11 Best Wii U Gamepad Games

Game & Wario started as a minigame collection that Nintendo wanted to put on every Wii U out of the box. As the ideas piled up, it became a new entry in the WarioWare series instead, with Wario and his friends making games for a new console with two screens, mostly for the money. Every game is played on the GamePad alone, without a single Wii Remote. Of its sixteen minigames, ten are single-player only and four are multiplayer only, for up to five players.

Critics liked some of the games and not others, and the whole package was knocked for its lack of content. Players are kinder. They say it uses the GamePad in inventive ways and is built around it from start to finish. If the GamePad was ever a toy, this is the box of toys it came with.

The Wind Waker HD is a high-definition remaster of the GameCube Zelda, released for the Wii U in September 2013. Back on the GameCube, response to the cel-shaded design was divided, and Nintendo of America blamed it for weak North American sales. The team found it would take less than a year to remaster the entire game, and it features high definition graphics and improved lighting.

The remaster got a Metacritic score of 90, and sales of the Wii U console increased by 685% in the UK the week after it came out. Players say putting the map and items on the GamePad makes the whole game smoother, and item swaps are much quicker. Sailing the Great Sea with the chart in your hands is still the nicest way to get lost in it.

Lego City Undercover was the first Traveller's Tales Lego game on a home console since Bionicle Heroes (2006) that was not based on a licensed property. Nintendo approached TT Games about making it for the Wii U, and it was first announced at E3 2011 as Lego City Stories. Its hub is a big open city built from several real locations.

Critics praised the story and the humour, and they complained about long loading times. The original Wii U version sold over 1.15 million copies by the end of 2022. Players say its GamePad features are a big part of the fun, and they recommend this version for them. The remaster that came later added local two-player multiplayer, so the Wii U original is the one to play alone and the remaster is the one to share.

Super Mario Maker came out on the Wii U in September 2015, as part of the 30th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. You build courses in the style of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros., then publish them online for other players. It began as a tool for Nintendo's own team to make Mario levels. Critics praised its user interface and course editing tools.

Course uploads ended on March 31, 2021, and the last online services shut down on April 8, 2024. Players still say no game made the touch screen matter more, and that building on the GamePad feels better than any other way to do it. The 3DS port got more mixed reviews than the Wii U version. That tells you something about the big screen in your hands.

Pikmin 3 is the sequel to the GameCube games Pikmin and Pikmin 2. It was released in Japan on July 13, 2013, and in all other regions the next month. Three Koppaite captains are sent to a strange planet to bring back the food that will save their own. It launched with three control schemes, and the GamePad was one of them. A later update added stylus control on the GamePad.

Players say the GamePad earns its place as a map for directing your troops, even if you aim with a Wii Remote. Others play on the GamePad alone and swear by the touch controls. A Deluxe port reached the Switch on October 30, 2020. Whichever way you hold it, having the whole area in your lap makes juggling three captains far less of a panic.

Batman: Arkham City came out on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in October 2011. The Armored Edition is the Wii U release of Arkham City. WB Games Montréal made it, and it came out on November 18, 2012, alongside the console's launch in North America. The GamePad's touch screen holds Batman's equipment and upgrades and shows a map of the city. BAT Mode is new: Batman builds up energy during fights, then switches it on to hit much harder.

One review called it "the best way to experience Arkham City", though some of the new features were a "nuisance". Players back the first half of that up. They say the GamePad gadgets pull you into Gotham, and that it feels different from the other console versions. Playing detective with a Batcomputer strapped to your hands is about as close as most of us will get.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a prequel to the original Deus Ex, and it mixes first-person shooting and stealth into an RPG. It is set in the year 2027. You play Adam Jensen, a security officer for Sarif Industries, a company that builds artificial organs called augmentations. It first came out in August 2011 on other consoles. The Director's Cut followed in October 2013 on the original platforms and the Wii U.

The boss fights were the big complaint the first time around, and the Director's Cut was praised for its revamped gameplay. Players who know other versions call this one the best, and they credit the GamePad, with its tools and weapons on the touch screen. It is a big, slow, sneaky game, and a second screen suits it.

Rayman Legends is the fifth main Rayman game and the direct sequel to Rayman Origins. It started life as a Wii U exclusive, until the release was delayed again by six months and the game was made multi-platform. Fans were furious, because the developer had said the Wii U version was already finished, and over 11,000 people signed a petition to get it out on the original date. It did not work.

On the Wii U, an additional player can control Murfy with touch controls on the GamePad, cutting ropes and grabbing hold of enemies. That makes it five player co-op. Players call the co-op with Murfy one of the best uses of the GamePad, and some say it makes a better case for the controller than Nintendo's own platformers. It received critical acclaim for its level design and the large amount of content.

Affordable Space Adventures came out on the Wii U eShop on April 9, 2015. UExplore keeps telling you how safe its trips are, and the ship keeps falling apart around you. The GamePad becomes the control panel of a cheap little spaceship, with two different engines, a scanner, a mass generator, landing gear and more on the touch screen. Up to two more players can join with Wii Remotes and take over moving and scanning.

Destructoid gave it Best of PAX East 2015 before it was even out. In Denmark it won Game of the Year at the SpilPrisen Awards in 2016. Players say it is a uniquely Wii U game that could never work without the GamePad. They also call it one of the cleverest co-op games on the console. Where else does the scariest part of space travel turn out to be the budget?

Nintendo Land came packed in with the Wii U as a launch title. It is a theme park with twelve attractions, each based on a Nintendo series such as Mario or The Legend of Zelda. The big trick is that the player on the GamePad gets a different game from everyone on the TV. In Mario Chase, one player is Mario, and the Toads chasing him on the TV only know how far away he is. Metroid Blast and Mario Chase grew out of Wii U tech demos shown at E3 2011.

Critics praised the minigames and how well it showed off the hardware. It sold 5.21 million copies by March 2023, which makes it the fifth highest-selling Wii U game. Players still call it one of the best uses of the GamePad. They agree it shines as a party game with friends on the couch.

ZombiU came out as a Wii U launch title in November 2012, after Nintendo approached Ubisoft for a mature game. It began as Killer Freaks from Outer Space, a fast shooter with small, agile monsters, until the team realized the GamePad suited slower games. Critics praised its atmosphere and the permadeath system, and they complained about glitches and load times. The game failed financially, and a sequel was canceled.

Players praise its GamePad use more than any other game on the console. They say it uses the controller better than anything else on the system. Checking your bag on the GamePad while something shuffles toward you is the kind of fear only this console could do. The 2015 port, Zombi, removed the multiplayer, and players who tried it say it lost something without the second screen.