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Top 25 best Switch multiplayer games

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Top 25 best Switch multiplayer games

Best co-op and PvP Switch multiplayer games for you to play with friends

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Updated on February 22, 2022 - reworked the article to suit the present titles

Playing Switch multiplayer games is always a fun time, but it’s especially fun if you are able to play with your friends! Some have local multiplayer, while others have online multiplayer that requires you to have a Nintendo Online subscription. We have played so many different Switch multiplayer games, from the ones that require more than one Switch to the ones that we have plugged into our TV so that we can play split-screen.

Whether you like to play something relaxing, play together, or a competitive, intense and have you battling against your friends, there is something for everyone on this list of Switch multiplayer games. I’ve enjoyed playing couch co-op, but sometimes playing a title that pits you against someone is just as fun.

Without further adieu, let’s get into the list of best multiplayer games for Switch.

Original list by Jupiter Hadley, updated by Pocket Gamer Staff.
Click Here To View The List »

1
Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a title we seem to purchase on every single platform out there. It’s a relaxing farming simulation, where you can mine, fish, battle monsters, explore stories, and slowly upgrade your farm. With your friends, you can all work together on a single farm, saving up together to build new barns and buy exclusive items at fairs, as well as learn about the townsfolk. One of the best co-op multiplayer games on Switch in our opinion!

Make sure to read our review if you are curious to learn how Stardew Valley plays out - it's a mix of something awesome and something super relaxing. Just the perfect title on any platform, really.

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2
Taiko No Tatsujin Drum ‘n’ Fun

This rhythm-based title with a long name is really fun for those who like playing together or against each other, trying to follow songs primarily in Japanese. It’s based on the arcade machines of the same name, but it's much more accessible on your handheld console.

You can unlock characters that help you our, you can unlock more songs, and you can try your luck in the various play modes that pit you against your friend - or ask you to work together. It’s also worth mentioning that Taiko No Tatsujin Drum ‘n’ Fun has a large, physical controller that’s super fun to play with and feels perfect. It's lovely - just read our Taiko No Tatsujin Drum ‘n’ Fun review!

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3
Animal Crossing: New Horizon

Animal Crossing is the Switch multiplayer game that you probably see all of your friends playing. Together, you can visit each other’s islands and explore them. If a visitor is there, you can interact with them, purchase items from each other’s shops and generally explore. Some users even set up little trading booths with items they no longer want or set up competitions for you to play while you are visiting their island, which is always good fun.

Animal Crossing feels good and will leave you with a wholehearted feel of accomplishment once you have decorated your island the way you wanted to - that's something unique and brilliant that lands Animal Crossing: New Horizons on our list of best multiplayer Switch games without much effort.

Oh, and did you know we also have an Animal Crossing: New Horizons review? Make sure to give it a read!

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4
Splatoon 2

In Splatoon 2, you and your friends can cover the map in various colours and then use those colours to slide around and get to new areas. It’s arena-based, and you need to cover the majority of the map, but there is also the ability to visit community areas, to leave notes and drawings up for other people. Splatoon 2 has managed to create a very town-like feeling, as the community all feels connected.

We've got a couple of Splatoon 2 reviews, so if you're interested in how the basic title or the Octo Expansion DLC plays out, feel free to give it a read. We have always loved Splatoon 2, so we have to admit that we're partially biased towards it.

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5
Among Us

Among Us should really only be played with other friends. In Among Us, some of your friends who are trapped on a ship with you are imposters, while the rest are crewmates looking to fulfill tasks and try to get the ship in tip-top shape.

The impostor, however, is going around killing other crewmates, so you must hash it out, have meetings, and vote out who you think they are - however, you can kick out crewmates too, and when you happen to kick out one too many of them, the impostors instantly win. It can get quite intense but remains pretty fun as well.

We don't have a review for it, but we do have a bunch of Among Us guides to land you a hand!

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6
Minecraft

Minecraft is available on every platform imaginable, and as expected, you can also play with your friends on Nintendo Switch. This open-world adventure allows you to build, mine and craft, fight against monsters, discover diamonds and otherwise build up a world with your friends all around you. Minecraft is great for kids of all ages, and not only!

In here creativity prevails and outside the box thinking is going to reward you. There's plenty of new corners of this randomly generated world to explore and secrets to unveil, so make sure to check it out if you haven't yet. Also, make sure to read our Minecraft review if you're curious to learn all about the way it plays out!

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7
Overcooked 2

Overcooked 2 is a super fun cooking title where you and your friends need to work together to fulfill orders, chopping meat, deep frying and rolling sushi for your customers, all before they get sick of waiting.

Unlike most cooking management simulations, where just go around simply tapping ingredients left and right, in Overcooked 2 you need to figure out the best approach in order to complete the orders in due time. It is super colourful, fun, and the places that you cook in are out of this world! We've written in our Overcooked 2 review that it's pretty intense, not for the faint-hearted (because it gets intense. FAST.), but if you want to learn more, make sure to check it out.

You’ll be throwing items between moving cars, slipping around conveyor belts, and otherwise trying to make the restaurant work. Another co-op Switch multiplayer game that you should try with your friends ASAP!

