Top 23 best local multiplayer Switch games

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is still being consistently updated with plenty of new content and events. Furthermore, new items are being added often, so there's always something new to be obtained! If you are a fan of Animal Crossing, you can play in the local multiplayer on Switch with your friends.

Not only can you invite other people to your island, allowing them to catch bugs, see the person visiting you and otherwise see your island, but you can also allow someone else to live on your island, playing from your console with you - though only one of you can be playing at a time. It's really fun showcasing your island to your friends!

Where the first Overcooked brought an excellent cooperative culinary experience with it, Overcooked 2 only triples the fun you can have. Following the same vein as its predecessor, you need to complete each level on the map to fight off the Unbread by order of the Onion King.

Play with up to three other friends in fast-paced gameplay and unlock a huge variety of chefs. Chop onions, simmer soup, boil rice, steam dumplings, fry steaks, bake cakes, and much more. You need to communicate well with your teammates to nab that high score which, from experience, can lead to some hilarious arguments. If you are looking for the best local multiplayer Switch games, this one should definitely be one of your top picks.

Stardew Valley allows you to build multiple houses and then allow people to join your farm, locally, so that they can help you tend crops, fish, fight mobs, trigger cut scenes, skill up and more. These players keep their own saves, allowing them to dip in and out of the game, which can be really fun - plus you can get so much more done with more people playing!

One of the best parts of playing Stardew Valley on the couch co-op is by far the fact that you can each divide the tasks - say one will handle the mines, another one fishing, and another one farming. From my own experience, that is one of the most efficient ways to grow a truly massive farm.

As one of the Switch's launch titles, Snipperclips remains one of the finest experiences for cooperative play on the platform. Between two or four players, you each control Snip and Clip to figure out a series of challenging puzzles. It's fun, and it relies on cooperative play, but it could also be quite... challenging at times!

It's still as good now as it was when it launched in 2017. Whether you're snipping away at your partner to fit a gear, climbing on their head to get a boost, or shaping yourselves to fit a pattern, this is a no-rush puzzler you're going to love. Read the Snipperclips review.

Moving out has a lot of chaos like Overcooked, but instead of cooking, you will find yourself trying to get all of the major items from a house into a moving van. Everyone will need to work together to get larger items into the truck, break windows, throw things, and deal with wild animals along the way.

If you think that all sounds easy... you'd be so wrong! Just imagine trying to coordinate with another person while dealing with the chaos that's going on when moving out of a house. It's a tragically comic and fun co-op at the same time! One of the best Switch multiplayer games you could play right now.

Among Us combines chaos and mystery into a spaceship. At its core, Among Us is a social deduction and is fairly easy to play. Usually, there's an imposter chosen at random who attacks other players and sabotages their tasks. The imposter wins if they manage to finish off all the players.

On the other side, the regular players have to finish their tasks before the imposter gets to them. The players can also hold emergency meetings and vote to throw the suspected imposters off the spaceship. Among Us needs four players, and up to 15 players can be accommodated. To join the game, the players can use the local multiplayer or even go online.

Though pretty meh when it comes to online play, when it comes to healthy local cooperative multiplayer competition, Super Mario Party is a seasoned veteran. With up to three friends, you'll roll the rice, hop around the board, and participate in a bunch of amusing mini-games to see who among you is the top dog.

You don't just have to continue on with the original board game mode, no, there's a new 2-v-2 mode to get stuck into, as well as more than enough brand-new mini-games to enjoy. Mario will always bring the party! Read the Super Mario Party Switch review.

This charming, star-studded action RPG is most definitely at its best with a bunch of mates all crowded onto the same couch. It's a fun solo adventure, but the very concept of assembling a super-team of Avengers, X-Men and Guardians to take on Thanos feeds into the local multiplayer ethos.

If you've derived any pleasure from the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the years - and we suspect a few of you have - then this is the co-op Switch game to play next.

Rayman Legends is an action co-op platformer where you will find yourself running forward, avoiding hazards, and freeing fairies as you play. There is an excellent variety in the levels of gameplay, and it really benefits from having your friends play with you. When you would typically die in local multiplayer, you instead are trapped in a bubble that your friends can pop to give you a second chance.

While Rayman Legends might not seem like much from a single-player perspective (unless you're a diehard platformer fan), it's the total opposite from a multiplayer point of view. If you are looking for a bit of intense fun on the Nintendo Switch, Rayman Legends is worth a look.

A list of local multiplayer games on Switch without Mario Kart is like, well, a Nintendo console without a Mario Kart. Unthinkable. So, let's instead add the much-loved title, which clearly deserves a spot here.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe remains the best game in the series by almost any metric - including couch co-op action. For all its online credentials, a four-player split-screen remains the ultimate way to experience it. How else will you take direct retribution for that finishing line blue shell? Certainly, one of the Switch multiplayer games you must have! In case you have wondered how many Mario Kart Switch games is there, we've covered each one.

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is one of those more chaotic, frantic, fun multiplayers where you and up to three of your friends (as well as an AI pet) need to move quickly through strange shaped ships. You'll need to go to areas of your ship to fight against enemies, control the movement, and otherwise live in space.

This type of game is likely to get a bunch of laughs as well as hectic, stressful moments, especially when you take on bosses. It's a classic party game that's very fun to have on your Nintendo Switch.

