The Nintendo Switch is a powerhouse for RPGs and has an enormous library of games to choose from. If you are on a budget and still want to play some great Switch RPGs, read on. In this post, we’ll be covering 13 MUST-Own Nintendo Switch RPGs UNDER $20!
Good Night Knight
A definite must-own Switch RPG under $20 to start our list is Good Night Knight. In this Switch RPG, you’ll play as a knight that has fallen from a massive tower that has lost his memories. You’ll need to go on a quest to restore your memory and climb the tower all while defeating enemies and gathering items to help you on your way.
This game is an action RPG dungeon crawler with some roguelike elements. It has a similar feel to the classic dungeon crawling from early Legend of Zelda titles, but also adds in some stealth mechanics.
Another unique aspect to this Switch RPG is that you’ll collect items to power up your character, but are limited to how much you can hold by weight. Over time, as you gain more experience, you can level up these items and reduce their weight to zero. Eventually making it so those item powerups can become permanent abilities.
There is also a feature where you can catch monsters and turn them into items you can use for crafting. As you collect these materials you can eventually combine them and craft new items with stronger powers. The gameplay loop is a lot of fun and I’d recommend Good Night Knight as one of the must-own Switch RPGs under $20.
Knights of Pen and Paper
Knights of Pen and Paper is quite the unique Switch RPG as it combines a tabletop RPG with a turn-based RPG all while breaking the fourth wall. You’ll play as a team of heroes that are actually playing a tabletop RPG.
Not only will you build your party in the pen and paper world with things like warriors, mages, clerics, and more, but you’ll also choose from real-world classes. This means you can have a nerd, jock, pizza guy, and more fill out your party of heroes as they take on their fantasy class roles.
Another thing that makes this Switch RPG unique is that not only will you build up your team in the pen and paper world, but you can also enhance your game room. This is a fun addition, where you can upgrade things like your snacks, gaming table, room decorations, and more while increasing your party’s abilities in the game world.
This Nintendo Switch RPG also has a humorous story that frequently breaks the fourth wall with your team and the game master. You’ll encounter many gaming, pop culture, and nerd references throughout as well. Not to mention really fun and addicting gameplay. If you are looking for a great Switch RPG under $20, Knights of Pen and Paper is a must-buy!
Cat Quest 2
Cat Quest 2 is another must-buy Nintendo Switch RPG under $20. This game is an action RPG where you will play as two kings from the respective cat and dog kingdoms as they try and create peace between the two long-time warring kingdoms.
This Switch RPG starts you out in a vast open world to explore as you need to reunite the cat and dog kingdoms in peace. There certainly are areas you might need to wait until you are more powerful to visit, but you do have a lot of freedom.
There are plenty of secrets, side quests, and dungeons to find. The gameplay isn’t too difficult but it is a lot of fun. You can play the game solo or with two players. In solo mode, you can swap between the dog and cat heroes on the fly.
Each character can be customized with equipment and abilities to fit your play style. You have a variety of weapons to find, and different armor types that can give you rather unique builds for your characters.
Cat Quest 2 is a great entry point for younger players into the action RPG genre but it’s still a lot of fun if you have been a long-time RPG gamer as well. Definitely a must-own Switch RPG under $20!
EvilUp
EvilUp is a top-down roguelike dungeon crawler RPG for Nintendo Switch. You’ll start the game with a few playable characters to choose from each with their own skills and abilities. Over time you can also unlock more characters to choose from.
There are also several dungeons to choose from that you can enter which can alter the monsters and challenges hidden within. As you progress combat plays out almost like a mystery dungeon game, but the monsters don’t move.
Since they don’t move you can only attack them with ranged abilities or if you are right next to them. At the same time, this puts you at risk of being attacked as each action in the range of an enemy causes them to attack you back.
This means you’ll need to be very strategic with your actions if you hope to progress far in the dungeons. To progress, you’ll need to attack and use spells and items to defeat enemies throughout the dungeon and reach the lower levels as you explore.
As you defeat enemies you’ll level up and then you can unlock additional stat bonuses and even abilities to power up your character on your dungeon run. This is quite fun and addicting as you can really customize your character to your liking.
Once you unlock one level-up bonus you can access any that touches it on the level-up grid. This makes what choices you make vital as it can alter how you progress on future level-ups. EvilUp is a simple but addicting roguelike dungeon crawler RPG and I recommend it if you want a cheap, but fun Switch RPG.
Lost Castle
Lost Castle is a unique Switch RPG that combines an action RPG with a roguelike dungeon crawler mixed with beat’em-up style combat. In this game, you play as treasure hunters that are searching for loot in a castle that has been taken over by monsters and demons.
