The game's title is absurd, but its content is. This is—by far—the best Dragon Quest available. Dragon Quest is always traditional. Think of it as a giant book filled with stories you progress through. Of course, you're the chosen one to save the world, and you don't do it alone, but with a group of heroes who join your journey. A journey of exploration, turn-based battles in a vast world.

So don't think you'll just finish this book. Dragon Quest Xi guarantees hundreds of hours of fun, and the main story, in particular, is heartwarming, and the characters are well-developed, thanks in part to the voice acting. The story explores deep themes like hope and perseverance. The first playthrough can often take around 60 hours, but that's if you don't get distracted by the dozens of side quests and the environments. Graphically, the game is absolutely top-notch. The cel-shaded style really shines on the Nintendo Switch, and the music, by Koichi Sugiyama, is recognizable and perfectly complements the legendary themes.

Dragon Quest has always been a comfortable game. You control the pace and your location. If you decide to level up your characters in turn-based battles today, that's no problem at all. The main story awaits. A delightful JRPG that feels familiar thanks to the classic formula, yet fresh thanks to modern innovations. For a newcomer, this is a great entry-level game, and for a dedicated Dragon Quest fan, it's a must-have and a wonderful successor to the previous installments.

This version is the so-called S-version. It adds several features to the original, such as faster battles, Japanese voice acting, orchestral music, an additional story, and extra content after you've completed the game. This is truly the definitive version of a fantastic game. And for that, Dragon Quest XI earns a high spot on the list of best Nintendo Switch games.

Mario Kart 8 isn't new. However, it is the best and most complete Mario Kart available. The game, including its DLC, offers a whopping 96 different tracks where you can race with no fewer than fifty different characters. In short, this game offers excellent quality. Launched on the Nintendo Wii U, the re-release on the Nintendo Switch brought a wealth of improvements, particularly the battle mode. Another change is the addition of an extra item you can carry. It may sound minor, but it's a significant tactical addition. The 96 different tracks each have their own theme, accompanying music, characters, and shortcuts, fitting perfectly into the Nintendo Universe. All the tracks are vibrant, as you'd expect from a Nintendo game. Racing runs at a solid 60 frames per second, ensuring a smooth experience.

In Mario Kart 8, you don't always race straight across a track; sometimes you activate anti-gravity to create loops like Sonic. That looks spectacular. What's also spectacular is the diversity of tracks, and the Rainbow Road variants in particular shine and look fantastic thanks to the power of the Nintendo Switch. Each circuit has several hidden shortcuts. So it pays to practice and try to deviate from the standard route. In the various cup races, this can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Besides shortcuts, you naturally have items to throw your opponent off course. These create chaos, but it's fair chaos. Everyone has an equal right to victory. Therefore, there's always a chance to win. Sometimes it feels incredibly good, sometimes it hurts a little if you're eliminated just before the finish line.

If you're competing with friends, the battle mode is especially awesome. You can choose from classic balloon-holding battles to see who can hold on to a shine the longest. Mariokart also performs quite well online. The matchmaking is solid, but ultimately, the real fun lies at home with four controllers and four friends, all on one Switch.

Mariokart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling racing game ever. And for good reason. This game offers endless fun and is the perfect party game.

Tears of the Kingdom is so incredibly good

The subtitle says it all. Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) is the sequel to Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BotW) and was released in 2023. Many people wondered what could be improved. Besides, Tears of the Kingdom uses the same map as Breath of the Wild. Is that even fun? The short answer is clear: yes.

The heroes at Nintendo have carefully considered what's possible if you start with the final product, BotW, and are given years to improve it. Here's a list of improvements/adjustments:

• Caves: There are caves everywhere!
• Depth: An entire underworld has been created, much deeper than the caves, which is dark and exciting (Netherlands);
• Floating Islands: The sky is no longer just sky, but contains dozens of floating islands, even essential for successfully completing the game (Heavens);
• Link has new abilities: he can fuse items. How about fusing a stick and a stone? Great weapon!
• Link has new abilities: Ascend: he can move through ceilings;
• Link has new abilities: Recall: control time;
• Massive new areas and significantly modified and affected areas;
• Build your own vehicles and machines.

ToTK takes place hundreds of years after its predecessor, BotW. Existing villages have been wiped out or adapted to the times, new villages have sprung up, and the world has become more hardened and difficult. In ToTK, the focus is on creation. With your ultra-hand, you build planes to reach higher altitudes, boats to cross vast lakes, and with your constructions, you ensure that those sweet little Koroks return safely to their origins. Exploration is again key here to score the best items, clothing, weapons, shields, and diamonds to battle. Discovering the world is central, but you must constantly combine this with the possibilities you have as Link. Think you can't go any further? Why not use Ascend to break through the ceiling, or assemble a glider to jump off that plateau?

