Exploration for Nintendo Switch — top best games in the Exploration genre

SnowRunner - a game in the Exploration genre

Simulation, Exploration, Sandbox, Open world, Racing

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 18 May 2021

Players: 7.9/10

Metacritic: 80/100

Continuation of the off-road driving simulator Spintires: MudRunner. You can expect realistic driving mechanics, well-developed gameplay, as well as many...

Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered

Action, Adventure, Third-person view, Exploration, Old school

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 14 February 2024

Players: 8.7/10

Metacritic: 74/100

Remasters of the original Lara Croft games. The collection includes Tomb Raider I + The Unfinished Business Expansion, Tomb Raider II + The Gold Mask Expansion and...

Chernobylite

Horror, First-person view, Futurism (Future), Indie, Science fiction, Survival, Exploration, Open world, Crafting

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 13 December 2024

Players: 7/10

Metacritic: 78/100

A first-person shooter with exploration elements and horror. While exploring locations, the player collects resources to build a base and craft useful items, while...

Core Keeper

Adventure, Online, Top-down view, Sandbox, Indie, Cooperative (co-op), Dungeons, Exploration, Crafting, Farm Simulator

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 27 August 2024

Players: 7.7/10

Metacritic: 86/100

An arcade sandbox that you can play with friends in co-op for up to eight people. The main character is an explorer who wakes up in an ancient dungeon filled with...

Dave the Diver

Role-playing game, Action, Adventure, Hunting / Fishing, Business / Management, Exploration

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 26 October 2023

Players: 9.6/10

Metacritic: 90/100

Pixel sea adventure in the mysterious Blue Hole. Players dive deep into the Blue Hole to find the most exotic species of fish and create the best sushi in the...

DREDGE

Adventure, Simulation, Hunting / Fishing, Exploration, Open world

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 30 March 2023

Players: 9.5/10

Metacritic: 83/100

The mysterious archipelago hides many secrets that are best not remembered. Taking the helm of a fishing trawler, a brave fisherman sets sail across islands lost in...

Gothic

Role-playing game, Action, Adventure, Third-person view, Exploration, Fantasy

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 28 September 2023

Players: 9/10

Metacritic: 70/100

The Kingdom of Myrtana is engulfed in a terrible war. Hordes of orcs have invaded human lands, and the king needs a large amount of magical ore, from which he can...

Expeditions: A MudRunner Game

Open world, Racing, Exploration, Simulation, Online, Cooperative (co-op)

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 5 March 2024

Players: 7.2/10

Metacritic: 79/100

Continuation of the off-road driving simulator in the MudRunner series. You will find realistic control mechanics, sophisticated gameplay, as well as many...

Sun Haven

Indie, Farm Simulator, Online, Adventure, Crafting, Exploration, Fantasy

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 29 November 2024

Players: 8.9/10

A fantasy farm simulator with dragons, magic, an interesting story and a final boss. The game offers a huge world full of opportunities for development and...

Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

Simulation, Indie, Side view, Casual game, Exploration, Fantasy, Medieval era

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 12 December 2023

Players: 9/10

Metacritic: 74/100

A...

Content Warning

Action, Online, First-person view, Cooperative (co-op), Mysticism / Supernatural, Exploration, Procedural generation, Survival horror

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 1 April 2026

Players: 8.2/10

A cooperative horror puzzle game in the spirit of Lethal Company. The game is about a group of bloggers trying to get viral on the local equivalent of YouTube. To...

Sonic Frontiers

Action, Third-person view, Adventure, Open world, Platformer, Exploration

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 8 November 2022

Players: 9.8/10

Metacritic: 69/100

Sonic Frontiers is a continuation of the classic action-adventure game with a third-person view in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. Doctor Eggman once again strives...

Dinkum

Online, Business / Management, Isometric, Sandbox, Cooperative (co-op), Exploration, Construction, Farm Simulator

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 5 November 2025

A colorful farming simulator in which players explore the tropical eucalyptus forests and scorching deserts of an island inspired by the wild Australian outback. As...

