Highlights
- The point-and-click adventure game genre has variety and is easy to pick up and play, making it beloved since the early days of PC gaming.
- Nintendo Switch is a great platform for point-and-click games, with new titles being added frequently, offering a relaxed experience with simpler controls.
- The article provides a list of some of the best point-and-click games available on the Nintendo Switch, including Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo, Lost In Play, and Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals.
The point-and-click adventure game genre is beloved and not just because it has been around since the earliest days of PC gaming. The genre also offers variety and has an easy-to-pick-up-and-play nature. Of course, not all point-and-click adventure games are created equal. For every fantastic release, there is sure to be one title that is better avoided.
Fortunately, for Nintendo Switch fans, the point-and-click genre thrives on the platform with new games being added all the time. The Nintendo Switch might be the best place to play these styles of games since they are often a more relaxed experience with simpler controls. While there are a plethora of point-and-click games to choose from, the following are some of the absolute best the Switch has to offer.
Updated on September 15, 2023, by Dennis Moiseyev: More and more developers are making new contributions to the genre of point-and-click adventure games so that they're not just relics of the past, and it's truly wonderful to see. The Nintendo Switch hosts many of these titles and continues to serve as the home of some of the newest offerings, including point-and-clicks that experiment with their art styles and others that are just light-hearted and funny.
22 Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo
Movie-to-video game adaptations and vice-versa often don't work out, but this is not one of those cases. Arguably one of Alfred Hitchcock's best and most innovative films, Vertigo received this treatment in a narrative-focused point-and-click game. If you're familiar with the structure of a Telltale and Quantic Dream game, Vertigo will feel quite similar in design.
The story is not one-to-one with the movie's plot, instead creating an all-new scenario where a writer named Ed Miller loses his memory and experiences vertigo after a car accident. You can also play multiple other characters aside from Ed and reenact memories when piecing together the mystery.
21 Lost In Play
This point-and-click title captures the feel of the traditional games within the genre with a fun twist of playing a brother and sister duo going on a more magical fairytale-like adventure. You'll be enthralled with the characters and setting from the opening credits, strolling through a cartoonish land with its scenic hand-drawn art and design.
Lost in Play follows Toto and Gal as they're transported to fantasy worlds and need to return home, which will entail completing puzzles and playing games like cards and checkers with some strange anthropomorphic creatures. It's a cozy and cute adventure where you'll encounter some giant characters and it's filled with inspiration from stories like Excalibur, too.
20 Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals
If you played Night School Studio's original Oxenfree game, you'll definitely not want to miss out on the even spookier adventure that's in store for the sequel. Lost Signals is set five years after Alex and her friends unearthed the anomalies on Edwards Island, and now follows new adult characters Riley Poverly and Jacob Summers as they help a research group place transmitters on Camena Coast.
The character development and storylines are even more engaging than the first game, with newly added gameplay elements of transmitters, time tear puzzles, and geometric shape puzzles for time loops. You also have plenty more characters to talk to between your walkie-talkie and radio channels, which includes your supervisor Ellen, and there's a new antagonist seemingly connected to a cult.
19 *Disco Elysium - The Final Cut
The premise of Disco Elysium is a bit like Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo in that your main character wakes up with amnesia and doesn't recall much, not even his own name. However, here you're a detective named Harry Du Bois, and the gameplay is a choice-driven RPG with an isometric view and TTRPG skill check mechanics.
The game also features some of the best voice acting around for an indie game title and has some of the wordiest amounts of dialogue to create a rich and immersive narrative. You and your partner Kim will interrogate witnesses around the watercolored painting-like world of Elysium as you try to get to the bottom of a hanging.
18 The Many Pieces Of Mr. Coo
Indie developer Gammera Nest's The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo is a modern cartoon art-driven take on the classic point-and-click adventure game genre. It's a collaboration with the original creator behind the character Mr. Coo, Nacho Rodriguez, a Goya Award-nominated artist and animator who's done many shorts with this character.
This is Mr. Coo as you've never seen before, only a yellow waist and two legs who's looking to rejoin with the rest of the missing body parts. You'll come across many puzzles throughout your whimsically bizarre adventure, and the aesthetics of the surrealist art style are one of the most compelling parts of the game.
