Playing games together with friends in the same room is one of life’s greatest joys. If you’ve never experienced the pleasure of battling friends in Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros, then you’re missing out on a simple but thrilling way to build friendships.
The Switch, in particular, has proven to be a great console when it comes to multiplayer gaming; many of its best games are playable by more than one person.
Sometimes, though, you want to accommodate more players than most multiplayer games will allow. When that happens, you need to seek out some great 8-player Switch games, but where should you start?
Here are the best 8-player Nintendo Switch games that you can play right now. We’re talking same console here; online doesn’t count. Let’s get started!
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Genre: Fighting
- Audience: E
Any list of the best 8-player Nintendo Switch games must, by definition, begin with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Put simply, this is the best 8-player Switch game you’re likely to find out there, and the reason is simple: it’s one of the best multiplayer games for Switch, full stop.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate boasts a massive roster of fighters from across Nintendo’s history, as well as a good number of third-party characters like Solid Snake, Mega Man, and Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife.
With a huge range of stages, options, and alternative game modes to choose from, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate more than earns its name, and since it’s one of the only Switch games that supports 8-player battling, you should definitely add it to your list.
Just be aware that this isn’t one for the faint of heart; all the handicaps in the world can’t stop skilled players from leaping ahead of those with less of a grip on the fundamentals.
Runbow
- Genre: Racing
- Audience: E
Most great multiplayer games take a simple premise or concept and build on it with great execution, and that’s exactly what you can expect if you pick up Runbow.
Created by the geniuses at 13AM Games, Runbow is perhaps best described as a “platform racer” akin to games like SpeedRunners; the goal is to be the first player to reach a trophy at the end of a stage.
If you can imagine a cross between Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, and the aforementioned SpeedRunners, then you’ve got a decent idea of what to expect from Runbow.
Much like Smash Bros, Runbow is also rich with guest stars, although Runbow’s are largely plucked from the indie sphere; Shovel Knight, Juan from Guacamelee!, and the player character from Mutant Mudds all make an appearance, as do several other indie gaming darlings.
Super Bomberman R 2
- Genre: Action, adventure
- Audience:E
Konami may not be in many gamers’ good graces at the moment, but the fact is that Super Bomberman R 2 is a great party game that everyone in the family can enjoy, regardless of skill level.
The frantic, fast-paced action of Bomberman is very much in evidence here; if you’ve played a game in the series before, you’ll know what to expect, although Super Bomberman R 2 does bring in some modernising twists as well.
Chief among them is a 64-player Battle Royale mode, as well as online play and a stage editor that lets you build your very own custom Bomberman deathtraps.
This isn’t one for your group if you want something more sedate and meditative, but if you’re looking for something that will get the blood pumping, make sure to add Super Bomberman R 2 to your list.
The Jackbox Party Pack series
- Genre: Trivia
- Audience: T
Jackbox has released a number of different Jackbox Party Pack collections on Switch, and any of them will suffice if you’re looking for hilarious party fun.
As you might expect, the Jackbox games are as funny as your group is, so if you’ve got a bunch of friends together and your senses of humour align, then you’re going to love Jackbox.
Highlight games include Quiplash, where players must answer prompts with the funniest response they can think of; Fibbage, in which you must supply a plausible answer to a ridiculous question to dupe people into believing it; and Trivia Murder Party, a horror-themed trivia game in which the punishment for failure is death (but obviously not in real life).
If you routinely play games with seven other players and you’ve never indulged in a spot of Jackbox, then that’s something you should definitely consider rectifying.
Pico Park
- Genre: Action, puzzle
- Audience: E
Many 8-player Switch games are competitive, which is to say that they pit players against one another in tests of skill or intellect. That might not be something you’re into, though, and if it’s not, you should check out Pico Park.
This responsive puzzler adapts to the number of players currently in a game, so whether you’re playing alongside just one other person or all seven of your squad are present and correct, Pico Park will accommodate you.
The challenges Pico Park presents are very simple indeed, but some form of co-operation is almost always required for players to reach the end of each stage.
If you’re in the mood for building some friendships and you don’t want to get combative with your buddies, then Pico Park is probably the best co-op 8-player Switch game out there right now.
Luigi’s Mansion 3
- Genre: Action, adventure
- Audience: E
While the 8-player game modes in Luigi’s Mansion 3 aren’t exactly incredible, there are certainly worse ways to spend a few hours if you’ve got some friends over and nothing else to do.
The single-player mode in Luigi’s Mansion 3 is, of course, where the meat of the experience lies, but the ScreamPark minigames are solid enough, and they’re easily good for a few hours of fun on a rainy afternoon.
One game has you collecting as many coins as you can before the timer runs out, for instance, while another revolves around catching as many ghosts as possible.
These games aren’t going to set the world on fire, so it’s best to adjust your expectations before you go in, but if you’ve already got a copy of Luigi’s Mansion 3 knocking around, then it can’t hurt to try them, right?
Killer Queen Black
- Genre: multiplayer action/strategy game
- Audience: E10+
Fair warning: Killer Queen Black has been discontinued by its developers, so you won’t be able to find a copy of the game on the eShop, no matter how hard you look. As such, you’ll need to hunt this one down as a pre-owned purchase.
Still, we think it’s worth it, because while there are some slight performance issues with Killer Queen Black’s 8-player mode, it’s still well worth a shot, especially if you have some hardcore gamers in your group.
Make no mistake: Killer Queen Black takes no prisoners. This isn’t a game you’ll want to play if you’re looking for something sedate and easy to enjoy; it’s a game that demands a high level of skill and precision from you.
At its core, Killer Queen Black is a sort of platform fighter with some surface-level similarities to Super Smash Bros, but it’s also got a deeper strategic layer than that game, with three different victory conditions available to try and achieve.
Knight Squad 2
- Genre: Action, party
- Audience: E
Knight Squad 2 bills itself as “the most explosive 8-player mediaeval arcade game”, and it’s hard to disagree with that assertion, oddly specific though it may be.
Many different game modes with a variety of win conditions are available, so whether you want to hunt down the Holy Grail or just battle your friends in a fight to the death, you’ll find the chance to do that and more besides here.
Visually, it’s fair to call Knight Squad 2 a simple affair; this isn’t going to be the game for you if you want breathtakingly realistic graphics, as it’s a top-down arcade shooter-brawler with an emphasis on over-the-top silliness.
This is also another game that’s probably not really worth considering if you only have more casually oriented gamers in your group, because the skill gap between skilled and unskilled players will quickly reveal itself.
If everyone’s on the same page, though, Knight Squad 2 can be tremendous fun.
Baron: Fur Is Gonna Fly
- Genre:Combat
- Audience: E
The core concept of Baron: Fur Is Gonna Fly is adorably wacky; it concerns animals piloting aircraft in a Great War that continues to rage, but don’t worry, it’s not as serious as that sounds.
Instead, it’s a colourful party game built around simple controls. All you need to do is fly your plane and shoot down any opponents who dare to challenge your dominance in the air.
Four different aircraft are available, each with different abilities and strengths, and you can also choose between eight different characters, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to pick your favourites.
There are also single-player modes available, but this is very much a game built for a party environment, so you’re going to get the most out of it if you happen to have a larger group that’s looking for something simple and relatively mindless to play of an evening.
