Best Indie Games on Switch: 4 You Actually Need to Play

Last updated on November 18th, 2025 at 12:54 pm

I have window shopped the eShop more than I would care to acknowledge. Indie games all over thousands of them, half of them on sale, and you are just sitting there, wondering which ones are really worth being allowed to consume. I understand, it is the problem of choice paralysis.

This is the thing of it: I am dissecting the four best indies on Switch that continue to drag me back. No nonsense, no sniffing about at the stuff you’ve never heard of. Fair games which deserved their place.

Hades When Dying Becomes Addictive.

I would not have ever hoped to be into roguelikes. I found the entire concept of reincarnation of when you die weepers of the spirit aggravating. Then I played Hades.

This is what had happened: I was dead within five minutes. Then I instantaneously clicked on the continue as the fight was so smooth. The game combines the Greek mythology with high-speed action and it is never alike as the rooms are randomly generated and the power-ups are also available.

Why is it one of the best Switch indies? The progression system. What you are is not getting naught upon nothing, each death opens new story tracts, weapon casing, or dialogue with a character. I have already worked at 60+ hours and I have not even seen everything.

Besides, it operates on Switch at buttery 60 FPS. No stutter, no frame-drop when there are fierce fights. That’s rare for indie ports.

The catch? It’s tough. Before you will get a chance to escape to success you will die a lot of times. But that’s the point.

Hollow Knight – Your Time is Worth Living.

Need a metroidvania, but don’t want to be told what to do? It is Hollow Knight. I fell into this game, wanting to have a cute bug game. What I received was the expansive array of underground kingdom that kept me on my toes in 40+ hours.

The map doesn’t auto-fill. To acquire them you have to pay a cartographer to sell you maps, and then update by hand as you travel. Sounds annoying? It’s actually brilliant. You get a sense that you are truly exploring something and not merely clicking items off some quest list.

War is accurate and brutal. Bosses will destroy you until you know their patterns. But when you get that boss that you were trying to beat, 15 times? Chef’s kiss.

This is what I liked the most: the atmosphere. The hand-drawn art, the depressing sound track, the mysterious lore, all come together. And at less than 15 (sale) you are getting more than most 60-dollar games.

Difficulty: Fair warning Fair warning No difficulty settings. Either, you change or you do not move forward.

Celeste The Mentally Healthy Platformer.

I purchased Celeste as yet another pixel-art platformer. As it turns out, there is a reason why it is considered one of the best indie games on Switch but, to my surprise, it addresses the problem of anxiety and self-doubt and makes you skip over spikes.

It is a story of a girl Madeline who goes to the mountain, however, this is a metaphor of her struggle toward panic attacks and self-esteem. The challenge in the game is similar to that adventure – challenging, yet never unjust.

New mechanics are presented in every chapter and make things refreshing. One tier is where you are jumping off floating blocks and the other one is where you are fleeing a darker version of yourself. It has sufficient controls that cause you to burst out when you fail, it is not the game but you.

What sold me? The assist mode. Casual players who would only prefer the narrative but not the advanced platforming can fine-tune options such as the pace of the game or infinity stamina. And no judging and no locked up contents.

I completed it in some 12 hours then another 20 to find collectibles. Worth every minute.

Stardew Valley The Game That Ate My Weekends.

And this is my secret: I was playing Stardew Valley one Friday evening, and I wanted to know how hype it was. I glanced and it was Sunday afternoon.

It is a farming simulation game, in which you take over the old farm belonging to your grandfather, and have to re-establish it. Sounds simple, right? There is also fishing, mining, nurturing of relationships with townspeople, seasonal festivals, and surprisingly much richness in the way you spend your time and money.

This game is ideal to the Switch version. You can work your farms in bed, on the plane, during lunch breaks all those kinds of just one more days that turn into hours.

No timers. No pressure. No game overs. It is a game at your own speed, which was exactly what I needed after being stressed out in gameplay by the bosses of Hollow Knight.

The vibe? Cosy, yet having some goals enough to keep you addicted. I am three game years old and only discovering more.

Here’s My Take

These four games nail various moods high-speed action, the shivers of exploration, the precision of platforming, and the relaxation of farming the chill. Choose according to your mood, yet truthfully? Get all four. They are less expensive than either AAA title, and you will put several hundred hours into them.

The reason I keep my Switch charged is not only because of the best indie games that can be played on it.

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