The 8 best Nintendo Switch strategy games 2024

The best strategy games on Switch are only a trip to the e-Shop away. The Nintendo Switch is a wonderful console to spend countless hours thinking your way through a decent strategy game, and the game’s portability and screen make it perfect for grid-based or otherwise slower-paced strategy games.

We’re looking through the Switch’s library of games and picking the standout Strategy games you should pay attention to. If you want more Switch games, check out our list of the best free games on the Switch. Now, onto the best Strategy games on Switch.

XCOM 2

The XCOM games are beautiful monsters in so many ways. The strategic gameplay is genuinely nailbiting and the character customisations, such as naming and coming up with lavish backstories for your characters just to die in their first mission is nothing short of fantastic. XCOM 2 puts you, the Commander, in charge of humanity’s last stronghold against an alien invasion. You take a handful of soldiers into missions in the hopes they kill aliens, complete the objective, and level up in the process. Permadeath is a thing in XCOM 2 so you need to always be on high alert. If you want to play a punishing and super enjoyable strategy game, XCOM 2 is the one for you.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

Advance Wars Re-Boot Camp is a full remake of the first two Advance War games on the Nintendo Gameboy. Available now on Switch, this classic strategy game is one of the best. Advance Wars has been remade from the ground up with some gameplay tweaks and added online multiplayer. Each mission presents a challenge, requiring a strategic approach to the turn-based levels. You can use troops on land, sea, and air to take down enemy squads, capture bases, and bring an end to the war.

SteamWorld Heist

The SteamWorld games come out with fantastic takes on several different genres and SteamWorld Heist tackles the strategy genre. In SteamWorld Heist, you control a crew of lovable and sassy robots, and your job is to take on missions and beat enemy crew members before they beat you. You control a robot and move them to different tiles or platforms and you can use weapons to shoot at your foes. Sometimes you need to pull off a sweet ricochet shot to hit your mark, and there are several creative ways to tackle these situations in SteamWorld Heist. Shoot the hat off an enemy robot for good measure and take it as your well-earned trophy.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn

The original Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together was something of a beta version of what would one day become Final Fantasy Tactics. Tactics Ogre: Reborn is a remastered version of the original PlayStation game from 1995, and nothing has changed other than huge quality-of-life tweaks and a graphical overhaul, character voices, and more.

The tactical, grid-based gameplay remains the same and you need to outsmart your foe with calculated positioning and attacks to come out on top. The Job system is extensive and the skill system remains the same, effectively making it the best way to enjoy the Tactics Ogre experience. The story, which has multiple branching paths, follows Denam as he tries to fight for his homeland, eventually becoming a resistance leader in a huge political war.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem: Three Houses was the first Fire Emblem game to be released on the Nintendo Switch. It was the first time in Fire Emblem history you had a fully 3D base of operations to run around in and keep up with your fellow allies. In Three Houses, you play as a teacher at an academy to train and teach one of three houses you can choose to support. The game is split between spending time at the Academy while growing closer to your allies, and fierce turn-based strategic battles that Fire Emblem games are known for. The story is long and there are three different paths to follow. The combat is fun if a little janky when it comes to animations, but the characters and stories are the real standouts in Three Houses.

Into the Breach

Into the Breach is a phenomenal indie game on the Switch. In Into the Breach, you are put in control of mechs to beat the alien menace threatening all life. The best thing about Into the Breach, other than its extremely punishing strategic combat, is the randomly generated aspects of combat that pop up at the worst time. If you know nothing about the game, you should go in blind for the best experience. Into the Breach comes from the studio behind FTL: Faster than Light, and while the latter is massively different to Into the Breach, this should tell you everything you need to know about why this game is amazing.

Triangle Strategy

Despite its silly and somewhat ridiculous name, Triangle Strategy is a phenomenal strategy game from the Square Enix studio that brought you the likes of Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default. If you can look past the horrific eyesore that is HD-2D graphics, you will find Triangle Strategy to be a fantastic little game that harkens back to the style and systems of Tactics: Ogre.

There is no Job system which is a shame, but the grid-based battles are challenging and enjoyable. Your characters go in turns and positioning is a crucial aspect of Triangle Strategy. All the characters are thoughtfully fleshed out and interesting, with a story that has several branching paths.

Fire Emblem Engage

The latest Fire Emblem entry, Fire Emblem Engage, is the best iteration of the Fire Emblem mechanics. Engage is turn-based strategy at its finest in the history of Fire Emblem, using the game’s historic weapon triangle and innovating with some new systems. The story and summoning old Fire Emblem protagonists through the Emblem system aren’t great things in this game, but the gameplay is incredible. The combat animations are fluid and stunning, the music is wonderful, the characters are brilliant, and the fights are stellar.

That’s it for our best strategy games on Switch. For more, read our other lists covering the best hack-and-slash Switch games to play right now.