Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

 Switch
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3870 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,334 out of 3870
  2. Mixed: 236 out of 3870
  3. Negative: 300 out of 3870
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. TheRuggedEagle
    Sep 1, 2023
    7
    The shield idea ruins an otherwise great old school mechanic of simply fighting and besting the characters in order to unlock them… “A Challenger Appears” was a great concept thrown completely out the window for the new mode but thankfully kept in for the Story mode.

    Some Story Mode fights are easy but some are insanely hard based on the preset determinations and vary so randomly it’s    The shield idea ruins an otherwise great old school mechanic of simply fighting and besting the characters in order to unlock them… “A Challenger Appears” was a great concept thrown completely out the window for the new mode but thankfully kept in for the Story mode.

    Some Story Mode fights are easy but some are insanely hard based on the preset determinations and vary so randomly it’s quite jarring to say the least

    Other than that the Story mode has next to no story whatsoever save for the beginning cutscene and (haven’t chosen to play through it entirely yet so Idk about ending cutscenes or anything like that) however from what must be around halfway through I have yet to come across any real story… Only played SSBM (Super Smash Bros. Melee) on gamecube so I’ve little to no idea hm story is usually included and seems the main aspect of enjoyment is nearly if not solely focused on the side-scroller/arena style combat and unlocking new fighters. I mean, how cool would it’ve been if challengers were random instead of location based or perhaps even cooler, location-based but, with some actual buildup to essentially be Lords of their domain wherein there could be a bit of buildup or even story which leads up to challenging them and unlocking not only them but the land, shops/gyms/etc (I do not understand dojos and thus never bothered with them). So, so much potential in the next instalments

    Not really into the Spirit Board soft-locking us out after say hitting a shield and such… sort like the rotation concept because I understand it but why not all them all at the same time? Just makes it extremely convoluted imho

    Great game series but somethings could be done much better… miss the trophy style collection and overall feel of combat (especially with the final boss/bosses) SSBM had :(

    Somewhere around 7.2 - 7.4/10 as personally, all the negatives really weigh it down for me    … Expand
  2. torjo
    Jun 30, 2023
    7
    I have player the N64 Super Smash Bros and I it is basically the same game...
    Is it funny? It is. But more of the same.
  3. zcat5
    Jun 26, 2023
    6
    One of the better fighting games, but it doesn't hold the same appeal or innovation as Melee and Smash Bros 64. A solid fighting game for the current era, but it will be forgotten as soon as the next one is released.
  4. TrashMaster69
    Apr 10, 2023
    6
    This game is okay, I love the intro song but the items and some fighters, are just, A PEACE OF UNHOLY SH*T THAT HAS GOTTEN ITSELF INTO THIS PERFECT GAME AND MAKE I GREAT GAME A TRAIL OF TEARS.

    Unlocking a legend spirit is a challenge, a unfair one too, it ALWAYS is based off of Luck with its items and the CPU'S COMBOS that are not possible for a human too pull off. Lastly, THIS PEACE    This game is okay, I love the intro song but the items and some fighters, are just, A PEACE OF UNHOLY SH*T THAT HAS GOTTEN ITSELF INTO THIS PERFECT GAME AND MAKE I GREAT GAME A TRAIL OF TEARS.

    Unlocking a legend spirit is a challenge, a unfair one too, it ALWAYS is based off of Luck with its items and the CPU'S COMBOS that are not possible for a human too pull off.

