Thank Goodness You're Here! (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £15.99
  • Lowest ever price: $13.99 / £11.19

Thank Goodness You’re Here! is a brief but oh-so-sweet romp into a world that simultaneously makes no sense and yet perfect sense to those familiar with British culture. Bursting with excellent humour, beautiful artwork, and fantastic animation, it’s a wonder the devs managed to pack as much as they did into its short runtime.

Performance may not be 100% perfect on Switch, and if you’ve no funny bone in your body, you’ll wonder what the point of it all is, but it’s still some of the best and most intense fun we’ve had in years. Our faces hurt from laughing so much, and we don’t think there’s much greater praise than that.

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Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £15.99
  • Lowest ever price: $9.99 / £7.99

The Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle illustrates perfectly why the humble side-scrolling fighter was the toast of video gaming in the late '80s and early '90s. Addictive, enjoyable, and — perhaps most important of all — bloody good fun when played co-operatively with friends, all of the titles in this seven-strong compendium are worth your time, and by adding robust local and multiplayer support, Capcom has done its utmost to ensure they find favour with a whole new generation of gamers.

If you're not a fan of the genre, then you may well be wondering what all the fuss is about, but for everyone else, this is a must-have download.

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Signalis (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £15.99
  • Lowest ever price: $13.99 / £11.19

Stalking down dimly-lit corridors while the sweat grows on your palms is what a great survival horror is all about, and while Signalis wears more than a little Resident Evil on its sleeve, it is all the better for it.

There is a great mix of puzzles and story in this title which is more about stealth than it is about bullets (though the number of bullets used will be a stat that you won't be able to shake) which sees you traversing planets, bunkers and ships while remaining painfully aware of every creak and footstep around you.

Fans of horror should come this way, and those who are a little more scaredy should give it a go too - just be sure to bring a pillow to hide behind at some points!

Sonic Mania (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £15.99
  • Lowest ever price: $7.19 / £6.39

Sonic Mania is a true return to form for the mascot, in his 2D 'Classic' guise at least, and celebrates the glory days of the original games while also enhancing their qualities and taking on new ideas. From new areas, imaginative second acts and some delightful boss encounters, the development team poured a lot of passion and talent into the project.

With new characters and modes added in the 'Plus' retail version (also available as DLC), some neat tweaks iron out some of the kinks present in the original release, but regardless of the version you pick up, it's one of the best 2D platformers in recent memory.

Celeste (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £17.99
  • Lowest ever price: $3.98 / £4.49

There are very few platformers that can live up to the rush of Celeste. One of the genre's biggest perks is that feeling of euphoria when you hit a perfectly executed aerial move, dodging attacks and getting from point A to B in style, and Celeste is full of them.

The mechanics feel familiar enough that you are never going to feel lost on your journey, but the visual style and storytelling are bound to keep you coming back for more. There is little to fault here, and for a very reasonable price, too.

Cuphead (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £16.99
  • Lowest ever price: $9.00 / £11.79

Cuphead was an absolute masterpiece when it originally launched on Xbox One and nothing has been sacrificed in its move to the Switch. A run-and-gun boss battler dressed up like a 1930s Fleischer or Disney animated short, it’s the same visually jaw-dropping, aurally delightful, knuckle-whiteningly difficult game it was on Microsoft’s console and the Switch’s library is all the better for its presence.

Its focus on intense boss battles won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into we can’t recommend it enough. Just look at it!

Unpacking (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £17.99
  • Lowest ever price: $9.00 / £8.99

Unpacking manages to do several things very well, all at the same time. It’s a touching story told through interaction, it provides the creative play space of a great dollhouse game, and it deftly applies established game design ideas from completely different genres. Its only real shortcoming is the repetition that is a necessary byproduct of landing its message.

Effort has gone into making the controls satisfying on Switch, and the visual and sound design are delightful throughout, making Unpacking, like any sane person’s cutlery, absolutely top-drawer.

Enter the Gungeon (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $14.99 / £10.99
  • Lowest ever price: $4.49 / £3.29

Enter The Gungeon is a brilliantly tactile, endlessly replayable twin-stick roguelike that sits right up there with the very best indie games on Nintendo Switch. With satisfying combat, random levels, and an endless supply of inventive weapons, items and secrets, it's always a total joy to play.

Yet another modern indie classic found a natural home on Nintendo's console.

