5 Switch games you should play while you wait for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the first critical darling of 2024. In my own four-and-a-half star review, I call Ubisoft’s new game “a monumental achievement in approachable, seamless Metroidvania design.” I definitely recommend you pick that game up once it launches on January 18. And I think that it’s a fantastic fit for Nintendo Switch in particular.

If you’ve already played throughThe Lost Crown’s demo several times and are wondering what else you can play to whet your appetite for Ubisoft’s latest, then I recommend checking out these games on the Nintendo eShop.

Metroid Dread

The Lost Crown is a Metroidvania, so it’s helpful to understand why the genre’s name partially honors this franchise. Developed by Mercury Steam and released in 2021, Metroid Dread was the first original 2D Metroid game in almost two decades. The formula didn’t lose any of its luster during that time. Dread is another tightly designed platformer that plays to the genre’s strengths. It offers a satisfying feeling of progression with each new room or ability discovered, alongside eerie worldbuilding.

• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is big enough to justify its price tag
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will make you forget about The Sands of Time remake

Metroid Dread lives up to its name, as this is one of the tensest games Nintendo has ever released. Encounters with enemy E.M.M.I. robots are particularly nerve-racking, as those enemies can easily kill Samus and only get smarter throughout the adventure. Most of the time, you’re the most powerful being in a room in The Lost Crown; the opposite is true for much of Metroid Dread. As a result, that means the games pair together quite nicely. Once you recognize that The Lost Crown can