If you’re a major fan of Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, also known as PUBG, the library of games on the Nintendo Switch might feel somewhat alien to look at. With all the platformers and Nintendo’s first-party titles filling the eShop, it can be exceptionally difficult to find games that feel reminiscent of the modern parent of the battle royale genre.
Many people will just tell PUBG Switch players to just play Fortnite, but this is hardly a good recommendation for people who love PUBG’s open-world survival aspects, the more competitive environment, or the realistic weapon and combat strategies involved. If these are the things you appreciate in PUBG, there are many new and old games on the Switch that are worth a try.
Updated on April 27th, 2022 by Geoffrey Martin: Whether you are in the mood for a single-player action shooter romp or some multiplayer shenanigans, there are tons of games to choose from of this ilk on the Nintendo Switch. Games like PUBG offer up a battle royale experience that is intense and challenging but there are also similar experiences that give you that intensity and challenge level, even without the battle royale aspects. From cartoony games to more mature games, the Switch is a sheer cornucopia when it comes to action shooter games. Here then are a couple of extra additions for you to check out as this list continues to be fleshed out.
13 Doom Eternal
It's pretty amazing to see one of the longest-running action shooter games still releasing new games, decades after its initial conception. Even more amazing is that a powerhouse of a game like Doom Eternal manages to run on the humble Switch. While its frame rate and visuals have been paired down for the less powerful console, it's still one of those first-person shooters that needs to be played.
Doom Eternal follows up from the incredible 2016 Doom, a game that revolutionized the franchise and reinvigorated it with over-the-top weapons, swift movements, plentiful upgrades, and some terrifying locations to blast your way through. Doom Eternal did add some first-person platforming elements which still remain divisive among the community, however, the overall experience is downright enjoyable and challenging.
12 Ninjala
For something completely different, look no further than Ninjala. This fun-to-say third-person competitive multiplayer game almost feels like a blend between Splatoon and a hero shooter to some extent. Ninjala tasks you with playing as a host of wacky, cartoon-like characters who use gum-based weapons to pummel opponents into submission.
Yes, you heard that right; gum. This chewy substance is used to create bigger weapons to thwart your online opponents in a bunch of deathmatch-style modes. The game emphasizes a vertical and fast-moving melee experience where quick attacks and even quicker defenses are needed to score high in a given match. Plus, the game has a bounty of customization options to tailor your character to your liking.
11 Apex Legends
After quite a lot of waiting, one of the few other competitors to PUBG finally came to the Switch, that being EA's popular hero shooter Apex Legends. This game is an excellent twist on the battle royale formula, using unique character powers and builds alongside whatever items you can find.
It's certainly faster and more dynamic than your typical game of PUBG, but it's going to be the closest game to a PUBG Nintendo Switch experience by far. You'll absolutely get your battle royale fill, even if it's definitely not just a clone of PUBG for Switch.
10 Tetris 99
Nintendo has been quite generous in terms of its free Nintendo Switch Online games, with the recently retired Super Mario 35 being an especially strong game that's already missed. That said, the actual best battle royale on Switch is still one of its oldest, as Tetris 99 fits the same sense of strategy with a totally different style of gameplay.
Playing a puzzle game alone can be slow and methodical, but by targeting others and being targeted by your opponents, it provides a fast-paced experience that can quickly become as energetic as a first-person shooter. Once you reach the final 10 and your pieces fall almost instantly, the game quickly becomes more intense than any firefight.
9 Monster Hunter Rise
There are fairly few Nintendo Switch battle royale games out there, but that's not to say there aren't some strong multiplayer action games that require constant cooperation. One of the best of these is undoubtedly the recent Monster Hunter Rise, a medieval action game with interesting movesets and a deeply immersive item and equipment system.
It's definitely more designed around advanced planning than on-the-spot thinking, but battles against larger opponents can often go sideways and lead you to frantically recover. This is something that PUBG players are plenty familiar with when items are unexpectedly scarce, but Monster Hunter Rise provides this feeling without nearly as many consequences of being booted out of the game.
8 Minecraft
Minecraft has quite a reputation among gamers, but it's much because of how wide the playstyles are in this open space. Even on Nintendo Switch, you can join all kinds of servers that are meant for more creative efforts, but PUBG fans can easily find other mods and servers that offer free-for-all combat spaces that can feel refreshingly familiar to PUBG.
It's definitely a unique system, and its building system might make it seem slightly more like Fortnite than PUBG, but it's very easy to play this game like a multiplayer survival experience that focuses on combat over construction. It's a true sandbox, and within it are bound to be at least a few things that even PUBG fans can enjoy.
