It’s hard to believe, but: Nintendo has games other than The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for 2023. The publisher unveiled its forthcoming slate of Switch titles in a 40-minute Nintendo Direct on Wednesday.
From Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC to the reveal of a brand-new Super Mario Bros. game — and a new Princess Peach game — Nintendo had plenty to share about its 2023 Switch lineup.
Nintendo didn’t reveal any details about Hollow Knight: Silksong, Metroid Prime 4, or post-release content for Tears of the Kingdom. Still, from the new Mario platformer to the remake of a classic Mario RPG, it was a packed showcase. Here are all the big reveals and announcements from Wednesday’s Nintendo Direct.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s DLC, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, is split into two parts. The first part, The Teal Mask, will debut in fall 2023, and will feature five new Pokémon (just shy of a full party). The second part, The Indigo Disk, is due out in winter 2023. It’s set in a terrarium in the middle of the ocean.
Sonic Superstars
Sonic Superstars, first announced during Summer Game Fest, is a 2D Sonic game with modern 3D graphics. You can play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or Amy. It’s out fall 2023.
Palia
Palia is a free-to-play farming sim with combat and cooking elements. It’s out holiday 2023.
Persona 5 Tactica
Persona 5 Tactica is essentially XCOM: Persona 5 Edition. It’s coming to Switch on Nov. 17. It’s also coming to Game Pass.
MythForce
MythForce is a first-person cooperate roguelike inspired by “Saturday morning cartoons.” It’s broadly slated for a 2023 release on Nintendo Switch.
Detective Pikachu Returns
Tim and a talking Pikachu star in Detective Pikachu Returns, the follow-up to the 2016 game for Nintendo 3DS (which in turn inspired a 2019 movie starring Ryan Reynolds). Detective Pikachu Returns is out Oct. 6 for Nintendo Switch.
Super Mario RPG
The first Super Mario RPG, 1996’s Super Mario RPG, is getting the full remake treatment. It’s out Nov. 17 for Nintendo Switch.
Batman Arkham Trilogy
The venerated Batman Arkham Trilogy — which comprises Arkham City, Arkham Asylum, and Arkham Knight — is coming to Switch in the fall 2023.
Gloomhaven
The dark fantasy tactical game Gloomhaven is coming to Switch on Sept. 18. Console versions were announced last year.
Silent Hope
Silent Hope — a role-playing game that stars seven protagonists who don’t speak — is out Oct. 3. Nintendo Switch.
Manic Mechanics
The cooperative party game Manic Mechanics — which comes off as a sort of Overcooked but with cars — is out July 13 for Nintendo Switch.
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope DLC
The largely slept-on Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope — a tactics game starring Mario characters alongside Ubisoft’s terminally grating rabbids — is getting a second DLC... really soon! The expansion, called The Last Spark Hunter, is out today. There’s also a free demo for the base game, which you should totally check out.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince allows you to recruit and train various monsters who definitely don’t fit in your pocket or a small ball or anything like that. It’s out Dec. 1 for Nintendo Switch.
Pikmin 4 and classic Pikmin re-releases
Olimar, whom you may recognize as the single most irritating Super Smash Bros. character to fight against, returns in Pikmin 4, but not as the protagonist. In Pikmin 4, he’s trapped, and you have to rescue him. First announced in 2015, Pikmin 4 is set to finally arrive on July 21. It’s the first game in the series that’ll let you customize your own character — and go out at nighttime. Pikmin 4 is getting a demo on June 28.
Also, Nintendo will release HD versions of Pikmin and Pikmin 2 (as it did with Pikmin 3 in 2020). The Switch version of the original Pikmin is out today.
Metal Gear Solid for Switch
Batman isn’t the only performatively gruff wetwork specialist whose starring trilogy is coming to Switch. The first three Metal Gear Solid games are coming as a collection, with the classic NES Metal Gear games thrown in, in a compilation called Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol 1., on Oct. 24.
Vampire Survivors
Vampire Survivors, the top-down action game that’s devoured countless collective hours, is coming to Nintendo Switch on Aug. 17. It will feature four-player local co-op.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC
Mario Kart 8, the racing game that’s now older than most third graders, is getting more courses. The fifth booster pack includes a new course called Squeaky Clean Sprint, and puts Nintendo on track to hit its stated goal for the racer: that Mario Kart 8 would receive 48 remastered courses by the end of 2023. Wiggler, Petey Piranha, and Kamek also join the roster. It’s out an unspecified date this summer.
Star Ocean The Second Ocean R
A remake of the second Star Ocean game is out Nov. 2 for Switch, and will feature a mix of both 2D and 3D graphics — and characters shouting all of their attacks every time they perform those attacks.
WarioWare: Move It!
Forget minigames. WarioWare is all about microgames. The next game in the series, WarioWare: Move It!, lands on Switch on Nov. 3. It’ll support four players locally.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Did somebody say “Wonder?!” Fresh off stomping the box office, Mario returns with a new platformer. Though the 2D platformer is technically titled Super Marios Bros. Wonder, based on the visuals alone (from rockets appearing out of thin air to bendy warp pipes to... Mario as an elephant?), this hallucination may as well be called Super Mario Fever Dream. It’s out Oct. 20.
Zelda: TOTK amiibo
#amiibo figures of Zelda and Ganondorf from The Legend of #Zelda: #TearsOfTheKingdom will be arriving this holiday! pic.twitter.com/jCbikO6iWX
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 21, 2023
No, Nintendo didn’t announce any expansions for Tears of the Kingdom. But hey, at least the new amiibo for Ganondorf and Zelda are cool!