Hyper Light Drifter: Special Edition (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £17.99
  • Lowest ever price: $4.99 / £4.49

Hyper Light Drifter: Special Edition puts Heart Machine’s obtuse yet engaging throwback where it belongs — in portable Nintendo form — and it makes for the definitive version.

With a handful of exclusive features, the game suddenly feels new and fresh. And with a silky smooth frame rate and every boss, secret and upgrade from the original here for you to experience, this is a wonderful addition to the Nintendo Switch’s bulging indie library.

Inside (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £17.99
  • Lowest ever price: $1.99 / £1.69

Inside is the spiritual successor to Limbo and it builds on its predecessor in every imaginable way. A grimly beautiful platform-puzzler that, while brief, is packed full of jaw-dropping highlights, its dark tone won't be for everyone, but it's been executed brilliantly, with gently taxing physics-based conundrums woven into a haunting wordless narrative.

It's a very similar game to its predecessor in many ways, with side-scrolling elements, a gorgeous, moody art style, and a vulnerable protagonist at the heart of it. Everything's just bigger, better, and more affecting.

The Touryst (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £17.99
  • Lowest ever price: $11.99 / £10.79

The Touryst is a joyous little adventure that sinks its blocky hooks into you and doesn't let go until it's done. It's got a perfect balance of atmospheric puzzling, leisurely exploring and minigame madness that'll keep you thoroughly entertained from start to finish, and its collection of tiny little voxel islands are a joy to discover, bursting with surprises to uncover and presented in a truly dazzling art-style that's achieved whilst performing flawlessly on Nintendo's console.

The puzzles might not be the most taxing you'll ever come across and you'll blow through the whole thing pretty quickly, but overall this is a top-notch – and perfectly priced – little gem.

Huntdown (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £17.99
  • Lowest ever price: $3.99 / £3.59

Huntdown is a delightfully detailed and expertly crafted throwback to old-school run 'n' gun arcade shooters. The 16-bit graphical style is immaculately recreated whilst adding lots of modern bells and whistles to proceedings, including a fantastic soundtrack and audio design, optional CRT filter and an arsenal of heavy-duty weapons that chew scenery and enemies to pieces as your bounty hunter makes their way from boss fight to excellent boss fight.

The flow of levels may be quite repetitive but the moment-to-moment gameplay, overall sense of fun that comes from the level of carnage you can dish out, surprising amount of hammy spoken dialogue and constant pop-culture references all combine to make this one an easy recommendation, and another excellent addition to the Switch's action catalogue.

Death's Door (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £17.99
  • Lowest ever price: $4.99 / £4.49

Death's Door is a modern classic, utilising old gameplay ideas in a new setting to make for a short and sweet experience you won’t want to miss. The snappy combat, rewarding exploration, and relaxing music will stick with you once you've finished, and while it may not have anything 'new' to offer, Death’s Door is so high quality that you’ll hardly have time to think about its lack of innovation.

We’d give this one a very high recommendation, especially to any fans of Zelda or Soulslike games — Acid Nerve has crafted an experience that’s absolutely worth your time and money.

The Messenger (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £17.99
  • Lowest ever price: $3.99 / £3.59

Tight level design and a good challenge for even the biggest fans of platformers, The Messenger is a prime example of borrowing from the classics while keeping it fresh.

This is a game packed with references to titles past (Ninja Gaiden much?) but what The Messenger does so well is that it never feels like you are doing the same thing over and over again. Instead, the developer, Sabotage, has put together a genre game in which you feel instantly at home but with enough challenge to keep those palms a-sweating.

Spelunky 2 (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £17.99
  • Lowest ever price: $7.99 / £7.19

Fans of roguelites, platformers and a hefty dose of challenge need look no further. Spelunky 2 might be one of the genre's more frustrating titles to get your head around, but the level of reward means that there is a good amount of payoff to be had here.

Much like its predecessor, Spelunky, there are lots of secrets to be found in the intricate level design which means that the replayability is a huge plus here. It might be at the higher end of our cheap games list, but this is still some top-notch value for money.

Persona 4 Golden (Switch eShop)

  • Switch eShop Price: $19.99 / £17.99
  • Lowest ever price: $11.99 / £8.99

Persona 4 Golden remains a thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing RPG that, for the most part, has stood the test of time.