    Lastly, THIS PEACE OF SH*T NEARLY MADE ME CHUCK MY PRO CONTROLLER INTO MY TV AND TURN INTO A SUPER SAIYEN JUST TO F**K THE BOTS AND SH**Y STAGE BUILDER, otherwise, this game is okay.    … Expand
  5. Stotch303
    Mar 25, 2023
    6
    The gameplay is really good but this game is made to play with other players not alone, and the online mode is the worst I have ever seen (lag, bad ranking system, no competitive rules, etc.), which means that if you don't have friends near you to play with the only thing you will be able to do is play with lag and sometimes with items and final smashes. For this reason I cannot give thisThe gameplay is really good but this game is made to play with other players not alone, and the online mode is the worst I have ever seen (lag, bad ranking system, no competitive rules, etc.), which means that if you don't have friends near you to play with the only thing you will be able to do is play with lag and sometimes with items and final smashes. For this reason I cannot give this game more than 6, but I still give it 6 because with a good online mode it would be incredible… Expand
  6. Alucard1809
    Jan 29, 2023
    5
    Excelente juego, sin duda el mejor de la saga por la cantidad inmensa de personajes selecionables, el problema es el precio (como todo juego de Nintendo)
  7. Mogmog000
    Jan 28, 2023
    6
    Good to have many characters.
    The illustrated book is lazy. Equipping spirits is cumbersome.
    The single player mode is boring.
    Mii faces are terrible.
  8. AlexMakesToast
    Nov 23, 2022
    7
    Smash Ultimate = 7/10
    ............................................................
  9. drlowdon
    Aug 7, 2022
    7
    The fifth instalment in the Super Smash Bros. Series retains the series traditional gameplay with players controlling one of the various characters on offer and attempting to knock their opponents out of the arena.

    With more characters and game modes to choose from than ever, Ultimate is arguably the best in the series and will certainly please fans. Overall however it’s not really much    The fifth instalment in the Super Smash Bros. Series retains the series traditional gameplay with players controlling one of the various characters on offer and attempting to knock their opponents out of the arena.

    With more characters and game modes to choose from than ever, Ultimate is arguably the best in the series and will certainly please fans. Overall however it’s not really much of an evolution from the previous titles, and as a result I lost interest fairly quickly.    … Expand
  10. EmeraldBeans
    Aug 7, 2022
    7
    Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is my favorite entry in the series next to Brawl, but it diffidently has some problems as well. The amount of Fighters and different play styles you can dick around with is really large. I love how buttery smooth the controls feel while playing, particularly on characters like Inkling and Joker. Home-Run Contest is still the best mode in a video game, FIGHT ME.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is my favorite entry in the series next to Brawl, but it diffidently has some problems as well. The amount of Fighters and different play styles you can dick around with is really large. I love how buttery smooth the controls feel while playing, particularly on characters like Inkling and Joker. Home-Run Contest is still the best mode in a video game, FIGHT ME. However the game gets a bit stale after you beat adventure mode, (Which feels quite boring and drawn out compared to the subspace emissary) and unlock all the characters. I found myself spending way too much time on the spirit board just waiting around so I could get the spirits I wanted, so I could summon more powerful spirits in order to add them to my collection. This felt like homework, not a game I paid $60 for. Trophies from the previous games have been completely gutted in favor for spirits, which are just simply PNG's of different artworks of charters and items of the different series represented. These don't have any description on who each of the spirits are (Which are really needed for the spirits, because I don't know how the hell half of these guys are), and exist for three reasons, 1. To stick onto your fighter during spirit battles to give yourself buffs, 2. To collect all of them and 3. To put less work into creating trophies. Spirits feel like they would be in a mobile game, not a crossover between Nintendo characters. Thankfully, like all the smash brothers games, the Multiplayer aspect is still really fun, and definitely why you should buy this game, in addition to that, the amount of new music, and music tracks in general is absolutely staggering. The newcomer fighters are definitely my favorite group in the series, but it kind of sucks that you have to buy the DLC to use half of them. I wish there were more options for online, but piss-poor online is one of Nintendo's specialists. In conclusion, this game is best for people who have multiple controllers and love to play co-op, but the single player modes kind of suck. But my favorite smash game is brawl, and I treat Home-Run Contest like a religion, so you probably shouldn't listen to my opinion. ¯_(ツ)_/¯… Expand
  11. Drill-Arm
    Jun 24, 2022
    7
    This was the game that made me realize that the dlc characters are nothing but fancy promo partnerships where brands pay Nintendo to advertise current/upcoming games/services in smash.

