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Many people consider The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to be among the greatest games ever made.
Its mix of deep character customization and an immersive open world is something people can’t help but fall in love with.
Recommended Read: Best Single-Player Nintendo Switch Games
But after wrapping up your story as the Dragonborn, you’ll likely be eager for another hack and slash adventure.
And as it turns out, there are several stunning open-world RPGs more than worth your time.
Below are our picks for the 8 best Nintendo Switch games like Skyrim that’ll bring you exciting adventures.
Table of contents
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2
- DARK SOULS: REMASTERED
- The Outer Worlds
- Divinity: Original Sin 2
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Is there anything cooler than traversing a magic-filled world on horseback and slaying monsters? If that sounds like a blast to you, then you should try The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
This game puts you in the boots of Geralt, who’s a type of monster hunter called a “Witcher.”
Witchers have all sorts of impressive abilities that you can utilize, such as mind control, fire spells, and alchemy. You can also upgrade and augment these skills as you level up.
While Geralt may look intimidating at first, you’ll quickly realize how likable he is. His humorous observations, occasional awkwardness, and love for his friends make him a compelling protagonist.
And even though Witchers are tasked with killing monsters, you don’t have to play that way.
Since it’s a choice-driven, open-world RPG, the game gives you the option to handle most contracts (quests) peacefully.
This might entail lifting an ancient curse or learning that the real monster isn’t some cave troll but rather an evil human misdirecting blame.
But beware: every decision you make in this title can affect the story. Letting the bad guy get away means he might reappear later. And choosing the lesser evil might carry more significant consequences.
When you consider the fantastic DLC on top of everything else, you can’t go wrong trying this critically-acclaimed title.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
This cleverly named rerelease of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a cult classic perfect for fans of hack and slash RPGs.
The game lets you pick one of three primary classes: Might, Finesse, and Sorcery.
Each has its own dazzling and powerful abilities – ranging from creating earthquakes with your hammer to summoning piercing ice spikes.
The combat is immensely satisfying, letting you combo strikes and spells to devastating effect.
If you accumulate enough “fate points” through fighting, you can enter “Reckoning Mode”.
While in Reckoning, your skills become greatly enhanced, and time slows down. Besides looking awesome, it can be super helpful for dispatching formidable foes.
Kingdoms of Amalur also features one of the most expansive and lore-packed worlds ever committed to video games.
You’ll never run out of ancient secrets to uncover or rich in-game history to read about.
Plus, the NPCs are fully voiced by talented actors, making the world feel even more natural and immersive.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Action and adventure lovers will enjoy this top-rated game from The Legend of Zelda franchise.
The player takes on the role of Link, who, upon waking from a hundred years of sleep, sets out to beat Calamity-Ganon.
The main agenda is to explore and ultimately save the kingdom of Hyrule.
What sets this game apart is the open and natural setting players can immerse into.
The game style welcomes experimentation and lets players discover various possibilities as they embark on a thrilling mission.
Breath of the Wild features a large, complex map, which will remind you of your time exploring in Skyrim.
There are shrines, dungeons, towers, mountains, and rich landscapes. The locations are not only well-executed but they’re also filled with perfectly designed puzzles and challenges.
And the game has a realistic element to it. Your player even has a personality of their own.
You get affected by rigid or extreme climates, lose their stamina, and even the weapons will degrade with use.
If you’re up for a fantastic exploration adventure that doesn’t look much like Skyrim but somehow still makes you feel right at home, check out Breath of the Wild.
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen strikes a perfect balance between high-octane action and deep role-playing.
This rerelease of the 2012 original features new quest lines and a beautifully reinvigorated world. So even if you’ve played it before, it’s well worth experiencing it fresh again on the Switch.
After a giant dragon destroys your village and devours your heart, your character is reborn as the Arisen.
This means that it’s your destiny to fight that dragon again to prevent the world from ending.
But as the story goes on, numerous plot twists reveal that not all is as it seems.
At first, you’ll only have three vocations (classes) to choose from – fighter, strider, or mage.
However, as you level up, more and more become available. You can even combine classes to create powerful hybrids, such as a magick archer.
The combat in Dragon’s Dogma is the real show-stealer, though. In addition to it feeling gleefully hectic, you’re actually able to climb onto large monsters!
