As a Nintendo fan for over 20 years and avid gamer, I‘ve played hundreds of Switch games. One great feature of the system is being able to download free game demos before deciding to purchase the full version. This allows testing a game to ensure it resonates with your tastes – avoiding disappointments or wasted money!
In this post, I‘m excited to recommend 8 fantastic Nintendo Switch demos that are absolutely worth your time to try out. For each game, I‘ll share background details, what their demos contain, and my perspective as an experienced player on what makes them stand out. Let‘s dive in!
Overview of Featured Nintendo Switch Game Demos
| Game | Genre | Metacritic Rating | Release Year | What Demo Includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARMS | Fighting | 81% | 2017 | 6 fighters across 3 battle modes |
| Metroid Dread | Action/Adventure | 88% | 2021 | 30+ minutes of gameplay |
| Kirby and the Forgotten Land | Platformer | 84% | 2022 | 30+ minutes from beginning |
| Game Builder Garage | Coding/Education | 83% | 2021 | 7 tutorial lessons |
| Super Lucky‘s Tale | Platformer | 80% | 2019 (Switch) | ~20 minutes of content |
| Trials of Mana | Action RPG | 76% | 2020 | Nearly 2 hours, start to finish |
| Yoshi‘s Crafted World | Platformer | 82% | 2019 | 30 minutes across 2 levels |
| Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker | Puzzle/Adventure | 81% | 2018 (Switch) | 10 minutes from episode 4 |
#1 ARMS
As an arcade-style fighting game, ARMS offers a wildly creative twist with its focus on extendable arm boxing. Developed over 2+ years by Nintendo, its cartoonish aesthetic masks surprising depth with 20 unique fighters to master across 30 different battle stages.
The demo allows playing 6 of the game‘s characters and testing a handful of different mode types. This gives a taste for the general punching premise while intentionally holding back loads of additional content to offer in the full game.
As someone who enjoys fighting games, ARMS is just pure fun – perfect for local multiplayer with family and friends. The motion controls are great, making you feel immersed in matches. But playing traditionally with buttons instead works smoothly too.
Yes, it lacks some refinement and complexities of top tier franchises like Street Fighter or Tekken. However for a lighter, arcade experience that still has plenty to master with its roster, I highly recommend checking out the ARMS demo!
#2 Metroid Dread
Metroid Dread was an exceptionally welcome return for the beloved series when launching in 2021 – marking the first original 2D entry in 19 whole years! Crafted over 4+ years by top Nintendo developers MercurySteam, it advances the story following Samus‘ previous mission in Metroid Fusion.
Your goal is investigating a mysterious transmission on planet ZDR, traversing its many alien environments. However, you soon discover the planet has become overrun by vicious robotic threats known as E.M.M.I robots that Samus must survive tense encounters with.
The gameplay captures that profound Metroid atmosphere so well -isolation on a foreign world mixed with empowering upgrades for your abilities. The demo itself provides over 30 minutes drawing you deep into this foreboding setting through story beats and action sequences.
As someone who enjoys cryptic sci-fi settings paired with fluid, challenging gameplay, Metroid Dread truly delivers. From its responsive controls to the satisfaction of unlocking Samus’ many tools, this demo is definitely one that deserves your limited gaming time!
#3 Kirby and the Forgotten Land
While the Kirby franchise dates back to 1992, the cute pink hero entered new dimensions with 2022‘s Forgotten Land – marking Kirby‘s full jump into free-roaming 3D platforming! Developed over 3 years by Hal Laboratory, the setting is a ruined civilization for Kirby to explore with freshly added abilities.
Forgotten Land expands the typically vibrant series with a post-apocalyptic motif, while retaining that customary charm and inventiveness. The demo itself provides over half an hour of gameplay sampling straight from the beginning. You get some initial story foundation followed by traversing the broken down city ruins, capping things off with an epic boss battle!
I’ve played Kirby games most of my life and feel Forgotten Land strikes an admirable balance between Innovation and tradition for the 30-year-old mascot. Everything from the visual overhaul to mellifluous soundtrack exceeded my expectations. If you have even just 20 minutes, I definitely recommend trying Kirby’s jump into the third dimension for yourself!
#4 Game Builder Garage
The premise behind Game Builder Garage seems almost avant garde – crafting full video games from the ground up using a simplified programming language Nintendo entitled “Nodon”. Released mid-2021 from Kyoto’s creative minds, its aim is making game development accessible for audiences as young as 7 years old!
The Nodon scripting runs the gamut from manipulating assets, crafting system logic, implementingUI, and handling win conditions. Nintendo clearly invested in this comprehensive toolset enabling creation of 2D & 3D experiences across nine distinct genres.
The demo itself provides about an hour’s worth of the step-by-step tutorial content. You get exposure to fundamental disciplines like character movement, camera views, score tracking and triggering events. Considering the niche concept as an educational sandbox, I found the demo extremely competent at instilling core foundations.
