This is your reminder that the North American spooky season sale wraps up in just a few days on 31st October, so this is your last chance to grab these discounted delights (until the next sale, at least).
Nintendo is welcoming the spooky season the only way it knows how: with a big old eShop sale, of course!
The ‘Screaming Deals‘ sale is now live on the North American eShop, bringing welcome discounts to a whole host of Switch 1 and 2 bangers until 31st October at 11:59 PT — so make sure you’ve made the most of it by then!
There are so many games on sale, in fact, that we have assembled the following list to showcase the cream of the crop, pulling every ‘Screaming Deals’ game we rated a 9/10 or higher (plus one personal pick from those that fell below the review bar, because we couldn’t resist).
As ever, if you’re looking to grab some eShop credit before diving in, we’ve got you covered with the following links from our store.
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.
$23.99 $59.99
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is the absolute pinnacle of the series and despite coming to Switch over five years after other platforms, this ‘impossible’ Switch conversion does very little to degrade the experience. Long-time franchise players and military aviation enthusiasts will be overwhelmed by the fan service at every turn, from craters on the ground to airplanes, liveries, callsigns, and emblems shouting out to previous entries.
We understand the genre is uniquely niche, but if this is your first foray into the franchise, this conversion is a perfect gateway into this rich, revered series. You get tons of content and an epic single-player campaign wrapped up in triple-A presentation that delivers the most comprehensive portable experience ever from Project Aces.
$14.99 $19.99
Alien: Isolation is a survival horror masterpiece and straight-up one of the very best horror video games ever released.
It’s a nerve-wracking affair — a slow, methodical game of cat and mouse against a brilliantly clever recreation of one of cinema’s most infamous killers — but if you’re up to the task you’ll find one of the most satisfying gameplay experiences in the genre; a brilliant and beautiful homage to one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time.
Feral Interactive has done a stellar job with this Switch port and the excellent motion controls and inclusion of all previously-released DLC only go to sweeten the deal. This is essential stuff for survival horror fans.
$17.49 $24.99
Developer Shared Memory’s stated goal was “to craft complete experiences that will be playable long after the world loses its internet connection,” and screen after screen, Animal Well excels in delighting your eyes and giving your brain something to stew on.
It’s a riposte against a culture of post-launch updates in favour of a meticulously crafted, singular vision with potentially years’ worth of discoveries baked in. By all indications, Animal Well delivers on that long-term promise and does so with a one-of-a-kind elegance.
$2.99 $14.99
A slice of Viking strategic combat right out of the heart of Scandinavia’s indie development scene, Bad North was at the vanguard of a wave of smart yet intrinsically accessible real-time strategy titles.
Swedish developer Plausible Concept calls it ‘micro-strategy’ and it’s the perfect encapsulation of a minimalist approach that covers everything from unit management to the Monument Valley-style isometric art style.
With enough enemy variance to convince you you’re playing an interactive episode of the Vikings TV show, this endlessly entertaining sea of bitesize battles will teach you to fear — and love — the sound of the oncoming horde.
$12.74 $14.99
Balatro is a roguelike for gamers who don’t like roguelikes… and then everybody else on top of that. It utterly nails what it sets out to do, providing an instantly accessible, satisfying, and addictive gameplay loop that anybody can grasp.
It’s an immensely enjoyable experience from the start, but as you get deeper in, there’s really nothing else quite like it. Sublime.
$17.49 $24.99
It looks like The Witness and it plays a bit like StreetPass Garden, but Botany Manor blooms into something that’s not only entirely its own, but also something quite special. Don’t let its cosy aesthetics fool you — Botany Manor is packed with nicely challenging, well-designed puzzles, and isn’t afraid to tackle heavy subjects, too.
$9.99 $19.99
As an adventure game, Chicory: A Colorful Tale is quite sincerely up there with the very best of the genre.
There’s plenty to see and do and a full completion run will probably take you 25-30 hours. The characters and their travails are rich and likeable, the game’s sense of humour is generally inspired, and it’s all very sweet without being sugary-twee and talking down to the player. It’s also an affecting little tearjerker that will definitely strike a chord if you make art, and almost certainly will even if you don’t – so long as you’re capable of pretty basic empathy.
Chicory is simple to play but impressively long and complex, with perfect controls, performance and visuals. Throw yourself into painting the world and you’ll be left with a game that’s very much your own and speaks to you directly – a beautiful marriage of mechanics, themes and visuals.
$7.99 $19.99
While it’s a shame that there are fewer games here than in other Konami collections — we’d have loved to have seen NES title Contra Force or the now-extinct WiiWare title Contra ReBirth — the ones included in the Contra Anniversary Collection are universally brilliant. The 8-bit and 16-bit Contra games are among the finest examples of the run ‘n gun genre, and to have almost all of them included in a single release and emulated flawlessly is an absolute treat.
Whether you’re a fan of the series or a curious onlooker who’s always wanted to see what the fuss was all about, this is essential.
$3.74 $14.99
We really like Crawl, and we’d bet our collected stash of gold and wrath you will, too. A dungeon-crawling hack-and-slash affair with roguelike elements, one player is the hero trying to get through a dungeon and the others play as monster-controlling ghosts attempting to kill said hero and take their place.
It’s an everyone-for-themselves free-for-all, yet there are opportunities for frantic 3v1 co-operative play — a necessity when all the non-hero ghost characters must take joint control of bosses the hero faces. It’s great fun in single-player thanks to some aggressive AI, but that consistent danger takes on a new dimension when you and three of your friends are jostling for XP and that all-important killing blow.
Competitive couchplay doesn’t get much better than this on Switch.