Although its visuals might be a bit dated, the gameplay and story presented here do more than enough to justify the purchase, while all the tweaks and additions that came with this ‘Golden’ edition round out most of the rougher edges from the initial PS2 release.

If you're looking to give the Persona series a shot, Persona 5 Royal is a good place to start, but P4G is an excellent entry in the series and one that we would recommend you pick up when you can.

Those are our picks of the very best cheap games on Switch - the great-value, wishlist-worthy 'evergreens'.

Cheap Switch Games FAQ

Why are Nintendo games still $60?

Historically, Nintendo rarely discounts its first-party software, but many people still ask the question: Why are Switch games still so expensive?

Generally, Nintendo prefers to maintain the value of its products over the long term rather than tempting you with deep discounts. If a Nintendo game launches at $60, you can be confident that it will remain that price for a considerable length of time — you don't have to worry about seeing it 50% cheaper in a month or two.

However, periodically on Switch eShop, you can find many of the company's biggest Switch games discounted by up to 33% in sales throughout the year, including Black Friday, Christmas, and Summer sales.

Beyond that, you'll be lucky to find Nintendo games with a deep discount at retailers.

Are Switch games cheaper on the eShop?

Nintendo itself maintains price parity between its digital-only and physical releases, although the aforementioned 33% sales are generally more frequent on the eShop.

However, you'll find many other publishers that sell the Switch eShop version of the game at a much cheaper price than the physical cartridge. This is usually due to the increased costs associated with creating and distributing a physical product versus a digital download.

Are there any free Switch games?

There's a good selection of F2P (free-to-play) games on Switch, yes - check out our list of the best below:

This article is one of our Switch Essentials guides which cover a wide variety of genres, including the Best Switch FPS Games, the Best Switch RPGs, the Best Switch Games For Kids, the Best Switch Couch Co-Op Games and the Best Switch Fitness and Exercise Games. We can also help out hunting down the Best Switch Horror Games, the Best Switch Racing Games, the Best Switch Action-RPGs, the Best Nintendo Switch Roguelikes, Roguelites and Run-Based Games, the Best Free Switch Games, the Best Remakes And Remasters, the Best Switch Music And Rhythm Games, Best Feel-Good Switch Games, Best Switch Open-World Games, Best Switch Soulslike Games, Best LGBTQ+ Switch Games, and even Games to Play After You've Finished Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Whatever your favourite genre, we've got you covered: Strategy Games, Metroidvanias, Puzzle Games, Party Games, Online Multiplayer Games, Local Wireless Multiplayer Games, Shmups, Twin-Stick Shooters, Visual Novels, Kart Racers, Fighting Games, Football Games, Funny Games, Golf Games, 'Walking Sims' And Narrative Games, Switch Games For Lovers And Lonely Hearts, Detective Games, Hidden Gems, 2D Platformers, 3D Platformers, Puzzle Platformers, Tabletop Mode Games, Run and Gun Games, LEGO Games, Sports Games, Survival Games, Beat 'Em Ups, Camera Games, Chill Games, Family Games, Retro-Inspired Games, Short Games, Card Games and Deck-Builders, and Life Sims And Farming Games.

Still hungry for more? Elsewhere we look at Wholesome Games, TATE Mode Games, Flight Sim and Space Combat, Point and Click Adventure Games, and the Best Switch Exclusives, as well as Every Arcade Archives Game, Every ACA Neo Geo Game, Every SEGA AGES Game On Switch, plus the Best Switch Ports, Best Wii U-To-Switch Ports, Best Switch Collections And Compilations, Best Cheap Switch Games, Best Switch Demos, Games That Are Better On Switch OLED, Switch Games Under $10, $20, $50, and Switch games with the Best Soundtracks and the Best Graphics. Phew!

If you're looking for the best Switch games regardless of genre, our reader-voted selection of the Best Nintendo Switch Games To Play Right Now should help you out, and you can also find the Best Nintendo Switch Games of 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. And finally, if you're interested in other Nintendo consoles and retro games, check out the Best Game Boy Games, Best GBC Games, Best GBA Games, Best Nintendo DS Games, Best Nintendo 3DS Games, Best NES Games, Best SNES Games, Best N64 Games, Best GameCube Games, and Best Wii Games, and Best Wii U Games, as well as Every Available Nintendo Switch Online Retro Game, and ranked lists of Every Nintendo Switch Online NES, SNES, N64 and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Game.