Just a gentle reminder folks, if you're interested in making the most of Nintendo's Jump-Start January sale, then you'll need to be quick - it ends tonight (February 7th) at 11:59 p.m. PT. So feel free to peruse our list of all the games we've scored at least a 9/10 on Nintendo Life.
Might as well extend that backlog before a Switch successor lands, right?
Oof, nothing like a good eShop sale, right?
Nintendo's back with another belter, knocking up to 80% off a whole bunch of games to ease those January blues. Naturally, with so many titles to choose from, it can be difficult to really determine which ones are going to be worth your hard-earned cash. That's where we come in.
We've compiled a list of every game in Nintendo's 'Jump-Start' January Sale that we've scored at least a 9/10. There's still quite a lot here, but you'll at least be safe in the knowledge that whatever you go for will provide a heap of entertainment (and who knows, maybe you'll stumble across your new favourite game).
Note. We've given sale prices in USD with the percentage discount — commensurate savings can be found on eShops across the Americas, including Canada, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil. We'll be updating this guide if new games are added.
The sale runs until February 7th at 11:59 p.m. PT. If you need to stock up on eShop credit, we've got you covered there too. Be sure to check out our store for all options.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
Okay, let's check out some of the best games available in Nintendo's January eShop sale...
Persona 5 Royal (Switch)
$29.99 (-50%)
Persona 5 Royal is the very definition of ‘required reading' for JRPG fans. A deep and moving story, stylish presentation, amazing soundtrack, and decision-driven gameplay all combine to make for an unforgettable and exceptional experience that proves itself to be every bit deserving of the hype and praise it’s already received. While those who have played this elsewhere may want to consider whether Switch's portability is enough of a selling point to justify paying full price to double dip, it suits it perfectly. Persona 5 Royal remains a game that we absolutely recommend you pick up as soon as you can. This easily stands as one of the very best RPGs of the last decade and you’d be doing yourself a disservice to miss out.
Tetris Effect: Connected (Switch eShop)
$19.99 (-50%)
Tetris is one of the greatest video games of all time, and Tetris Effect: Connected is perhaps the best iteration of the classic puzzler yet. While this Switch port doesn't offer a great deal over existing versions in terms of features, it delivers the one key ingredient that its rivals cannot: portability. Sure, some will argue that Tetris Effect: Connected's unique brand of synesthesia only really comes alive when played on PSVR or an Oculus Quest headset, but we'd argue passionately that this game benefits far more from the ability to pick it up and play whenever, wherever. Just as the Game Boy and Tetris combined to create an irresistible, world-conquering fusion back in 1989, Tetris Effect: Connected has finally found the hardware that allows it to truly shine, making this an utterly essential purchase for all Nintendo Switch owners. Just don't forget those headphones.
Undertale (Switch eShop)
$10.04 (-33%)
Undertale is a brilliant and smartly-designed game that understands well what makes a good RPG work; so much so that it can upend expectations and deliver something that’s almost a satire of the genre. It’s been a long time since we’ve played a game that manages to surprise so often and in so many unique ways, and even if it doesn’t look like much, Undertale has way more going for it under the surface. Excellently written characters, a genre-bending battle system and a solid soundtrack make this one an easy recommendation, especially to RPG lovers.
OneShot: World Machine Edition (Switch eShop)
$10.49 (-30%)
A short, compelling point-and-click adventure game originally developed in 2014, OneShot: World Machine Edition has an endearing, sombre story in which developer Future Cat makes you – the player – a character. The quest of Nico, a cat-like child, is framed as a game installed on a PC that functions as both a menu and narrative device and Niko will frequently break the fourth wall to address you by your Nintendo Switch profile name as you guide her through a dying world.
Unlike the adventure games of two or three decades ago, none of the puzzles stumped us, yet the dopamine rush hit us all the same when things slid into place. Before we knew it, the credits rolled, and we sat back, pensive from its bittersweet ending. A Very Good Game™.
Sea of Stars (Switch eShop)
$27.99 (-20%)
Sea of Stars is a sensational achievement for Sabotage. The studio is two for two in providing impressively designed and genuinely innovative takes on classic genres. Some pacing issues aside, the complex narrative, deep and strategic combat, thoughtful level design, and fantastic visuals and music all combine to make this one of the easiest recommendations we can make. If you consider yourself a fan of old-school RPGs, you must play Sea of Stars. And if not? The execution and polish here are so good that we’d suggest you give it a try anyway. There are few games that would be a better introduction and representation of what makes JRPGs great. Sea of Stars is an instant classic and a new high-water mark for modern retro-styled indies. You really shouldn’t miss out.
Persona 4 Golden (Switch eShop)
$12.99 (-35%)
Persona 4 Golden remains a thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing RPG that, for the most part, has stood the test of time. Although its visuals might be a bit dated, the gameplay and story presented here do more than enough to justify the purchase, while all the tweaks and additions that came with this ‘Golden’ edition round out most of the rougher edges from the initial PS2 release. If you're looking to give the Persona series a shot, Persona 5 Royal is a good place to start, but P4G is an excellent entry in the series and one that we would recommend you pick up when you can.
