Despite only launching halfway through the current console generation, the Nintendo Switch has quickly established itself as an absolute powerhouse. Sales of the handheld console have continued to skyrocket, while the reasons to own a Switch are mounting up with every fantastic exclusive added to the console’s library. With the amount of huge Switch games lined up for 2020, those reasons are only going to increase.
Whether you’re a fan of shooters, RPGs, beat ‘em ups, puzzlers or weird life simulations where you owe money to a sentient tanuki, the Nintendo Switch’s release schedule for the next 12 months and beyond covers everything you could possibly ask for. Here are the biggest Nintendo Switch releases for 2020 and beyond.
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New Switch Games Of 2020 & Beyond
| Game | Release Date |
|---|---|
| Little Nightmares 2 | February 11th, 2021 |
| Gal*Gun Returns | February 12th, 2021 |
| Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury | February 12th, 2021 |
| Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection | February 25th, 2021 |
| Bravely Default 2 | February 26th, 2021 |
| Harvest Moon: One World | March 2nd, 2021 |
| Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town | March 23rd, 2021 |
| Balan Wonderworld | March 26th, 2021 |
| Monster Hunter Rise | March 26th, 2021 |
| New Pokémon Snap | April 30th, 2021 |
| Miitopia | May 21st, 2021 |
| Mario Golf Super Rush | June 25th, 2021 |
| The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD | July 16th, 2021 |
| No More Heroes 3 | August 27th, 2021 |
| Skatebird | TBC 2021 |
| Sports Story | TBC 2021 |
| Super Meat Boy Forever | TBC 2021 |
| Blood Bowl 3 | TBC 2021 |
| Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires | TBC 2021 |
| Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | TBC 2021 |
| Neo: The World Ends with You | TBC 2021 |
| The Good Life | TBC 2021 |
| The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom | TBC 2021 |
| Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World | TBC 2021 |
| Metroid Prime 4 | TBC |
| Breath of the Wild Sequel | TBC |
| Bayonetta 3 | TBC |
Brain Training | January 3rd 2020
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Nintendo are out here trying to get you to start the New Year the right way by improving your mind, as the Nintendo Switch version of Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training will launch in the first week of 2020. If your resolution is to be smarter than a 10 year old, Brain Training should be on your list.
Brain Training for the Nintendo Switch includes a variety of classic challenges along with some new challenges to boot. The new version will also make use of the Joy-Con’s IR Motion Camera along with the Switch’s touchscreen. The physical version of the game will also come packaged with a stylus so you don’t have to use your greasy fingers on the screen.
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore | January 17th 2020
Developer: ATLUS
Publisher: Nintendo
If you’re wondering what the hell Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, it’s the latest game in the long-running strategy of “porting quality titles from the Wii U in an attempt to find a new audience”. Tokyo Mirage Sessions combines elements from ATLUS’ Shin Megami Tensei series and Nintendo’s Fire Emblem to create an experience wholly original.
The enhanced port of Tokyo Mirage Sessions includes a host of additional content, including new songs, story elements and, perhaps most crucially, the ability to play the game while you’re out and about. Hopefully, this unique title will seize the second chance it’s been given to be a smash hit.
Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers | February 20th 2020 (Japan), TBC 2020 (Rest of World)
Developer: Omega Force
Publisher: ATLUS
Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers is another ATLUS crossover, though this one sees Persona blending together with the hack and slash Dynasty Warriors series. It’s still a bit weird to see main character Joker appear in Smash Bros. before an actual Persona game rocks up on the Switch, but here you go.
Scramble is set a few months after the events the events of Persona 5, as the Phantom Thieves try to deal with a brand new supernatural threat plaguing Tokyo. With a fusion of hack and slash action and Persona-esque turn-based gameplay, Persona 5 Scramble should be a fine addition to the collection of all Persona fans.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons | March 20th 2020
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Hope you’re ready to owe even more money to that little prick of a tanuki, as Animal Crossing: New Horizons is coming to make you remember to pay your debts. While the new iteration of the series retains the same life simulation gameplay that the series has become known for, the “New Horizons” subtitle isn’t just there for show.
