Battle Royales are some of the most intense online multiplayer games, letting you compete against loads of other real players to test your skill.
The best Battle Royale games on Switch can be some of the most intense experiences on the console.
However, just because they all have the same end goal of being the last person standing, Battle Royale games can be pretty diverse. There are some pretty creative takes on the genre despite their common features.
The Switch is home to some of the most popular Battle Royales, but it also has exclusive titles that even brings the format to gaming classics like Tetris and Pac-Man.
Today, we’ll go through the best picks for Battle Royale games on Switch. These are in reverse order, so my favorite picks are at the bottom – but there are some undeniable gems throughout the list, too.
9. Super Animal Royale
Super Animal Royale is a lesser-known Battle Royale but one that deserves your attention. You play as a variety of surprisingly bloodthirsty animals. You have to hunt down the other players and be the last creature standing.
There are a few things that make Super Animal stand out. The biggest difference is probably that it’s played in a top-down 2D perspective. This makes it a different skill set than normal 3D Battle Royales.
Combat in the game features both guns and melee attacks. It can be weird to play as a gun-toting fox or cat, but you’ll have to master all of the options to succeed.
Games are played in lobbies of 64. You’ll need to search around buildings and the tall grass of the farmyard to find the best loot. The map will slowly close in as poison gas is dropped around the edges. This pushes everyone who has survived together for a final showdown.
Super Animal Royale is a fun change of pace. It’s one of the more laid back and friendly battle Royales.
This is one of the best Battle Royale games on Switch, especially if you like 2D action games.
8. Worms Rumble
Worms Rumble is the latest installment in the long-running series, it shakes up the normal gameplay quite a lot. This game ditches the slower tactical gameplay in favor of real-time combat and action. Worms Rumble comes with multiple modes, including a fleshed-out Battle Royale.
Players control a worm with a tendency for violence. In a limited arena, you can make use of a variety of exotic weapons to take down your opponents. Gunplay in worms has never been exactly based in reality.
The weapons here get pretty creative. There are launchers that fire sheep, plasma cannons, along with jet packs and grappling hooks for more mobility. This is one of the Battle Royale games on Switch that gets really fun with its weaponry.
The Battle Royale part of Worms Rumble features both solo and squads play. You can team up with friends or compete on your own to be the last worm left on the battlefield.
Worms Rumble Battle Royale is a fun twist on the standard Worms format. It’s a real inversion of Worms gameplay and one that surprisingly suits the expanded BR genre pretty well.
7. Realm Royale
Realm Royale is a fantasy-styled game that puts those classic tropes into a Battle Royale setting. This is a spin-off of the Paladins Hero Shooter, originating as a game mode in that title.
90 players drop into a match from an airship, with the game area gradually decreasing as time passes. Once on the ground, you’ll need to grab weapons and other loot to defend yourself.
There are standard rifles, shotguns, and SMGs. However, there are also axes, longswords, magical rifles, bows, and elemental staffs. This kind of twist on the weapons open to players makes the game play pretty differently from other Royales.
There are five character classes in this game. Each of them has abilities that can enhance your gameplay style. Another twist is downed players are turned into a chicken that can roam and fight.
As with any good fantasy game, Realm Royale features mounts for you to travel on. This is a fun option in the game and it makes a change from all the cars in most Battle Royales.
The main downside of Realm Royale is that the game was abandoned a few years after release. However, after 2 years without an update, the developers have returned to the game. It’s being actively worked on and new content is now coming soon.
If you’re a fan of fantasy games or just looking for something different, Realm Royale is a great pick for the best BR games on Switch.
6. Ninjala
Ninjala plays pretty differently from the rest of our picks for the best Battle Royale games on Nintendo Switch. On the surface, the game seems to take a lot of inspiration from another Nintendo-exclusive, Splatoon. However, gameplay is pretty different.
The Battle Royale mode is the main event in Ninjala, but a key difference with this game is that it isn’t really about being the last person standing. Players compete to get more points than their opponents at the end of the game, rather than trying to eliminate everyone else.
There are five main weapons, the Katana, hammer, Yo-yo, Board, and Punch. Most of these are melee attacks but some do shoot out explosive projectiles instead. The weapons get larger as they get upgraded, expanding out how much damage you can rack up.
You can still knock out over players to get more points for yourself. However, respawns are on in Ninjala. Mobility is another fun twist. Players can run up walls and other surfaces, to get a lot more creative movement out of the battle arena.
Through the game, you get an easy reference for how high in the rankings you currently are. If it’s getting towards the end of a game and you’ll still in a lower position, you better hope you’ve got your special moves available soon.
You collect points in the game by grabbing drones that pop up across the map. At the end, the player with the most points wins. This is a less tense Battle Royale with a shorter game time, but it’s worth checking out.
5. Pac-Man 99
Pac-Man 99 is a Battle Royale game that puts the unique format on a classic arcade game. It’s Pac-Man, but with 99 other opponents competing against you.