17 Chants Of Sennaar
Publisher Focus Entertainment has been on a roll with its launches, bringing Atomic Heart, Aliens: Dark Descent, Atlas Fallen, and Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun in 2023 alone. It also has this gorgeous indie point-and-click offering from Rundisc, inspired by the biblical story of the Tower of Babel.
In Chants of Sennaar, you're a faceless and cloaked traveler with a design similar to Journey's protagonist, and you're wandering the vibrant, colorful environments surrounding the Tower to solve puzzles by deciphering words from ancient symbols to give the citizens back their speech. There are some added stealth sections as well.
16 Sam & Max: Beyond Time And Space
In Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space, Sam and Max make quite the iconic dynamic duo in a point-and-click adventure game. They first started as LucasArts comic book characters, then starred in LucasArts video games, and later got the episodic Telltale series treatment.
They may be no Holmes and Watson when it comes to crime-solving, but these comical freelance dog and bunny detectives are always ready for some pretty absurd cases, like the ones in this game. Vampires, an allegedly possessed Santa Claus, the Fountain of Youth, Hell, and UFOs are just some of what the episodes have in store.
15 Shadows Over Loathing
If you loved the stick-figure Wild West style of West of Loathing, you're guaranteed to appreciate this Lovecraftian follow-up. Shadows Over Loathing moves away from the outlaw era and into the Roaring 20s. Set in the black-and-white world of Ocean City, mobsters are the least of your worries, as you have a missing uncle to find and eldritch creatures afoot.
Continuing with its mix of comedy and turn-based RPG gameplay, Shadows Over Loathing presents you with a unique dialogue system that feels like text messages displaying on-screen and has several puzzles while searching for cursed antiques. The stick figure characters and art design work even better in this amusing Shadow Over Innsmouth-inspired tale.
14 Kentucky Route Zero
Kentucky Route Zero is one of those experiences that define video games as an art form. It has a unique art style with faceless protagonists and silhouettes, filled with atmospheric sound design, and tells an eerie surrealist story reminiscent of the works of David Lynch.
This point-and-click adventure takes you through five acts and is centered around an underground cave highway system where all the characters you encounter are strange and feel far from reality. As a truck driver for an antique store named Conway, you make the trip along Kentucky Route Zero and uncover intriguing discoveries and communities.
13 The Darkside Detective
The Darkside Detective is a comedic and spooky point-and-click game starring Detective Francis McQueen. This game is dripping with satire, fourth-wall-breaking moments, and plenty of shenanigans to keep you hooked through each mini-narrative adventure. The Darkside Detective is broken up into multiple smaller vignettes, with Detective Francis McQueen always front and center.
Occult and paranormal mysteries abound in The Darkside Detective, with each mini-story somewhat tying into the other narrative beats. The gameplay here is a pretty standard affair with you being able to explore various pixel art locations, finding clues, chatting with quirky characters, and piecing together clues to solve the mysteries.
12 The Raven Remastered
The Raven Remastered is, of course, a remastered version of the original King Art game of the same name. It takes place in 1960s London, and you must figure out who the mysterious thief in the game is. This notorious thief always leaves a raven mask calling card, and this time around, a prized gem has been stolen from the British Museum.
The Raven Remastered is a top-notch crime thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat during its runtime. You won't find any revolutionary gameplay mechanics here since it's a standard point-and-click experience; however, the game is brimming with atmosphere and plenty of tense moments.
11 Lair Of The Clockwork God
Lair of the Clockwork God is one of the more interesting and unique point-and-click adventure games because it is also a platformer. This game sees you play as Ben and Dan, switching between them as the story unfolds. Ben and Dan must stop every apocalypse from happening all at once.
In terms of gameplay, you play out the point-and-click adventure sections as Ben, which will help towards creating items for Dan to utilize during the platforming sections.
