It’s nice to have a dilemma once in a while. In preparation for this piece, I was surprised to learn of the increased roster of titles now confirmed to be releasing sometime this year for Nintendo’s system. How best to relay this in visual form, I’m left pondering. What games do I give header space to? Meaningless a detail you might well be thinking and in all likelihood may be correct in such deduction. Where once I had suspected this was a straightforward albeit not that important matter to consider, some releases below do find themselves relegated to verbal mention only. One’s own personal bias no longer the determining factor (though I can’t deny that may be apparent in parts); instead met by as sincere an effort to best reflect as wide a 2022 palette Switch owners have to look forward to. It’s also nice to come away from another one of Nintendo’s interesting to dissect – if not always that interesting in substance – Direct livestreams and find that the Big N’s scheduling of releases for the next ten-or-so months isn’t as empty as one may have initially feared.
It’s been years since I abandoned the concept of a Nintendo device being my own prime source of entertainment and it’s one I admittedly can leave untouched for months on end. Spells of dust collecting usually broken up by one or two surprise investments. PC meanwhile proving all too essential and in many way universal a source for anything and everything I could want or am otherwise invested in. Everything that is except first-party titles for the Switch and third-party on occasion. At least, if the numerals indicating the current year were of an odd denomination. Recent history showing us that as far as yearly line-ups go, the Nintendo Switch has been on this weird “on-year/off-year” back and forth in regards to what was on offer. 2017, as we all know, was as close to an ideal “launch” period a new console could be given. New Zelda, New Mario, sequels and surprises and hints too at what was to come (even if we’re still awaiting some originally announced that very year). But 2018, by contrast, was a quieter year by contrast – one whose big-hitters proved entertaining in concept and monumental in resulting sales figures, but a 2017 it was not.
Then 2019 showed up and while sequels and remakes were very much the order of play, it was the unexpected that proved the stand-out element of Nintendo’s year.Astral Chain’ssudden emergence and subsequent release six months later dazzled, as a lot of PlatinumGames’ catalogue often does. And on the other end of the spectrum: the likes of Tetris 99 - a premise so ridiculous in nature, it’s still unfathomable how easy it side-stepped the initial “yet another Battle Royale” dismissiveness…in a Tetris game no less. This same back-and-forth would repeat over the next two years; even Nintendo’s staunchest supporters would not deny that 2020 was a year defined solely and dominantly by Animal Crossing. Twelve months later, though slightly less substantial than previous odd numbered years, the likes ofMonster Hunter Rise,Mario Golf,Shin Megami Tensei Vand a certain decade-old rumor materializing did in a way maintain this yin-and-yang balance the Switch has unintentionally kept going since its inception. One year a satisfying variety of first-party and third-party offerings, the next something more quieter.
So for an article all about the Nintendo Switch in 2022, why (again I hear you ask) have I dedicated three paragraphs to everything prior? Because, by this same logic, 2022 should be another worryingly low-key outing for Switch owners, right? People like myself who see Nintendo’s hardware as a secondary accompaniment – on account of its exclusives and nothing more – should be glued to PC monitors, and if it comes to it, curiously dabbling in exclusives of another console manufacturer. A certain console whose own 2021, from a broad glance of reception, wasn’t that bad either. Ah, but that would be far too predictable, wouldn’t it? Of course Kirby’s first, literal 3D adventure via The Forgotten Land was a given prior to last week’s Direct. Releasing a couple of weeks after the Switch celebrates its 5th anniversary on the market and in turn kicks off the system’s actual “Year Six” of games.
But things still looked spotty. On top of that, goodness knows if the eagerly-anticipated sequel to Breath of the Wild would fall at some point this year – a game still, most bizarre, without an actual sub-title and still referred to as “the sequel to…” or just BotW2 for short. If this were to fall somewhere in the next ten months, you’d imagine Nintendo would be talking about it in more than just brief glimpses here and there. Just what kind of scale or indeed genuine deviation from the 2017 game, does the sequel hold, other than a vast sky? Then there’s Splatoon 3 slated for the Summer, five years after a game that so quickly followed up on the 2015 original. Third-party offerings are at least plentiful but most were still weighed down by that vague promise of “2022.” Bayonetta 3, one of the three games revealed way back in 2017 that had spent a long time in dormancy so far as new information went, finally showed up last October with gameplay to show, albeit no date following suit. So too another welcome sequel, the follow-up to the delightfully-surprising Mario+Rabbids has naught but a four-digit number. Of the third-party exclusives having already made the rounds in past Nintendo-affiliated marketing with a date, being that of Square Enix’s latest – or should that be, one of their latest – applying of the “HD2D” visual aesthetic in the form of Triangle Strategy.
