As the Nintendo Switch’s long eight-year life span comes to a close, we’re taking the time to rank five of its very best DLC expansions. Nintendo released quite a few big DLC packs, which added tons of life and longevity to their respective titles. Most of these are fine additions, but some of them distinctly stand out among the rest as incredible additions to their respective base games.
5. Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Happy Home Paradise
Prior to 2021, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was very obviously lacking in content. There was only about two weeks’ worth of new content in the game (in terms of shop upgrades, house upgrades, and the like) and that’s assuming you didn’t time travel. Thankfully, Nintendo updated the game with additional content. Happy Home Paradise adds tons of furniture (over several hundred new pieces) and a whole new island. On that island, you can design a school, a hospital, a cafe, a restaurant, and fully furnished homes for all of your villagers. When Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer released on Nintendo 3DS, one of its main criticisms was that it was completely unconnected to your New Leaf town. Happy Home Paradise fixes this by offering rewards that transfer to your island back home, including new house customization options like lighting, ambient sounds, and polishing. With all of that said, if you’re not the creative type or if you burn out easily when making designs, Happy Home Paradise is either best played in short bursts or perhaps not for you. But it was a much-needed DLC for a game that was in desperate need of new content, hence its inclusion here.
4. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass
Mario Kart 8 has an interesting history. It first released in 2014 and it did receive DLC on the Wii U in the form of Isabelle, Link, Dry Bowser, and more joining the roster as playable drivers. Then Mario Kart 8 Deluxe came out on Switch with a few more characters, but no new courses. And it stayed that way for several years until the first wave of the Booster Course Pass DLC was released in early 2022. It’s clear that by this point, Nintendo knew they were going to work on a new Mario Kart game that would launch either alongside or close to the Nintendo Switch 2. That’ll be why they released this DLC – to extend Mario Kart 8’s life span by an extra few years. Nintendo went with the quantity-over-quality approach on this one: they added a huge amount of new tracks. In fact, they doubled the number of courses in the game! While a good chunk of these tracks are fun, you can tell that graphically they are a noticeable downgrade over the ones from the base release. This is because many of these courses were ported over from Mario Kart Tour and then adjusted for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The Booster Course Pass wound up introducing some new characters too, like the return of Funky Kong, the advent of Pauline, and (for some reason) Peachette. Also, even though the courses’ graphics and textures are a bit flat and lack detail at times, we’d like to think that most Mario Kart players don’t consider that a dealbreaker. This DLC was a big move by Nintendo for many reasons.
3. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighter Passes
Rounding off the middle of the list are Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Fighter Passes. At the time of writing, the hype around Super Smash Bros. is completely dead – understandable, given there have been no new hints toward a new game. But during its heyday, fans eagerly awaited the announcements of new DLC fighters. It’s clear that Nintendo chose the characters on offer carefully so that at least one fighter would appeal to everyone playing the game. The DLC added super popular participants like Joker, Banjo & Kazooie, Steve, and Sora. But it added some slightly more niche characters, too, like Terry, Kazuya, Pyra & Mythra, and Byleth. There really was a fighter for everyone here, and most of them play well. There are a few reasons this isn’t higher on our list.
2. Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion
Though Splatoon 3 received its own DLC in the form of Side Order, Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion DLC is still the one that stands out. It’s solely focused on single-player content, and features some creative level designs and really tough challenges. The hidden superboss in particular is several phases long and is to this day the most difficult challenge Splatoon has to offer. But what fans love about Octo Expansion isn’t just the gameplay – it’s the vibe. Indeed, Octo Expansion kind of cemented Splatoon as one of Nintendo’s “dark lore” series. You take the role of Agent 8, an Octoling who has awoken in the Deepsea Metro. This area is intended to test life-forms to see if they’re worthy. There’s much more to the story than that, and it takes some surprisingly dark twists and turns and of course the entire world’s fate winds up in your hands. To this day, Octo Expansion has a unique atmosphere and story that no Splatoon single-player has come close to matching since.
1. Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
Closing out our list of the best Nintendo Switch DLCs, for those of you who’ve played this, its inclusion here should be no surprise. This is one of the very best DLCs Nintendo has ever released, if not the best one outright. It’s a 30-hour expansion that serves as a prequel to Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Despite being a prequel, however, Future Redeemed actually wraps up the entire numbered Xenoblade trilogy. It answers a lot of burning questions that weren’t addressed in Xenoblade 3’s base game and it brings back several fan-favorite characters like Shulk, Rex, and Alvis (kind of). The DLC absolutely nails Shulk and Rex’s characterization as adults, and wraps up their story arcs in a bittersweet but fitting manner. None of this is even mentioning the gameplay – the combat has a bunch of new twists compared to the base game, which helps it stand out. There are only six playable characters this time around (as opposed to the main story’s Hero characters and changeable classes), but there are plenty of ways to customize the characters with special equipment, moves, and the like. Future Redeemed’s presentation is also on point. While we’re of the opinion that base Xenoblade 3 has a great soundtrack, some fans thought it was lackluster compared to other entries in the series. Future Redeemed fixes this almost right away with a big set of grandiose and catchy overworld themes as well as great battle themes, too. Simply put, Future Redeemed is a must-play for all RPG fans.
That’s our top five Nintendo Switch DLCs! There aren’t a ton of first-party DLC expansions to choose from, but if you have your own ranking, feel free to drop yours in the comments down below. If you have any third-party DLC offerings you want to include, those count too! In the meantime, you can check out a full list of Nintendo Switch games with DLC right here.
