Home to over 114 million systems sold, the versatile Nintendo Switch has defied expectations of Nintendo consoles shunning hardcore genres like first-person shooters (FPS). The platform‘s growing library proves Switch owners have plenty of options if they crave lightning-fast virtual gunplay.
But what exactly constitutes a great FPS in the first place? Let‘s quickly cover the core ingredients.
Defining a Great FPS Game
Fantastic FPS games immediately immerse you in their world when you pick up the controller. Running speed, aim precision, powerful sound design and impactful weapons all contribute to that sudden clear-eyed sensation of being locked and loaded for combat.
Once engaged in play, a good FPS constantly forces you to keep moving and changing up tactics, bombarding you with threats and barely giving you a moment to breathe between bouts of action. A great FPS features frantic obstacle-laden maps that test your spatial awareness and reflexes. It also sports an arsenal of diverse firearms and gear to adapt to rapidly evolving combat scenarios.
However, the true test for an FPS title‘s greatness lies in its multiplayer mode. While Hollywood-esque solo campaigns have become expected, the replayable online competitive experience must stand the test of time. A good FPS multiplayer environment feels inexhaustibly exciting thanks to well-balanced gear, evolving meta-strategies and developers actively supporting the community with fresh maps, modes and progression systems.
The Switch‘s Strengths for First-Person Shooters
Despite its modest processing power compared to leading consoles, the Switch still retains compelling qualities for playing first-person shooters. The included Joy-Cons provide highly capable substitutes for traditional controllers. Their HD Rumble and motion control features allow for enhanced feedback and aim assist functionality.
The console’s signature portability also expands when and where you can enjoy FPS titles. Games traditionally confined to the living room can now be played during a long car ride or before bed by seamlessly transitioning the Switch between the dock and handheld configurations. Further expanding its flexibility is the ability to use additional wireless controllers like the Pro or third-party options.
However, Nintendo’s eShop is arguably the Switch‘s greatest asset for first-person shooter fans thanks to spotlighting creativity from smaller independent developers. Passion projects like Dusk and Neon White have brought awesome genre-bending concepts that rival the polish of AAA franchises. Combined with an expanding collection of fantastic ports of shooters both new and classic like Doom Eternal or Quake, Switch owners have their pick of retro or modern takes on running and gunning.
Now let‘s see how the very best Switch FPS releases make the most of Nintendo‘s increasingly versatile platform.
#7: Doom – A Genre Granddaddy Gratifyingly Ported
Original Release: 1993 \
Switch Metascore: 83
As one of the pioneering titles that popularized first-person shooters, Doom needs little introduction. This Nintendo Switch port of the legendary original 1993 release retains every bit of the gory, demon-blasting action that made slaying hellspawn on Mars grip players for months.
What has allowed Doom to stand the test of time is its razor focus on delivering pure, unadulterated action. Levels continuously bombard you with monster closets and projectiles to dodge while death metal guitars wail. This forces you to never stop moving while unleashing firearms like the satisfying shotgun and almighty BFG 9000. It perfected the addicting run-and-gun FPS formula over 25 years ago and still plays fantastically today.
While its rudimentary 3D graphics obviously show their age, this version adds smoothed modern textures. Port specialist Nerve Software also optimized Doom to run at a rock solid 60 frames per second in docked or mobile play. This allows you to better appreciate the groundbreaking level designs and gameplay mechanics that have influenced countless shooters since.
For just a few dollars, this eShop gem makes it simple for curious newcomers and devoted fans alike to pay respects to the godfather of FPS games that started it all.
#6: SUPERHOT – FPS Innovation Through Time Manipulation
Original Release: 2016 \
Switch Metascore: 88
On the surface, SUPERHOT has all the trappings of a standard FPS game. Environments filled with sparse cover placements are populated by red polygon humanoids armed with an assortment of firearms. However, Polish developer Superhot Team introduced one revolutionary new rule that reinvented the traditional beat-by-beat pacing of shooters – time only progresses when you move your character.