7 Super Meat Boy Forever
Super Meat Boy is undoubtedly one of the larger shifts for PUBG fans, as this hard-as-nails single-player platformer is definitely far from the usual shooters that you might expect. The reason it's worth a recommendation is how similar your gameplay loop is, quickly restarting when you fail to unexpected circumstances.
You will die a lot in this game, much like traditional battle royale games. What makes it worthwhile is how quick it is to get back going, and to try things again while you keep experimenting your way to victory. Just like dropping after a quick loss, Super Meat Boy Forever will offer a faster and similar strategy that's incredibly satisfying to succeed with.
6 The Long Dark
For those who adore PUBG’s massive environment with spread targets to strategically take down, but don’t mind a single-player experience, The Long Dark is an instant recommendation. This survival game puts players in the shoes of a plane crash victim in a frozen forest, forcing them to find resources like food and firewood while dealing with wild animals.
This game does lack the competitive and multiplayer aspects of PUBG, but there’s something extremely familiar about starting a new game in a new spot with the need to make plans and begin your routine. Thanks to the quiet space and realism of the setting, it’s sure to feel satisfying in ways that are remarkably similar to the first-person shooter.
5 Enter The Gungeon
If realism isn’t your primary appeal with PUBG, and instead you just enjoy seeing how far you can get with whatever you can find, Enter The Gungeon is another oddly familiar experience. This roguelike starts you with a simple weapon as you scavenge rooms for new guns, health items, and useful items to help you take down each consecutive boss of the Gungeon’s several floors.
Those who are strictly into shooters might not find the top-down shooter format as exciting, but it still requires an equal level of precision and mechanics that are deeply similar. More importantly, roguelikes are remarkably similar to battle royales thanks to their random loot and high risk of failure, and successful completion is both as rare and satisfying as any Chicken Dinner.
4 Resident Evil 4
It’s been taken somewhat for granted that PUBG players may not often enjoy stories, but having a survival experience that’s complemented by the setting and characters is still something many can likely value. Considering the original Resident Evil 4 came out exclusively on the Nintendo Gamecube back in 2005, it’s reasonable to assume many players missed this classic combo of action and horror.
The key thing PUBG players are sure to value is the resource management aspect, as Resident Evil 4 uses its similar third-person shooting combat alongside a difficult inventory management system. This, alongside the limited ammo and weapons you come across, makes for an especially challenging adventure that acts as a more linear version of a PUBG Nintendo Switch experience.
3 Overwatch
As much as the cartoonish aesthetic can be a red flag for many fans of PUBG, it’s hard not to mention Overwatch as a worthwhile game for those who need a competitive multiplayer experience. Unlike Fortnite, Overwatch’s gameplay doesn’t rely on building structures or comical aesthetics and is a fairly serious shooter at its core with an immense competitive scene.
This recommendation feels like a stretch, but it’s worth a note that there are extremely few realistic shooters on the Switch to begin with, and even fewer highly competitive games, so if you’ve been on the fence about trying Overwatch and enjoy the challenging multiplayer experience of PUBG, you’ll likely get a fair amount of enjoyment from this game compared to the Switch’s other multiplayer shooters, such as the even more cartoonish Splatoon 2.
2 XCOM 2
In terms of format, XCOM 2 might seem like the most dissimilar game to PUBG on this list. Rather than an action game or shooter, this is a turn-based strategy game. However, people who play this game will surely tell you that it’s exceptionally similar, as you’ll usually start games repeatedly due to its high difficulty with the hopes of finding the right resources to make it to the end.
It’s much more like a roguelike than a typical strategy game, at least when you play it on the traditional Hardcore Mode to prevent save-scumming. You’ll get in a similar loop each playthrough, hoping for a strong start and doing what you can despite your luck and intelligent enemies, and each mission ends up feeling like a top-down version of the PUBG experience.
1 Sniper Elite 4
While another linear and single-player game, it can’t be stressed just how satisfying Sniper Elite 4 is for those who enjoy the battle royale genre, or the serious aesthetic of PUBG. This game is entirely focused on your completion of each mission to liberate allies and assassinate foes, giving the player powerful stealth abilities alongside wonderfully accurate WW2 weapons and settings.
It’s no secret that realistic shooters are incredibly rare on the Nintendo Switch, and while few fall into the Battle Royale genre like PUBG, Sniper Elite 4 delivers on nearly every other front from managing your toolkit, to the visual aesthetic, and even to the replayable experience. Few things are as satisfying as taking down another player from halfway across the map in PUBG, but taking down Nazi soldiers from a mile away in this game comes fantastically close.