Outbound

Adventure, First-person view, Third-person view, Indie, Survival, Exploration, Open world, Crafting

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 11 May 2026

Metacritic: 66/100

A survival simulator in an open world, the main feature of which is the main character’s van, which must be improved by adding various mechanisms to it. The player...

Journey to the Savage Planet

Adventure, First-person view, Online, Cooperative (co-op), Action, Comedy, Exploration, Open world

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 28 May 2020

Players: 8.9/10

Metacritic: 75/100

A vibrant action adventure in an open world. At the direction of the Kindred Aerospace corporation, the hero is sent to a distant planet. He will have to explore...

Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered

Action, Adventure, Third-person view, Exploration, Old school, Collection

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 14 February 2025

VGTimes: 5.3/10

Players: 8.5/10

Metacritic: 66/100

Remasters of the original Lara Croft games. The collection includes Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider: Chronicles and Tomb Raider: The Angel of...

Chained Echoes

Role-playing game, Side view, Turn-based, Indie, Japanese role-playing game, Exploration, Old school

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 8 December 2022

Players: 10/10

Metacritic: 89/100

Old school RPG with turn-based combat. Events take place in a colorful fantasy world on the continent of Valandis. A group of heroes embark on a dangerous journey...

Slender: The Arrival

Adventure, Horror, First-person view, Indie, Walking Simulator, Exploration, Mysticism / Supernatural

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 20 June 2019

Players: 8/10

Metacritic: 63/100

Continuation of the atmospheric horror with a first-person view Slender. The story tells of Slenderman, a paranormal figure who haunts inquiring minds around the...

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Stealth, The Lord of the Rings, Third-person view, Exploration

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 14 December 2023

Players: 3.4/10

Metacritic: 36/100

An atmospheric adventure about Gollum in the Lord of the Rings universe. The game tells the story of a time when a fallen hobbit wielded the One Ring. One of the...

COCOON

Adventure, Puzzle, Platformer, Futurism (Future), Exploration, Indie

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 29 September 2023

Players: 10/10

Metacritic: 89/100

The game is a puzzle game in which gamers can manipulate worlds made in the form of spheres. Features include unique gameplay mechanics and a mysterious setting...

The Knight Witch

Side view, Metroidvania, Shooter, Collectible card game (CCG), Exploration, Adventure, Comedy

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 29 November 2022

Metacritic: 79/100

The Knight Witch is a fast-paced Metroidvania adventure with shooter elements, set in a hand-drawn world. The game tells about witch knights who are trying to repel...

Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom

Role-playing game, Third-person view, Anime / Manga, Fantasy, Japanese role-playing game, Adventure, Open world, Exploration

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 17 September 2021

Players: 9.3/10

Metacritic: 83/100

The plot tells the story of the young king Evan, in whose state a coup was carried out, and because of which he was forced to flee. Now, in the company of friends...

Trifox

Arcade, Isometric, Platformer, Shooter, Adventure, Action, Comedy, Exploration, Fantasy

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 13 October 2022

An action-adventure platformer where players, in the role of a fearless hero, try to pass trials and save the hero's home from a deadly invasion. As you progress...

Paleo Pines

Action, Third-person view, Farm Simulator, Exploration, Casual game, Adventure

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 26 September 2023

Players: 8.9/10

Metacritic: 69/100

The game takes place on a colorful island where kind dinosaurs and eccentric people live. Together with their faithful companion, the dinosaur Lucky, players...

Nova Lands

Construction, Business / Management, Action, Top-down view, Crafting, Sandbox, Open world, Exploration, Indie

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 22 June 2023

Players: 10/10

Metacritic: 79/100

The hero finds himself on a colorful planet full of secrets, amazing creatures, people and interesting activities. His task is to build a new house using automation...

Terra Memoria

Role-playing game, Turn-based, Exploration, Fantasy

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 27 March 2024

Six heroes travel through a vibrant fantasy world. The characters must find out the reason for the attack of the ancient machines. As they progress, the heroes...

Rue Valley

Role-playing game, Adventure, Isometric, Exploration

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 11 November 2025

Metacritic: 70/100

An adventure role-playing game in the spirit of Disco Elysium, in which the main character gets stuck in a time loop along with people with a difficult fate. The...