By adding this layer of player driven time manipulation, SUPERHOT‘s intense stand-offs play out more akin to solving a puzzle than relying on reflexes. Whenever you stand still, all incoming bullets freeze along with enemies locked into position. You can then carefully survey the battlefield to plan out the most efficient way to disarm and dispatch the swarm of hostiles.
Once you commit to a sequence of actions, SUPERHOT snapped back into real-time as you threw items, dodged past attacks and returned fire. While the campaign lasted under three hours, every standoff was a brief but immensely satisfying brain teaser seeing you enact a perfectly choreographed strategy. It culminated in maybe gaming‘s most memorable final boss encounter that broke the fourth wall in spectacular fashion.
By reconsidering what constitued engaging first-person shooter gameplay design, SUPERHOT gave Switch players an inventive, bite-sized dose of FPS action unlike anything else available on the platform.
#5: Metro 2033 Redux – Moody FPS Survival
Original Release: 2010, Redux – 2014 \
Switch Metascore: 86
Adapted from a Russian novel series, the Metro games present a grim vision of post-apocalyptic life in the Moscow underground subway tunnels following a nuclear war wiping out most surface life. The story centered first-person shooters stand out for the priority they place on survival over reckless gunplay. Limited resources like gas mask filters and inconsistent ammunition drops force careful consideration before pulling the trigger.
This Switch release bundles together rebuilt versions of both Metro 2033 and its sequel Metro Last Light to offer the definitive way to experience the story of Artyom – one of the bunker-dwelling Rangers fighting mutated horrors and hostile human factions struggling for diminishing supplies. Both campaigns excel at creating thick atmospheres of dread punctuated by frantic monster encounters and stealthy infiltration through sinister environments.
While the cloudy color palette and inconsistent performance couldn‘t match current generation consoles, the Switch Metro Redux ports capture the uncompromising tension and challenging resource management. By blending horror and stealth mechanics into the FPS foundation, this bundle offers a fresh mature take on first-person action for Switch players.
#4: Metro Last Light Redux – Refined Survival Horror
Original Release: 2013, Redux – 2014 \
Switch Metascore: 86
Picking up shortly after Metro 2033‘s climax, Last Light continues protagonist Arytom‘s journey through Moscow‘s labyrinth subterranean settlements and blasted city ruins. Though still focused on cautious ammunition conservation and makeshift equipment crafting, the sequel displays welcome quality of life refinements.
Item management feels more intuitive with inventory categorized by type. The stealth systems were expanded with additional takedown abilities and better sound detection feedback. Players also enjoyed more wiggle room to explore environments and take combat encounters either guns blazing or slinking past unseen.
The nightmarish creatures also received expanded AI behaviors and attack patterns to keep veterans on edge. Additional monster variants force players to rapidly adapt tactics as blind water-dwelling shrimps might give way to shrieking demons impervious to bullets. Despite the refined gameplay, Metro Last Light doubled down on the series‘ signature thick atmosphere of Soviet-era misery to great effect in its haunting setting.
Together, 2033 and Last Light make a compelling case for mature single-player first-person shooters on Switch. Their uniquely Eastern European brand of stealth survival horror FPS stands out against the usual American power fantasies that dominate competing console platforms like PlayStation and Xbox.
#3: Quake Remastered – The Gold Standard for Fast FPS Action
Original Release: 1996, Remaster – 2021 \
Switch Metascore: 87
As the unofficial sequel to genre forebearer Doom, Quake took id Software‘s particular blend of gory first-person running and gunning to bold new technological and design heights. Now, Nightdive Studio‘s faithful remaster makes experiencing this iconic FPS milestone on a handheld possible for the first time.
At a smooth 60 frames per second, the Lovecraftian nightmare realms have never played better. Familiar weapons like the trusty shotgun and supremely satisfying nailgun retain their crunchy feedback. Meanwhile, the horde of bizarre enemies keep you on edge with their erratic movement and attacks. Iconic foes like the bouncing grenade tossing Ogre felt just as intimidating as their 1996 first appearance.
