What I’m looking forward to on Nintendo Switch

The 2024 Nintendo Directs have been surprisingly good. With the inevitable end of the Switch approaching, most people have been expecting less and less from Nintendo Direct announcements. But, both directs have had some great games to happily hold everyone over until the successor arrives.

Starting off with my first pick from the Indie World, Neva seems to be a beautiful story driven game from the creators of Gris… a beautiful story driven game. Their games always have a gorgeous art style with smooth, puzzles filled, gameplay. This seems like a game that will make me cry, so let’s see how long it’ll take me to buy and play it.

I haven’t even played the base game of Sea of Stars, but the DLC looks incredible. This game’s stylization and gameplay looks so fun that I actually have a JRPG on my list of wants… that I actually feel like I will get to. The fact that this is free DLC makes it even better, my journey will be long, but enjoyable.

Sometimes, you just need to go back to basics. Peglin is exactly that. Having the battle system resemble that of Plinko means that most people will understand the concept. Using it to be the core function of dealing damage, healing, and who knows what else makes it accessible for many people. At the end of the day, this game just looks simple and fun - can’t wait to get my hands on it.

As a fan who has barley played any of the actual games, Shovel Night Shovel of Hope DX is another game that will be added to my Steam Library and probably sit there because it’s one that “I have to be in the right mood to start.” But I love the mechanics of Shovel Night and even though I have to now figure out where in the series it falls (my own rules for franchises / series is to play in chronological order) I’m really excited that Shovel Knight continues to have attention.

A game that I was thrilled to see once more, Europa now has a release date of October 11th of this year and I really need to try out that demo! Showing off an amazing landscape of this open-moon game, exploration seems to be a big focus. Traversal shows off wind streams to fly in and water to surf on. Puzzles were scattered throughout the trailer, so you can also use your brain a bit as your enjoy the beautiful sights.

Of course, as someone who LOVES platformers, I am the most excited about The Plucky Squire! This game looks incredibly clean and the colors give off this warm welcoming feeling. This will be a game that I put at the top of my priorities list, I have been following all the Twitter accounts for every bit of information I can get about this game because this might just be my game of the year!

Now, onto the Partner Direct

Star Overdrive seems like one of those fun to explore with just yourself and your trusty hoverboard. Solve puzzles and beat things up in this desert. Seems perfect for those fleeing Tower of Fantasy and looking for a new home, or that could just be me. I love games that have you explore a world and mess around with puzzles so this is up there with Europa.

As someone who wants to get into good series, Dragon Quest XI hooked me in and made Dragon Quest something I wanted to experience to the best of my ability. So far I have only tackled (most) of XI and Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. I want to get more into the mainline of games, and what better way to do that then to pick up the remake of the first (story wise) game when Dragon Quest III remake comes out. With the quality of life improvements, I hope this doesn’t throw me into a gaming slump like it’s Monsters counterpart….

As someone who has never touched a Rune Factory game in my life, I shocked myself my how much Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma caught my eye. This game with dragons and curses seems like it could be something I really enjoy playing. It’s not the highest game on my list out of everything from the direct, but it has earned it’s spot on my list of potential buys.

Now Lego Horizon Adventure has already been announced and on my list. I have both Horizon games for the Playstation, but surprise I have not started them. I feel like this might be a good starting point? Or I play both “actual” games and then come back to the Lego game later? Not exactly sure what the game plan for this one is yet, but I do know it looks fun and it will be a good first Lego game for me to play.

Coming out with nine games to add to my list is incredible since I was expecting one or two at the max (and I was expecting them to be games that had already been announced). I am impressed that the Switch is still going strong and hope the upcoming system gets this much love. Indies are such a core part of the gaming ecosystem so I hope they continue to be a part of the successor's life.