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8
Snipperclips

Snipperclips is a lovely two-player puzzle that allows two players to work together in real-time, clipping apart bits of each other and their environment to make it onto the next puzzle. Rotating your body to snip off different bits will allow the players to fit into shapes, pop balloons, solve various puzzles and help each other along the way. It’s a very fun multiplayer Switch game that only gets better and better the more you play!

You should read our Snipperclips review if you are curious to see what we loved so much about it. We'd have to admit, it also depends on the person you play with. If you're teamed up with another fellow puzzler fan, you might just end up making some pretty hefty levels right then and there.

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9
Part Time UFO

Part Time UFO is a very cute and simple title where you play as an adorable UFO who is looking to help out the people of this town! As your UFO has a claw attached to it, you can use it to grab items and move them around. You and your friend will need to work together to help everyone get their items back where they belong, earning coins along the way.

We've put together a Part Time UFO review, so if you want to learn how this Kirby special plays out, don't miss it. We absolutely loved it, but if you want something with a slightly more hands-on approach, you could check out Overcooked 2 or Moving Out!

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10
Stacks on Stacks (On Stacks)

In Stacks on Stacks (On Stacks) you can build up towers of strange materials and then defend them so that they do not fall down. In two-player mode, you can use a split-screen to stack up your tower and defend it as others try to bring it right down. It’s simple but a very fun one to both play and watch, especially when everything comes tumbling down.

Oh, and we have to admit - sometimes the characters look rather odd (in a creepy way?), but don't let that deter you from trying it out. It's actually super fun once you get into the action. Simply brilliant.

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11
Cake Bash

Cake Bash is a colourful and cute food-based title where you and your friends face off in quick matches, looking to earn the most points and get the most coins. Each competition is several rounds long, and some of the rounds see you spending your coins on sweet treats to pop on top of your cake. The player with the tastiest cake at the end is the winner and you can unlock so many different modes to ensure it’s always a good time.

The amount of minigames in Cake Bash is so massive and fun that you'll be left wanting to play and replay it just to try out all the different toppings. What is there not to love about a cupcake-topping title with plenty of hands-on action? Nothing, really.

Cake Bash is simply a great creation that truly deserves its spot on our list of best multiplayer Switch games.

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12
Moving Out

Moving Out is a household favourite of ours, where everyone needs to quickly empty all of the items out of a house and into a moving truck. Nobody cares if you destroy the house, break all of the windows and completely take the door off of its hinges. All that matters is getting everything into the van quickly and some of the levels are quite funny too, with mountains of snow, animals, and whatnot chasing you.

Teamwork (yeah, actual teamwork) is a core element, and that only intensifies each time you check out the countdown. If you haven't added Moving Out to your collection just yet, make sure to do so right away - it'll give you and your buddies something to write home about!

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13
Boomerang Fu

Boomerang Fu is a fighting game where everyone plays as cute and colourful foods. You can play in a typical battle royale style (all players against each other) or team up, it’s really up to you. In each round, you or your mates need to be the last ones standing to earn a point. Your weapons are boomerangs, which are easy to throw and find. There are also tons of power-ups that can be found in each level, adding to the gameplay. It’s quick and fun!

The Switch controls only do complete justice since the wobbly characters can be moved with ease. Our favourite mode is the battle royale one, where the last banana standing is the winner - woohoo!

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14
Pack Master

Pack Master is a puzzler where you need to place loads of colourful objects in strangely shaped luggage cases, making sure everything is nicely packed away before the cases close. In multiplayer, you are splitting your screen and racing each other to pack the bags as well as possible in the least amount of time.

We love the graphics in Pack Master, which combine something like minimalist and Japanese-inspired icons with easy-to-the-eye colours that pop out just about as much as necessary. It's a rather chill multiplayer Switch game, so if you're not ready yet for the chaos that is Overcooked 2 or Moving Out, this might be the right one for you!

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15
Untitled Goose Game

What is better than having one annoying goose? Well, two of course. In Untitled Goose Game, you and your friend can both annoy the gardener, solve puzzles, steal items and otherwise cause chaos. If you are having trouble making it to the next area, you might find it is easier with a friend to play alongside you and in games where you can cause trouble, it’s sometimes fun to have a friend along for the ride.

If you haven't yet heard of the Untitled Goose Game, think of it as something like this - it's a title where you need to peck the heck out of people, piss them off, and have a laugh about it. That, and solving puzzles is all there is to it. It's absolutely lovely and devilishly brilliant and at the same time.

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16
Unrailed!

Unrailed! is one of those simple-looking titles that are hard to master. You and your friends are trying to produce rails for the train and place them ahead of the locomotive in order to keep moving, but you don’t know ahead of time how the level is laid out until you start playing.

There are all sorts of upgrades that you can make, and even take the train into outer space. It's basically a team effort between you and the other players, where you just try to survive while being productive enough to bring something to the next level. It's one of our all-time favourites, especially when it comes to Switch multiplayer games (and not only).

