Great Switch Hidden Gems to Grab on the Nintendo eShop

The Nintendo eShop is one of many digital storefronts that currently has a wide-ranging set of ongoing sales on some great video games. But while many players might use these events as an opportunity to get a sizable discount on AAA titles, they can often be more advantageous for those looking to pick up overlooked and underrated indie titles. Nintendo’s October sales have the following Nintendo Switch hidden gems discounted down to their lowest-ever prices or back down to historical lows, creating a perfect opportunity to discover a new favorite that might have otherwise gone unnoticed and unplayed.

• Release Date — July 23, 2024
• Developer — Catchweight Studio, Jordan Mochi
• Publisher — Team17
• Genre — Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $10.99 (Normally $21.99, 50% off)

Despite being relatively well known among fans of old-school survival horror, Conscript is still underrated when stacked up against similar titles like Crow Country or Signalis. It’s time to change that. This World War I-set survival horror game features an emotionally poignant and gripping story and some tried-and-true classic genre gameplay that should appeal to anyone who grew up with the original PS1 trilogy of Resident Evil games. But unlike those titles, Conscript‘s horror is much more cerebral and atmospheric, not to mention based entirely in the real world.

• Release Date — May 7, 2020
• Developer — Megagon Industries
• Publisher — Thunderful
• Genre — Sports, Simulation
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $9.99 (Normally $19.99, 50% off)

If you have fond memories of the old Trials games and are looking for something similar that’s maybe a little bit more relaxed, then boy, do I have the perfect game for you. Lonely Mountains: Downhill is just that, a more cozy take on the physics simulation of a game like Trials that swaps motocross for mountain biking, and it’s impressive how addictive it is. One of Lonely Mountains’ more striking aspects is its visual style, which opts for an almost painterly art direction in place of something more photo-realistic, and only adds to its charm as a more relaxed take on a cycling game.

• Release Date — December 26, 2020
• Developer — KillHouse Games
• Publisher — QubicGames
• Genre — Real-Time Tactics
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $3.19 (Normally $11.99, 73% off)

There are plenty of turn-based tactics games on the Switch, but the real-time tactics and strategy genres are surprisingly underrepresented. Thankfully, we have true hidden gems like Door Kickers to fill that gap. Door Kickers is a top-down tactics game in which players have to use real-time-with-pause movement and combat to handle tense law enforcement engagements that each play out like their own little miniature tactical puzzles. Playing Door Kickers on PC is arguably the best way to experience this excellent little tactics game, but it holds up surprisingly well on the Switch with a more traditional control scheme.

• Release Date — May 24, 2018
• Developer — IntiCreates
• Publisher — IntiCreates
• Genre — Action-Platformer
• Review Aggregate Score — 82% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $4.99 (Normally $9.99, 50% off)

You could pick up any of IntiCreates’ action platformers on the Nintendo Switch and be well-served by their excellent retro gameplay. For our money, though, we have to give Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon top billing as one of the best modern Castlevania-likes. The first Curse of the Moon feels like a true spiritual successor to Castlevania III on the NES with its character-swapping and multiple branching pathways, and its movement, combat, and high-spectacle boss battles come close to outdoing its most obvious inspiration. Both it and its sequel are currently on sale on the Nintendo eShop, and I’d easily recommend grabbing both for the price of one while you can.

• Release Date — April 28, 2023
• Developer — Deepnight Games
• Publisher — Deepnight Games, Red Art Games
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $2.99 (Normally $9.99, 70% off)

Nuclear Blaze is one of the best indies that almost no one seems to have heard of. While it resembles Celeste visually, Nuclear Blaze‘s gameplay is decidedly more akin to something like Burning Rangers on the Sega Saturn, leaning more toward an adventure game with light firefighting elements rather than a precision platformer. There’s also a surprisingly compelling story at play in Nuclear Blaze that will easily push you through the experience in a single sitting. It’s short, sweet, unique (how many other firefighting games are there?), and absolutely worth picking up right now while it’s only $3.