$10.99 $19.99
In 2023, a year dominated by titanic, big-budget releases like Tears of the Kingdom and Mario Wonder, off-the-wall roguelike Dave The Diver stepped up to the plate and knocked the ball clear of the park with a heaving swing.
Its charming animations and writing supplement a mechanically dense experience that never stops dangling a new carrot to chase. You owe it to yourself to pick up this outstandingly funny, enthralling, and weird gem.
$3.99 $19.99
Death’s Door is a modern classic, utilising old gameplay ideas in a new setting to make for a short and sweet experience you won’t want to miss. The snappy combat, rewarding exploration, and relaxing music will stick with you once you’ve finished, and while it may not have anything ‘new’ to offer, Death’s Door is so high quality that you’ll hardly have time to think about its lack of innovation.
Any fans of Zelda or Soulslike games will adore this – Acid Nerve has crafted an experience that’s absolutely worth your time and money.
$5.99 $14.99
An attractive art style, strong combat system, and meaningful player choices make Dicefolk a brilliant addition to the library, as it manages to feel fresh without getting too far away from the core ideas that make these sorts of games so addictive and popular.
Dicefolk is a good entry point to the genre, in fact; approachable without being patronising and it’s tons of fun once you get a grasp of its various quirks.
$4.99 $19.99
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.
$3.74 $14.99
Without saying a word, FAR: Lone Sails conveys a poignant tale of hope and perseverance, masterfully balancing style with substance for an experience that feels every bit as sublime as it looks. Sure, you could grumble about its relative shortness, the occasionally obtuse puzzles and the very, very minor control issues, but these problems dissolve away once you’re invested in the journey. We highly recommend that you give this a spin.
$9.99 $14.99
Fast Fusion may not have the most comprehensive collection of tracks, but it’s easily the most accomplished entry in Shin’en Multimedia’s series so far. The new jump ability adds a new layer of strategy to the gameplay, while experimenting with the fusion mechanic to find the perfect vehicle is a joy.
The occasional grinding to save up money can be a momentary drag, but if you’re after something a bit more ‘hardcore’ than Mario Kart World, Fast Fusion is a no-brainer, and an absolute must-buy.
$13.99 $19.99
FAST RMX is as good as the Wii U original and then some.
Updated visuals, more tracks, more vehicles; it was an utterly outstanding launch title for the Switch and it holds up very well to this day, keeping the futuristic high-speed racing game alive in the absence of a modern, flagship F-Zero game. With the console’s ability to allow multiplayer on the go rolled in, this is without doubt essential for racing fans with a Switch.
$1.99 $19.99
Flipping Death does share plenty of DNA with Stick it to the Man! — ranging from the floatiness of its platforming to the ability to read the minds of other characters — but that doesn’t stop it from being a far superior offering in almost every way.
We’re still not quite sure why Death is possessing the souls of the living and sorting out the loose ends of the dead, but it makes for a memorable, black-humoured adventure that deserves to haunt your Nintendo Switch immediately.
$2.99 $14.99
The fact you’ve been able to play Grim Fandango Remastered on your TV and in handheld form elsewhere for years doesn’t matter one bit, because this gem of a game is still as enchanting and evocative as it was the first time you popped open that oversized cardboard box back in PC in 1998.
Here and now on Nintendo Switch, this port looks and runs noticeably smoother thanks to Double Fine’s deft adjustments, so whether you’ve already joined Manny on his afterlife odyssey or this is your first time among the dead, Switch’s library is 100% better for its inclusion.
$3.99 $19.99
Huntdown is a delightfully detailed and expertly crafted throwback to old-school run ‘n’ gun arcade shooters.
The 16-bit graphical style is immaculately recreated whilst adding lots of modern bells and whistles to proceedings, including a fantastic soundtrack and audio design, optional CRT filter, and an arsenal of heavy-duty weapons that chew scenery and enemies to pieces as your bounty hunter makes their way from boss fight to excellent boss fight.
The flow of levels may be quite repetitive but the moment-to-moment gameplay, overall sense of fun that comes from the level of carnage you can dish out, surprising amount of hammy spoken dialogue, and constant pop-culture references all combine to make this one an easy recommendation, and another excellent addition to the Switch’s action catalogue.
$59.49 $69.99
We absolutely adore Lies of P. If you think it’s going to be just yet another Dark Souls clone, think again. While it certainly borrows heavily from FromSoftware’s catalogue, it does more than enough to stand on its own two feet with exceptional world design, awesome boss characters, and a wonderfully customisable weapon system.
Performance isn’t perfect on Switch 2, and we wouldn’t recommend playing in Quality mode, but experiencing Lies of P on the go has been an absolute blast. FromSoftware better watch its back; there’s a new player in town, and it’s gunning for the Soulslike crown.
$2.99 $19.99
Metro 2033 Redux is a top-class first-person shooter/survival horror game, a breathless experience that’s been almost flawlessly ported to Switch by 4A Games.
Artyom’s desperate, haunting voyage through the irradiated remains of Moscow is every bit as engaging today as it was back in 2010, and this Redux version benefits massively from overhauled AI, gameplay mechanics and visuals. In terms of first-person shooters or survival horror games on Nintendo’s console, this is one of the very best.
$4.49 $29.99
Metro Redux is a top-notch first-person survival horror package that delivers countless hours of thrilling stealth combat all wrapped up in a superb story.
These are two of the most atmospheric games you’ll likely play, set in a beautifully detailed depiction of post-apocalyptic Russia. 4A Games has delivered a port that stands shoulder to shoulder with Alien: Isolation as one of the best on Switch – an almost flawless experience which should absolutely be right at the top of any FPS or survival horror fan’s must-buy list. This is essential stuff.
