Great Deals to Grab This Week on the Nintendo eShop

Although the Nintendo eShop Black Friday sales event is just around the corner, there are still a ton of great deals that players can currently grab on both Switch and Switch 2 games. The Square Enix and Devolver Digital publisher sales are still active until this Thursday, November 20, both of which contain some fantastic deals on incredible games. In fact, most of the deals we’re highlighting here are limited-time, expiring either this Thursday or on Friday, November 21, which puts a ticking clock on taking advantage of some of these historically low prices and killer bargains. If you’ve been in the market for a new game for your Switch or Switch 2 library, the following titles should fit the bill — especially while they’re this cheap.

• Release Date — November 14, 2023
• Developer — Jaspel
• Publisher — Jaspel, IndieArk, Different Tales
• Genre — Roguelike, Auto-Battler, Inventory Management
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $9.99 (Normally $19.99, 50% off)

You might not think that an auto-battling dungeon crawler with a focus on inventory management would be that exciting, but you’d be wrong. Backpack Hero is a unique take on the action roguelike in which your greatest focus will be fitting all your equipment into a limited space, finding creative ways to make sure that you have the weapons and gear you need to survive while also leaving room for any loot you collect along the way. The Switch version initially launched in a less-than-favorable state, but has since been patched to be more in line with the excellent PC version — both of which are currently on sale.

• Release Date — November 21, 2023
• Developer — Steel Mantis
• Publisher — Silver Lining Interactive
• Genre — Scrolling Shooter
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $4.99 (Normally $19.99, 75% off)

Most would have never expected the studio behind the excellent Slain and Valfaris to follow those titles up with a shoot ’em up, but that’s exactly what Steel Mantis did with Valfaris: Mecha Therion. Unlike its predecessor, which is a standard side-scrolling run ‘n gun (and a great one, at that), Mecha Therion is an old-school shmup with a pretty accessible difficulty curve and some absolutely killer visuals and music. It’s normally $20, which is maybe a bit steep for anyone who isn’t fully invested in scrolling shooters, but its current $5 asking price on the eShop is more than reasonable for anyone looking for a quick and fun shooter that doesn’t beat you over the head with its difficulty.

• Release Date — February 16, 2023
• Developer — indieszero, sAs
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — Music/Rhythm
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $24.99 (Normally $49.99, 50% off)

Long before the plastic peripheral craze took hold of the music and rhythm game genre with Guitar Hero and Rock Band, titles like Gitaroo Man on PS2 showed how much fun it was to time button presses with catchy tunes, and Square Enix’s Theatrhythm series took that lesson to heart. The latest entry, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, is easily the best one in the entire series, bringing together more songs and games than any previous entry and featuring an all-star collection of incredible music from composers like Nobuo Uematsu and Yasunori Mitsuda (among others). It’s worth every penny of its $50 asking price, which makes the current 50% off deal an absolute steal on one of the Switch’s great hidden gems.

• Release Date — May 19, 2020
• Developer — PlatinumGames
• Publisher — PlatinumGames
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 72% (Mixed or Average)
• Price — $17.99 (Normally $39.99, 55% off)

The Switch ultimately became a perfect platform for some of the more underappreciated Wii U games, bringing them to a much wider audience with improved visuals and performance while also allowing players to take those experiences on the go. It’s hard to think of a game that benefits more greatly from its Wii U-to-Switch port than The Wonderful 101, if for no reason other than that it went criminally underplayed upon release and found a cult following on the Switch. It’s one of the few PlatinumGames titles that rarely ever goes on sale, so if you’ve had your eye on it, it’s recommended to grab it now while it’s under $20.

• Release Date — September 27, 2018
• Developer — Elden Pixels
• Publisher — Elden Pixels
• Genre — Metroidvania
• Review Aggregate Score — 75% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $3.99 (Normally $9.99, 60% off)

Both of the Alwa’s games are currently on sale on the Nintendo eShop, and they also both happen to be two of the more underrated Metroidvania games on the console. If you grew up playing classics like the Wonder Boy games or Faxanadu (or perhaps have played similar newer titles like Aggelos), you’ll feel right at home in Alwa’s Awakening. It does a great job of blending enjoyable puzzles and navigation with some light combat, Metroidvania-style progression, and a charming 8-bit visual style that makes it look and feel like a forgotten hidden gem from the NES library. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better game for under $5 on the eShop.

