Hello gentle readers, and welcome to a special edition of the SwitchArcade. As part of our Best of 2020 coverage, I’ve decided to revisit last year’s Genre Awards with a new angle. Last time, I was at the mercy of Nintendo’s own categorization system. It produced some very strange results. This year, I’m just picking an assortment of popular genres and stating my favorite games in each of them. Let’s dive into those genres!
Best Platformer Game
Horace ($14.99)

This is a special game from many different angles. It tells an interesting story, it has a gorgeous presentation, and it’s a robust and challenging platformer on top of that. Horace caught me completely off-guard, and as soon as I finished it I simply had to go and tell as many people as I could about it. Give it a shot if you haven’t already. It’s not to be missed. Runner-Up: Pumpkin Jack ($29.99)
Best Role-Playing Game
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition ($59.99)

It’s Reyn time, again! This is the third release of Xenoblade Chronicles and I don’t blame anyone for being a little burnt out on it by now. At the same time, this is the game at its absolute finest, with improved graphics and interesting new content. The Switch saw a lot of excellent new RPGs release this year, so it really says something about the quality of Xenoblade Chronicles that I wanted to spend so much time with it again. Its impressive world may not feel as big as it once was, but t...