Timeless treats there is still much to enjoy on the original Nintendo Switch console. Timeless treats there is still much to enjoy on the original Nintendo Switch console. From the greatest cartoon racing game in history to a remastered version of an Alien-inspired sci-fi shooter, here are the Switch's must-play games A lthough the Nintendo Switch 2 has been out for several months, not everyone has made the leap to the new machine and there is still much to enjoy on the original console in 2026 (and beyond). From timeless Mario adventures to cutesy shooters to chasm-deep role-playing quests, here are 15 games no Switch owner should be without. The cosy life sim returned with new characters, chill activities, and endless knick-knacks with which to decorate your own virtual paradise.

In 2017, a game design thinktank called Project Horseshoe gathered a group of developers together to define the concept of cosiness in video games. Games, of course, have had non-violent elements since the medium was invented. Early life simulators such as 1985's Little Computer People, a low-stakes game in which the player interacts with a man living his unremarkable life in a house, could fit the bill; then there was the proliferation of social farming simulations after 1996's chibi-adorable Harvest Moon. But the resulting report, Coziness in Games: An Exploration of Safety, Softness, and Satisfied Needs, is probably the first organised effort to define a then-emerging genre. Cosy games (cozy in US spelling) don't have high-risk scenarios: "There is no impending loss of threat," they wrote.

Thanks to some distinctly Scottish weather over the holidays, my family and I ended up celebrating Hogmanay at home rather than at the party we'd planned to attend. My smallest son's wee pal and his parents came over for dinner, and when the smaller members of our group started to spiral out of control around 9pm, we threw them a little midnight countdown party in Animal Crossing. The last time I played Animal Crossing was in the depths of lockdown. Tending my island paradise helped me cope while largely imprisoned in a 2.5 bedroom basement flat with a baby, a toddler and a teenager. Our guests had brought their family Switch, and we set up the kids with their little avatars so they could join the animals' New Year party. They spent about 10 minutes gleefully whacking each other with bug nets before gathering with the other inhabitants in the square with a giant countdown clock in the background, the island's racoon magnate Tom Nook offering party poppers and shiny top-hats.

At a wide desk in a bedroom somewhere sits a figure, her back facing the camera, supported by an ergonomic white office chair. Her head is bracketed by puffy, white noise-cancelling headphones. Her wrists rest on a foam cloud as she plays a pixelated farm-simulation video game called Stardew Valley on a handheld Nintendo Switch. She is surrounded by screens. On the wall, lights the shape of geometric tiles cast a soft glow in changing colors according to whatever is onscreen.

Maybe you've seen the ads on social media: "Crush depression with Animal Crossing"; "Meet with a therapist while playing Stardew Valley." Advertisements for Hero Journey Club's gamer-focused mental health support groups have flooded the internet in recent months, drawing a mix of skepticism and enthusiastic intrigue from those who have been targeted by them. Come join us," the ads beckon. For some people who already turn to video games as an antidote to the difficulties of everyday life, Hero Journey Club's promises of community and a safe space to do inner work really hit home. But while Hero Journey Club may be a lot like therapy, the service it provides is not therapy, technically. It's not licensed healthcare, a point that anyone who signs up is told from the outset and must consent to before proceeding. The Journey Guides, however -- as the session leaders are called -- are qualified mental health professionals. To be hired, one must have at least a master's degree from an ...

In December 2015, the revered French fashion house Louis Vuitton made a surprise announcement about the advertising campaign for its forthcoming spring-summer collection. The new range of clothes and accessories would be modelled on screen and in the pages of glossy magazines not by a famous actor or popstar but by a video game character: the pink-haired warrior Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII. Nicolas Ghesquière, the brand's creative director told the press he considered Lightning to be the "perfect avatar for a global heroic woman". The fictional character even carried out interviews to promote the partnership. It was not the first time a fashion brand had collaborated with a major video game. Previously, H&M, Moschino and Diesel had made digital clothes for The Sims.

Every Nintendo fan remembers the game that converted them. Perhaps it was running and jumping around as Mario in an abstract, toylike playspace, thrilling at the lightness and precision of his movement. It could have been becoming hypnotised by falling Tetris blocks on the Game Boy's tiny monochrome screen, or choosing a first Pokémon, marvelling at how the little collection of fat pixels representing your chosen critter instantly assumed an imagined personality. Millions of people had their first Nintendo moment during 2020's lockdowns, moving to a virtual deserted island full of quirky neighbours in Animal Crossing. For more than 40 years, this Japanese giant of entertainment has been making video games that have shaped the tastes of the people who played them as children; there is surely no game developer working today who is untouched by its influence.

In 1982, one of the first 3D games ever released doubled as one of the earliest examples of survival horror. In the pixelated 3D Monster Maze, you not only had to find your way out of a maze but survive being hunted by a T. rex. In the decades since, the dino-horror genre has only grown, from 1999's DinoCrisis to 2016's Far Cry Primal, but dinosaurs have also become more than in-game monsters. We've seen dinosaurs as allies (Yoshi, Pokemon), dinosaurs as attractions (park sims like Zoo Tycoon or Jurassic World), or dinosaurs and their fossils as collectibles (see the in-game markets of Sims or Animal Crossing). The way games have depicted both ancient animals and the paleontologists who study them has gotten richer and deeper as time has passed--though there's still plenty of pixelated T. rexes chomping off people's heads.

When I was a kid, I was only allowed to play video games on Fridays and Saturdays – an attempt by my parents to keep my gaming passion under control. For the rest of the week, I was happy doing other things and reading my Nintendo magazines, but come Friday evening, I was ready to pick up a controller. I would stock up on Haribo and fizzy juice on the way home from school in preparation for an evening in front of the TV. My parents, presumably grateful for a few hours of peace, would throw a Pizza Hut delivery through the door of the spare room where our games consoles lived and leave my brother and I to it. We would sit and play Zelda or Diddy Kong Racing or another parent-approved, non-violent obsession of the day until we were commanded to go to bed.

DALL-E leverages text prompts for image creation. I've been experimenting with prompt design for game art generation, looking for a specific aesthetic of "cute, but horrifying". As generating imagery with AI becomes more widely available, prompt crafting will become more important. Here's some examples that use lots of "nudges" in the prompt to get a final style. I've tried referencing several different artists known for disturbing styles to create the aesthetic that I'm looking for.