Much like the name suggests, ARMS has a lot to do with fighting with your arms. More specifically, your in-game avatars have powerful arms that can extend like a spring. The goal here is simple - hit your opponent with your super-powered arms. You can choose from a variety of modes like Friends, Versus, Ranked Match, Grand Prix, and many more.

Obviously, since your main weapon is your pair of arms, there are plenty of arms that you can choose from. Each pair has unique abilities, for instance, electric arms for zapping or fire arms to shoot fireballs. Further, you can select from a variety of characters, adding a great touch of customization.

It may have pretty substantial online play, but one of the best ways you can dive into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is with a couple of mates on the sofa. Pick your fighters, choose your arenas, have a play with the items if you fancy it, and get to battle it out in short-burst matches for up to eight players on a single screen.

If you don't feel like playing against everyone (especially if there are sore losers in the room, ahem) you can play in teams against other friends or against CPUs. It's great fun with zero chance of concussion at the end of it. That's all we can ask for, eh? Definitely one of our favourite local multiplayer Switch games! Read the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Switch review.

Rocket League is an enduringly popular multiplayer game, with its tight combination of speedy fantasy-sports action and twitchy mechanics that are easy to learn by oh-so-difficult to master.

It's football with cars, basically. And everyone knows that both football and car games are best played with your friends (to actually show them how it's done, right?). Despite its online focus, Rocket League is a hoot in 4P split-screen. It's definitely one of our top picks.

This one dropped recently, and we have to say, it took us by surprise. We never knew that this indie game is going to drop here, but it makes perfect sense that it did. If you're not familiar with the concept of Don't Starve, everything you need to know is in the headline. You literally need to survive long enough in a rather hostile environment, where even your basic needs like food can become an issue. Not to mention all of the hostile creatures roaming around trying to take a bite of you. The sense of discomfort is overwhelming, you won't find a minute of rest.

However, all of that has been eased off a bit by surviving together with your friend/spouse/pizza delivery guy! Couch co-op is a thing here, just know that you can sit two people at a time in local multiplayer, no more than that.

What feels like a board game, is, in essence, a 3-in-1 game. Armello cleverly combines RPG elements with tabletop board titles and deeply strategic elements into what feels like a fantastic adventure ready to knock your boots off. You'll have a character and a stunning set of dice and off you go.

The goal is to become the king or queen of Armello - in other words, get to the middle of the board as fast as possible. However, it's easier said than done. The multiple traps (set by the AI and your friends) will try to stand between you and the ultimate goal. It's fun, competitive, and truly one of the finest local multiplayer Switch games. One thing though - you will need multiple consoles.

Splatoon 2 has everything you could want from a sequel. It takes all the best from the first part of the online team shooter and makes it much better. Nearly every major issue that players complained about in the last game has been resolved, showing that Nintendo truly pays attention to the feedback of fans and wants to give them the best possible gaming experience.

Splatoon 2 introduces countless changes and new content. Overall, it is one of the finest local multiplayer Switch games. And what's more, is that we now also have Splatoon 3!

Epic has managed to fully recreate the feel of a great Fortnite battle royale on a hybrid console - Nintendo Switch. And it nicely works in local multiplayer. Of course, you will notice a difference in frame rates compared to other consoles, but in terms of performance, everything here is stable and absolutely playable. Frequent updates keep it interesting.

The exciting feeling of being among the last two survivors is very attractive. Fortnite is one of the most intense local multiplayer games, and with all the new stuff that comes out every season, there's no better way to spend your free time.

The next one on the list is definitely one of the best classic survival games ever created. Terraria is a 2D action title where you can do whatever you want. You can build a whole city and collect all NPCs in the game, mine different valuable ores, or fight many enemies and complex bosses.

In fact, you can collect more than 25 NPCs, create more than 5000 items, and fight more than 400 different enemies. Moreover, Terraria has local multiplayer, so you can do all the listed activities together with your friends.

Diablo III: Eternal Collection is a beautiful port of the classic RPG that sets its own direction for the genre. A nice touch is the local multiplayer, which is a lot of fun to play despite the slightly annoying limitation of having all four characters on the same screen.

But the multiplayer is absolutely amazing and allows you to join any friend's game at any time if they allow it, and collect loot, and smash the faces of the villains.

The next title on the list is a retro-inspired game about beloved ninja turtles and their new adventure. It is a fighting contest with straightforward but, at the same time, dynamic gameplay from the good old days. Here you will find seven playable characters, and if you want to know how to unlock all of TMNT characters, follow this link.

Throughout the game, you will have to face many dangerous bosses and finally test your skills in the fight with Shredder. To prepare for this battle, complete small quests and collect different items to increase your level and unlock new abilities. We have a TMNT: Shredder's Revenge review, to scratch your itch if you want to know how we have perceived it, and how much we liked it.

It Takes Two is a heartwarming, co-op game that requires you to have a friend to play with. You and this friend take on the role of a couple, who are currently going through a rough patch in their relationship, and now have been turned into toys. Now, you will both need to navigate this larger than life world, finding new paths and helping each other defeat enemies and get across massive areas.

This is the ideal game to play if you and your friend work well together! There is a lot of dependence on both players, and the story itself will captivate you and keep you motivated to continue through.

Struggling alone is never fun, so struggle with a friend in Cuphead! Both of you can take on these intensely challenging levels, fighting bosses together, and following patterns that need to be remembered. I find Cuphead to be an extremely challenging game, but playing with another player does make it seem easier!

It's a game that is frantic, challenging and fun. You can easily enjoy that frustration with a friend.