Mario Odyssey and Animal Crossing. Just know these aren't voice acted so your mileage may vary. My kid started out playing Odyssey when he was almost 4 (5 now). He was frustrated at first, but i let him just wander around until he was a little better with easy words, then i'd sit there and help him out. It turned out to be a really good way to help him with his vocabulary and reading comprehension. So that's a nice side effect especially if you're coming from the 'no screens' camp.

Pokemon is also good to help them with reading.

My 5 year old LOVES Lego City Undercover. Its actually surprisingly good in general. Its like GTA for kids structure-wise: very kid friendly, which, as i play more games as a parent, is a feat unto itself. Its also 2 player. He put more hours in that than i have on Breath of the Wild.

also, Breath of the Wild. Thats also mandatory. More for you and/or your older kid.

Snipperclips is a fantastic party puzzle game either they or all of y'all can play together. Its a nice family builder. Overcooked 2 is also good for family play. You can catch that on sale digital pretty often.

I've had great luck with my kid and Beat em ups. We can both play together and not get frustrated. They're easy to understand and satiate that action appetite. I recommend picking up the Capcom Beat-em Up Bundle which i think is digital only? and River City Girls. There's also some classic ones in the eshop.

Other games:
Sonic Mania - all ya'll
Celeste - older kid, you
Smash Bros Ultimate - all ya'll
Kirby Star Allies - younger one, older kid
Horizon Chase Turbo - all y'all
Dragon Quest 11 - older kid, you

Rocket League is on sale. That's good for everybody. Up to 6 players i think. You all can play each other, but definitely cop that if you like it yourself and go ahead and get the Switch Online service.

Oh yeah online. $20 for the year which is pretty good imo. You get access to about 70 NES/SNES games, Tetris 99, and access to play games online.



I'd avoid FIFA unless you're super desperate. EA basically just turned in a roster update and slapped a full price tag on it. I know people joke about that, but most of the time, they add something minor. The 2020 Switch version legitimately is the same game as 2019, which itself was a truly gimped port.

2k is ok if all you care about is just picking up a quick game. If you care about MyPlayer at all, just don't bother.