The Switch 2 has been out for more than a year. Its exclusive lineup is still short, but the list of big games worth owning has filled in. Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza carry first-party, Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring bring the kind of heavyweight third-party games the original Switch never got, both recent Zelda games have Switch 2 editions, and Silksong and Hades 2 lead the indies.
First-party: Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, and two Pokemon games
Mario Kart World was the launch title, and a year later it's still the first game to buy. Free Roam stitches the whole map into an open world you can drive around without racing. Knockout Tour puts 24 players on the track and cuts the last few at each checkpoint. It works for split-screen with friends on the couch and for a few online rounds at night.
Donkey Kong Bananza is the first big 3D platformer on the system. You can smash whole sections of terrain and dig in any direction, and the game is built around DK's brute strength, which plays nothing like Mario's jumping. Several outlets called it the Switch 2's first real system-seller.
Pokemon Pokopia came out in March. You play a Ditto rebuilding Pokemon habitats in a post-disaster world, at an Animal Crossing pace that suits a little building every day. If you'd rather battle, Pokemon Legends: Z-A has real-time fights across all of Lumiose City. The two play very differently, so pick by taste.
Zelda upgrades and big ports
Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom both have Switch 2 editions with higher frame rates and resolution. They're 100-hour open worlds, and the spots that stuttered on the old hardware now run smoothly. If you're new to both, start with Tears of the Kingdom; building vehicles out of planks, wheels and fans with Ultrahand is hard to put down.
Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition includes all DLC and looks close to a medium-to-high PC setup in handheld mode. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition bundles Shadow of the Erdtree and two new starting classes, enough game for a year. The original Switch had nothing on this scale from third parties.
On the indie side, Hollow Knight: Silksong crashed Steam and the eShop on launch day and runs smoothly here. Hades 2 left early access this year, and no roguelike released this year comes close.
How to choose
If this is your only console and you play a lot, start with Bananza or Tears of the Kingdom, then add Mario Kart or Silksong. If you mostly play handheld, the Cyberpunk and Elden Ring ports are worth it. For families and friends who come over, Mario Kart World plus Pokopia is enough. The exclusive list is still short, but these games will fill a year.
Sources: GamesRadar's best Switch 2 games of 2026, Tom's Guide's Switch 2 must-play list.