Instead of arriving at a random town, New Horizons will see you set foot on a deserted island, and it’s on you to explore and create a community on said island. Considering this version of the game offers the chance for four player local and eight player online co-op across the island, New Horizons could be the best of the series yet.
Trials Of Mana | April 24th 2020
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
An RPG remake heading to the Switch, Trials of Mana is a full-blown do-over of the 1995 classic that was released under the name Seiken Densetsu 3. While Trials of Mana is still the same adventure you remember from years ago, the game has undergone a number of visual and mechanical changes to bring the game to today’s standards.
The remake swaps out the old art-style for a fully rendered 3D world, while modifying the battle system and adding actual voices to the cast. Yes, voices. What a time to be alive. The story will change depending on the characters you choose to play, which should add some replay value to what is likely already going to be a 100 hour journey. You better start freeing up your schedule now.
Minecraft Dungeons | April 2020
Developer: Mojang
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
A departure from the Minecraft you know and love, then forgot about for a few years before it made a grand resurgence on YouTube for some reason, Minecraft Dungeons is a top down action RPG not too dissimilar from the likes of Diablo. Hopefully, it’s not too similar either, especially regarding the plot, because that might be a bit dark for a Minecraft game.
Instead of crafting and survival gameplay, Dungeons focuses on exploring randomly-generated dungeons, dealing with the traps and enemies present within. There are no class systems, so players can use any combination of weapons and armour they can find, and with four player co-op confirmed, Dungeons might be a top-tier multiplayer Switch game.
DOOM Eternal | TBC 2020
Developer: id Software
Publisher: Bethesda
Oh, would you look at that? Another chance to talk about how excited we are for DOOM Eternal. We’d be foolish to pass it up. Though DOOM Eternal on the Switch has been delayed indefinitely, while other versions are launching in March, a handheld edition of Eternal is still a tantalising prospect.
Eternal follows on from the incredibly successful DOOM (2016), as the forces of Hell have made their way to Earth (and some other planets as well). Fortunately, Doomguy has found some brand new weapons and abilities to rip and tear his way through the demonic hordes, which is just as well when the demons have found some new friends of their own.
No More Heroes 3 | TBC 2020
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
Publisher: Marvelous
Grasshopper Manufacture’s weird as hell hack and slash adventure series No More Heroes returns to Nintendo with the release of No More Heroes 3, the first mainline entry in the series for a decade. Travis Strikes Again was fine and all, but it was merely a gateway to next year’s full release.
Set after the events of Travis Strikes Again, our hero Travis Touchdown returns to the city of Santa Destroy to combat a new intergalactic threat. Not much is known about the game, though Suda51 has stated that the combat and gameplay will be designed around the Joy-Con’s capabilities, so expect plenty of sword swinging in your future. Let’s just cross our fingers for some ports of No More Heroes 1 & 2 as well.
Little Nightmares 2 | TBC 2020
Developer: Tarsier Studio
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Proof that horror games don’t have to be jump scares and giant spiders (thank the lord), Little Nightmares was something of a revelation. Playing as the child Six, you explored the horrific Maw, filled with terrifying creatures out for your blood as you desperately tried to escape. It was intense, but a bit on the brief side. Leave them wanting more, I guess.
The sequel will contain much of the same 3D platforming and puzzle solving gameplay as the original game, as it follows Six teaming up with a new child Mono. Naturally, the new game will feature brand new monstrosities to hide from, though just be careful if you play Little Nightmares 2 out in public. You don’t want the whole world to see you soil yourself.
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise | TBC 2020
Developer: TOYBOX
Publisher: Rising Star Games
If there was ever a game that no one expected would ever get a sequel, it’d be Deadly Premonition. The tale of FBI Agent Francis York Morgan could only be described as a bit on the daft side, but it achieved a cult following after its release in 2010. Nearly 10 years later, a sequel was announced, for the Nintendo Switch of all platforms, along with an updated port of the original game that’s available right now.
Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise will once again feature agent York, along with a brand new character in the form of fellow agent Aaliyah Davis, as they travel to the town of Le Carré in New Orleans to investigate a serial murder case. If it’s anything as weird as the first game, A Blessing In Disguise could be one of 2020’s most memorable games.
Gods & Monsters | TBC 2020
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
One of Ubisoft’s 2020 games that received a significant delay, along with Watch Dogs: Legion and Rainbow Six: Quarantine, Gods & Monsters offers a new and interesting looking take on Greek mythology. It also appears to be drawing inspiration from Nintendo’s own Breath of the Wild, so hopefully you’ll have Gods & Monsters to tide you over before the BotW sequel.
As the hero Fenyx, it’s your responsibility to venture out into the world to defeat Typhon, the most powerful monster in Greek mythology who threatens the very Gods themselves. As Fenyx, you explore the Isle of the Blessed, utilising a host of unique abilities granted to you by the Gods of Olympus to save the day.
Streets Of Rage 4 | TBC 2020
Developer: Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games, Dotemu
Publisher: Dotemu
Pretty much everyone loves a good beat ‘em up, and there is a decent selection of them available on the Nintendo Switch (maybe enough for another list article), but one of the legends of the genre is set to make its return in 2020. Lizardcube, Guard Crush Games, and Dotemu are working together to create Streets of Rage 4, and it looks brilliant.
Taking place 10 years after the events of Streets of Rage 3, series mainstays Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding have returned to combat an emerging threat alongside new character Cherry Hunter and more unannounced brawlers. With enhanced combat mechanics and a beautiful art style, Streets of Rage 4 could be the series best.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 – Electric Boogaloo (Working Title, Maybe) | TBC
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
“Basement’s haunted.”
That’s all the premise you need for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, which received a short announcement trailer back during E3 2019. Very little is known about the sequel to one of the best games of the past decade, except that Hyrule is about to be besieged by a brand new threat that could destroy the entire kingdom.
The original game from 2017, Breath of the Wild, brought a brand new style of gameplay to the iconic Legend of Zelda series, focusing on exploration and a variety of tools that allow you to interact with the environment in unique and interesting ways. Hopefully, the sequel builds on these impressive gameplay foundations as we find out what is haunting the basement.
Bayonetta 3 | TBC
Developer: Platinum Games
Publisher: Nintendo
You’d be forgiven for forgetting about the existence of Bayonetta 3. Ever since it was announced back during The Game Awards 2017, it feels like the game has dropped off the face of the Earth, but it’s real. Platinum Games insist that work is still progressing on the game, so hopefully we’ll learn more about it soon enough.
Nothing is really known about Bayonetta 3 aside from what was shown in the short announcement video, showing the titular witch facing off against an unseen foe that appeared to have her number. At the very least, you can play through Bayonetta 1 and 2 on the Switch first while you wait, experiencing the incredible action that Platinum Games have pioneered for yourself.
Metroid Prime 4 | TBC
Developer: Retro Studios
Publisher: Nintendo
You’d also be forgiven if you’d forgotten that Metroid Prime 4 exists. Seriously, that’s two Nintendo exclusives in a row that have gone dark for the longest time. Metroid Prime 4 was announced even further back at E3 2017, but the game has been stuck in development ever since. Metroid Prime 4 even changed hands from Bandai Namco to Retro Studios, with development restarting at the beginning of 2019, so we’re a long way off.
As usual, Metroid Prime 4 would put us in the suit of Samus Aran as she combats brand new galactic threats. Presumably, she’d also lose all of her abilities at the start of her mission and would have to spend the next 15-20 hours earning them all back. Hopefully, Nintendo will finally bring the long rumoured Metroid Prime Trilogy HD to the Nintendo Switch, so we can properly bide our time while we patiently wait for Samus’ next chapter.
MORE NEW GAMES OF 2020:
– Biggest New Games of 2020 & Beyond
– Biggest RPGs Of 2020 And Beyond
– Biggest New Xbox One Games Of 2020 & Beyond
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