You’ll travel from dungeon to dungeon making your way to the castle and then raiding it in hopes of defeating the evil demon overlord. Along the way, you’ll find a variety of weapons and armor, and items that can help power up your character.
Each weapon and armor type has strengths and weaknesses and weapons can be either ranged or melee. This can lead to some unique mixes of character builds as you progress through each run.
After you die on a run you’ll be transported back to the starting prison in a new body. You can also improve some base powers and abilities permanently across runs with the enemy souls you collected in past runs.
Lost Castle also features local co-op and online co-op play, so if you want to play through this game with up to 4 friends you can as well. If you like beat’em up action RPGs I’d definitely recommend this Switch RPG under $20!
Ultra Pixel Survive
Ultra Pixel Survive is a fun mash-up of video game genres mixing an action RPG with tower defense and a survival game. There isn’t much story to this game, but you’ll play as a variety of heroes defending their village from an onslaught of monsters.
The game starts out with your basic hero and you’ll need to gather wood, mine for minerals, and collect food to survive. Over time you’ll be able to build various defenses like spikes, walls, and cannons to help defend against incoming monsters.
As you kill enemies you’ll also level up your character and you’ll be able to upgrade your character by improving damage, increasing health, and improving your speed of chopping wood or mining for minerals.
You’ll also be able to upgrade your defenses over time making them more powerful by increasing the damage they deal and hit points they have. The game features a day and night cycle where you will prepare and gather resources in the day and at night you’ll face intense monster attacks.
As the game progresses you’ll also encounter major monster boss fights. This Switch RPG also has some roguelike elements when after your run you’ll be able to unlock new characters and power up existing characters for your next run.
If you like addicting gameplay, action RPGs, and survival games I would definitely recommend this Nintendo Switch RPG under $20!
Souldiers
Souldiers is a souls-like action RPG Metroidvania-style game. This mixes action platforming with fast-paced combat and some Metoridvania progression and exploration.
In this Switch RPG, you’ll play as one of three hero types a scout, archer, or caster. Each has a unique playstyle and set of abilities they can learn depending on the class you choose to play the game with.
Your hero is caught in a world called Terragaya which is sort of a purgatory and a world between the real world and the afterlife. Your goal in this game is to escape this world and return to the living world.
The game also has a bit of a Dark Souls feel to it in that the vast world is all intertwined and connected. As you explore you’ll find passageways that connect the world together in interesting ways.
Souldiers also has some unique puzzle elements thrown into the mix as you play. Boss fights are a lot of fun but are also very challenging. If you are looking for a unique action platformer RPG, Souldiers is definitely one of the top Nintendo Switch RPGs under $20 worth picking up!
Cosmic Star Heroine
Cosmic Star Heroine is more of a retro-inspired turn-based RPG for Switch. You’ll play as a former government agent that tries to stop her evil and corrupt former leader to save the world.
Cosmic Star Heroine is a game set in a futuristic sci-fi universe and has a very similar feel to the classic RPG Chrono Trigger. It features some unique combat where your team of characters will have a limited set of abilities to choose from each battle.
You’ll need to strategically choose which attack to use to maximize your damage. Once you use an attack it becomes locked out in battle until you rest, which is another interesting mechanic to the combat.
You also have a meter that grows over time which can make your attacks more powerful over the course of the battle, but your enemies have that as well. Some attacks also have an impact zone and depending on enemy positioning, you may be able to attack multiple enemies at once.
When your characters are “dead” you also have the opportunity to either heal them before they die, or they can unleash a powerful final attack. This is another unique element added to the combat mechanics.
If you like retro RPGs and are a fan of games like Chrono Trigger I’d recommend picking up this Nintendo Switch RPG under $20!
Undermine
Undermine is a highly addicting roguelike dungeon-crawling RPG for Nintendo Switch. The story features mysterious earthquakes that are plaguing the land. It’s discovered that they are coming from deep within a mine.
You’ll play as random expendable peasant miners as you dive into the deep mines to uncover the cause of the earthquakes and save the land. The overall story has some fun elements and each time you die you’ll have a humorous back story related to your miner.
As you explore you will gather gold throughout the mine that you can use after death to permanently boost your miner’s abilities. You can level up things like your swing damage, health, throw speed of your pickaxe, and more.
You’ll also find various relics as you explore which can give your miner unique enhancements to help you on your way. There are bombs you’ll find that can be used to destroy blocks, unlock new paths, and damage enemies.
The game also features challenging bosses and unique enemies to defeat along the way. If you like dungeon crawling and highly addicting gameplay Undermine is one of the must-play Nintendo Switch RPGs under $20!
