Don't have a switch? These emulators allow you to play on PC

Requirements to be able to emulate the switch

Emulating a new generation console is not as easy as emulating, for example, an NES or a Play Station 1. For this, in addition to a good emulator, we will need a more or less powerful computer capable of emulate the hardware and BIOS de la console to be able to process the game at an acceptable FPS level.

To play more or less well, it is recommended to have a 3th generation Intel Core i6 processor, or more modern (or its equivalent Ryzen 3 from AMD) accompanied by 8 GB of RAM memory to be able to load the game without problems. . In addition, it is also recommended to have an NVIDIA GTX 1060 graphics card, or a Radeon RX 470, in addition to 16 GB of RAM, for a better experience.

Of course, although we will be running the games in digital format, it is necessary to have beforehand bought the physical game so as not to suffer from hacking problem.

Yuzu, the most advanced switch emulator

Yuzu is one of the first Switch emulators to emerge. This completely free and open source emulator comes from the creators of Citra, one of the most popular 3DS emulators. This emulator is written in C ++ and emulates the essential components of Nintendo Switch hardware to function. This is one of the reasons why some games don't work and the performance may leave a little to be desired in some titles.

We can check the compatibility list of this emulator in the next link . As we can see, its developers have notably worked to optimize the emulator to play the most popular games. Breath of the Wild and Link's Awakening, for example, are games that can be played in an acceptable way with this emulator. The whole Pokemon saga also offers a good performance, as well as Mario Maker 2 and Odyssey. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of games that don't perform well.

We can download the latest version of this emulator for free from the next link . We can use this emulator without problem, and with the same compatibility, both under Windows and Linux. To use this emulator, we need, on the one hand, a dump of the NAND of the console (since this emulator will load the complete system of the Switch) and on the other hand the Keys. If we have a vulnerable switch, it will be easy to achieve this. However, if we don't have it, we'll have to search the internet to find it.

Ryujinx, a simpler but functional alternative

Ryujinx is another similar project that aims to bring the Switch to Windows 10 users. This Nintendo Switch emulator is also completely free and open source, and it is written in C #. Its development is based on offering the best possible game performance, precise emulation and, in addition, being easy to use.

The compatibility list can be viewed at next link . Compatibility with commercial games is much lower than what can be found in Yuzu. However, it is true that this emulator allows you to emulate homebrew much more precisely, in addition to running games that its alternative does not emulate properly, like Animal Crossing New Horizons or Mario Kart.

We can download the latest version of this Nintendo Switch emulator from the next link . While Yuzu we could use it on Windows and Linux, Ryūjinx is also compiled for macOS.

This emulator is simpler because it only requires the use of the KEYS of an original console (they can be easily found on the internet) and does not require a full NAND dump like Yuzu. Instead, this ease results in loss of functionality and worse compatibility.

Cemu, the ultimate WiiU emulator

Cemu is not exactly a Nintendo Switch emulator, but it is one of the best emulators for WiiU, its predecessor. However, since Nintendo released many games for Switch and for WiiU, especially in the first months of life of its new console (like the Zelda BotW or the Mario Kart 8), Cemu has become one of the best alternatives for play some Switch games. (obviously released for WiiU) on the computer.

Although it can be complicated to set up and consumes a large amount of resources, Cemu allows us to play virtually any WiiU game on a computer with excellent performance. But, we repeat, it does not support the exclusive Switch games, but rather emulates their versions ported to WiiU.

We can download Cemu from next link .

Beware of fake emulators

To date, these three are the only true emulators we can find for playing Nintendo Switch games on a PC. And the experience, unless you have a very powerful computer, is not entirely perfect. And the best of the three emulators is Cemu, especially if we want to play Mario or Zelda, because it is the one with the best support for these great titles.

However, there are websites that offer us another set of PC emulators to play this console with. You should know that all these emulators are wrong . There are no other emulators that allow us to play this Nintendo console, and most likely, if we listen to it, we will eventually fall into the clutches of hackers.