Most people think of adventure games or platformers when coming up with the best Switch games, but this machine is also an RPG fan’s dream console. Thanks to its portable nature, it has never been easier to do some grinding, exploring, or party management any time the mood strikes you. RPGs tend to lend themselves better to on-the-go gaming than the best multiplayer games on the Switch, too. But there are a ton of different ones out there, and the RPG genre itself is rather broad, making it hard to know which ones to go back to. And that’s not even considering all the upcoming Switch games. Whether you’re looking for a turn-based classic or something new with a massive open world, the portable console has it all. Here are the best role-playing games on Nintendo Switch.
If you are craving a game that lets you and a friend play together, however, you should check out our list of the best co-op games on Nintendo Switch.
As great as the Fire Emblem games are, Unicorn Overlord scratches a very distinct itch in how it approaches a tactics RPG. Besides having the amazing Vinillaware art going for it, this game lets you micromanage your units to the most granular level before sending them to battle. You don’t control anyone directly, but instead program in what actions they should take, when, and on who, based on various conditions. It is a little overwhelming at first, but the game eases you into it and you will start to feel the satisfaction of perfectly organizing and directing your armies to crush the enemy forces.
Even though it was a spinoff, most people are more familiar with the Persona series than Shin Megami Tensei, which is where it all began. Shin Megami Tensei V is similar, yet also quite different from its sister series. For one, this is a hardcore JRPG. Expect every single fight to push you to your limits. Gameplay will feel very familiar to Persona fans, as will the demonic cast of monsters you will summon in battle, however, the social aspects are not as prominent. The story is still good, and the characters are likable and interesting, but don’t come in expecting the life-sim elements of a Persona. Regardless, SMT V is well worth sinking dozens of hours into.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.