Since it launched in March 2017, the Nintendo Switch has become home to many fantastic titles from first-party and third-party developers. The hybrid unit is full of excellent games you can experience on the big or small screen, but what happens when you finally roll credits on the one you enjoy the most?
Fortunately, plenty of Nintendo's most popular Switch games have extended their lives with DLC, which expands their worlds with new characters, stories, and more. While most of them cost money, you can earn access to some DLC for free as a member of Nintendo Switch Online. Whether you subscribe or not, these are the Switch games with the best DLC.
10 Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Cindered Shadows
Fire Emblem: Three Houses was the first game developed for a home console since 2007's Radiant Dawn for the GameCube, and its focus on characters and social elements helped it become regarded as one of the best in the series. With three campaigns and four separate endings, Three Houses was already full of content, but the Cindered Shadows DLC adds another layer of depth to Garreg Mach.
Cindered Shadows features four new characters that you can recruit into the main game after finishing the DLC, and even more paralogues and quests to complete. It adds roughly another seven to nine hours of content to explore, and if you enjoyed Three Houses, Cindered Shadows is worth your time.
9 Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle - Donkey Kong Adventure
Many were skeptical when it was first revealed that Mario and his friends would collaborate with Ubisoft's Rabbids for a tactics-based RPG. To everyone's surprise, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is incredibly charming, with dazzling visuals and a hilarious story. Its success led to the development of DLC starring Donkey Kong, Rabbid Peach, and Rabbid Cranky.
The Donkey Kong Adventure DLC for Kingdom Battle is a seven to nine-hour journey across a new set of stages that will make you rethink some of the techniques you used in the base game. The gameplay and humor are phenomenal, but the standout element from this DLC is the excellent soundtrack composed by Grant Kirkhope.
8 Pokemon Sword & Shield - The Isle Of Armor And The Crown Tundra
Pokemon Sword and Shield were the first mainline games in the series to debut on a home console, and expectations were high for their potential. One of the biggest complaints about them at launch was the lack of Pokemon available to catch, but that would eventually be cured by The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra DLC.
Both expansions offer new areas to explore, side quests to complete, and most importantly, a bunch of additional Pokemon to add to your Pokedex. The Isle of Armor focuses on a quest to train a Pokemon named Kubfu while The Crown Tundra focuses on a slew of legendary Pokemon, including Galarian versions of Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos.
7 Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Torna - The Golden Country
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is already a massive game with its 60 to 90-hour campaign, but there's an entire prequel story to experience if you purchase the DLC. Torna - The Golden Country launched in 2018 and is set roughly 500 years before the events of the main game. The entire journey is expansive and can take roughly 20 to 30 hours to complete.
One of the biggest differences between Torna - The Golden Country and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is that the expansion allows you to control both Drivers and their blades. The narrative and gameplay live up to the series' excellent standards and will leave you wanting more by the time the credits roll.
6 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Booster Course Pass
Mario Kart 8 originally launched on the Wii U in 2014 before being ported to the Nintendo Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in 2017. This updated version included all the DLC from its predecessor, as well as new characters and quality-of-life adjustments like the ability to hold two items at once. Then, in 2022, Nintendo announced that even more content would arrive via the Booster Course Pass DLC.
Nearly a decade since Mario Kart 8 first appeared, it's still being updated to include fantastic new and returning maps and fan-favorite characters like Birdo and Petey Piranha. By the end of 2023, Mario Kart 8 will have an additional 48 tracks to race on, and you can access them for free through Nintendo Switch Online.
5 Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise
It's hard to imagine what 2020 would have been like without Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the cozy life-simulation game about improving your life and helping out your neighbors. While it would have been great to have a bunch of new content added to New Horizons post-launch, it only received one major update that allowed you to access its Happy Home Paradise DLC.
Similar to Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for the 3DS, Happy Home Paradise lets you customize and decorate villager's vacation homes to meet their requests. You can easily spend hours at a time role-playing as the host of a fake HGTV show with this expansion, which is available for free through Nintendo Switch Online.
4 Splatoon 2 - Octo Expansion
Splatoon 2 is already jam-packed with content, including a robust single-player campaign, plenty of PvP modes, and Salmon Run for PvE matches. These modes alone can easily keep you busy for hundreds of hours, but if you're looking for an expansive single-player journey through an abstract world, the Octo Expansion has you covered.
Splatoon 2's Octo Expansion contains an exciting and unpredictable story that allows you to play as an Octoling known as Agent 8. With the assistance of Pearl, Marina, and Cap'n Cuttlefish, you must collect four "thangs" by clearing 80 stages reminiscent of the more challenging stages in Super Mario Sunshine. Octo Expansion is also available to Nintendo Switch Online members.
3 Xenoblade Chronicles 3 - Future Redeemed
Each mainline Xenoblade Chronicles features new worlds and characters, but they are all much more connected than they appear. The storylines that connect them can sometimes be complex or overwhelming, but Xenoblade Chronicles 3's DLC beautifully ties everything together with a satisfying narrative that connects every game in the series together.
Available on its own or through Xenoblade Chronicle 3's Expansion Pass, Future Redeemed acts as a prequel to the main game and features the return of Shulk and Rex, the protagonists from the previous titles. For fans who have been playing through the series since it launched on the Wii, Future Redeemed is a wonderful final chapter to an excellent trilogy.
2 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild - The Champions' Ballad
Breath of the Wild launched alongside the Switch in 2017 and quickly became one of the platform's essential titles. It redefined the classic Zelda experience and re-shaped it into a sprawling open-world adventure bound by the limits of your imagination. It received a handful of updates and The Master Trials DLC, but The Champions' Ballad is the perfect way to end the adventure.
This excellent expansion will take you roughly ten hours to complete as you complete 16 new shrines, find new armor sets, and learn more about Daruk, Mipha, Revali, and Urbosa's past. The back half of this DLC features plenty of surprises, including a memorable final boss fight, the Master Cycle, and a satisfying conclusion to Kass' story.
1 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Fighters Pass Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
When Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launched in 2018, it contained more than 75 playable characters, over 100 stages, and nearly 900 music tracks. Despite all of this, the developers decided to spend the next three years working on even more content for a game that was already jam-packed with stuff to do.
Purchasing both Fighters Pass DLC bundles will provide an additional 12 fighters - including Sora, Banjo-Kazooie, Sephiroth, and more fan favorites - 11 stages, and over 180 music tracks. You'll also receive a bunch of outfits for the Mii Fighter inspired by characters like Cuphead and Sans from Undertale. The amount of content in these DLC packs is staggering, and a must-own for anyone with a Nintendo Switch.