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Honourable Mentions
One digital-only game that may have qualified for this is Kabuto Park, a cute little bug catcher we’re in the process of reviewing, so keep an eye out for our verdict next week.
Behind the obvious front-runner, it was a tight contest this month. But before we get to the top three, here are the three that just missed out (including a mobile game that’s not technically on the eShop, but Nintendo made it):
Taking bronze is the addictive, Geometry Wars-inspired Sektori, which landed on Switch 2 in the middle of May. Ollie gave it a sparkling 9/10 in his review, calling it his “favourite Switch 2 release of 2026 so far.”
Beyond its beautiful, score-chasing, twin-stick shooting, it was heartening to hear that developer Kimmo Lahtinen found success with the port, with sales of the Switch 2 version recouping “a living salary” for the solo dev after years of investment and overheads.
Next up is Beethoven and Dinosaur’s Mixtape, a low-stakes teen journey filled with licensed music, inventive visuals, and ’80s/’90s nostalgia.
Putting all the embarrassing online ‘discourse’ it provoked to the side, it’s undoubtedly a Marmite game that relies on your enjoyment and/or memories of the era it depicts (and you’ll probably want to steer clear if you’re irritated by pretentious teens and coming-of-age drama). But we loved Mixtape.
“This is a thoughtfully curated collection of music, sure,” said Roland in his 9/10 review, “but before that, it’s an exciting, sentimental, funny game.”
And #1 by a wide margin is Yacht Club’s Mina The Hollower. This was delayed out of last year, and we’re so happy that it turned out to be worth the wait.
This dark, top-down affair may look like a Game Boy Color-ful, Zelda-style adventure, but the Shovel Knight devs refuse to hold your hand, and its openness and willingness to leave you to your own devices is a huge part of its charm.
“Mina the Hollower, like Shovel Knight before it, pays careful homage to a beloved genre and visual style, while also blending in modern design sensibilities,” said Ken in his 9/10 review. We’ll surely be discussing this more come GOTY time.
< Nintendo eShop Selects – April 2026
Do you agree with our ranking? Tell us about your favourite eShop releases of last month by voting in our poll and sharing your thoughts in the comments.
How we decide our eShop Selects top three: As we reach the end of every month, the Nintendo Life staff vote on their favourite titles from a list of games selected by the editorial team. To qualify for this list, these games must have been released as a digital-only Nintendo Switch eShop title in that particular month, and must have been reviewed on Nintendo Life; we select the qualifying games based on their review scores.
Staff are then asked to vote for three games that they think deserve to sit right at the very top of that list; first choice gets three points, second choice gets two points, and third choice gets one point. These votes are then tallied to create a top-three list, with the overall winner taking that month’s top prize.
