2021 has come and gone (almost) and despite a quiet start to the year, Switch owners have seen some real gems launch over the past 12 months. We've seen big releases (admittedly re-releases or remakes in several cases) of most of Nintendo's biggest franchises, with some big anniversaries popping up, too.

We got a Mario, a Zelda, a couple of Pokémon, a Metroid(!) and, perhaps most excitingly, a Big Brain Academy. Hey, it's a fun little game! Throw in WarioWare, another Mario Party and a host of brilliant third-party and indie titles — plus a sexy new SKU in the Switch OLED model — and it's tough to deny that Nintendo's console ended up having a strong software showing throughout 2021.

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As such, we asked Nintendo Life readers to rate the Top 50 Switch games of 2021, and the ranking below is the result, as governed by the User Ratings associated with every 2021 Switch game released according to our games database. As with many of our reader-ranked Best Games round-ups, the ranking will change even after publication to reflect those User Ratings — and that means it's never too late to rate your collection and influence the list.

To score your favourites, simply click score the games below by clicking on their respective stars and rating them out of 10. Can't see your favourite? Head to our library of Switch games to find what you're looking for. To become eligible, a game needs to have been rated by a minimum of 40 users.

So, let's take a look back at 2021AD and the best Switch games of the year.

50. Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir & Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind (Switch eShop)

The Famicom Detective Club remakes are living history, and a chance to catch up on what you missed out on, either by being too young, or not being able to speak Japanese.

Though The Missing Heir has its faults, those faults are largely down to "that's just how games used to be", and it's held up remarkably well all the same. Prequel tale The Girl Who Stands Behind is just as appealing and upgraded as its predecessor, and we really can't recommend one without the other, although you can play either separately.

The story in The Girl Who Stands Behind is creepier, and the characters are more likeable, though they're also a little more forgettable at the same time. This double-bill of murder mystery games is a must-play for anyone who loves the genre.

49. UnderMine (Switch eShop)

UnderMine is a ridiculously easy game to recommend. Developer Thorium Entertainment demonstrates clear mastery in overall design, controls, upgrade systems, and presentation, which all come together here to make for a thoroughly engrossing experience.

The one caveat is that those of you who are sick of roguelites won’t find anything to change your mind here; if you fall in that camp, it’s perhaps best to take a pass. Just know this: you'll be missing out on one of the best examples of the whole genre.

48. Shadowverse: Champion's Battle (Switch)

Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle is without a doubt the greatest card battling RPG on the Switch yet; an addictive and incredibly deep card game wrapped up in a heartwarming and enjoyable RPG that supplements and supports the potent core gameplay in all the right ways. Dozens of hours of content in single player alone, combined with a full-fledged online multiplayer, ensures that you’re getting plenty of bang for your buck, while the anime presentation and detailed card art and animations keep everything looking and sounding nice all the way through. If you’re at all into card games, don’t waste your time deliberating: go buy this game immediately.

47. FEZ (Switch eShop)

FEZ is a fun, challenging puzzle platformer fit to burst with original ideas and unique gameplay wrinkles. Its puzzles bend reality and even leech into our own world on occasion, but aside from a few select mega-challenges never stray into the category of too obtuse or unfair.

A few visual and mechanical quirks stop this from being a perfectly polished experience, but these are outweighed by its charm and other wonderful qualities ninefold. It’s another one of those ‘games you have to play’ on Switch, and it couldn’t be more at home.

46. Narita Boy (Switch eShop)

Narita Boy joins a plethora of entertainment franchises that pay homage to ‘80s culture. But where others have failed, Narita Boy transcends its inspiration with exceptional world building, a complex yet thoughtful narrative, and stunning combat gameplay. It occasionally feels a little too vague and abstract in its structure, and ultimately this holds it back from being a true masterpiece, but if you’re longing for a great Metroidvania title, then Narita Boy is absolutely what you’ve been waiting for.

45. BLUE REFLECTION: Second Light (Switch)

Blue Reflection: Second Light improves on almost every aspect of the original, with a mystery that feels more personal as the characters become closer. The relationship between the girls as they seek to discover why they were brought to this strange world is the star of the show; though the combat is fun, it is always a vehicle to get you more story rather than the driving force of the game. Second Light is a fantastic-looking anime adventure that you'll love, so long as you can accept that combat isn't the focus.

44. Dusk (Switch eShop)

Dusk is one hell of an impressive piece of software and possibly the single best Unity port to Switch we've ever seen, sidestepping typical performance problems and delivering a brilliant experience of a brilliant game. It's not as good a game as Quake, but almost nothing is.

There's a relatively limited arsenal of weapons - they're all great, but there's no iconic gun here, just your usual pistol, shotty, assault rifle, explosives, et al. We're being churlish with our criticisms here, though - ultimately, Dusk is another absolute cracker in Switch's FPS roster.

43. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (Switch eShop)

There's a lot to like about Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (known as Project Zero in Europe). While we didn't find it overly scary, it is very good indeed at being eerie. You'll see ghosts out of the corner of your eye and when you check, they'll be gone. It's oddly cosy and non-stressful for a horror game, because your camera is such an efficient weapon and the combat it propagates is too action-packed to really let any dread sink in. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though we found the earlier PlayStation 2 instalments of the series were more interested in actively frightening the player. Get absorbed in the storyline — which is easy to do as the episodic structure makes "just one more area" a compelling prospect — and you'll find this game's a real winner and worth snapping up if you're a horror fan who missed it on Wii U.

42. Gnosia (Switch eShop)

Between the surprisingly deep plot for such a simple game, the clever narrative explanation of the mechanics, and enough chaos going on in the discussions to keep you guessing, we had a lot of fun with this one. Gnosia's simple game mechanics and deceptively deep story make it a must-have for visual novel and murder mystery fans; it's just a shame that the music is so poor. Even so, if you give it a chance it's highly likely that you'll fall in love with each member of its diverse cast – just in time for them to kill you.

41. Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind (Switch eShop)

The Girl Who Stands Behind is just as appealing and upgraded as The Missing Heir, and we really can't recommend one without the other, although you can play either separately. The story in The Girl Who Stands Behind is creepier, and the characters are more likeable, though they're also a little more forgettable at the same time. You can't go too far wrong with either, and personally we'd go for the double-bill of murder mysteries; they're must-plays for anyone who loves the genre.