Elden Ring isn’t available on Nintendo Switch. But these games might make good substitutes.
From Software’s latest entry takes the Soulsborne formula and takes it to an open world format. It will be a genre-defining game, so unfortunately there’s not much else that combines everything in Elden Ring into another experience. But if you’d like to play a game like Elden Ring on Switch – here are your best options.
Dark Souls: Remastered
Dark Souls: Remastered is the only From Software game that is currently available on Switch. It feels more like an early prototype compared to Elden Ring, but the formula of fighting challenging enemies and learning an area are all here. The game runs well on Switch, but load times are fairly long.
You’ll also encounter framerate drops in action-heavy areas like Blight town, but nothing that wasn’t present in the original version of the game. Much like some of those old SNES cartridges that still lag even on an emulator – Dark Souls is just laggy in Blight town.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 1 & 2
The open world nature of Elden Ring with its you can go anywhere you can see seems heavily inspired by Breath of the Wild. While the Legend of Zelda series has always been designed to be accessible for gamers of any age, the sense of wonder you can get from exploring the massive world is definitely there.
If you don’t need brutal combat to be satisfied and prefer the exploration aspect of Elden Ring, then Breath of the Wild is a good fit. There’s a huge, open-world to explore with many shrines, puzzles, and quests to solve.
Ashen
The developers at Aurora44 wanted to create a Soulslike game that combined passive multiplayer and crafting. They recruited fantasy author Mark Lawrence to help write the narrative and band Foreign Fields to craft the unique, post-apocalyptic sound of Ashen. The result is a world that should feel familiar to any Souls veteran looking for something more.
Recruiting people to your village and collecting crafting items play a big part of changing how Ashen feels between runs. It’s a unique take on the Soulslike formula that runs well on the Nintendo Switch.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is a remaster of a game from the Xbox 360/PS3 era. The game is a fantastic action RPG that was supposed to serve as an introduction to a massive multiplayer world that never got made. After the troubled development was resolved, the game was rebooted and a few things were addressed.
The result is one of the best games to satisfy your exploration itch. It sometimes feels like exploring an empty world designed around an MMO, but the combat is fun and the story is interesting.
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen is perhaps the most under-rated gem on this list of games like Elden Ring on Switch. There’s a massive overworld to discover and you wake up with everyone calling you the chosen one. You can collect pawns from other players to deck out your party and venture forth. The world is very dangerous and loaded with monsters that will kill you if you’re not careful.
For anyone who wants a dangerous world to explore with massive beasts to fight, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is that. The pawn system takes a little getting used to since you need to switch them out frequently. But you should think of it like getting to choose your D&D or WoW dungeon party to suit your needs. As the situation changes, you’ll need to upgrade your party to progress.
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