This version bundles the base game with both solo Mission Pack sequels, Dissolution of Eternity and Dimension of the Machine, alongside multiplayer with online support. For under $10, Quake Remastered presents the definitive way for a new generation of gamers to appreciate the eternal greatness of one of FPS gaming definitive multiplayer experiences on-the-go or their TV screen thanks to the Switch.
#2: DUSK – A Lurid Indie Triumph
Original Release: 2018 \
Switch Metascore: 88
New Blood Interactive‘s DUSK is a sterling love letter to boomer shooters – the shareware classic FPS games proliferated on 90‘s PCs like Doom and Wolfenstein before widespread internet adoption. Nearly everything about this freakish retro revival feels hauntingly authentic from the VHS grain effects to MIDI soundtrack.
However, its core genius lies not just with masterfully recreating an archaic era of game design but iterating on that vintage formula in smart ways. Interaction systems introduce new options for environmental storytelling by examining items or knocking over glass bottles. The arsenal steadily expands from typical shotguns to more exotic occult artifacts with distinct utility. Level design equally pulls from a more advanced toolset placing secret power-ups in intuitive yet clever spots versus relying on esoteric 90‘s era hidden switches.
DUSK constitutes maybe the most successful "retro shooter" attempt by honoring the early FPS limitations it sought to evoke while subtly addressing decades of accumulated quality of life advancements when elegantly appropriate. This allows the action to shine unimpeded across its unsettling campaign filled with macabre rural legends or Wave mode where you test your endurance against 96 maps worth of escalating enemy onslaughts. For devotees of shooters at their most lurid and challenging, DUSK is perhaps the greatest modern title the Switch has to offer.
#1: Neon White – FPS Speedrunning Heaven
Original Release: 2022 \
Switch Metascore: 88
On the surface, Neon White from acclaimed indie publisher Annapurna Interactive resembles a hyperstylized take on classic first-person shooters. Each level quickly arms the player character with a randomized set of firearms, then unleashes them into White Heaven’s abstract architecture to eliminate neon angel assassins.
However, the design rapidly reveals itself to essentially be an FPS iteration of speedrunning platformers like Mirror’s Edge. Your equipped weaponry comes in packs of consumable cards that must be played in sequence like a deck. Learning efficient routes to collect additional cards for mighty abilities like a high-jump or wave beam becomes essential to clearing stages under tight par times.
This emphasis on rapid improvisational mastery versus methodical combat arena domination de-emphasizes violence as progression necessity. Instead nailing the perfect high-flying course through a level and leaving angelic agents in your neon blaze becomes intoxicating. When combined with optional in-game dating options for its memorably quirky assassins outside assignments, Neon White successfully reinvents FPS structure to be about flow state self-improvement rather than idle gun worship.
For any Switch owner burnt out on yet another AAA parade of grimfaced super soldiers mowing down faceless foreigners, Neon White represents a rainbow-streaked breath of creative fresh air the platform direly needed with its slick parkour fusion twist on first-person gunplay standards. It earns its critical acclaim by daring to inject qualities typically disqualified from discussions surrounding AAA shooter greatness like joy, soul and loveable personality.
Closing Thoughts on the State of Switch FPS Games
While the Nintendo Switch may still not compete directly with rival console libraries for FPS volume, its offerings grow more impressive each year. Established franchises receive loving ports while indie teams push genre boundaries with bold new experiments like Neon White. Support seems poised to continue with upcoming 2023 additions including a Dead Space remake and return of genre godfathers like Resident Evil 4.
Five years since launch, the Switch clearly succeeds as a mature, versatile gaming platform suited for more than just family-friendly cartoon escapades. Any claims arguing Nintendo consoles lack grittier genres can be swiftly debunked by dropping into the immersive survival horror of the Metro Redux titles or testing skills against the Satanic panic gauntlets of indie masterwork DUSK.
For first-person shooter fans spoiled by leading platforms overflowing with annualized military releases, temper expectations on sheer volume. However, prioritize quality over quantity and the Nintendo Switch stands primed to deliver some of fastest-paced, creative virtual combat experiences anywhere.