    Only like 3 dlc characters are worth getting.. they were mostly pretty disappointing and the base game still has the best characters. The side modes are ok but they're no smash run. I don't like the    This was the game that made me realize that the dlc characters are nothing but fancy promo partnerships where brands pay Nintendo to advertise current/upcoming games/services in smash.

    Only like 3 dlc characters are worth getting.. they were mostly pretty disappointing and the base game still has the best characters.

    The side modes are ok but they're no smash run.

    I don't like the battle system change from the 3ds to the switch. Hits feel more "dry" on the switch is pretty weird and distracting.    … Expand
  12. RAILANDERSON
    May 28, 2022
    7
    A quantidade de lutadores é incrível,há opção para todos os gostos, o jogo é realmente bom, mas vejo ele ainda como superestimado, diverte sim mas não tanto para a fama que tem, acho a franquia tekken ainda a melhor do gênero de luta.
  13. vegajoestar93
    Apr 28, 2022
    5
    I am a newcomer, and I must admit the game seems fun but something is wrong with it.
    I mean, the whole game is about the stages and items, not about fighting. Coming from other fighting games I miss the stable and balanced fighting system. We have some special moves that are kinda useless, broken combo system and a jumpy runaway type of fight where items give you the actual win most of the    I am a newcomer, and I must admit the game seems fun but something is wrong with it.
    I mean, the whole game is about the stages and items, not about fighting. Coming from other fighting games I miss the stable and balanced fighting system. We have some special moves that are kinda useless, broken combo system and a jumpy runaway type of fight where items give you the actual win most of the times, not your fighting skills    … Expand
  14. veljkomcx
    Apr 3, 2022
    7
    The only thing i dont like about this game is that the controls are very confusing to new players and also there are more dlcs than actual in-game characters which is pretty annoying.
  15. jeffreyjrose50
    Mar 18, 2022
    7
    The only beef I have with this game is the taunt command. It really is a nuisance and a useless command. In fact it can hurt you more than it can help you if you use it on accident. I would have given this game a 10 if taunt would have been left as a option to turn on or off.
  16. Disaster_1991
    Feb 22, 2022
    5
    A very simple recipe that gets boring very quickly. Nintendo is holding back again just to get people hyped for nothing...
  17. UrbanEelf
    Jan 18, 2022
    6
    i hate this game but i'll give 6 stars cause i have to admit it is very well made
  18. B00tador
    Nov 28, 2021
    7
    A HUGE game, so much content. A single player campaign, but I still don't really get Smash at the end of the dya.
  19. Maotheoverlord8
    Oct 9, 2021
    6
    At the end of the day its a ok smash game. But it is extremely unbalanced. With so many sword users with long reach. This makes competitive play unfair. As everyone will just play Pyra/Mytra or Cloud. This makes much larger gaps of play level. So I suggest playing with items. That way you at least get more chaos in the mix.
  20. IAmGood-U
    Aug 30, 2021
    7
    The game is really good with a bunch of friends playing local multiplayer. Everything is snappy and lots of characters to play. However, online is a total joke. It is so unresponsive for a fighting game. That is basically one of the most important things in a fighting game and they have the worst online multiplayer I have played in a while.
  21. Darksamus51
    Aug 25, 2021
    6
    Oh Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I so want to like you. But I just can't.

    I want to state this now, before my review. I have played ultimate since about 6 months into it's release. This is not coming from a person who picked the game up once and went, "Screw this." This is coming from someone who has spent 370 hours in the game. Also for those who think, oh he probably just hasn't tried    Oh Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I so want to like you. But I just can't.

