Nintendo Switch fans are in for a treat in 2022, with new Zelda, Kirby, and Splatoon games leading a loaded year.
Nintendo Switch owners had an uneven 2021. To the system’s credit, the highs were very high when it came to new games. Metroid Dread proved to be one of the year’s best games, and games like New Pokémon Snap and Monster Hunter Rise gave players plenty of reasons to log in. On the other hand, Mario Golf: Super Rush and WarioWare: Get It Together! were underwhelming franchise revivals that left players wanting more. For those who wanted more reasons to boot up their Switch this year, look no further than 2022. The console is set to have its best year since launch thanks to some high-profile releases. Just the prospect of a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild makes this a year to watch — and that’s only scratching the surface. Here’s what Switch owners can expect to play in 2022 — well, as long as delays don’t push these games to 2023, that is. Switch owners will kick off 2022 in a big way thanks to Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The action-RPG is a total reimagining of the regular Pokémon formula, taking cues from the Monster Hunter series instead. Players will explore more open areas and try to study as many monsters as possible. It’s a complete wild card, but that’s what makes it exciting. The Pokémon series rarely gets radically reinvented like this, so this could be a turning point… or a disaster. In either case, it’s a game to watch. Neon White has a fascinating premise. It’s a lightning-fast action game where players use cards to attack and move. Those two ideas seem opposed to one another when it comes to game speed, but early looks at the game are extremely promising. A gameplay trailer shows a character zipping around small areas collecting cards and carefully deploying them on the fly. It’s the kind of creative indie action game that’s bound to gain a cult following in the speedrunning scene.