Florence (Switch eShop)
$1.99 (67%)
Florence is an evocation of the beauty, sadness, and hope that comes from any human connection we make in our lives, whether with art, nature, or another person. It's a succinct and incredibly successful exploration of moments you'll recognise from your own life, and the way it mirrors thoughts and feelings through small gameplay mechanics makes it one of the most affecting experiences we've enjoyed on Switch, or any other platform.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)
$41.99 (-30%)
Animal Crossing: New Horizons improved upon every single facet of the series imaginable. There's more to do, more to see, more to change, more to mould, and more to love; fans and first-time players can find themselves losing hours at a time gathering materials, creating new furniture, and making their island undeniably theirs. Every moment is unashamedly blissful, with excellently written characters that truly feel alive and an island paradise that gives back infinitely more than you put in. Back when Animal Crossing: New Leaf hit the shelves all those years ago and created a whole new generation of fans, many people were wondering how Nintendo could possibly top it, but here we got our answer. This is a masterpiece that's worth buying a Switch (or two) to play.
![Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise DLC - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/16102/100x100.jpg)
Okami HD (Switch eShop)
$9.99 (-50%)
Okami HD is an utterly fantastic piece of software, and we feel you’d be doing yourself a disservice to pass on it. It's a 40-hour adventure that emulates Zelda wonderfully, adds in plenty of memorable mechanics, features one of the most beautiful art styles in gaming, and is completely playable on the go, to boot. It may be showing its age a bit visually and its combat is sometimes a little on the easy side, but Okami is an important, fun, and notable landmark in gaming history — and one of the easiest recommendations we can make for your Switch library.
![OKAMI HD - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/9974/100x100.jpg)
Into The Breach (Switch eShop)
$7.49 (-50%)
Into The Breach is a brutal, uncompromising game of making hard decisions and living with your mistakes, but the short length of battles and endless variety of playthroughs makes for an extremely addictive experience. Though the graphics are nothing special, the gameplay is some of the very best you’ll find in the strategy genre on Switch, and we can easily recommend this to anybody who’s looking for an in-depth game that’ll make you think. Into The Breach feels right at home on the Switch, and whether you play more at home or on the go, you’re more than likely to get plenty of value out of this release.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Switch)
$23.99 (-60%)
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a wonderful achievement for dynamic storytelling, as it puts forth a compelling and multifaceted narrative that’ll keep you guessing right up until the very end. This excellent story, combined with enjoyable combat portions, a striking art style, and some top-notch voice acting make for an experience that you won’t want to miss out on. It’s the kind of game that’ll have you wishing that you could play it again for the first time, just so all its best elements could be new again.
Outer Wilds (Switch eShop)
$19.99 (-20%)
If you can overlook the technical challenges – and we could – Outer Wilds remains a wondrous experience on Switch. With almost no gating and free rein to investigate a rich corner of the universe, it captures the quest for learning in the most direct way possible: the only reward for progress is knowledge. Starting with no information at all, you come to understand the intricacies of this little solar system better than its inhabitants. Having soared through such an epic, introspective, and existentially inquisitive adventure, we probably came to understand ourselves a little more, too.
Neon White (Switch eShop)
$14.99 (-40%)
From its excellent writing, music, and presentation to its intense and satisfying core gameplay, Neon White is one of the most exciting things we’ve played all year, and it’s a game we can't see ourselves putting down for a long time as we try to best our previous times. It successfully brings together elements from apparently disparate genres in new and exciting ways and seems poised to become the next great speedrunning title. It's one that action game fans and Switch owners in general won't want to miss.
What Remains of Edith Finch (Switch eShop)
$4.99 (-75%)
What Remains of Edith Finch is a 'Walking Sim' that doesn’t just tell an unforgettable story – it's genuinely unforgettable. As tragic as its tale is, it always manages to entertain. As one section ends and as you fight back tears, you’ll always carry on, because the next story is as engrossing as the last. If you want a strong feature-length story that doesn’t waste a minute, Edith Finch is the one you need.
Dusk (Switch eShop)
$13.99 (-30%)
Dusk is one hell of an impressive piece of software and possibly the single best Unity port to Switch we've ever seen, sidestepping typical performance problems and delivering a brilliant experience of a brilliant game. It's not as good a game as Quake, but almost nothing is. There's a relatively limited arsenal of weapons — they're all great, but there's no iconic gun here, just your usual pistol, shotty, assault rifle, explosives, et al. We're being churlish with our criticisms here, though — ultimately, Dusk is another absolute cracker in Switch's FPS roster.
UNSIGHTED (Switch eShop)
$9.99 (-50%)
Unsighted combines some very familiar ideas: it’s a top-down, roguelite, sci-fi Metroidvania with a strong 16-bit aesthetic. Its time-is-ticking, post-apocalyptic scenario is brought to life by the enchanting palettes of its pixel art, making a world you want to explore, full of characters you want to know. Far from punishing, it leans more on the 'lite' than the 'rogue', letting fun prevail – as it will, thanks to the addictive rhythm of the controls, backed by punchy sounds. The cooperative multiplayer is icing on top of an already well-iced cake. Combining flavours of Super Nintendo classics with modern playability, Unsighted is the game 1995 desperately wanted to make but just didn’t know how.
