Xbox Exclusives that Would be Better on the Switch

Although popular PlayStation-exclusive franchises like The Last of Us and God of War seem to spend a lot more time in the limelight, that's not to say that there haven't still been plenty of great Xbox exclusives over the years. From the excellent FPS adventures on offer in Halo to the photo-realistic racing of Forza, there are numerous options available for those who decide to go with Team Green. However, some will perhaps argue that not all of these console-exclusive titles are best suited to Microsoft consoles.

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Trying to find the system with the best console-exclusives can be tricky, as each one has a few top-tier titles that are worth playing.

Whether due to its portability or the additional control schemes made possible by its touchscreen and Joy-Con controllers, there are several Xbox exclusives that would arguably be much better on the Switch. None of these games are particularly taxing in the processing department and some are last-gen titles, so the fact that Nintendo's home console/handheld hybrid is a little underpowered when compared to the competition needn't really be too much of an issue here.

1 Rare Replay

Metacritic Rating: 84 (Xbox One)

Released exclusively for the Xbox One in August of 2015, Rare Replay celebrated 30 years of British developer Rare. It featured 30 of the studio's most iconic titles, but due to licensing issues, was missing a number of key games. The most notable of these came courtesy of the Donkey Kong Country series, which many consider to be among the very best Rare games of all time.

Rare's golden years came while working as a second-party studio for Nintendo, so a celebration of the developer releasing exclusively on a non-Nintendo console didn't sit well with many gamers. Given that Nintendo owns the rights to Donkey Kong, it seems a fair assumption that the Donkey Kong Country trilogy would have been included had Rare Replay been released on the Nintendo Switch, as well as a few other fan favorites like Donkey Kong 64 and Diddy Kong Racing.

Rare Replay

Developer(s): Rare
Publisher(s): Microsoft Studios
Released: August 4, 2015
Genre(s): Various

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2 Killer Instinct

Metacritic Rating: 73 (Xbox One)

Rare is best known for its work on games like Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie, and Goldeneye 007, but these are far from the only top-tier titles that the British studio has developed over the years. Many people also have fond memories of Killer Instinct: a 2.5D arcade fighter that was ported to the Super Nintendo and Game Boy in 1995. The game's sequel also found its way onto a Nintendo console, with Killer Instinct Gold being released for the N64 in 1996.

Split image: Skull Girls 2bd Encore, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and Soul Calibur 6.

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These fighting games were once king of the ring, but now they are just another has-been champion, with their fandom sadly small and dwindling.

The series slipped into a long slumber after that, though did eventually resurface as a launch title for the Xbox One in 2013. Sadly, Killer Instinct was just one of many great fighting games available for the platform, which, together with a distinct lack of content, resulted in the title getting lost in the crowd. Had the game come to Switch though, it would have been one of the only fighting games designed for a more mature audience on the platform, thus allowing it to stand out a lot more and earn the right to more post-release content.

Killer Instinct (2013)

Developer(s): Double Helix Games , Iron Galaxy
Publisher(s): Microsoft Game Studios
Released: November 22, 2013
Genre(s): Fighting

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3 Hi-Fi Rush

Metacritic Rating: 87 (Xbox Series X)

Chai jumping into the gorgeous open world

Hi-Fi Rush is a fantastic game, yet one can't help but wonder how much better it could have been had it been released for the Switch instead of Xbox Series consoles. The former's Joy-Cons and touchscreen arguably make it the perfect system for modern rhythm games, while the console's significantly larger install base would likely have led to a lot more sales of the title.

A few months after the game's release, reports emerged suggesting that Microsoft may have been unhappy with sales of Hi-Fi Rush despite the game's positive user and critic ratings on review aggregator sites. This was likely in part down to the game being available to Game Pass subscribers from day one and the fact that it was shadow dropped by the publisher with little to no bravado. The lack of Xbox Series owners (at least when compared to the number of people who own a Switch) probably didn't help too much either.

Hi-Fi Rush

Developer(s): Tango Gameworks
Publisher(s): Bethesda
Released: January 25, 2023
Genre(s): Action

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4 Age of Empires 4

Metacritic Rating: 83 (Xbox Series X)

There are plenty of great strategy games available on the Nintendo Switch. Sadly, however, Age of Empires 4 isn't one of them despite how well-suited to Nintendo's Hybrid console the RTS genre is. To be fair, the Xbox version is actually pretty decent, but it would be difficult to argue that the game wouldn't offer a better experience with the addition of touchscreen controls and the ability to play while on the go.

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Granted, a move to the Switch would likely require a slight downgrade in the graphics department, but this isn't really a huge deal due to the wider perspective that's typically favored in RTS games like Age of Empires. Civilization 6 is a great example of this, with the Switch port of the title boasting a better user score on Metacritic (7.4) than its Xbox One counterpart (6.5) despite its scaled back visuals.

Age of Empires 4

Developer(s): Relic Entertainment , World's Edge
Publisher(s): Xbox Game Studios
Released: October 28, 2021
Genre(s): Real-Time Strategy

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5 Planet of Lana

Metacritic Rating: 80 (Xbox Series X)

Lana makes a leap over a wide gap in Planet of Lana

Video games don't need cutting-edge graphics to be beautiful, as evidenced by some of the best Switch games. Much like those titles, the hand-painted environments found throughout Planet of Lana show that a well-defined art style can be just as effective as pixel-perfect precision, if not more so. Sadly, however, the game's controls can be a little finicky at times, particularly when directing Mui.

To be clear, this does little to detract from the overall brilliance of this charming indie adventure, yet being able to solve some of the game's puzzles by using the Switch's touchscreen would definitely make for a welcome improvement. Given that the Ori games eventually found their way over to the Switch, there's still hope that Planet of Lana will one day follow suit. Until then though, players will have to make do with the Xbox or PC versions of the game.