the Switch was a technological challenge on par with casting a Patronus against a dozen Dementors. The game’s seamless recreation of Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest, and Hogsmeade is an absolute spectacle on high-end platforms, but naturally, the Switch version makes heavy sacrifices to run at all. Visual downgrades and longer load times are noticeable, yet the core experience remains intact: players can still attend classes, brew potions, tame magical creatures, and explore the castle’s endless secrets.
The open-world design extends beyond just Hogwarts, with the Scottish Highlands featuring enemy encampments, hidden caves, and side quests that build upon the lore of the Wizarding World. While the absence of Quidditch is a sore point, the game makes up for it with the thrill of soaring across the landscape on a broomstick. Despite being a technical downgrade, the Switch version still lets Harry Potter fans live out their childhood dream of wandering through the most iconic school of witchcraft and wizardry.
8No Man’s Sky
Infinite Space to Explore on a Measly Switch
No Man’s Sky
Few would have predicted thatNo Man’s Sky, a game once considered unfixable, would not only redeem itself but also find its way onto the Switch. And yet, here it is, a procedurally generated universe condensed into a handheld experience. While concessions had to be made, such as the removal of multiplayer and a lower planet detail, the core loop of exploration, resource gathering, and planetary discovery remains as addicting as ever.
The Switch port includes six years of updates, meaning features like base building, freighters, planetary settlements, and enhanced AI for space combat are all present. The ability to transition from planet surfaces to space with zero loading screens is a technical marvel, even in a scaled-down form. While it lacks some of the grandeur of its bigger console counterparts, the fact that it runs at all on Nintendo’s hybrid console is nothing short of astonishing.
7Burnout Paradise Remastered
Take Me Down to the Paradise City
Burnout Paradise Remastered
A city designed for speed, destruction, and absolute freedom, Burnout Paradise Remastered is a high-speed playground where every street, alley, and ramp is an invitation to break either your own car or someone else’s. Originally released in 2008, Burnout Paradise was one of the first racing games to fully embrace open-world design, ditching menus, and track selection in favor of an interconnected map brimming with events, shortcuts, and wreckage waiting to happen.
Paradise City is filled with billboards to crash through, massive jumps to conquer, and rival drivers just waiting to be sent flying into a twisted heap of metal. The game’s crash mechanics remain some of the most satisfying in any racer, rewarding aggressive driving with spectacular slow-motion wrecks. Remastered for modern hardware, this version includes all previously released DLC, adding legendary vehicles like the Back to the Future-inspired hover car and motorcycles that change how players approach the city.
6Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection
Two Tales of Freedom on the High Seas
Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection
Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection bundles together Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed Rogue, two games that traded the series’ traditional city-based parkour for sprawling oceans, massive naval battles, and a swashbuckling sense of adventure.
Black Flag remains one of the most beloved entries in the franchise, letting players step into the boots of Edward Kenway, a pirate-turned-assassin navigating the treacherous waters of the Caribbean. With an emphasis on ship combat, treasure hunting, and seamless transitions between naval and land-based gameplay, Black Flag offers one of the most expansive and immersive worlds in the series.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue, often considered themost underrated game of the franchise, flips the script by putting players in control of a former assassin-turned-Templar, Shay Cormac. Taking place in the icy North Atlantic, it retains much of Black Flag’s gameplay while weaving a story that offers a unique perspective on the eternal war between the Assassins and Templars. Both games come with their DLC, extra weapons, and quality-of-life improvements, making this collection one of the best ways to experience Assassin’s Creed’s golden age of open-world design on the Switch.
5Xenoblade Chronicles 3
A World of Endless War and Wonder
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
The Xenoblade Chronicles series has a history of pushing the Switch beyond its limits, and the third installment is no exception. Its massive open world consists of interconnected biomes, blending towering cliffs, vast plains, and surreal landscapes that make every region feel distinct. Despite hardware constraints,Xenoblade Chronicles 3manages to deliver sprawling environments filled with high-level enemies, hidden quests, and detailed settlements.
7 Longest Games On Nintendo Switch
If a game is long and enjoyable, then it’s just chef’s kiss, and these titles on the Switch are the best in this regard.
The game’s battle system expands on its predecessors, allowing players to control a party of up to six characters at once, each with unique abilities and class roles. The real-time combat, combined with seamless exploration, makes for an experience that feels grander than what the Switch should be able to handle. And while the game’s resolution takes a hit in handheld mode, the game’s emotional storytelling and deep RPG mechanics make it one of the best open-world experiences available on Nintendo’s console.
An Open World That Refuses to Age
Red Dead Redemption
Over a decade after its original release,Red Dead Redemptionis still a masterclass in open-world storytelling. Rockstar’s first foray into the Old West lets players step into the boots of John Marston, a former outlaw forced to hunt down his old gang to protect his family. Unlike most open-world games, which prioritize player freedom over narrative cohesion, Red Dead Redemption carefully weaves its open-ended exploration with a story that grows heavier with each passing chapter.
The world itself is just as much a character as Marston. From the dusty plains of New Austin to the lawless border towns of Mexico, every location is steeped in atmosphere, filled with random encounters, dynamic weather, and an unpredictable ecosystem of wildlife. Even today, the game’s world feels alive in a way that few have managed to replicate. The Switch version also includes the Undead Nightmare expansion, making it one of the best investments on the Switch.
3The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
A Game That Just Won’t Die
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
At this point,Skyrimhas been ported to everything short of a smart fridge, but the Switch version remains one of the most surprising releases. The full open world of Tamriel’s northernmost province is here, dragons and all, along with the Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn expansions.
While it lacks the extensive mod support that defines the PC version, it does introduce motion controls for combat and lockpicking, though few players actually use them. Despite its age, Skyrim still holds up as an open-world RPG, offering limitless freedom to explore dungeons, craft gear, and make questionable moral decisions.
2The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition
A Wild Hunt Worth Taking on the Go
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
As one of the most ambitious RPGs ever made,The Witcher 3: Wild Huntis a masterclass in open-world design. Unlike most games in the genre, where exploration often feels like a series of disconnected points of interest, every quest, every village, and every abandoned ruin in The Witcher 3 tells a story. Geralt of Rivia’s journey to find Ciri is packed with morally complex choices, unforgettable characters, andside queststhat often rival the main storyline in-depth and writing quality.
The Complete Edition includes both of the game’s massive expansions, Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine, adding dozens of hours of content and some of the best storytelling in the entire game. The Switch version may not match the visual fidelity of its console and PC counterparts, but the fact that such a massive game can be played on the go without cutting any content is a testament to its enduring appeal.
1The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
A World That Encourages Endless Creativity
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
If Breath of the Wild redefined open-world games, Tears of the Kingdom took everything it introduced and expanded it in ways no one expected. Hyrule has returned, but now with vast floating islands, deep underground caves, and an entirely new set of mechanics that make exploration more engaging than ever. Instead of simply traversing the world, players can manipulate it, fusing weapons together, building custom contraptions, and experimenting in ways that feel completely unscripted.
The game’s freedom extends beyond traversal: every puzzle, every combat encounter, and every challenge can be approached in multiple ways, often with wildly creative solutions. It’s not just one of the best open-world games on the Switch, but one of the most innovative open-world games ever made.
10 Games to Play if You Love The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Echoes of Wisdom successfully balanced several gameplay features, which gives fans a diverse set of similar games that are worth checking out.