Monster Hunter Rise (Switch)
$15.99 (-60%)
New mechanics, monsters, and a gorgeous setting make Monster Hunter Rise a new high-water mark for the franchise. The Wirebug, Switch Skills, Palamute, and carefully thought-out monsters shake things up enough to make the game feel fresh for hunters who have previously spent thousands of hours with the series, and while the package could be slightly intimidating for newcomers, it's arguably the ideal place to get started if you're serious about getting into the franchise. And, with a peerless four-player multiplayer experience, the Rampage quests are a blast. Monster Hunter Rise is one of the strongest entries into the franchise to date, and another stone-cold classic for the Nintendo Switch.
![Monster Hunter Rise Deluxe Kit DLC [Download Code - UK/EU]](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/18466/100x100.png)
![Monster Hunter Rise Deluxe Edition [Download Code - UK/EU]](https://images.nintendolife.com/products/18465/100x100.png)
Downwell (Switch eShop)
$2.00 (-33%)
This is an excellent port of a game that feels like it’s found a natural home on Switch thanks to a plethora of control options and the console’s natural facility with vertical orientation. Short of popping your 4K TV on its side, Switch offers the very best way to play Downwell. Its roguelike structure and twitch platforming might not be for everyone, but you should really give it a chance. For our money, it’s a modern classic that should be in everyone’s collection.
Gone Home (Switch eShop)
$4.49 (-70%)
Several years on, there’s no denying the cultural and developmental impact Gone Home has had on the game industry. Both as a near-perfect exercise in interactive storytelling and an example of how to handle complex and very real ideas in a game, only Life is Strange has ever come close to matching its significance. While there still isn’t much ‘game’ to be found here, the story you unravel through exploring an empty home will stay with you long after you’ve put down your Switch. Essential.
Quake (Switch eShop)
$3.29 (-67%)
Quake returns in a feature-rich remaster that delicately updates the classic FPS, adding lots of optional bells and whistles, packing in a ton of content, and delivering the definitive way to play this 25-year-old masterpiece in the process. There's a wealth of online and co-op options here, a glorious new expansion to blast through from MachineGames, super slick performance in both docked and handheld modes and it's all available at a cracking price point. This really is a stellar port of one gaming's true greats and an absolutely essential addition to your Switch library.
Comments 19
brilliant. let me just wade through this haystack of needles.
I'll just stick to Good Job!, The Stretchers and maybe Sonic Frontiers (if I can free that much space on my microSD card). If not Frontiers, then maybe the Season Pass of Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and the Digital Deluxe Upgrade of Sonic Superstars as preemptive purchases before I get them physically.
I'll get The Messenger and Sea of Stars as a combo pack. I've got $50 sitting in my eShop wallet that needs spending.
Don't know if I "should" spend a couple thousand...how bout a nice "could".
@Uncle_Franklin,
I am sure you will cope.
Interested in Unsighted, Lost In Play, Vengeful Guardian and several of the Mega Man games. Awesome sale.
I disagree, I thought Persona 5 sucked. Gonna get Part Time UFO for sure, Splatoon 3 is seriously tempting.
Dragon's Dogma is always the best deal that's never on these lists. $5 for what's essentially a high fantasy take on Monster Hunter.
Meanwhile, I'm thinking about finally grabbing the Animal Crossing, Doom Eternal, and Monster Hunter Rise DLC that I've been putting off for a long time.
I think I will resist adding to my backlog. Persona 5 Royal has been taking all my video game time since late November and I am probably only halfway done at 70 hours (at 5th Palace).
After that I want to get to: Tunic and Super Mario RPG. Also I only did 3 of the main temples in TotK over the 45 hours I spent with that last year and I never did finished collecting all the things to get to the final boss in Metroid Prime Remastered.
I am interested in Outer Wilds and maybe Sea Of Stars though.
@Anachronism That's because Nitendolife gave Dragon's Dogma an 8/10.
@BTB20 Yep, which is probably about right. I'd consider it just short of a 9 personally. But what are us loyal commenters here for if not to fill in the gaps caused by that kind of flat restriction? It ranks above more than half this list in user scores, so I think it's more than worth a mention.
After sinking far too many hours on Wild World for the DS and New Leaf for the 3DS, I intentionally passed on New Horizons.
I knew that if I ever started it, i wouldn't play anything else.
Buy Okami. Just do it.
Armello caught my eye. I've never heard of it and it looks great.
I've been tempted by P5 Tactica for awhile now. It's down to $20 on Amazon, but the size of my backlog is getting embarrassing at this point. 😅
@HylianFox Why would you even want to play anything else?
Gorogoa is really cool.
For those who still haven't played Tropical Freeze, now's your chance. It is one of the best platformers ever made.
I'm considering We Love Katamari at $15. But I've got plenty to play right now, so I will probably hope it goes down to $10 by the next sale.
Thanks for the list, this actually a good list for discounted games 😃
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