You're a teacher at a military academy, and you choose a house to lead (hence the title). Students you train ultimately become part of units you deploy in tactical battles. Welcome to Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

In this game, you divide your time between teaching and actually fighting battles. This gives the game a social aspect and is simultaneously a strategy game. The strategy portion is traditional Fire Emblem: permadeath is once again an option, and characters... well... students are unique and grow as the game progresses (even from class to class). You navigate a grid, and the class system is quite deep. Classes include mage, paladin, or swordsman. Fortunately, the difficulty level adapts, making it accessible to everyone, from beginner to veteran. The students are divided into three houses, each with its own leader. These leaders are Claude of The Yellow Deer's, Dmittri of The Blue Lions, and Edelgard of The Back Eagles. It's up to you to choose which house you want to lead. The connected story has several branches and thus three perspectives. It's therefore worth playing the game multiple times, each time from a different perspective/house.

The social aspect of this game lies primarily in the school. There, you can freely roam and participate in activities such as drinking tea together, singing in a choir, or sharing a meal. Such activities make your students happier or improve their skills. If they're dissatisfied, they won't want to attend classes anymore. So, it's important to pay attention to this as well.

You don't buy this game for the graphics. They're solid, but certainly not amazing. Character models are good, the animations are decent. The monastery is detailed, but it's not all that surprising. The sound is a different story; each house has its own themes, the battles are accompanied by epic music, and the ochre themes sound wonderful.

You play this game for the captivating story, the depth, the relationships, and the combat. And knowing that the game offers three choices for managing a house, it's also quite time-consuming. Each house and its accompanying story will keep you busy for at least 50 hours. It's no wonder the game was such a huge success.

Island life is busy, but relaxing

You can't finish Animal Crossing. And you don't have to. In Animal Crossing, you build your paradise on a deserted island. Customize everything you want, from your house and island to your character. Once you have your island, go fishing, collect fossils, or become a farmer. Maybe you want to catch insects, or just keep your garden beautiful. Anything is possible, but make sure you pay off your loans.

Animal Crossing syncs with the time and date of your Switch. If it's Christmas, it's Christmas on your island too, with snow and a festive atmosphere. If it's New Year's Eve, you can expect fireworks at midnight here too. So think of the game as a second life. With worries, like paying off your loans, but with far fewer worries. Peacefully gather supplies, craft items, decorate available spaces, talk to other residents, and slowly expand your home. Do this daily and make Animal Crossing a ritual. Every resident who wants to live with you has their own personality. You really get to know them, and the dialogue you have with them varies enormously. If you put more effort into it, the relationship becomes deeper and more enjoyable. This is how favorite residents develop, just like in real life.

Because real time moves, you'll also see leaves falling from the trees in Animal Crossing, and there are seasonal events. These kinds of things keep the game fresh. Holidays are celebrated with great enthusiasm, including your birthday! Then there are limited items that are only available at certain times. And you know you're hooked when you want to be on your island at that moment...

With the online features, you can visit a friend's island. There you can exchange items and share designs. New Horizon isn't the first Animal Crossing game, but it is the most comprehensive and successful ever. Island life is beautiful and fun for everyone. We recommend this relaxing experience to everyone. Endless content, low stress, and above all, lots of love. Well, then it's no wonder that you end up high on the list of best games on the Nintendo Switch.

Pinball on the Nintendo Switch

Who doesn't love pinball? Pinball FX 3 is digital pinball, done right. A pinball machine should truly feel like a pinball machine. Losing a ball should truly feel like a 'mistake' or 'missed opportunity' by the player. Pinball FX 3 does that and much more.

Pinball FX 3 is a combination of old and new. It takes existing, real-world pinball machines and transforms them into digital versions, while simultaneously creating new tables that aren't even possible in real life. Each table is fantastic in terms of gameplay, detail, and especially physics. Think of tables in themes like Star Wars, Doom, Marvel, ET, Jurassic Park, and so on. There's a table for everyone. Existing tables from Williams, among others, are detailed and feel natural.

