15 Best Games That Actually Utilize The Nintendo Switch HD Rumble, Ranked

Summary

• HD Rumble in Switch games brings textures and collisions to life, enhancing immersion and gameplay experiences.
• Specific games like L.A. Noire, Shantae, and Luigi's Mansion 3 showcase the impressive capabilities of HD Rumble.
• While some titles may underutilize the feature, the more nuanced and crisp technology offers a unique tactile experience.

Since Nintendo helped ring in a more tactile era of gaming with the launch of the Rumble Pak on N64, many consoles have made use of that simple, yet ever-neat feature. The vibration accentuates moments of action, and can be pretty handy to jolt you awake if you're a bit glazed over. With the Switch, Nintendo opted to go one step further, with its more nuanced and crisp HD Rumble technology.

Nintendo Switch: 25 Best Games That Utilize The Motion Controls

From Breath of the Wild to Overwatch, which are the Nintendo Switch games that best utilize the motion control features?

HD Rumble is meant to more closely resemble textures, substances, and collisions that players interact with in-game, sometimes even enabling you to "feel" items that are "within" the controller. While many Switch titles have proven uninspiring or tame on this front, there are some examples that really flex the impressive capabilities of this tech. Quality over quantity!

Updated on August 12, 2024, by Bobby Mills: Like a lot of Nintendo gimmicks, HD Rumble made a big noise on the Switch's debut (anyone remember that extended demonstration where Reggie shook the 'ice cubes' inside the Joy-Con?) but has mostly been relegated to first-party titles since. However, that's not to say it never sees deployment, so we thought we'd tidy up our ranking of movin', shakin' HD Rumble spotlights. Enjoy!

15 L.A. Noire

You Like Vibrating Controllers, Valdez?

Cole Phelps' investigations turned a lot of heads when they first hit our screens in 2011. While the facial motion-capture software isn't quite as revolutionary nowadays (and in fact can be rather terrifying at times), the recent Switch remaster continues the tradition of technological innovation by making some awesome use of HD Rumble.

When Cole climbs a ladder, you can feel his alternating footsteps on each rung on either side of your controller. Likewise, when you activate your police siren, you can practically hear it emanating from the Joy-Con – and most usefully, when fondling whatever piece of detritus you're currently convinced is evidence, HD Rumble will intensify when you're looking at the relevant part of it. It can't make your guesses during the interviews any better though, sadly.

14 Shantae And The Seven Sirens

Shake Your Hips, Shake The Joy-Con

Shantae, as a rule, is all about movin' and groovin' to the beat, given that it stars a dancer whose sole source of transformational power comes from her ability to get jiggy with it. As such, you'd expect her games to put HD Rumble to rhythmic work, and Seven Sirens does just that.

Every Shantae Game, Ranked

Choose your favorite entry in the Shantae series!

Whenever you whip the half-genie hero's hair, an equivalent swish can be felt in the Joy-Con. The real magic kicks in when you switch to one of her animal forms, though; as a mermaid, you'll feel her fins flopping on dry land (and then every individual wave of the ocean while swimming), and as a burrowing hermit crab, the dirt cascading around you is tangible. Sure, this might not be a game that would spring immediately to mind, but it's hands-down some of the most haptic feedback you'll experience on the Switch.

13 Luigi's Mansion 3

Bustin' Makes Us Feel Good (Vibrations)

The Luigi's Mansion series only seems to come around once a decade or so – but when it does, it comes armed with a fresh bag of technological tricks. For the GameCube original, it was those shiny particle effects, while the second one brought motion-controlled vacuuming and elaborate boss fights. The Switch threequel's ace in the hole, then, is arguably its HD Rumble usage.

There's a satisfying 'plink, plink' that goes off in the controller every time Luigi seizes hold of his next payday - coins, banknotes, gold bars - of which there are a great many, to satisfy that part of all our monkey brains that feels good when a number goes up.

Moreover, latch onto a ghost with the Poltergust, and you'll be able to actually sense them wrestling with you, which tosses you directly into the fray alongside the petrified plumber. HD Rumble even makes the Boo hunting easier, as varying degrees of vibration clue you into which piece of furniture the renegade phantasm lurks behind.

12 ARMS

You'll Feel It In Your HANDS

ARMS may not have lit the competitive scene on fire in the way Nintendo likely envisioned, but it remains a fun, casual-friendly brawler to bust out for a laugh. Traditional controls are, of course, available – but why would you opt for the boring avenue when the motion Joy-Cons enable you to actually throw the punches yourself, with added HD Rumble?

The Best Nintendo Switch Games Of All Time

The Nintendo Switch has dominated since its launch in 2017, and now we have a vast selection of fantastic games to take on the go.

You'll swear a spring is actually extending in the palm of your hand every time your lanky-limbed fighters swipe at your opponent, and when a hit does land, it does so with a gratifying 'thud' from the Joy-Con. Naturally, should you be on the receiving end of such punishment, HD Rumble takes great glee in letting you know, too. It's all so immersive that the best advice we can give you is to not get so sucked up in the fracas that you smack a hole through your TV (ah, nostalgic Wii flashbacks!)