10 Darkestville Castle
Darkestville Castle is a fantastic point-and-click adventure game that takes many cues and inspirations from early genre titles such as The Curse of Monkey Island. Darkestville Castle casts you as Cid, a skeleton-like demon who likes to wreak havoc on Darkestville Town every night, but all done with a jovial attitude.
However, Cid's long-time rival, Dan Teapot, has other plans and won't make things easy for him. Darkestville Castle shines because of its challenging puzzles, playful sense of humor, and dose of gothic sensibilities.
9 Willy Morgan And The Curse Of Bone Town
Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town is a highly stylized and vibrant cartoony point-and-click game that happens to be set in a fantasy pirate-themed world. However, some modern touches in Willy Morgan's world provide a nice contrast of time periods. This game offers equal helpings of humorous moments and thoughtful puzzle gameplay.
Willy Morgan and the Curse of Bone Town can be quite a challenging experience due to its non-linear gameplay and devious puzzles. Fortunately, the game offers a lot of different items and solutions to keep the moment-to-moment gameplay fresh throughout.
8 Nine Witches: Family Disruption
Nine Witches: Family Disruption is an occult-tinged point-and-click game taking place in Norway where a German WW2 division mistakenly unleashed a supernatural curse upon the world. In this darkly comedic adventure, you will take on the roles of Alexei Krakovitz and Akiro Kagasawa as they work to stop this heinous event from spreading.
What really makes Nine Witches stand out is the ability to freely roam around the various environments, exploring for clues, and solving tricky puzzles. There's quite a bit of challenge in this game since the items the characters collect aren't always used as you would first think, instead requiring problem-solving.
7 Detective Gallo
Detective Gallo is a quirky, charming, and hilarious comic-noir point-and-click adventure game that features lush hand-painted and hand-animated graphics. Detective Gallo is tasked with a bewildering case, one that tests all of his abilities. Unfortunately, for everyone else, Detective Gallo is also one grumpy chicken.
The bonkers story is all about various plants being murdered for seemingly no reason. No one really seems to care except for one billionaire who is willing to pay to get answers. This game has some downright tricky puzzle sections mixed with traditional adventure-style gameplay.
6 Return To Monkey Island
You can make the Return to Monkey Island on the Nintendo Switch as the classic series' pirate protagonist Guybrush Threepwood. The next chapter of the classic point-and-click high-seas adventure has sailed in. Even more exciting is that this entry marks the return of the original creator Ron Gilbert.
With a mix of modernized graphics, new character designs, brilliant voice acting, and the traditional puzzle mechanics and island exploration comedy, Return to Monkey Island has something for old fans and new. The notorious LeChuck comes back as well, and many more new dangers will join in places like Terror Island.
5 The Book Of Unwritten Tales 2
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is another lovingly crafted entry in the KING art series and the obvious follow-up to The Book of Unwritten Tales. This new entry features multiple characters to play as and a silly story that spoofs many much-loved series such as The Lord of the Rings.
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 is unique in that it features hundreds of puzzles, most of which are based on logic and deduction. Since you are able to play multiple characters in the fantasy realm of Aventasia, you will need to explore and try out different item combinations and interactions.
4 The Last Door
The Last Door is a unique and mysterious horror-themed point-and-click adventure game that features a muted pixel art style and moody, gothic-inspired music. The Last Door takes place in Victorian England and you assume the role of Jeremiah Devitt, who, after receiving a cryptic message, returns to an old friend's estate to uncover the mystery.
The Last Door sets itself apart from its counterparts with some genuinely unnerving gameplay moments and devious puzzle sections. The key to succeeding against the otherwordly forces in this game is to fully explore every nook and cranny to find hidden items and pieces of lore.
3 Broken Age
Broken Age is a family-friendly, colorful point-and-click adventure game from the lovely folks at Double Fine Productions, the creators of Psychonauts. Broken Age stars Vella and Shay, two teenagers who are a lot alike but with one major difference — they live in completely different parallel timelines.
The most unique aspect of Broken Age is that you can freely swap between Vella and Shay to solve puzzles, find items, and wrap up quests or narrative loops that only exist in each of their respective worlds. You also have Hollywood stars like Jack Black, Elijah Wood, and Wil Wheaton among the cast.