So you’ve decided to join the Nintendo family and are looking for a Nintendo Switch with games? Well, you’ve come to the right place. It only makes sense for first-time buyers to get a bundle so they’ve got something they can get started with right away, and as Switch experts, we’ve picked out the best options currently available.
Naturally, you’re going to want to get one that comes with one of the best Switch games, and if you’re somebody who wants to play a lot with friends or family, then you’ll no doubt be drawn to Switch multiplayer games too. As one of the best portable gaming consoles, it has quite an extensive library, but we’ve included a range of different options to cater to the needs of all our readers.
Nintendo Switch with games deals:
1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom + TOTK Switch OLED
This is probably the best Nintendo Switch bundle you can get right now, and its costs around $429.98 (£379.98)
With the release of Tears of the Kingdom, the gaming community has once again been reminded why Zelda is generally considered to be one of the best gaming franchises of all time. Even if you’ve never tried a game in the series before, this is a fantastic option, not only as your first Zelda game, but as your first Switch game too.
The scale of this game is absolutely fantastic. Not only does it give you an enormous overworld to explore, which is jam-packed with side-quests and secrets, but this is a game that rewards your creativity too. At the heart of TOTK, there’s a mechanic (the Ultrahand) that allows Link to attach different objects to one another, which opens the doors to endless possibilities. You can build cars, planes, and boats, and that’s just scratching the surface.
Because of the focus on creation, TOTK is a game that everybody will approach differently. Facing a challenge? Well, there isn’t going to be a simple solution that you need to figure out, there’ll be loads of ways to overcome it, and figuring out an unusual way to do something, which you know not a lot of people will have done, can be very rewarding.
You can read our The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review to find out more about what makes the game so great. Nintendo clearly had a lot of faith in it too, as it released a special version of the Switch OLED to coincide with the game, and if you’re a collector, that will be a pretty fantastic thing for you to own.
You should also read out Switch OLED review, which will tell you everything you need to know about what makes this particular version of the Switch so good. Our best Nintendo Switch console guide will also be a valuable point of reference if you’d like to know the unique benefits of each model.
2. Super Mario: Choose One – Switch Bundle
The Super Mario: Choose One bundle lets you choose between three fantastic Mario games, and it costs around $299.99. Though this specific bundle isn’t available in the UK, you can find one with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe specifically.
Mario is the biggest reason that a lot of people buy Nintendo consoles, and we reckon there are probably lots of people who want to play more of his games after The Super Mario Bros. Movie. If you’re one of those people or just someone who wants to get a Mario game with their Switch, this bundle will be an appealing choice, as it gives you a selection of three popular Mario games to include with your console.
One option is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, arguably the best in the Mario Kart series. Bowser, Peach, Donkey Kong, and other Mario Kart characters are playable in this game, which sees you whizzing around on zero-gravity racetracks. This particular game even includes a crossover element, with F-Zero tracks, and characters from Splatoon, Animal Crossing, and Zelda. It’s a whole lot of fun, especially with friends, and easy to see how it became the best-selling Switch game.
If you prefer a single-player experience, then you might want to bundle it with Super Mario Odyssey. It’s much more open and exploration-focused than most other Mario games and sees you jumping around and collecting moons in a number of stunning locations, including the iconic New Donk City. It’s a modern twist on the Super Mario 64 formula, and well worth a try if you’re interested in Mario or Switch platformers in general.
The third choice is New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. This is a classic Mario game, a 2D side-scroller that sees you stomping on Goombas and Koopas, eating mushrooms, and sliding down flag poles. Part of what makes this game so appealing is its large overworld which you can explore in more detail by finding hidden exits from the levels. With multiplayer available for up to four players in total, it offers a great single and multiplayer experience.
These are three of the best Mario games, and each one scratches a slightly different itch. Any one of them would be a fantastic choice for your first Switch game. You can also read our Nintendo Switch review if you want to know more about the standard version of the console.
3. Animal Crossing: New Horizons + Switch Lite
This bundle for Animal Crossing: New Horizons with a Switch Lite costs around $259.98 (£229.99).
The Switch Lite cannot be docked and is exclusively a handheld console. The Animal Crossing series, meanwhile, is one that has always worked best on portable consoles, since you can then check in on your village whenever you want. Bundling Animal Crossing: New Horizons with the Switch Lite is a very smart move.