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17
Rayman Legends

Rayman Legends is a really fun platformer where you and your friends are trying to progress forward, fight monsters, unlock fairies, take on bosses and find coins. It’s pretty fun to play on your own, but even more so if you add in some friends. They can fight alongside you, popping you if you run out of lives so you can play a bit longer. It's one of those multiplayer Switch games that can be played solo, but it's a lot more fun with a few buddies!

Oh, and if you have a friend who is not that good at Rayman Legends but still wants to play it, you can boost them up. Not many games allow for that feature, but Rayman Legends does, and it's a pretty useful one. Don't believe us? Just read our Rayman Legends review (or ask that friend who always wants the boost).

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18
The Jackbox Party Pack

If you are looking for a multiplayer party, The Jackbox Party Pack is a perfect title for you to play along with your friends. It is made up of a bunch of mini-games that you can play using your phones as controllers, so that you can beat each other, vote on answers, and otherwise enjoy a bunch of fun, all together! I am a huge fan of the Jackbox Party titles and having them on your Nintendo Switch can be super fun.

There are a bunch of Jackbox Party Packs, but so far the latest one, 7, is the one that we love most. If you and your friends tend to seek a bunch of Switch multiplayer games to play regularly, you might want to think about getting all Party Packs released to date.

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19
Catastronauts

Catastronauts is a space-themed team working game where everyone is looking to work together to keep the ship flying in the sky, there are no imposters here! Instead, using teamwork, you all need to maintain the ship, fight off enemies, make sure areas are charged, and do so much more. Catastronauts is full of chaos and is quite tricky, but is really fun to play with a group of teenagers to adults, and very fulfilling when you do well at it.

After all, if you and your friends love co-op multiplayer games like the ones mentioned above (Overcooked for instance) this is a great alternative that is slightly... out of space. Literally.

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20
Apex Legends

Apex Legends is a really intense battle royale, that features some lovely graphics. There are a lot of different weapons for you to select, tons of action, and the battlefield feels absolutely huge with so much area to cover and explore. It's one of those multiplayer Switch games you'll play for a long time in case you decide to give it a chance.

If you are looking to play online and don't necessarily need other real-life friends to join in on the action, this is a perfect choice. Since the matches can be up to 60 players, there's really no way to translate that into real-life - otherwise, it'd probably be the biggest LAN party ever recorded.

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21
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

I swear this is like the only racing title I hear people talk about when it comes to the Nintendo Switch. It’s all the characters from Mario, but they are racing cars instead of trying to save princesses from castles. There are power-ups that can help you get ahead, lots of different tracks, and it’s just a decent racer.

We have always loved Mario Kart, and this addition to the list is not solely based on our bias towards it. Rather, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is so strongly embedded into the multiplayer and vs scene, that is close to impossible to omit it. Just read our Mario Kart 8 Deluxe review - that should say it all.

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22
Rocket League

Rocket League combines cars and soccer to make something that just flows. You and your team hit a ball around a really sleek-looking field, trying to score goals, only you are a car and kicking is when you hit the car against the ball! You can drive on the roof of the arena, grab boosts and otherwise try to make trick shots. This is one of the most competitive multiplayer Switch games!

Pssst - did you know we've got a Rocket League review? That's right. If you are curious as to why Rocket League makes pretty much the ideal sport (which is, of course, a combination of racecars and football) you should check it out.

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23
Cuphead

Cuphead looks like something out of a book in Disney, where the graphics are hand-drawn and the gameplay is tough as nails. It’s a super challenging platformer where you can take on bosses and try to make it through. There is a lot of dodging, finger-gun shooting, and having a friend there with you to endure the number of deaths you are going to end up with is always helpful.

Players who will team up in this crazy-intense co-op multiplayer will probably suffer together - because it's one of those platformers where things escalate pretty darn fast. You need fingers and nerves of steel to keep up with some of the boss fights, so if you and your buddy think you've got what it takes, by all means, give it a shot. Before you do though, make sure to read our Cuphead review. Just for safe measure.

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24
Tetris 99

Tetris 99 is the classic game of Tetris, where you are looking to slot blocks falling from the top of the screen into the right place, creating a full line, apart from that, there are a bunch of other players that you are trying to fight against. You can target and attack specific other players or try to keep your head down and just clear your board, but this extra challenge is had through having players to compete against.

Oh, what's that? You don't know what the '99' stands for? Well our dear friend, it's not the year Tetris was created in, but rather the number of max players that can partake in a round. It's pretty intense, and that's exactly what makes it such a great Switch multiplayer game. Just read the Tetris 99 review if you don't believe us.

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25
ARMS

ARMS is a boxing-type fighting title where you and your friend can face-off, punching each other with your long, twisty arms through various different areas and worlds. ARMS takes advantage of the detachable controllers, using them as your boxing gloves, so the whole thing feels just right. It’s a fun sport that has you battling your friend, attempting to keep standing in the arena.

We always love a good brawl, but in our ARMS review, we mentioned that we weren't completely sold on some of the ARMS's aspects. However, it's still a pretty solid multiplayer Switch game and if you want something to keep you entertained through quick and intense combat, you should check it out.

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