Doing so lets you strike weak points, avoid attacks, and stay close to otherwise evasive enemies.
And what’s more exhilarating than clinging onto a flying dragon while you fight it?
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Fans of both Skyrim and JRPGs will undoubtedly fall in love with the masterpiece that is Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
This game takes place over the “Sea of Clouds,” where humans reside on the backs of giant creatures called Titans.
As you journey across Titans, you’ll discover breathtaking landscapes and story-rich towns.
You start out playing as Rex, a young and friendly salvager. During a salvage mission, he accidentally binds himself to an almighty weapon known as a Blade. But these “weapons” aren’t quite what you imagine.
The one Rex finds is actually a young woman named Pyra, who needs help returning home.
Along your adventure, other Blades and the “Drivers” who can summon them will join your party.
They all possess impressive and stunning combat abilities that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.
Like other JRPGs, Xenoblade is downright massive. It offers a seemingly endless array of quests to complete and places to explore.
So if you want a beautiful world to get lost in for hours, this is the game for you.
DARK SOULS: REMASTERED
If you’re looking for a complex RPG that provides a stiff challenge, Dark Souls is for you.
This remastered edition for the Switch gives the 2011 original a major graphical glow-up and improved multiplayer experience.
The open world of DARK SOULS: REMASTERED is an interconnected labyrinth of horrors.
It features beautifully bleak hellscapes – ranging from the cursed castle of Anor Londo to the poisonous swamps of Blighttown.
Each region possesses thrillingly sadistic traps and monsters waiting around every corner.
When Dark Souls originally came out, it quickly became revered for its incredible boss fights and punishing difficulty.
Because of this, it has a reputation as a “hardcore” experience that tests a gamers’ mettle. In fact, Dark Souls fully expects you to die often.
Whenever you do, you leave behind a blood splatter that shows how you died. They serve as reminders for you and as warnings for other players.
Like Skyrim, your imagination is the limit when it comes to character creation.
You can slice through demons in style with a Katana or put on your wizard hat and unleash barrages of powerful spells.
Either way, Dark Souls is a game you’re likely to remember for years to come.
It even spawned an entire “souls-like” subgenre of RPGs.
The Outer Worlds
What if I told you that there’s an open-world RPG that’s essentially Skyrim in space? Because that pretty much sums up the electrifying and hilarious adventure that is The Outer Worlds.
Developed by Obsidian, this game has all the deep role-playing and quirky characters you’d expect from the creators of Fallout: New Vegas.
Without spoiling too much, you play as the sole person awoken from cryosleep on a mysterious ship.
From there, you set out into a vibrant solar system consisting of several retro-inspired planets.
Each place you visit has numerous quests to tackle, generally involving difficult moral decisions.
And depending on whose side you take in these quests, each in-game faction treats you differently.
Additionally, The Outer Worlds has an excellent customization system. It never feels overwhelming, and everything is straightforward to understand.
There’s also a fun and original feature called “flaws.” You can take a flaw in exchange for an extra skill point after you repeatedly die or get hurt in specific ways.
But you must also accept that flaws come with debuffs, such as reduced dexterity.
This mechanic adds variety to combat and makes every playthrough feel fresh and unique.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of the purest and most immersive RPG experiences out there.
In this turn-based open-world game, players start as prisoners under persecution for their magical “source” powers.
To escape and follow the path to “Divinity,” you’ll form a party with the game’s cast of extraordinary and well-written characters.
While you can create a character, we’d recommend choosing one of the premade ones. Such as the elven assassin “Sebille” or the undead scholar “Fane.”
They come with fully-fleshed out and riveting backstories that weave into the main quest, as well as some of the best voice-acting in video game history.
The gameplay itself is the closest thing to Dungeons and Dragons on the Switch in all the best ways.
You’ll spend lots of time talking to other people, digging into their motivations and the lore of the world.
Each character in your party has numerous sub-abilities that can help you uncover more secrets – whether it’s lockpicking, charisma, or even talking to animals.
The combat is also deeply strategic and rewarding.
There’s no brute-forcing bosses or mindless grinding. Every fight is a challenge that requires planning and coordination.
And the best part? You can enjoy the entire adventure cooperatively with friends!
Those are our picks for the best games like Skyrim to play on the Nintendo Switch!
now of any other great titles that you believe should be included in this list? Let us know in the comment section below.
