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, 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!

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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.

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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.

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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, 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.

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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, breaking windows, throwing things, and dealing 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 local multiplayer Switch games you could play right now.

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It may be one of our personal party co-op favourites, but we’re totally not biased when saying that Death Squared is essential for your local multiplayer Switch games collection. Fun to play solo and in a group of up to four people on the sofa, this is a cooperative game you’re going to belly-laugh at, even when you fail.

Playing as four cube-shaped robots, you need to figure out how to get each robot onto the button of its colour while avoiding traps, lightning beams, spikes, and falling off the map at the very least. The challenges increase in difficulty as you go and with simple controls, it’s easy to hop back into play even if you’ve not touched the game for months.

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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 take part 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 more than enough brand new mini-games to enjoy. Mario will always bring the party! Read the Super Mario Party Switch review.

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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. It has all the elements of being one of the best local multiplayer games for Nintendo Switch, and once you get into it, it’ll be hard to shift to another.

Download MUA3: The Black Order

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 a great variety in the levels of gameplay, and the game really benefits from having your friends play with you. When you would normally die, in local multiplayer you instead are trapped in a bubble that your friends can pop to give you a second chance.

While this game 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.

Download Rayman Legends Definitive Edition

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 game, 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, four-player split-screen remains the ultimate way to experience this game. How else are you going to take direct retribution for that finishing line blue shell? Certainly, one of the local multiplayer Switch games you must have! In case you have wondered how many Mario Kart Switch games are there, we’ve covered each one.

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Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is special because it hits local co-op multiplayer games at its very core. You and your three buddies must work together to pilot your pink spacecraft through hazardous territory. While it’s not exactly some hyper-realistic creation, the simplicity and cheerfulness of the graphics are enough to make you never want to stop playing it!

However, you’ll need strong delegation and communication skills as you dash to man the gun turrets, maintain shields, and navigate to the level exit. Part 2D action game, part party game extravaganza, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is unique on this list and makes it a space adventure worth experiencing together with your friends.

Download Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

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 battling 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!

Download Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from the Nintendo Switch Store.

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 games 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 for the best local multiplayer Switch games.

Download Rocket League from the Nintendo Switch Store.

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.

Download Don’t Starve Together

What feels like a board game, is, in essence, a 3-in-1 game. Armello cleverly combines RPG elements with tabletop board games and deeply strategic elements into what feels like a fantastic adventure ready to knock your boots off. You’ll have a character, 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 game and your friends) will try to stand between you and the ultimate goal. It’s fun, competitive, and truly one of the best local multiplayer Switch games. One thing though – you will need multiple consoles.

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Splatoon 2 has everything you could want from a sequel. The game 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.

The game introduces countless changes and new content. Overall, Splatoon 2 is one of the finest local multiplayer Switch games.

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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 the game interesting.

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

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TETRIS 99 is available to members of the paid Nintendo Switch Online service as an exclusive offer. Anyone can download it for free from Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch, but only members of Nintendo Switch Online can play it.

99 players and only one winner! TETRIS 99 is a classic puzzle game with a brand new look. Here you will compete online simultaneously with 98 players from all over the world. And you can lay together with your friend on your Nintendo Switch device, which makes it one of the best local multiplayer switch games.

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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.

Download Diablo III: Eternal Collection

The essence of Arms’ combat mechanics is very easy to grasp. But at the same time, it’s a great example of the depth that rewards hard-core players. Combining light and charged punches with dashes and jumps allows you to create an almost dancing style of play.

Just playing a match is very easy, and those who want to face a true challenge can prove their skills in ranked matches. Or you can try to fight with your friends using the Switch local multiplayer option.

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