Full Metal Furies
Full Metal Furies is an action RPG meets beat’em up that features local co-op and online co-op with up to 4 players. In this game, you’ll play as four girls that are soldiers leading a resistance against a titan army. The story is played out through various cut scenes and has a fun sense of humor.
In solo mode, you’ll control two characters of the base four. Each character has their own set of unique weapons and abilities and overall playstyle.
You’ll be able to swap between the two characters on the fly and this also plays into some of the combat features of the game. In combat, you’ll occasionally encounter enemies with a shield around them matching one of your two characters.
In order to damage an enemy with this shield you’ll need to hit them with your corresponding colored character. This increases the intensity and makes sure that you need to grow several characters in your team vs having one overpowered character.
There is quite a lof of variety in level design and several secret paths and items to discover along the way. You’ll have a large pool of skills to develop for your characters allowing you some customization with how you develop your team.
If you like beat’em up style action with a little more strategy and action RPG elements, this is one of the must-own Nintendo Switch RPGs under $20 you should add to your list!
Chasm
Chasm is a unique concept that takes a classic action platforming Metroidvania RPG and adds in some procedurally generated level design. If you’ve played classic games like Castlevania Symphony of the Night, you’ll feel right at home.
The plot of Chasm features a young knight that goes to explore some strange happenings in a vital mining town for the kingdom. Only to discover the villagers have disappeared and have been taken by creatures emerging from the depths of the mines. You’ll go on a quest to rescue the villagers and uncover the mystery of these monster outbreaks.
The game features a large variety of weapons, armor, and items you can equip for your character altering their abilities and play style. It is a lot of fun getting to try them all and find a combination you enjoy.
Now the gameplay is quite challenging so be prepared to die and tread carefully as there are limited opportunities to heal yourself in the early stages of the game. The good news is that the controls are very responsive and so as you progressively improve your skills the game does get easier.
While the “randomness” of the game is maybe a bit overhyped, it does switch up your experience of the order the rooms in each area appear, which can increase the replay value. If you are looking for a fun Metroidvania action RPG Chasm another one of the Nintendo Switch RPGs worth buying especially when it’s under $20!
Right and Down
Right and Down is a pretty unique dungeon-crawling puzzle-based RPG experience. In Right and Down the name of the game really gives away the entire concept. Your goal is to choose from a variety of heroes and then progress to the end of the run of dungeons by moving either right or down.
As you progress you’ll be faced with choices of moving through enemies, collecting items, building up your armor, and much more. You’ll need to carefully manage your armor and health as you run through enemies they will deplete. However, you also gain experience as you defeat enemies.
After you reach certain areas in the game you’ll be able to spend your experience on power-ups and gold on better items and weapons. This can improve your character’s ability and special moves.
For example, you might move right two times and down two times to unlock an ability that damages all enemies on screen. This could make future enemies you run into easier to kill and cause you less damage when you run into them.
Over time as you unlock new abilities it can allow you to improve your various strategies for clearing dungeon floors. While the game isn’t too overly complicated it can get addicting very quickly and is a fun RPG to sink some time into.
If you enjoy puzzle games and simple RPGs, Right and Down is another one of the great Nintendo Switch RPGs under $20 that’s worth checking out!
CrossCode
CrossCode is a futuristic action RPG that takes place mostly inside an MMO RPG. The story focuses on a young girl who has lost her memories, and she’ll need to explore the game world in hopes of restoring them.
It’s a cool concept as you are really playing a game, within the game. So you’ll meet other players and learn about their real-world life and problems and develop friendships as you explore inside this game world.
The game has some heavy puzzle elements as you’ll be able to use your unique weapon that can throw projectiles. Over time you’ll also be able to unlock elemental enhancements adding fire, ice, and much more to your weaponry.
There is also an extensive skill tree grid which really reminded me of Final Fantasy 10’s sphere grid. At times the story dives into some very deep concepts and it has a lot of twists and turns which will keep you engaged.
Some of the puzzles can get quite challenging throughout the large dungeons. So you may need to keep a guide handy just in case. CrossCode is definitely one of the best indie Nintendo Switch RPGs. Especially when it is normally under $20.
Conclusion
The Nintendo Switch is certainly one of the better systems for RPGs in recent years. There is a huge selection of Switch RPG Games to choose from. Plus, the great news is many are available for under $20.
The Switch has a wide range of action RPGs, turn-based RPGs, Metroivania RPGs, beat’em up RPGs, and others in between. Hopefully, you enjoyed our list of 13 Nintendo Switch RPGs Under $20 Worth buying. Let us know in the comments if we missed any other Nintendo Switch RPGs worth buying. We are always looking for more that we should add to our backlog!
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