While Nodon likely won’t translate to professional tools like Unity or Unreal, Game Builder Garage appears a fabulous conduit towards inspiring future game designers…or simply better understanding what crafting interactive virtual worlds entails!
#5 Super Lucky‘s Tale
Originally conceived as an Xbox One exclusive in 2017, the delightful 3D platformer Super Lucky’s Tale eventually migrated onto Nintendo Switch in late 2019. You play as adventurous fox Lucky searching colorful worlds for his sister while acquiring collectibles and solving light puzzles.
Developed by independent studio Playful, reviews widely acknowledged its beautiful style and charm despite somewhat simplistic gameplay. Yet as a title squarely aimed at younger gamers, Super Lucky’s Tale offers plenty of smiles without overwhelming challenge.
The demo lasts around 20 minutes containing snippets of story and typical platforming scenarios. This provides solid insight into whether its aesthetic and innocence clicks with you. Having played games most my life on the harder side, I still found charming pleasure in frolicking through its cheery playgrounds.
Sometimes embracing one’s inner child is needed amidst the ever-present stresses of adulthood! If 20 nostalgic minutes to unwind sounds appealing, I can easily recommend downloading Super Lucky‘s vibrant world to see if it lifts your spirit as it did mine.
#6 Trials of Mana
Trials of Mana is an exceptional full high-definition remake of 1995’s Seiken Densetsu 3 originally exclusive to Japan. After 25 years absent outside its country of origin, this localized remake finally brought the classic action RPG stateside across modern platforms.
You play as one of six heroes tasked with bringing peace back to a war-ravaged fantasy world. Gameplay involves real-time battles, levelling up classes, loot hunting and uncovering mysteries around Mana itself. Square-Enix antiquated the visuals and gameplay while carefully preserving the integrity of this lost 16-bit legend.
The Switch demo is uncommonly generous, spanning nearly two full hours start to finish! You play right through the introductory quests, visiting towns and growing your characters. Progress in the demo also carries over once purchasing the full game – a fantastic feature motivating seeing things through!
Given so few Americans could play Seiken Densetsu back in the mid-90s without fan translations, Trials of Mana feels like this miraculous gift unearthing a “new” classic 25 years in the making! For any JRPG lover, they owes it to themselves to play this demo bringing profound history into modernity.
#7 Yoshi‘s Crafted World
Yoshi‘s Crafted World emanated from Kyoto’s consummate artists expanding upon the side-scrolling formula with a charmingly homemade aesthetic. Released early 2019 on Nintendo Switch, levels consist of everyday items like paper cups and packing boxes to traverse. Its design choices mirror a diorama-like quality.
You guide Yoshi aiming eggs to gather collectibles and flowers across stages that flip between foreground and background. The craft motif infuses tremendous personality from small touches like visible tape holding objects together. Critics agreed it erred closer to relaxed than riveting, but made for delightful family entertainment.
The demo grants about 30 minutes spanning two full levels to run, flutter jump and sniff your way through. This provides solid insight on whether the arts & crafts animation styling and forgiving obstacles appeal. Having grown up on earlier Yoshi games, I found the sensory overload of visual brilliance paired with playful soundtrack infectious!
If needing warmth and gentle gameplay in your life, Yoshi’s paper mâché adventure should absolutely make your demo list!
#8 Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Originally conceived on the Wii U in 2014, Captain Toad branched over to Nintendo Switch in 2018 – bringing its compact but clever puzzle box levels to on-the-go players. Unlike traditional Mario games, Toad cannot jump due to a heavy backpack limiting him only to walking and perspective manipulation.
Gameplay spans tiny sandboxes bursting with tricks and secrets to uncover by rotating the camera and seeking hidden paths. Design inspiration stemmed from Japanese miniature gardens. Reviews smiled upon its charm despite complaints around difficulty and replay value.
The demo offers about 10 minutes of puzzle content from Episode 4. This gives solid insight into using Toad’s abilities to collect gems, coins and stars while dodging hazards like Lava Bubbles. Having missed Captain Toad’s debut on Wii U, I admired the mini-diorama concept focused on observation and spatial reasoning.
For a bite-sized yet mighty brain teaser unlike traditional platformers, Captain Toad delivers the goods! Be sure to take his brief demo for a thoughtful test drive!
Hopefully this guide shed helpful insight into 8 of my top recommended Nintendo Switch demos that deserve space on your console‘s precious memory! Having played hundreds of Switch games as an experienced gamer, I feel these offer fantastic diversity spanning various genres likely matching different gaming tastes.
Let me know in the comments below if you try any of these demos out, or if you have other favorites I should check into! I‘m always seeking my next captivating virtual adventure on the Switch! Cheers and happy gaming!