    I want to state this now, before my review. I have played ultimate since about 6 months into it's release. This is not coming from a person who picked the game up once and went, "Screw this." This is coming from someone who has spent 370 hours in the game. Also for those who think, oh he probably just hasn't tried hard enough. I am not the type of person to give up when I hit a wall in a game. I spent almost 45 minutes watching a video about a game I hadn't even played yet because I wanted to be better at it when I actually did play it. I learn speed-run strats in fps games so that I can be better in multiplayer. I have tried certain racing game stages hundreds of times to get better by even a split second. Sure I have my breaking points, but I'm no push over when it comes to a challenge. I play Rocket League for goodness sake, a game that is literally all about how much time and effort you put into it.

    THE REVIEW STARTS HERE
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    For all those who are unfamiliar with Smash Ultimate. Don't expect that when you see the tag "Fighting Game" that you are going to play a consistent, skillful, and strategic game. No. Expect to play against a bunch of people who spam the same two moves over and over and over and over and over and over again.

    This is by far the most inconsistent feeling smash game of the bunch. The game rewards camping and spamming heavily. Maybe because there are so many characters who can camp and spam comfortably.

    I know there will be people who think, Pros don't spam, and if a Pro went against a spammer the Pro would win. I beg to differ. I saw a game between two Pros and for one of his stocks one of the Pros, as the announcer called it, (paraphrasing) "Didn't spam, but strategically threw each of ivysaur's leaf blades a bunch of times to hit his enemy." I call that spamming.

    Another example is when a particular Pro that I won't mention here, said he legitimately spammed smash attacks and won as the worst character in the game (Little Mac) against a Pro.

    I don't know whether it's the horrible servers, my wifi, or the way the game was built, but the amount of times I have said, "That's not what I pressed." Or "Where was my attack I pressed to do?" is insane. Now I am positive that a decent amount of those times were me being a little sloppy with inputs, but certainly not EVERY FREAKING TIME! Good lord the amount of games that I should have won but the attack I did "missed" or "didn't register" hurts my head. I don't remember this sort of stuff happening nearly as much in Brawl.

    I have flip flopped between characters on this game FAAAAAAR MORE than I ever did Brawl or smash 4. The game feels so inconsistent that I have tried time and time again to find a character that works for me and even to this day I question if I have found the right one. (currently it's Cloud, and I dislike sword fighter characters, so idk)

    The biggest thing going for the game is the amount of characters in it, which seems to be the thing that people are constantly blinded by. Having more characters in a game is inherently going to make it more clunky and unwieldy. Imagine trying to keep 74, almost 75, characters balanced, it's a joke! Now don't get me wrong, for having 74 characters in the game, there isn't a fighter that I think dominates the scene, which is a decent achievement of game design.

    I barely touch Spirits, it's not that fun, not that interesting. There's barely a story. Very few cutscenes. And it is extremely easy when using spirits even on the hard difficulty. Subspace Emissary was something I replayed quite a few times, but I usually forget that Spirit's exists.

    Let's get the behemoth in the room over with. Sakurai. Believe me, I respect Sakurai a lot. But what he chooses to do and not to do is simply his job and his choice. Everybody get's angry when people say something bad about the game because, "Sakurai and his team have put so much love into the game." I don't doubt that they have. But not every criticism can or should be washed away with, "But Sakurai is great!" or "There are so many characters!" Please let's think critically, and not simply say, "Oh, he dislikes the game? He must be bad." "Oh, the attack didn't register? Must have been because you're bad or you have bad wifi." or the classic, "GEt GuD!"

    The game did add a lot of stages and retain a lot of stages which is great! Music selection is off the chain! Having a training area is exactly what Smash needed. Overall it's a game I usually don't play and when I do, I regret it. Sometimes it is fun, most of the time it's not.    … Expand
  22. CopperCone89
    May 29, 2021
    6
    I don’t understand what people love about this game... i tried to play it for 15h, and it was boring...
  23. PsychoJoona
    May 8, 2021
    6
    Colors weave into a spire o... Frick1!! I hate the story mode!! It really ruined the whole game for me and so did the spirits WOW! Look you get this jpeg! F u Sakurai! But anyway this game otherwise is okay but the online is oh man this game isn't actually good (well except the fighting which is the best in the franchise) I recommend still for the fun of the game..
  24. FireZD
    Apr 1, 2021
    7
    While being an impressive game, this is not for casual gamers, not everyone will love this game, or even like it. While enjoyable for a few hours, when the novelty goes away, all I see is a very repetitive game that lacks fun, the story mode is incredibly boring, and while it's somewhat unique it's very shallow.