You’ve probably already heard of this game because practically everybody was playing it during the lockdowns in 2020. For those who don’t know what it’s about, ACNH sees you taking control of a villager who has just moved to an island with a few houses on it – what happens next is up to you.
This is another game with a strong emphasis on creativity, and you can essentially design your island to do whatever you want. You’ve got your house which you can expand and fill with hundreds of pieces of furniture, then you can place any treasures you like across your island, and even terraform the landscape to look exactly how you want it to. Maybe you could even recreate an iconic location you’re familiar with?
Of course, it all takes work and money though. Your villager will be working hard, harvesting fruits, running errands, and catching fish in order to gain as much cash as possible to pay for the enormous island renovations. The whole process can become enormously addictive, and it would be an ideal first game on your Switch Lite.
4. Switch Lite with SanDisk 128GB microSDXC-card
This bundle is ideal for anyone who plays a lot of digital games and it costs around $234.98 (unfortunately, this bundle doesn’t seem to be available anywhere in the UK).
This bundle doesn’t actually come along with a game, but the SanDisk microSDXC-Card is something that is going to be really valuable to a lot of people. This is especially true for those who chose the Switch Lite because they want to game on the go, and won’t necessarily want to carry game cards around everywhere with them.
Aside from the fact that you can download all the big new Switch games in the Nintendo eShop, the console is also well-known for having a huge library of digital exclusives available to download. Whether it’s the Nintendo Switch Online N64 games or the many Switch indie games, there are a lot of games you might want to download, and so the extra room from the microSDXC-card will be particularly useful.
If you’re wondering what you should download on your Switch Lite, we have a few recommendations. Demon Turf offers a unique, highly stylized platforming experience, the Blossom Tales harken back to the 2D top-down Zelda games in the most beautiful way, Kaze and the Wild Masks is closer to classic Donkey Kong Country games than anything else, most of the Final Fantasy games are up for download (play them all), Crypt of the NecroDancer is one of the overall best Switch rhythm games, A Hat in Time is a fantastic evolution of the 3D platforming genre, and all those games are only just scratching the surface. With a MicroSD card, you’ll be able to carry a huge library of games with you at all times.
5. Nintendo Switch Must-Play Bundle
This bundle will give you a comprehensive introduction to the console and it costs around $579.99.
Though this bundle is only available from Walmart (that we’re aware of) it’s one of the best ways for you to get started with the Nintendo Switch because it comes packaged with four of the best games on the console: Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Splatoon 2, plus a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.
Breath of the Wild was pretty much the game that put the Switch on the map (even if it was on Wii U too). Even though its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom has since been released and met with much praise, there are still plenty of reasons to play BOTW and it stands as an amazing, unique experience of its own.
Splatoon 2 is in a similar situation – Splatoon 3 may have come out, but its prequel still has unique reasons to play it (including its story mode). The biggest appeal of the game is its multiplayer mode, where you strive to cover a map with as much of a certain colored ink as possible, while your opponents strive to cover it in a different colored ink. It’s a fantastic formula, and one it’s easy to get hooked on.
We’ve already talked about how great Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey are above, so we won’t repeat ourselves. Needless to say, they’re games that you’ll want to play, and a bundle that contains both of them is one that’s definitely worth going for.
How we chose the best Switch bundles
When putting together this list, there were a few key considerations that we kept in mind:
- Switch model: there are now three different Nintendo Switch consoles, and each has unique strengths and will appeal to different people. We were keen to include not just the standard Switch, but also the OLED and the Switch Lite
- Quality games: we weren’t going to recommend a Switch bundled together with something that we don’t think people are likely to enjoy
Pricing: these bundles cover a lot of ground, price-wise, and we wanted to try and accommodate different budgets as much as possible - Availability: some bundles can be weirdly difficult to find, so we only wanted to include options that are readily available online and easy to find
For more Nintendo Switch content, you might want to check out our guides on the best Nintendo Switch headsets, or the best Nintendo Switch RPGs. If you’re going to buy a Switch for the first time sometime soon, we honestly kind of envy all the great experiences you have ahead of you.