Nintendo hasn’t held the title of “serious gamer console” in a while, with specs that lack the sheer graphical and processing muscles of the Xbox and PlayStation. Yet it’s always surprised the gaming community at large by being incredibly popular and including a lot more titles than one might have thought.
Titles like MMOs and MMORPGs, which are making a slow but steady headway into the system’s catalogue. If you picked up a Nintendo Switch for the kiddos or to be a nice party console a while back but haven’t given it due consideration as an MMO platform, today’s list may change your mind. We’re going to look at 10 online RPGs that you can play with your joy-cons.
Skyforge
I’m going to kick off the list with this MMO because when we posted the news that it was coming to the Switch this fall, it made me realize that the console had been racking up a lot more online games than we once thought. In any case, Skyforge is a bit of a hidden gem, with some clever systems and the ability to change up your character’s class on the fly.
Animal Crossing: New Horizon
This may seem like an odd entry, but Animal Crossing’s latest iteration has a lot more MMO features than you may think (and we’ve been arguing its case for a while now). It certainly gives players a lot of reasons to interact, including through events and the game’s adorable turnip-based economy.
DC Universe Online
According to our first impressions, “It works really well on Switch. It’s unfortunate that it doesn’t give you more reason to play on Switch specifically by leveraging more of the unique features of this console, but if you, like me, have a Switch but not an Xbox One or PS4, and want to give this one a try, it’s a great way to do so.”
Warframe
Warframe was one of the early adapters to the Switch, arriving back in fall of 2018. The fast-paced MMO shooter is a good fit for console controls, what with its limited action set and button-smashing combat. The game’s been gradually transitioning into more of an MMO every month, especially with open world zones, so it’s definitely worth checking out.
Dauntless
Another smash hit across multiple platforms, Dauntless delivers that classic Monster Hunter experience — only with friends! In any case, if all you’re looking for is that raid boss feel with some RPG elements, then this is a solid choice. Dauntless has been out on the Switch for almost a year now, adding in several patches that have improved the experience.
Diablo III
Action RPGs, with their limited number of input buttons and isometric camera, are perfect candidates to make the jump from PC to console. Blizzard’s excellent Diablo III made the switch to the Switch in the fall of 2018, providing players with a rich battleground full of vulnerable mobs and tempting loot.
ARK Survival Evolved
If heading out into a multiplayer survival environment is more your scene, you’ll be glad to hear that ARK stomped its way onto the Switch in 2018. Now fans can cooperate to build up their bases, tame dinosaurs, and explore a wild land together, all with itty-bitty joy-cons. Snail Games even brought the spin-off, PixARK, onto the console a year later.
Phantasy Star Online 2
For the next two entries, the future is where our hope rests. Phantasy Star Online 2 is one of those MMOs that has made a commitment to creating a Nintendo Switch edition — although this won’t be happening until sometime in 2021. You could, by changing your region settings, access a Switch version of PSO2 right now on the platform, however.
Temtem
The Pokémon-like MMO Temtem has done well enough for itself on the PC, and now it’s eyeing other grounds for play. One of those is the Nintendo Switch, which the studio has confirmed will host the game in spring 2021. It’ll be the nearest thing that Nintendo fans can get to a proper Pokémon MMO on the platform — at least for the time being.
Torchlight III
Finally, Torchlight III recently click-moved its way onto the Switch, just weeks after it came out on the PC. As with Diablo III, it’s a good fit for the platform, with multiplayer options and customizable housing. Switch players who buy the game will get an exclusive red fairy pet denied to the other platforms.
Everyone likes a good list, and we are no different! Perfect Ten takes an MMO topic and divvies it up into 10 delicious, entertaining, and often informative segments for your snacking pleasure. Got a good idea for a list? Email us at justin@massivelyop.com or eliot@massivelyop.com with the subject line “Perfect Ten.”