    With that being said, I know a lot of people love this game so I will point    While being an impressive game, this is not for casual gamers, not everyone will love this game, or even like it. While enjoyable for a few hours, when the novelty goes away, all I see is a very repetitive game that lacks fun, the story mode is incredibly boring, and while it's somewhat unique it's very shallow.

    With that being said, I know a lot of people love this game so I will point out what it does right. The characters, stages, music and visuals are all amazing, and fans of the series are sure to find joy in the game.    … Expand
  25. TropicalNayr
    Mar 29, 2021
    7
    i would give this a 71%
    It is the same thing as melee but just adding everyone's favorite charter so they get attached. It is a pretty good party game (best party games Mario party or jackbox) but the story version is so plain and boring it is almost just like brawl just extended. also the online is glitchy.
  26. Jadomes
    Mar 26, 2021
    6
    The game itself is fantastic. The gameplay is well balanced and the characters are amazing. Bless Sakurai for putting his heart and soul into the game, and offline it's probably my favorite game of all time.

    My issue with the online capabilities. Every other console and my PC I have works fantastic with my internet, both on Wifi and using ethernet. The game is laggy and disconnects    The game itself is fantastic. The gameplay is well balanced and the characters are amazing. Bless Sakurai for putting his heart and soul into the game, and offline it's probably my favorite game of all time.

    My issue with the online capabilities. Every other console and my PC I have works fantastic with my internet, both on Wifi and using ethernet. The game is laggy and disconnects frequently, almost evert game. All of Nintendo's (admittedly great) games are fantastic, but with Nintendo's god-awful online service games are unplayable in COVID. I can't exactly go to my friend's and play at the moment, which makes Nintendo's use of an almost 20 year old online service software abundantly clear. They've said they are going to change to a new online service, but its been months and a time estimate has never been given, and I suspect by the end of 2021 we won't see any progress. Even Melee, a 20 year old game, has an online system far superior, which was made by modders. It's just sad.

    It's just disappointing to see such great game developers to be continually let down by a company that cares nothing for the people who get their products. I truly love this game, and if it's improved I will be more than happy to come back and leave it a better review.    … Expand
  27. SamLoki200707
    Mar 21, 2021
    7
    A fun and addictive experience, it is a game that I enjoy more than I expect when I load it up. However something I dislike about the title is the high price I don't know about other regions but in Britain it is the most expensive Switch game alongside Breath of the Wild, while Super Smash Ultimate is a fun experience I don't know how the two games are the same price. Other than priceA fun and addictive experience, it is a game that I enjoy more than I expect when I load it up. However something I dislike about the title is the high price I don't know about other regions but in Britain it is the most expensive Switch game alongside Breath of the Wild, while Super Smash Ultimate is a fun experience I don't know how the two games are the same price. Other than price issues this title has clearly had really hard work put into it.… Expand
  28. XDemonX
    Feb 26, 2021
    6
    While the game does fulfill its purpose it´s overall pretty un-fun, especially due to the fact, that even after one hundred hours or so, I still can´t beat anyone online and or my friends and don´t even get me started on the online performance. I want to like this game, I really do, but getting destroyed over and over is not fun.
    There should be at least some kind of matchmaking with    While the game does fulfill its purpose it´s overall pretty un-fun, especially due to the fact, that even after one hundred hours or so, I still can´t beat anyone online and or my friends and don´t even get me started on the online performance. I want to like this game, I really do, but getting destroyed over and over is not fun.
    There should be at least some kind of matchmaking with either GSP or Playtime, because it´s just not fun. I´m sure that after 200-400 hours or so, the combat will click, but that is far to long!    … Expand
  29. PrincessRescuer
    Feb 18, 2021
    5
    Is the Switch installment of Smash really the Ultimate one? Not really. First off, unless you have other people to play with, this game is worthless. The multiplayer is amazing, with more stages to pick from than any previous game, as well as the ability to have up to 8 players and select Battlefield and Flat variants of every stage.