• Release Date — November 30, 2022
• Developer — Forever Entertainment
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — TRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 69% (Mixed or Average)
• Price — $11.89 (Normally $34.99, 66% off)

Square Enix has no shortage of incredible remakes for players to add to their Nintendo Switch library, but its remake of the classic TRPG Front Mission is comparatively underrated next to games like Star Ocean: The Second Story R or Romancing SaGa 2. This Super Famicom classic has been given an impressive graphical overhaul and some quality-of-life enhancements to make it a sort of “definitive edition” release of a game that Western players missed out on during the 16-bit era, and it holds up incredibly well as a mix between something like Final Fantasy Tactics and Armored Core. You can pretty much safely ignore the remakes of the second and third Front Mission games to be better served by this much better remake of the original.

• Release Date — February 25, 2021
• Developer — Cradle Games
• Publisher — tinyBuild
• Genre — Action RPG, Soulslike
• Review Aggregate Score — 52% (Mixed or Average)
• Price — $8.74 (Normally $34.99, 75% off)

Not too long ago, I compiled a list of the most underrated modern Soulslike games, and Hellpoint was featured as a title worth playing, despite its more obvious flaws. That sentiment still rings true, and while I wouldn’t recommend picking it up at full price, its current 75% off sale on the Nintendo eShop is a much more appealing prospect. Hellpoint is a horror and sci-fi Soulslike with some interesting creature designs and some surprisingly fun buildcraft. But the true star of Hellpoint is the game’s unique mechanic involving its setting, where certain pathways open up and new threats emerge depending on how close or far the space station is to the system’s star.

• Release Date — August 15, 2023
• Developer — Hungry Couch Games
• Publisher — tinyBuild
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Shooter
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $4.99 (Normally $19.99, 75% off)

Hungry Couch’s Black Skylands generated a bit of hype during its Early Access launch in 2021 only for it to be mostly overlooked and forgotten by the time it released into 1.0 in 2023. That’s a real shame, because Black Skylands is an excellent blend of a competent top-down shooter and something not all that different from a classic Legend of Zelda game. There’s plenty of engaging and rewarding exploration, dungeons to delve into, and some supremely satisfying combat that ties both of these elements together, and its gorgeous pixel art visuals and engaging story are the icing on the cake.

• Release Date — May 16, 2019
• Developer — Acid Wizard Studio
• Publisher — Crunching Koalas
• Genre — Survival Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 74% (Mixed or Average)
• Price — $3.74 (Normally $14.99, 75% off)

Another top-down game that doesn’t get nearly enough love is Darkwood. This survival horror title really emphasizes the “survival” half of the genre with a focus on collecting supplies and resources to build up and reinforce a cabin before the sun goes down, at which point you have to hightail it back to the safety of shelter in hopes of being able to stave off the otherworldly threats that descend at night. Darkwood‘s gameplay serves as a nice on-ramp to the survival genre that uses its horror elements to great effect, and its atmosphere and steadily building tension place it into a unique camp when stacked up against other genre titles available on the Nintendo Switch.

• Release Date — September 28, 2021
• Developer — Francisco Téllez de Meneses
• Publisher — Versus Evil
• Genre — Action, Stealth
• Review Aggregate Score — 77% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $4.99 (Normally $19.99, 75% off)

For all its seriousness, the Metal Gear Solid series has never been one to shy away from a bit of classic Kojima absurdity and comic relief. But what if you took the original gameplay template for Metal Gear and transformed it into a full-on parody? That’s exactly what UnMetal is, a Naked Gun-style comedic send-up of the original Metal Gear games that lands most of its jokes and offers up a surprisingly competent old-school stealth experience to boot. There are a ton of Easter Eggs, references, and in-jokes in UnMetal that are sure to crack a smile on any Metal Gear fan’s face, but even a complete series newcomer could come in and enjoy its fundamentally solid take on the stealth genre.

