Honourable Mentions
This past month gave us eight games to fight over for the top three positions, all scoring at least a 7/10 from us. A couple of them are getting physical releases later in the year, but as with previous iterations of this regular feature, they’re eligible for the votes here.
Obviously Switch 2 Edition shadow drops graced us this month, but given that we haven’t officially reviewed them, we’ve opted to exclude them from the vote this time around — sorry Hollow Knight and Xenoblade Chronicles X.
In terms of other game releases, Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen just sneaked in at the end of the month, but we didn’t have access to them before release so we’re working on our review. And we also want to give a shout-out to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village, which are technically available physically via the Resident Evil Generation Pack on Switch 2.
So, let’s give it up for the smaller releases that just missed out on the podium.
Publisher: Ubisoft / Developer: Digital Eclipse
Release Date: 13th Feb 2026 (USA) / 13th Feb 2026 (UK/EU)
After months of rumours, was anyone surprised to see Digital Eclipse’s Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition pop up during Sony’s State of Play in February? The most shocking part of the reveal was that it was also out within 24 hours of its announcement.
And yes, the collection does have a handful of issues in the form of music and a lack of variety in content, but as always with Digital Eclipse, the magic of the museum, the documentary-style clips, and the added bonuses make this a worthy celebration for an Ubisoft icon.
We hope those issues are fixed by the time the physical release rolls out, because the original Rayman deserves the best, hence its placement in the top three. For now, it gets a 7/10 from us.
Publisher: Atari / Developer: Digital Eclipse
Release Date: 26th Feb 2026 (USA) / 26th Feb 2026 (UK/EU)
Wait, what’s this? Another Digital Eclipse job? And this one goes even further back. We’ve been clamouring for The Disney Afternoon Collection on Switch, and we’ve been rewarded for our patience: with the addition of Goof Troop and Bonkers, we now have eight retro classics to dig into on both Switch 1 and Switch 2.
Really, Goof Troop is the star here, but we think most of the games in the compilation are great. If you grew up with any of these NES and SNES titles, then you’ll also know that some of these games are darn tough. Thank goodness for rewind and some other QoL features then.
It really is a retro fan’s dream, and a good reminder of some excellent classic Disney titles. We awarded the collection an 8/10 in our review for those reasons and more.
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Publisher: Kitfox Games / Developer: Freehold Games
Release Date: 16th Feb 2026 (USA) / 16th Feb 2026 (UK/EU)
But Rayman and Disney are no match for 17 years of game development and one of the most-ambitious and rich roguelikes ever. After being in Early Access for a long time and releasing on Steam back in 2024, Caves of Qud made its console debut on Switch in February 2026 with very little compromised for the hybrid system.
Is it dense? Yes. Is it complex? Very. And is there a little too much squeezed onto the little screen at once? Maybe. But what Caves of Qud delivers is an incredibly rewarding experience for those who love good systems and good stories. It’s tense, it’s tough, but it’s deeply satisfying.
We gave Caves of Qud an 8/10, and it sits at the top of the podium for February’s eShop Selects. Congrats to Freehold Games for this monumental achievement!
< Nintendo eShop Selects – January 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.
What’s your favourite February 2026 eShop game from our picks? (252 votes)
Arcade Archives 2 Rave Racer (Switch 2)8%Caves of Qud (Switch eShop)19%Console Archives Cool Boarders (Switch 2)1%Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass (Switch eShop)3%Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse (Switch eShop)6%Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition (Switch)10%Super Bomberman Collection – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Switch 2)14%The Disney Afternoon Collection (Switch 2)38%
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.
Up Next: January 2026
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Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her first love, Nintendo is a close second. She enjoys nothing more than overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. She also wishes she was a Sega air pirate.