10.Stardew Valley
CombiningHarvest Moon-style farming and general life simulation with dungeon diving,Stardew Valleyseems like one of the best SNES games ever made. The fact that it was first released in 2016 just seems like some sort of misprint.
Related:The Best Nintendo Switch Crafting Games, Ranked
9.Timespinner
If you can’t get enough Metroidvania-style games,Timespinneris well worth a look. This one puts a time travel spin on the genre, but playing through this will still seem oddly familiar for those who have playedSymphony of the Nighttoo many times to count.
8.Blazing Chrome
If you find yourself opining that they just don’t make games likeContraorMetal Sluganymore, this is the perfect game for you.Blazing Chromeis a punishing retro-style run-and-gun that will have you playing until you perfect your runs through each level.
7.Axiom Verge
Combining the gameplay and exploration ofMetroidwith a more unsettling environment,Axiom Vergeis one of the bestMetroid-inspired games of recent years. If you haven’t played it, now is the perfect time, as a sequel is on the way.
Related:The Best Platformer Games on Nintendo Switch, Ranked
6.Blaster Master Zero
Blaster Master Zerodeveloper Into Creates thrives on creating games that wouldn’t be out of place on 16-bit systems, and this is no exception. While this game is a remake of sorts of the originalBlaster Master, the sequel, which picks up where this one leaves off, is also well worth playing.
5.The Messenger
Some games opt for 8-bit or 16-bit styling, butThe Messengerwants to have its cake and eat it too. Starting off as an 8-bit style love letter toNinja Gaiden, it eventually turns into a 16-bit Metroidvania styled game.
4.Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
In 2014, whenShovel Knightwas first released, retro-styled games weren’t as popular as they are now.
Whether you credit this game with helping to inspire the modern wave of retro-inspired games or not,Shovel Knight: Treasure Troveis too packed with retro gaming goodness to ignore.
Related:The Best Nintendo Switch Games Ported From Other Consoles
3.Octopath Traveler
If games had never gone for 3D, if the Sega Saturn’s focus on hi-res sprites had been the way things went, maybe all games would look likeOctopath Traveler. This old-school RPG relies on 2D graphics, but presents them in a way that is just as striking as the best-looking modern 3D games.
Related:The Most Satisfying Nintendo Switch Games for Grinding
2.Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2
WhileBloodstained: Ritual of the Nighttakes almost all of its cues directly fromCastlevania: Symphony of the Night,Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2(and the original) looks further back in time.
If you’ve longed for a new game in the style of oldCastlevaniagames,Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2is exactly what you need.
Related:The Best Metroidvania Games on Nintendo Switch, Ranked
1.Sonic Mania
ThoughSonic Maniawas first released in 2017, you’d be forgiven for thinking it hit store shelves around the same time asSonic 3. Some would argue that all the other games in between haven’t been as good. Regardless,Sonic Maniais a newSonicgame that plays like an old one in all the right ways.
More Ways to Get Your Retro Gaming Fix
Do you prefer actual retro games to modern games with retro aesthetics? There is definitely still plenty of appeal to those older games, and there is often a sort of magic that can be hard to recapture in modern games.
Related:The Best Retro Game Collections for Modern Consoles