Drova - Forsaken Kin

Role-playing game, Action, Adventure, Exploration, Open world, Fantasy

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 15 October 2024

Players: 8.2/10

Metacritic: 78/100

The main action takes place in a dark fantasy world in which people have discovered the power of a dead empire, which allows them to receive the powers of spirits...

Kona 2: Brume

Adventure, First-person view, Indie, Exploration, Detective, Walking Simulator

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 18 October 2023

Players: 8.6/10

The game takes place in Canada in 1970. A certain haze cut off a small mining village from the whole world. Private detective Karl Faber is trying to understand its...

Winter Burrow

Adventure, Comics, Survival, Casual game, Exploration, Construction, Crafting

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 12 November 2025

Players: 8.8/10

Metacritic: 68/100

A game about a mouse who returns home from a big city to restore his old ruined home. You need to explore nearby locations, meet different characters and get...

Rebel Transmute

Metroidvania, Platformer, Side view, Exploration, Adventure, Science fiction

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 14 March 2024

The main character sets off on a dangerous journey to uncover the mystery of her mother's disappearance. You can learn abilities that change your playing style to a...

Strange Horticulture

Puzzle, Exploration, Detective, Adventure

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 28 July 2022

Players: 9.7/10

Metacritic: 83/100

Welcome to Andermir — a quiet town surrounded by dense forests inhabited by witches and impenetrable mountains. The player plays the role of a florist who...

Bugsnax

Adventure, First-person view, Fantasy, Open world, Comedy, Exploration, Casual game

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 28 April 2022

Players: 8.1/10

Metacritic: 76/100

Explorer Elizabert Megafig invites the main character to the sunny Snaktooth Island, which is inhabited by unusual creatures. The researcher has disappeared, and...

Jack Move

Japanese role-playing game, Turn-based, Cyberpunk, Science fiction, Exploration, Anime / Manga, Adventure, Top-down view

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 20 September 2022

Metacritic: 75/100

Jack Move is a top-down cyberpunk adventure JRPG. Her name is Noah Solares, she is a legendary hacker whose name is spoken only in whispers on the streets. Even...

Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed

Action, Adventure, Platformer, Third-person view, Side view, Exploration, Remake

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 24 September 2024

Players: 9.7/10

Metacritic: 77/100

A remake of the colorful Disney Epic Mickey for Wii in 2010. Mickey Mouse embarks on an epic journey across the Wasteland, the realm of forgotten Disney characters...

The Thing: Remastered

Action, Adventure, Exploration, Survival horror, Third-person view, Shooter

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 5 December 2024

Players: 8.2/10

Metacritic: 70/100

Re-release of the shooter Thing (2002) . The game is a direct sequel to John Carpenter's cult horror "The Thing". The shooter's plot starts immediately after the...

Coromon

Role-playing game, Adventure, Turn-based, Indie, Exploration, Fantasy

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 21 July 2022

Players: 9.6/10

Metacritic: 74/100

The main character travels through a colorful world and tames various creatures in order to get them into his squad of coromons. In total, there are about a hundred...

Little Kitty, Big City

Third-person view, Adventure, Action, Exploration, Open world, Sandbox, Platformer

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 9 May 2024

Players: 8/10

Metacritic: 78/100

The player controls a little black kitten who goes on an adventure to find his way home. You can explore the city and make new friends among homeless animals, some...

Athenian Rhapsody

Role-playing game, Action, Exploration, Comedy, Tactics, Adventure, Turn-based

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 14 May 2024

A humorous game in which the main character explores the world of Athens. The gamer must create a unique story by making important decisions. There are 16...

Gunbrella

Platformer, Side view, Exploration, Action, Adventure, Metroidvania

Game released: Nintendo Switch → 13 September 2023

Players: 10/10

Metacritic: 80/100

The main character is a stern woodcutter who finds himself in a city that is alien to himself, filled with various enemies, including a cult of sectarians, a gang...

Exploration

Best Games in the Exploration genre for Nintendo Switch