11 Kirby: Star Allies

Making Music With Maximum Pink

Dat dere Kirby has racked up a sizable number of entries on the Switch, and if we're being honest, Star Allies would rank near the bottom of them. It's not terrible; it just doesn't do much to iterate on the Return to Dreamland/Triple Deluxe/Planet Robobot formula it adheres so strictly to, and Forgotten Land wipes the floor with it. That being said, it's got some very creative HD Rumble on display.

Sucking is, as ever, the name of the game, and your controller whooshes with panache every time Kirby decides a passing Waddle Dee looks tasty. Sword swipes, whip cracks, and especially those screen-clearing microphone moves all register with alarming tactility in your hand – but Star Allies' coup de grâce is tucked away, deep in the endgame, for completionists.

Those who beat the final boss with all items unlock a secret bonus stage, themed to Kirby's GameBoy heyday, at the end of which lies a button. Press it, and turn down your TV's volume; because, by some Nintendo witchcraft, your Joy-Cons start playing the classic Kirby overworld theme. As in, audible music. Purely through the medium of vibration. It's such an unexpected treat, and remains a standout example of just how far the rumble tech can be pushed.

10 Fast RMX

Because Nintendo Won't Do Another F-Zero

One genre where the rumble mechanic particularly thrives is racers. Games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe enhance an already great kart racer with such tech – but Shin'en Multimedia's Fast RMX really brings it into overdrive. Not only can you feel the surface of the roads as you fly across the variety of tracks, but you will also feel precisely where your car is hit at the point of the collision. That's not gonna buff out.

The Best Racing Games On The Switch

The best Nintendo Switch racing games for when you want to be on the go and on the gas.

The game itself doesn't quite reach the elevated heights of the similar racing hit from Nintendo, F-Zero, and who could ever top the macho cheesiness of Captain Falcon? Regardless, its canny HD Rumble injects some immersion into Fast RMX, allowing this futuristic racer to shine in its own way.

9 Hollow Knight

Thankfully, Your Joy-Cons Aren't Hollow

Tactility can be an important factor in combat-heavy romps. Feeling the grinding or clashing of steel can make a thrilling throwdown all the more intense, and can assist you with reading inputs when things become positively bullet hell-esque. Team Cherry's renowned indie from 2017 is a prime example of all of this in action.

Hollow Knight produces a real feeling of "weight", despite its cartoony 2D aesthetic. It achieves this by adding layers of impact concurrent with the combat and damage taken – you get to experience the battering you're taking first-hand. Not only this, but even something as simple as a wall slide or double jump gives subtle vibrational feedback, making you feel like you really are the nameless knight venturing through this underground world.

8 Steamworld Dig 2

We Can Dig The HD Rumble

Steamworld Dig 2 is another solid example of a game that lends itself to HD Rumble, given its emphasis on exploration and plundering for different materials. Image & Form didn't disappoint with their follow-up to the Terraria-like adventure on Switch, and while its use of vibration's not as overblown or front-and-centre as some other case studies on our list, it remains quite effective.

Steamworld Heist 2: Every Crew Member, Ranked

Bring the Great Sea's finest on your adventures in Steamworld Heist 2!

You'll get a variety of textures and resistance going off in your hands, depending on what you're mining for, allowing you to gauge how much effort you're expending for that little bit more ore. Furthermore, deploying tools like the ever-useful drill feels all the more realistic – we're just grateful they didn't find a way to translate the parts where you fall into lava to the living room, eh?

7 Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

A Rumble In The Rabbid Jungle

Nintendo and Ubisoft surprised quite a few people when they announced this Mario and Rabbids collaboration, especially given that this was to be an XCOM-like strategy game. We'll take 'crossovers no-one anticipated, and if they say they did, they're lying' for $100, Alex. While it somewhat flew under the radar on its initial release, it quickly garnered a following with its engrossing tactical angle (and constant eShop sales where it goes for less than 10 bucks), leading to an eventual sequel.

One of the lesser-appreciated aspects of M+R: KB (catchy!) is its use of HD Rumble. You have intricacies like an industrial environment producing a low growl in the controller to suggest the hum of nearby machinery; an oddly satisfying, 'slithery' feel of going through pipes; and the depth and variance of enemy hits. There's nothing like popping a Goomba or a sugared-up Rabbid with a plasma rifle.

6 Overcooked 2

They Really Cooked With Gas On This One

While this delightful co-op experience can be played on a multitude of platforms, the Switch version is particularly appealing, and has become a perennial favourite at parties and casual events. This isn't just down to the portability (though that certainly helps), but also Team17's innovative use of HD Rumble. Astonishingly, it manages to emulate the weight, shape, and texture of the food items you're cooking, chopping, and assembling.

8 Best Co-Op Cooking Games

Let them cook with these great games!

This immediate, crisp feedback brings a sense of order to the chaos inevitably ensuing in the kitchen. No other videogame in existence will have you yelling at your mates: "your steak's burning, you eejit! Now toss your tomato down the chute and chop a new one! No, that conveyor belt goes the opposite way! Mind the passing train!"