• Release Date — January 7, 2025
• Developer — Nihon Falcom
• Publisher — Xseed Games
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $19.49 (Normally $29.99, 35% off)

The Ys series has traditionally flown under the radar in the West, but along with its sister series, The Legend of Heroes, has been successfully gaining traction in recent years. As such, NIS America has brought over ports of some of the older and more beloved titles in the Ys series, including this year’s Switch port of what’s arguably the franchise’s greatest game: Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana. Oath in Felghana is a ground-up remake of Ys III (the one side-scrolling entry in the older “bump”-style Ys games) that originally launched on the PSP, and it feels right at home on the Switch as an action RPG that focuses more heavily on the combat side of things. It’s currently down to its lowest-ever price since launch, coming in at a price point under $20 and just begging to be discovered by a player for whom it might become a new favorite.

• Release Date — September 21, 2017
• Developer — Image & Form
• Publisher — Image & Form
• Genre — Metroidvania
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $2.99 (Normally $19.99, 85% off)

Another fantastic Metroidvania game that’s back down to a record low price is SteamWorld Dig 2, which is still just as great today as it was when it launched nearly 10 years ago. In fact, it’s worth pointing out that SteamWorld Dig 2 originally launched on Switch as an exclusive title when it was brand new, and it was a perfect fit for the console that helped establish the hardware as one of the de facto homes for the indie Metroidvania. The gameplay loop in SteamWorld Dig 2 starts simply enough — dig, collect resources and loot, return to the surface, upgrade, and dig some more — but quickly expounds in terms of complexity and addictiveness, to where you’ll be dozens of hours in before you know it (and loving every second of it).

• Release Date — November 14, 2021
• Developer — Cattle Call
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $8.99 (Normally $29.99, 70% off)

If you’ve ever played a JRPG and thought, “Man, I wish this game was just entirely stat management and turn-based combat”, then boy, do I have the title for you. Dungeon Encounters comes from the mind of Square Enix luminary Hiroyuki Ito (inventor of the Active-Time Battle System) and strips back the conventions of JRPG design to focus on just the essentials: building a party, exploring labyrinthine dungeons, leveling up, and diving deeper and deeper into the abyss as you deal exponentially more damage and go up against more sinister threats. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the RPGs you’d normally play, and as someone who grew up with the genre, I was blown away at how readily I connected with its more streamlined approach. Probably the best RPG you can get for less than $10 on the eShop right now.

• Release Date — September 29, 2023
• Developer — Geometric Interactive
• Publisher — Annapurna Interactive
• Genre — Adventure, Puzzle
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $13.74 (Normally $24.99, 45% off)

When it first launched in 2023, Cocoon was an obvious Game of the Year contender, so it’s no surprise that the title has since enjoyed a long tail in terms of its sales success, regularly going on sale as a way to entice new players into its incredibly intuitive and creative puzzles. You can currently grab the Switch version of Cocoon for its lowest-ever price on the Nintendo eShop, down to just $14, which is an incredible deal for a game packed with this much ingenuity. Even if you’re not someone who typically goes for games with puzzle elements, there’s a lot to love about Cocoon that should serve as enough to make it one of the rare exceptions.

• Release Date — March 28, 2024
• Developer — Ahr Ech
• Publisher — Devolver Digital
• Genre — Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $5.99 (Normally $14.99, 60% off)

The release of Pepper Grinder came and went without much fanfare, which is a real shame considering how great its platforming feels. The main mechanic in Pepper Grinder is using the titular drill to bore through parts of the map and launch yourself out the other side, similar to the drill mechanic from Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Imagine an entire platformer built around that concept, and you’ve got Pepper Grinder. Along with the aforementioned Ori influence, there’s a lot of classic platformer DNA to be found in Pepper Grinder, including nods to Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, and other legendary 16-bit titles. There’s never been a better time to grab Pepper Grinder than right now, when it’s down to a record low $6.