Each table is unique, has its own physics, scoring methods, and a unique set of goals. Achieving these goals isn't always easy, and learning the multiplication tables is part of mastering and achieving them. To further enhance this, you can connect friends on high-score lists. This way, you'll immediately know whether you're doing better or worse than your digital friends. There's plenty to do with others: online tournaments, leaderboards, and local hotseat.

Is there really nothing to criticize? Yes, the base version is bare bones. You have to choose the one that suits you best from dozens of DLC packs. On the other hand, it does give you excellent control over your money and might be more suited to your needs, but initially, this is a rather bare bones game. So, shopping for content. And there's plenty of content available.

The combination of arcade-style cabinets and an authentic experience is unique. Without a large pinball machine at home, you can get very close to the experience. The entry level is incredibly low, and with the base game, you can quickly discover whether digital pinball is for you. For those who love pinball, this game is perfect. Perfect for quick sessions or long marathons. It's addictive to beat that high score or score that medal in that challenge.

Flip Grip
A flip grip is available on the market. This is a holder that allows you to place the Nintendo Switch vertically. Pinball FX3 has a mode to rotate the screen, allowing you to display the pinball table much better. You can clip the JoyCons to the holder to create a perfect mobile pinball table. A real must-have for any pinball enthusiast.

Smash Bros. has had a large fan base for years. In these games, you can battle with virtually any Nintendo character. Always wanted to bash Kirby to pieces? Then this is your chance. Smash Bros. Ultimate features such an unprecedented number of characters that it truly represents a comprehensive overview of the industry, with Nintendo at its helm. This is a celebration of gaming itself. The roster is packed with Nintendo icons, but also legends from other games like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Mega Man, and so on. The best part is that these aren't just cosmetic changes, but truly unique characters, each with their own moveset. This allows for enormous play styles, and learning moves and characters is practically endless. You might expect this to create major balance issues in battles, but that's not the case. The balance is surprisingly good.

The game boasts an incredible amount of content, but also stunning graphics, with beautiful stages and colorful environments. The various characters are highly detailed and move fantastically and smoothly across the screen. The consistent 60 frames per second contributes to fair and competitive gameplay.

Besides the sheer number of characters and environments, Nintendo has also gone all out with the sound. With over 1,000 tracks, this is the only Nintendo game with so much music, consisting of original sounds and remixes. Fortunately, there's a listening mode where you can enjoy this wealth of masterpieces. This game is the ultimate fighting experience for the Nintendo enthusiast. At the same time, it's a party game that works for all skill levels and is suitable for all ages. This is why it ranks so high on the list of best Nintendo Switch games. Celebrate Nintendo's rich history with this game and create new memories at the same time.

The long-awaited sequel

Hollow Knight turned the world upside down. An indie game with a high-quality story, fantastic graphics, deep gameplay, and a long playtime. All for a very affordable price. The wait for the sequel, Silksong, was long, but it was more than worth it. This game plays like a Metroidvania, but with difficulty 90. With each run, you advance a little further and learn a little more about the environment, the enemies, Hornet's controls, and develop patience and perseverance.

Sliksong plays a bit differently than its predecessor; there are many new tools, movement is significantly faster, and there are once again unique attacks and powers. You apply these upgrades in a new kingdom that you can explore entirely on your own. The kingdom consists of different regions, each with unique biomes. Everything is interconnected, resulting in a vast world. And that world is beautiful. Hand-drawn beauty, comparable to the first game, but even more beautiful. The music was created by Christopher Larkin, who made a splash in the first installment. This time, he's even better. Keep the sound on!

The more you traverse paths, the more secrets you'll discover. Sometimes you'll discover a shortcut or a secret you've been missing for dozens of hours. Discovering that is one of the perks. The other lies mainly in the boss fights. They're not easy. You'll have to recognize patterns and apply your skills. They'll be challenging fights, every single one. You'll die a lot. And when you die, you'll often be set back a significant amount in the game. It all feels harsh, but fair. Every death is your fault and could have been prevented. There's a lesson to be learned every time... and with over forty boss fights and that enormous world, you'll spend at least 50 hours trying to achieve a good ending. And all for less than twenty euros.

Many consider this the best game ever. We think it's good enough to take a high spot in the best games on the Nintendo Switch.