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For the latest Nintendo Direct the house that Mario built focussed on a whole bunch of third-party titles. And they really crammed a lot in so I’m skipping my usual ramblings and jumping straight into the good stuff.
What Was Announced?
The show started with Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak, which is out now. An update is also on the way in August which will give players even more monsters to slay.
Next was fire em - PlatinumGames’ acclaimed RPG from 2017. It’ll launch on October 6th with all previous DLC and some new costumes.
Puzzle adventure Lorelai and the Laser Eyes, published by Annapurna hits the Switch in 2023.
Super Bomberman R2 is an all-new Bomberman game coming next year. Will it be better than Super Bomberman on SNES? Probably not, but this one will allow up to 15 players to blow each up simultaneously.
Another blast from the past is getting a compilation - Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection. It’ll contain 10 classic game titles as well as an art gallery and music mode. Annoyingly the whole collection will be split into two volumes.
A remake of the puzzle classic Pac-Man World, called Pac-Man World Re-Pac launches on August 26th..
Next up was the rather lovely-looking Blanc. A monochromatic adventure starring a fawn and a wolf cub who must work together to find a way home across a snowy wilderness. It’ll have local and online co-op. It’s described as an emotional adventure, which probably means one of them will die. Place your bets on which one and find out in February 2023.
Ron Gilbert’s long-awaited Return to Monkey Island will launch sometime this year. Sadly the internet scum has bombarded Ron with hate mail over the art style. Which resulted in him now refusing to show or talk about the game any further and will simply release it. This is why we can’t have nice things. people!
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope releases on October 20th. The trailer shown revealed that Bowser will be playable as part of your squad.
A quick montage showed off Little Noah: Scion of Paradise which launched on the eShop immediately after. Train management sim Railgrade will pull into the station this autumn. And RPG Time: The Legend of Wright is due on 18th August.
Sonic Frontiers was up next, it’ll be out before Christmas. We were treated to a quick look at some of the challenges that await in the game’s Cyberspace Zone.
Disney Dreamlight Valley launches 6th September via early access. Square Enix’s Live-a-Live launches on 22nd July (I’ve already got my pre-order in). Doraemon Story of Seasons comes out later this year, while Minecraft Legends is due in 2023.
Dragon Quest Treasures, starring Erik and Mia from DQ11, was given a December 9th release date.
What Were the Updates?
Then we were hit with another montage of a bunch of games we already knew about. Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes (available now), No Man’s Sky (7th October), A Plague Tale: Requiem - Cloud Version (18th October) and Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions (28th July).
In a very welcome announcement The Portal Companion Collection - a compilation of both Portal 1 and Portal - was released after the showcase. The legendary first-person puzzle platforming games had been previous announced but the instantaneous launch surprised everyone... well, me at least.
Harvestella, Square Enix’s answer to Stardew Valley, quickly followed. You’ll farm, make friends and slay dangerous beasts (don’t get those last two mixed up).
Finally, we got a glimpse at Persona 5 Royal, which arrives for Switch alongside PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S versions on 21st October. Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable are also on the way “soon”.
And That’s That
So there you have it! What are you most looking forward to? Personally, I loved adding The Portal Collection to my ever-growing back catalogue. Let us know what you’ll be picking up on the Zatu Socials!