In ToTK, nothing is too crazy, and so it's easy to spend dozens of hours within a specific area, completing a specific objective, only to be completely distracted by a cave, a fortress, or a passing traveler. This Zelda game once again lets you visit Shrines that are even more tailored to your abilities.

Ultimately, you'll have to collect so-called Tears to figure out where everything went wrong. These Tears guide you through the story, and each one—through cutscenes—adds a huge scoop to the narrative. Nintendo has proven that reuse isn't a bad thing at all, and with this game, it sets a new benchmark in innovation and polish. It's a masterpiece and easily belongs on the list of the best games of a generation.

The 3D formula perfectly executed

Everyone knows Super Mario. In this edition, the classic elements are combined with an impressive 3D world. The 3D world consists of various open environments that you can visit to collect so-called Moons. You do this in the open environment itself, but also in smaller sublevels. In this game, Mario travels to various kingdoms that are designed as open environments. His cap has come to life and is named Cappy. Cappy is not only a talking cap, but he also has the ability to take on the powers of whatever he touches. For example, a T-rex, a Goomba, or Electricity. Cappy therefore provides a breath of fresh air. Controlling and throwing Cappy is smooth and feels good. Every time Cappy hits something, you hope for a change, and often something actually happens. Each Cappy has its own advantages and disadvantages. You really have to discover them for yourself.

Super Mario Odyssey is graphically beautiful, the kingdoms each have their own theme, and they are not as dull as we are used to. How about a prehistoric kingdom, a Mexican village, a city reminiscent of New York (New York City), an entire world dedicated to food, and so on? Incidentally, Mario Odyssey is the first game to feature photorealistic human figures. It takes some getting used to, but it's not really out of place. It works!

The music in this game is incredible. "Jump Up Superstar" is iconic.

In this game, you collect Moons and progress through worlds to—of course—ultimately defeat Bowser. If you succeed, the game's atmosphere becomes more grim, and the difficulty immediately increases significantly. This is the point where casual gamers can easily switch off and be satisfied with their progress/journey. As a true gamer, the game is now truly starting to flourish, and you'll be asked to pull out all the stops to complete the post-game. The post-game is brutal, challenging, and at times almost unfair. Perfect fodder for the die-hard gamer.

Mario Odyssey has established itself as a timeless classic. When it was released in 2017, it received nothing but high ratings, and that high rating remains. We can always recommend a timeless classic, and it rightfully holds a high position among the best Switch games.

The game that changed everything

Zelda Breath of the Wild changed gaming. We already know open-world exploration from games like Grand Theft Auto, but Zelda has redefined open worlds with this game. Zelda itself has been reinvented. In this game, you can literally go anywhere and must take the laws of physics seriously. Climbing is possible anywhere. Moving around in this world is the same: you can go anywhere. From the very beginning, you experience true freedom. Where Zelda was a series of dungeons, there are now smaller shrines that help you master skills or solve puzzles with your abilities. Dungeons have been replaced by Divine Beasts. Four in total that help you reach the finish line. Besides exploring the world, discovering various villages, crafting weapons, and overpowering enemies, there is also a cooking system where you can combine found ingredients. Your cooking skills boost your strength, but sometimes also provide additional effects such as protection from the cold. The weather also has a direct effect. For example, it's extremely unwise to wear anything made of steel during a thunderstorm, and climbing is much more difficult when it rains. Exploring is fun in this game. You'll constantly discover new things, or be distracted from your main mission of defeating Ganon.

The visual style is artistically directed and not necessarily technically impressive, but it's still astonishing. All the rules of nature are in place here. If you roll a rock down a mountain, it will gain momentum and crush enemies at the bottom. You can also spread fire further by using the wind from, for example, a large leaf off a tree. And the fire will go out again when it rains. Sunsets and sunrises are stunningly beautiful. The music is barely audible, sparingly present, but it adds to the atmosphere. The ambient piano tunes make you want to stay in this world. Enemies, objects, nature... everything sounds as you'd expect: the fire crackles, water bubbles, and rocks hit hard. Stunning!

The controls are complex. Yet, they take some getting used to and feel logical after a few hours of play. However, they are tested a few times. Puzzles that require gyro control, in particular, take some getting used to, but 90% of the game is controlled naturally. So, the controls don't hinder your experience.

Because there's so much to discover and find, a system has been introduced that limits the number of items and weapons you can possess. However, these weapons can also break after use. So, you might enter a vast grassy plain with tons of enemies with 10 powerful weapons and leave with a damaged last weapon. This tension ensures you never go through the game like Rambo. It helps you make choices and forces you to engage in battle with weapons other than your favorite. Shields break, weapons shatter. You're therefore always looking for new gear. This also makes exploring the world necessary.

This game makes you lose track of time, forget your surroundings, and forget your worries. That's rare. This game has shaken up the gaming world, and rightly so. An absolute must-have for every Switch owner. Correction: a must-have for everyone. It's the best game of this generation.