Feature: Game Of The Year 2023 - Nintendo Life Staff Awards

Image: Nintendo Life

2023 is all but wrapped up. It's been a colossal year in terms of the quantity and quality of software on all platforms. The mass layoffs we've seen across the industry in recent months are a worrying sign for anyone who cares about video games, not least for the creatives affected — all the developers and artists who crafted so many of the games we've enjoyed over the last 12 months. The breadth of experiences large and small that launched on Switch this year encapsulates not only what has made the console such a hit since 2017, but what can be accomplished when you invest in and nurture talented teams and people.

Here at Nintendo Life, our soon-to-be-published, reader-governed Top 50 Switch Games of 2023 will showcase the finest examples on the console in a tried-and-true ranking, but as we did last year, we wanted to highlight the NL team's personal picks. Rather than tabulate the team's favourites in ranked form, NL staff submitted their five favourite Switch games of the year and we're presenting the collection below, in no particular order. We feel this gives smaller titles a chance to shine on a broader, non-ranked canvas.