• Release Date — August 3, 2017
• Developer — Vblank Entertainment
• Publisher — Vblank Entertainment
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Price — $2.99 (Normally $14.99, 80% off)

Switch owners may not have many Grand Theft Auto games to call their own outside the PS2 trilogy, but titles like Retro City Rampage DX help to fill the gap by providing some old-school GTA thrills akin to the series’ first two entries. Retro City Rampage has been around since the 3DS era, but its DX version on the Switch is arguably the definitive release of the game, and it’s impressive how much content and gameplay variety Vblank Entertainment packed into a title that initially comes off as a tongue-in-cheek parody of one of gaming’s most successful and iconic franchises. Both Retro City Rampage and the excellent spiritual successor, Shakedown Hawaii, are currently on sale and some of the most fun you can have for less than $10.

• Release Date — December 4, 2018
• Developer — Game Atelier
• Publisher — FDG Entertainment
• Genre — Metroidvania
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $9.99 (Normally $39.99, 75% off)

Switch owners have an almost overwhelming amount of incredible Metroidvanias to choose from, and many of them frequently go on sale for a hefty discount that incentivizes adding more to a library. One that doesn’t seem to get nearly enough love, though, is Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom; a gorgeous, hand-drawn new entry in the storied Wonder Boy series that often gets confused with LizardCube’s remake of Wonder Boy III, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap. Neither a remake nor a remaster, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is an original title in the Wonder Boy series that highlights why the franchise is considered one of the better and more underrated in the Metroidvania genre. Fans looking for something different, but no less engaging, should definitely give Monster Boy a shot while it’s on a massive 75% off sale.

• Release Date — May 21, 2024
• Developer — Newfangled Games
• Publisher — Newfangled Games
• Genre — Puzzle
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $1.99 (Normally $19.99, 90% off)

Think back to the logic problems on standardized tests where you had to mentally fold pieces of paper on dotted lines to determine what their ending shape would be, and you have the general premise behind Paper Trail. This 2024 puzzle game is a clever twist on the genre in which you have to fold paper environments to shift perspectives and create new paths through each screen. It starts off simple enough, but then gradually escalates in complexity until you’re left scratching your head trying to devise a solution. Still, the puzzles in Paper Trail are never as hard as something you’d find in, say, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, and the game’s charming visuals and music lend to it being a mostly relaxing experience that teases your brain.

• Release Date — April 14, 2022
• Developer — DrinkBox Studios
• Publisher — DrinkBox Studios
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $8.74 (Normally $24.99, 65% off)

After blowing players away with the two incredible Guacamelee! games and the highly underrated Severed, DrinkBox Studios released yet another modern classic with Nobody Saves the World. But for whatever reason, hardly anyone seems to talk about Nobody Saves the World as one of the best action-adventure games of the last few years, despite it easily being one. Imagine a classic dungeon-crawler with action RPG-style combat and progression, then throw in a unique gameplay twist in which the player character can transform into one of dozens of different creatures, each of which has its own abilities and handling. Nobody Saves the World is a blast to play from beginning to end, especially in co-op, and definitely worth having in a Switch library.

• Release Date — November 20, 2019
• Developer — Dead Mage
• Publisher — 11 bit studios
• Genre — ARPG, Roguelike
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Price — $3.28 (Normally $21.99, 85% off)

Children of Morta is easily one of the best action roguelikes at the same level of quality as Hades, but it never gets included in the conversation alongside titles like it. The moment-to-moment gameplay of Children of Morta is an obvious love letter to the classic ARPG template established by games like Diablo, but it’s the game’s story and writing that will keep you coming back for more. You play as the different members of a family tasked with protecting the world from eldritch horrors that lurk beneath a mountain on which their ancestral abode stands, with each family member fulfilling a specific class archetype and as fun to play as the next. It’s one of those games that, even after beating it, you’ll dive right back in for another playthrough, which makes its current $3 asking price a steal.