We’ve updated the list below with some new announcements and removed the 2021 Switch games that have come and gone already. Still lots to look forward to!
2020 is now but a dim and distant memory (at least, we wish it was!) and it’s time to look to the future. We saw some fantastic games come to Switch last year — several of them released within a matter of weeks of their surprise announcement — but we also saw some big names slip into 2021, for understandable reasons.
Below we’ve rounded up thirty(ish) of the biggest Switch games we’re looking forward to in 2021. In no particular order — although vaguely chronological — they run the gamut from AAA first-party offerings to promising looking indies, plus a few big names that have been waiting in the wings for a while and stand a chance of breaking free this year (fingers crossed!).
Publisher: The Pokémon Company / Developer: Bandai Namco
First announced in 2020, New Pokémon Snap is coming to Switch on 30th April 2021. A follow-up to the Nintendo 64 original which had you snapping photos of Pokémon in the wild, this has been a long time coming for fans who remember grabbing furtive pics of Pikachu back when Nintendo games came on big, slab-like grey cartridges and not iddy-biddy postage stamps. We can’t wait.
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Publisher: Obsidian Entertainment / Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity picked up the torch put down by Baldur’s Gate many moons ago, and both of those games are available to play on your favourite Nintendo hybrid handheld. Pillars Of Eternity II: Deadfire is coming soon and is set five years after the events of the previous game. It’s been available on PS4 and Xbox One since January 2020, although it had its own performance issues on these consoles. Hopefully the extra time taken with the Switch port will iron out any significant issues. This is still expected to arrive in Early 2021, although it better get a move on.
Developer: Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Exploratory underwater adventure Subnautica is coming to Switch next year along with its sequel Subnautica: Below Zero. This well-received pair has been available on other platforms for years and the first game looks to be getting a physical release on Switch. You’ll be able to explore the depths on Switch on 14th May.
Publisher: Nintendo
A surprise announcement from the Nintendo Direct back in February, Miitopia might not be the 3DS remaster we’d have chosen from that system’s sterling catalogue, but it was a charming little Mii-fueled RPG that we enjoyed back in 2017, and that’s despite having our heads turned by the new Nintendo console on the block at the time.
We’re intrigued to see how Grezzo’s Switch version will hold up against the library of quality RPGs on Switch, and we’ll find out on 21st May.
Publisher: Tecmo
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection brings together the trilogy of 3D hack-and-slash games from Team Ninja in one deadly little package on Switch. You’ll get to unleash torrents of stylish ultraviolence in the shoes of celebrated ninja, Ryu Hayabusa and relive some of the 360/PS3 era’s greatest action games, and you’ve only got to wait until 10th June. Zoink!
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Camelot
Introduced in the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, this is the long-awaited return to the fairways for the Mushroom Kingdom’s finest. Mario Golf: Super Rush is set to feature RPG elements along the lines of the celebrated Mario Golf on the Game Boy Color, plus an entirely new spin on the game in the titular Super Rush mode, which has multiple players racing around the course in Nintendo’s take on ‘speed golf’. It looks manic and hilarious if the trailer is anything to go by, and we can’t wait to get into the swing of things.
We love a good walk spoiled, so we’ll be grabbing a 3-wood and hitting the fairways on 25th June.
Publisher: NIS America
Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny is a Switch exclusive in the West (in Japan it’ll be getting a PS4 release, too) and will be the first entry in the offbeat turn-based strategy series to use 3D models. It certainly won’t be losing any of its personality, with its trademark irreverent humour, lovably madcap characters and levelling and damage numbers that go up to eleventy-stupid.
All in all, it’s shaping up to be a classic dose of Disgaea goodness from developer Nippon Ichi Software, and it’ll be available on your Switch in 29th June 2021.
A remake of Monster World IV, this is scheduled for release on Switch on 22nd April in Japan and is due to arrive in the West in Q2 2021. Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World boasts enhanced 3D visuals, various gameplay refinements over the original, plus some new modes and the various other trimmings you’d expect from a comprehensive remake, including voiceover work.
Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo
Announced as part of the February 2021 Nintendo Direct, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD brings the bespoke Wii entry in the series back with a high definition lick of paint, plus newly integrated stick-based swordplay as an optional alternative to the original gyro controls.
While this game’s slow start, compartmentalised world and requisite motion controls weren’t everyone’s cup of tea (not to mention Fi’s constant barrage of tips and advice), we have very warm memories of our time with the ten-year-old game and we can’t wait to see how this Switch version compares. It launches on 16th July.
Publisher: Square Enix
This upcoming sequel to DS classic The World Ends With You was a real surprised when it was first revealed by Square Enix last November, but a very welcome one. We got a Switch version of the original in the form of The World Ends With You: Final Remix, although it always felt like the game worked better on DS — it’ll be great to see how this new game works on a system it’s designed for. NEO: The World Ends With You launches on Switch on 27th July 2021.
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