• Release Date — September 15, 2022
• Developer — Gummy Cat
• Publisher — Armor Games
• Genre — Simulation, Management
• Review Aggregate Score — 72% (Mixed or Average)
• Price — $8.99 (Normally $19.99, 55% off)

While Bear and Breakfast might not have the visual polish or sheer number of options as one of the excellent Two Point simulation/management games, what it lacks in depth, it makes up for in charm. This cozy and lighthearted management sim is all about — what else? — managing a woodland bed and breakfast as an anthropomorphic bear, catering to the needs of your guests (your fellow woodland creatures) and progressively upgrading your business. The building and customization mechanics are surprisingly intuitive, even with a controller, which goes a long way toward making that half of the gameplay loop much more enjoyable than you might imagine on console.

• Release Date — October 6, 2022
• Developer — PlatinumGames, Virtuos
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $15.99 (Normally $39.99, 60% off)

At this point, it’s a known quantity that NieR Automata is one of the best action RPGs ever made. But did you know that the Switch version is actually one of the best ways to play this 2017 classic? The End of YoRHa Edition of NieR contains all the post-launch DLC and was developed specifically for the Switch, and it’s yet another example of how skilled PlatinumGames is at working within the constraints of the hardware (along with Bayonetta 3 and Astral Chain). If, for whatever reason, you’ve managed to miss playing NieR until now, then please — make sure to grab it before its current deal ends on Thursday. This complete edition of NieR is the lowest price it’s ever been, making now a perfect time to dive into one of the best games of the last decade.

• Release Date — August 30, 2018
• Developer — Sabotage Studio
• Publisher — Devolver Digital
• Genre — Action Platformer, Metroidvania
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $3.99 (Normally $19.99, 80% off)

Before Sabotage Studio delivered one of the best RPGs in years with Sea of Stars, the studio made quite the name for itself with The Messenger, which is currently back down to its incredibly low sale price of just $4. Part old-school action platformer (think the NES Ninja Gaiden, but way easier) and part Metroidvania, The Messenger wears its retro influences loudly, but it also has a degree of modern polish that escapes most retro-inspired titles. The result is that it’s a game that feels fresh despite emulating gameplay design and visuals that are decades old, and it’s widely regarded as one of the best indie games ever made for good reason.

• Release Date — July 13, 2018
• Developer — Square Enix Business Division 11, Acquire
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — JRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $23.99 (Normally $59.99, 60% off)

With the release of Octopath Traveler 0 just around the corner, there’s never been a better time to dive into Square Enix and Acquire’s retro-inspired JRPG series. Lucky for you, then, that both Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II are both 60% off right now on the eShop, down to just $24 instead of their normal $60 MSRP. While Octopath Traveler II is arguably the better game, it’s a good bit longer than the first game in the series, which is a perfect title to play to get yourself acquainted with the game’s unique multi-protagonist structure and incredibly addictive battle system. Plus, even though it’s available on other platforms now, Octopath Traveler was originally a Switch-exclusive title, making it feel necessary in any respectable RPG fan’s Switch library.

• Release Date — November 14, 2023
• Developer — Avalanche Software
• Publisher — Portkey Games
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 82% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $10.49 (Normally $69.99, 85% off)

Normally, I wouldn’t recommend picking up the Switch version of Hogwarts Legacy. But with the current deal on the Deluxe Edition, plus the major improvements made to the Switch 2 release of the game, make it way too good to pass up. Hogwarts Legacy is a fantastic open-world game set in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which initially arrived on Switch in a less-than-favorable state. However, it has since received numerous patches that have improved its performance and visuals. The kicker, though, is the new Switch 2 upgrade, which vastly improves the experience for just an additional $10. Together with the current sale price on the Deluxe Edition, you’re getting the most complete version of Hogwarts Legacy with amazing visuals and performance in handheld mode for just $20.