    First off, the single player is bad. The multiplayer    Is the Switch installment of Smash really the Ultimate one? Not really. First off, unless you have other people to play with, this game is worthless. The multiplayer is amazing, with more stages to pick from than any previous game, as well as the ability to have up to 8 players and select Battlefield and Flat variants of every stage.

    First off, the single player is bad. The multiplayer is where you're going to get your money's worth, up until the next one comes out (which it will, Nintendo isn't going to end a popular franchise, no matter what subtitle it has). World of Light lacks platforming stages and is a bunch of gimmick fights. Classic mode keeps changing the difficulty instead of staying on the same one like the other games do. And I forget the other things because they're not as important.

    One huge positive is the variety of options, including plenty of languages to change into. Compared to the other games, you'll at least get something out of those.

    The problems begin when you replay matches and stages- you need to select characters and colors again every single time. You need to select the song (from a long list) every single time unless you want it randomized. You need to come up with rulesets and save them and remember which ones are which, and it's a hassle. The game is notoriously full of input lag. And there are so many characters, it might take a while to choose or even just find which character you want.

    Then there's the online mode. The online mode is terrible and certainly no For Glory from Smash 4. First off, it's 1-on-1 only, meaning you have to wait in a lobby instead of matches being instant. They got this right in the previous one, and now they change it to something much worse? And if you play in handheld mode and your Switch falls asleep, not waking it up will kick you out of the lobby and back to the start. You wait and wait, all to lose to someone who plays the game constantly and destroys you in an instant. The online input lag doesn't help either. It's so severe, it even changes the tier lists and allows slower, but more powerful characters to be better than they should. And I should stress, the Wii U's online was free! And the experience was better!

    And the character choices, don't get me started. There are too many third party characters, some from games exclusive or mainly played on consoles other than Nintendo. This is diluting the identity of Smash and making me less excited for new character announcements. And despite the endless discussions of which new character should be included on forums, this is how the hierarchy works: Creators > Investors > Japanese Fans > Everyone else. Chances are, the choices of you and your colleagues aren't making it in unless they're desperate to sell a new installment or a new season pass. Especially given how expensive new characters are, they aren't worth buying DLC for. You might get your choice once in a while, and usually when a new installment comes out.

    Overall, not a bad game on its own, but one that has soured me on the series.    … Expand
  30. Daniel_N
    Feb 8, 2021
    7
    I think Super Smash Bros. is one of those games you could play with your friends after school, or something like that. I do enjoy some of its content, however, some aspects of it feel repetitive. I would like to get back into the game when possible, but, for now, I’ll keep it a 7.
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best Switch Game of 2018
1
#1 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018
23
#23 Most Shared Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 99 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 98 out of 99
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 99
  3. Negative: 0 out of 99
  1. CD-Action
    Mar 25, 2019
    95
    It’s not just a great fighting game and a perfect party title, uncommonly enjoyable and absurdly rich in content that should suffice for literally years of fun. It’s also an amazing homage to the history of video games. [02/2019, p.60]
  2. PLAY! Zine
    Mar 5, 2019
    95
    Super Smash Bros. Ultimate escalates everything the series was known for, and delivers it flawlessly. Biggest fighter rooster ever, more dynamic gameplay, loads and loads of gameplay modes, stages, weapons, music, stuff! If there is a smash that deserves your cash, this is the one!
    Read full review
  3. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Feb 26, 2019
    100
    This is the ultimate Smash Bros. How will they ever top it? [Issue #37 – January/February 2019, p. 65]
See all critic reviews »