Core gameplay here is basically the original Pac-Man. You roam around a maze eating dots and the occasional cherry. You’re perused by ghosts who can eat you, until you turn the tables on them.
The game gets more difficult as it gets faster. In Pac-Man 99 though, there’s the added twist of competing against other players. When you eat ghosts, it sends a jammer to the mazes of other players.
This slows them down and adds extra obstacles. It puts more strategy in the game than just solving your own basic maze. You gave the option to change where you send your jammer Pac-Man, opening up the game for tactics.
While the gameplay is simple here, it’s surprising how much more tension it adds to have more players competing alongside you. It’s much more engaging than the standard Pac-Man.
The base game of Pac-Man 99 is free, which is great for trying it out. You can also unlock extras themes and visual flare. This is a really unique entry to the best Battle Royales on Switch.
4. Fall Guys
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout shot to success when it first launched, and the game has since become available on every platform, along with going free-to-play. Now, everyone on Switch can play Fall Guys.
Fall Guys is a casual-friendly battle Royale with some hidden depth. Players are basically competing in a game show, with multiple rounds to each game that eliminate opponents before the final. Games start with 60 players and whittle down to just one who gets the crown.
Fall Guys has over 60 games to fit into the various rounds. Players have to race through obstacle-filled courses or try to outlast opponents in survival games.
The variety in Fall Guys makes it a bit more unique than playing one long round of a game like in most of the Switch BR games in this list. Fall Guys now lets you play with friends or alone, which makes it a fun party game online.
This game gets regular updates and a Battle Pass to keep players invested. It also rotates out its games from day to day, so it always feels fresh.
Fall Guys is a bit lighter and friendlier than most Battle Royales, but it can still get pretty tense in those final rounds!
3. Apex Legends
Apex Legends takes the popular hero shooter format and brings it into the Battle Royale world. This game has one of the most exciting casts of characters and a unique world.
Apex Legends has players compete to take the top spot, each controlling a different unique character or Legend. While they have abilities, Apex still has looting for weapons.
Players have to search out weapons of better rarities if they want to stand a chance. However, a lot of the games’ strategy comes down to proper use of your abilities.
Each Legend has various abilities that make them more specialist. They can use these at intervals throughout the game. Players have to master timing these abilities to best serve their team.
Apex Legends is one of the best Battle Royale games on Nintendo Switch for team play. This game is a lot better when you’re grouped up with a Trio. However, it takes great communication to excel.
Apex Legends is another Battle Royale that has a lot of updates. There’s a new Battle Pass each season, map changes, new weapons, and more Legends. It’s difficult to stay on top of all of the changes in the game.
Apex Legends runs well on Switch and it features motion controls. You don’t get the same frame rate as on other platforms, but it’s still a fun title to jump in to.
2. Tetris 99
Tetris 99 is one of the most unique additions to the Battle Royale format. It takes a game that no one would expect to work in such large numbers and makes one of the best Battle Royale games on Switch or any other platform.
Tetris 99 works similarly to past multiplayer Tetris games. You play standard Tetris, Controlling the positions of falling blocks to complete rows and clear your screen. Cleared blocks on your screen push junk rows into your opponents, filling their screen up quicker.
If you can pull off a clean Tetris (clearing four lines at once), then you can get a lot of junk on your opponent’s screen. This adds some strategy to the game, although you could be on the receiving end of multiple blocks yourself.
Tetris 99’s overview of all other players helps to build the tension. The faster side of normal Tetris is stressful, but as you’re seeing the player count dwindle to just a few things get kicked up a notch.
Tetris 99 is one of the most fun Battle Royale games to jump in and have a few quick rounds. Although, it’s also easy to find yourself still there hours later chasing that next win.
1. Fortnite
Fortnite is one of the biggest things in gaming as a whole. This is a Battle Royale that has a huge casual player base and an expansive esports scene. The title is just as engaging and accessible on Switch, too.
Building is the main unique mechanic within this looting-focused Battle Royale. You can build your own cover or high ground.
Building and editing have become a section of the game with a high-skill cap. The quick ways that pros take walls to sneak in a shotgun blast is impressive and it shows how far you can go with the game.Â
The game now includes zero-building modes, so if you want to play the game but don’t like getting a skyscraper whipped up on top of you every time you see an enemy in Fortnite, no builds will probably revitalize Fortnite for you.
There are a few reasons to consider the Switch version of Fortnite over others, but some downsides too. On the positive side, you’ve got gyroscope controls.
They take a bit of configuring. Set up properly though, slight motion movements become one of the most intuitive ways to control the gae.
The downside is that Fortnite is capped at 30 FPS on Switch. In a game where frame rate matters competitively, it’s a shame.
Fortnite is nearly constantly updated and the game has a vibrant community, and offers complex mechanics and casual play simultaneously, making it an easy first choice in our list of the best Switch Battle Royale games.
