Last Updated: March 30, 2017

The Wii U's game library has received its final updates following the release of the Nintendo Switch -- including the very amazing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It was a good run! After much deliberation, we've settled on a list of 25 games that should be your permanent Wii U collection.

25. New Super Luigi U

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24. Affordable Space Adventures

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23. Steamworld Dig

22. Yoshi's Woolly World

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21. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

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20. LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens

19. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

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18. Axiom Verge

17. Xenoblade Chronicles X

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16. Rayman Legends

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A quick note on the Top 25 Wii U Games list: The primary question this top 25 list is intended to answer is simple: "What are the 25 best games we played on Wii U?" Our choices were based on how much fun we had with the games (our primary concern), but we also considered elements like longevity/staying power, innovation, and influence on later games.New Super Luigi U is a special platformer dedicated to the high jumping and much less nimble Mario brother. But NSLU did more than simply toss Luigi out of the limelight, Nintendo used it as an opportunity to remind us just how hardcore a platformer can get.Affordable Space Adventures takes an ambient trip to the stars and turns it into a stealth trek through a hostile alien world. It’s an intimidating adventure, but each time a new ship ability opened up, we got to use it to solve another intelligently designed puzzle and sneak further into its labyrinthine levels. It's a fun single-player game, but it’s genius co-op concept, where up to two friends can help pilot your ship using Wii U controllers, makes it a truly unique Wii U experience.In Steamworld Dig you power up a robot hero by finding and collecting hidden items, opening up a sprawling game map as you progress. The genius twist is that you explore the environment by mining into the earth itself, building your own unique in-game map filled with tunnels, mine shafts, teleporters and more.Yoshi's Woolly World continues Nintendo's tradition of taking a beloved franchise and mixing things up with an adorable and fun new style. The many yarn worlds to traverse are stuffed with fluffy charm and utilize an arts-and-craft-y style to create thoughtful platforming puzzles that are a joy to behold -- both for the casual player and hardcore collectible finder, alike.Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is a great platformer full of tense sequences and tough levels. Boss battles are a huge highlight, and it’s packed with hard-to-find secrets and collectibles.Peppered with rib-tickling humor and superb voice work, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the best Star Wars game you can play on Wii U… Or any current console. The levels are well-paced, constantly switching between brawling, exploration, puzzle-solving, vehicular combat, and cover-based shooting. The arcade-style freeform space combat stages are especially well-constructed, and seamless cooperative multiplayer makes things even better with a friend. An absolutely huge roster of unlockable characters and tons of hidden power-ups guarantee you’ll keep going back to replay the best stages again and again.Each towering foe in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is an endurance trial that demands coordinated teamwork. The reward? Some of the best team-based gameplay on Wii U, along with the ability to craft cool gear, too. Monster Hunter has a steep learning curve, but the reward of toppling titan-sized monsters makes it all worth it.Axiom Verge is more than a tribute to its side-scrolling predecessors like Super Metroid -- although it certainly isn’t shy about its love of Metroid. Created by one-man development team Tom Happ, Axiom Verge is a smartly-designed adventure that offers a satisfying sense of progression thanks to new weapons, abilities, and memorable bosses to battle always being thrown into the mix. And the game’s brilliant glitch gun adds a welcome twist to exploration, introducing an inventive, and fun, reason to give backtracking meaning to the game's journey. While it may not necessarily unseat the classics that came before it, Axiom Verge is a worthy successor.Xenoblade Chronicles X is a massive RPG with enough surface area, sub quests, and customization to keep you busy for many hours. It took me 73 hours to finish the main story and there's still lots of things left to do in the vast, colorful world of Mira.Rayman Legends' vibrant world reinvigorated the fast and furious platformer, and it presented a game that uses Wii U’s GamePad for multiplayer in fun ways. Colorful, distinct, and full of silly ideas, Rayman Legends is a reminder that 2D platformers can still be chock full of fun ideas.