Having an online service is par for the course when it comes to your gaming experience, and with Nintendo Switch, getting the Nintendo Switch Online service is vital for the complete package.

With tons of games to access, online games with enhanced features, and a veritable cornucopia of features to explore, there’s a ton to do. If you’ve just signed up for Nintendo Switch Online or are looking for ways to get a little more out of your games, you came to the right place.

5 Get that free DLC

No price is better than free

Depending on your gaming catalog with the Nintendo Switch, you can get a healthy amount of free downloadable content for your games when you sign up for Nintendo Switch Online. What you get depends on your games, though the content is pretty good. Your options are:

• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Booster Course Pass
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Happy Home Paradise
• Splatoon 2 - Octo Expansion

The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass is by far and away the best, since you get 48 extra courses with a bunch of returning favorites, plus access to eight more characters to race with and a ton of other bonuses too. The Booster Course Pass can be purchased separately, but is a great incentive to get the Online service. If you're looking to test your skills before the inevitable Mario Kart 9, this is the best way to do it.

4 Keep your latency low with cloud-based games

Wired is better

If you’re noticing your online experience is a bit off, you might want to double check you have a stable internet connection. This is no more important than with cloud versions of your games. These games require a continuous internet connection to play, which can be tricky depending on your area and even the location of your Nintendo Switch in your house.

Some simple things like making sure other devices aren’t hogging your bandwidth and moving to a different location of the house can help. The surefire way to get the best connection possible has you use a wired connection linking your Nintendo Switch directly to your router, though depending on your situation and set up, it might not always be possible.

3 Play with friends

Gaming together makes a world of difference

While the Nintendo Switch might not be the first console you have in mind when it comes to online gaming, but it has a very robust online experience that you can enjoy. The afore mentioned Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is absolutely stellar, and being able to call up a friend to jam some races is fantastic.

Other games like Monster Hunter Rise and Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet also have some amazing experiences, like teaming up to hunt down monsters or taking down Tera Raids and battling online, which adds whole new elements to those games.

Perhaps one of the more unique aspects of the Nintendo Switch Online is getting access to online-only games like Tetris 99. This game turns the puzzle game into a battle royale element, which is a whole new way to play.

There have been a few other limited-time games, like Mario 99, but they are no longer available.

2 Dive into that back catalog

There’s a ton to experience

If you’ve been playing online games but have been feeling a bit underwhelmed with them, you can always pivot to playing some of the huge libraries of games Nintendo has made available. With libraries stretching across generations, you have access to games from the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, and even the Super Nintendo.

Some of the games on there are exceptionally rare in physical form, costing hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to own. Among the hard to find games online are:

• Earthbound - Super Nintendo
• Sin and Punishment - Nintendo 64
• Densetsu no Starfy 1 - GameBoy Advance

1 Grab a few different controllers

Variety is the spice of life

A surprising feature that might not occur to many players is that if you pick up a few different controller styles, you can vastly improve your game play experience. The biggest thing with these games is that in order to get the full value out of them, you will need to play them as close to the original experience.

Retro games from the eras of the Super Nintendo or GameBoy Advance had nowhere near the amount of buttons as modern day controllers, and holding that familiar feel of the curved Super Nintendo controller can really make you feel like a kid again.

That’s not to say you have to use a retro controller, even picking up the Pro Controller for the Nintendo Switch can make a huge difference in your gaming experience.

You Get What You Put In

The Nintendo Switch Online has plenty of great features to enjoy, and only gets better if you take the time to experience classic games, especially considering they generally don’t take too long to complete, with some of them capable of being completed in one sitting. While streaming your games can have varying results, it can all be smoothed over with something as simple as a direct line to your router or changing rooms.