Yes February is still technically an “early” period in any year, but with few games nailed down by an exact date, still there lingered an uncertainty on just how dense the Switch in 2022 may end up being. As has become a sort of tradition in past years, February has generally been the rough time Nintendo broadcasts the first of two generally-packed, generally-informative Direct presentations for each respective year. The second coming around September time. But it’s February’s efforts – despite the tempering of expectations, in that the first-half of 2022 would be the focus – that offer a clearer picture on whether Nintendo would be going all-in on one big title or hoping to sprinkle about a multitude of genres on a near-monthly basis. Well last week’s Direct came and went; in typical Nintendo fashion, they had been keeping their cards extremely close to their chest. Suddenly the calendar seems more complete – an ideal outcome for any early year/February Direct.
Following Kirby and Triangle Strategy in March comes the release of Advance Wars 1+2’s remake in April, alongside Nintendo’s inevitable attempt to capitalize on the Wii Sports “killer app” success in the form of the not-so-subtly named Nintendo Switch Sports. Skip a month to June and we have two game revealed in little under twenty minutes, released in no greater a space than two weeks. While Nintendo may have brought Mario’s previous sport spin-offs into the Switch fold with Mario Tennis Aces in 2018 and Mario Golf last year, there’s one sport that quickly garnered a cult following via its first two Gamecube and Wii releases. If not for its actual gameplay then for its decision to encompass cel-shaded animations into the world of Mario. And up to now, has not seen the light of day for nearly fifteen years. Enter Mario Strikers: Battle League and as noted a mere fortnight after, the world of Fire Emblem – like Zelda – receives its second Musou spin-off. This time set in the narratively-intriguing world of 2019’s acclaimed entrant Three Houses, with this year’s Three Hopes.
Last-minute delays aside, if these dates ring true surely this would mean a Splatoon release is likely to fall thereafter, no? Why would Nintendo push out two games where online multiplayer is a prime focus close to one another? With that said, Splatoon 3 may well be one we see pop up in July or August if its Summer window wings true. Of course last week’s Direct stated the focus was on games releasing in the first-half of 2022, but as is so often the case – playing with semantics and implications they may have been – that didn’t mean they refused to tease what’s in store for the Switch’s 2022 latter half. And speaking only from personal preference, a certain third installment in a JRPG series has found itself leaping above any and all games Nintendo’s machine may be getting up until December. But here is where things start to get more interesting. Arguably more interesting than the fact Mario Strikers actually got a new game.
As noted, there are still a fair few games – first-party and third-party alike – that are without release dates. To arrive at July would signal not only the half-way point of 2022, but the last of the actual dated titles hitting the Switch. Square Enix’s remake of the 1994 Japan-only Live A Live arrives on 22nd of that month (another sign RPG fans have plenty to chew on with the Switch this year). But even if for argument’s sake two games would share the same month of release, after everything else shown that’s confirmed to arrive soon, things start to look less spotty and more packed. Keep in mind that with everything else subtracted up to this point, we still have Bayonetta 3, Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, Metroid Prime 4 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 coming up. The latter of which we already know is aiming for September, and if to be lenient we discard Metroid, two major exclusives to fill up the remainder of 2022 isn’t that bad a showing. An October/November one-two that if nothing else, will prove intriguing to see just how well either sequel has managed to trump their respective prior entrants.
Last minute delays aside, there’s a fair bit going on for the Switch in 2022. And it looks like it’s going to need it; with the Switch’s dating hardware now finding the system floundering not one, but arguably two generations behind what Xbox and PlayStation can offer currently as far as horsepower goes, the argument for gameplay triumphing over everything else has hit a new level of importance for Nintendo and their trustee hybrid device. And no, an OLED model won’t silence the continuing discussions, come frustrations, that even the good-will of this most trusted of philosophies – gameplay over visual fidelity – is sure to be stretched that bit further. Just how long should we expect the Switch to be the default Nintendo platform? Taken on the basis of when new Nintendo hardware was released, it may or may not surprise you to know that come next month, the Switch will have lasted longer than most of its older brethren. The Wii U’s total of four years and three months might not be as impressive a comparison, but consider that Nintendo’s current machine come the end of the year will have beaten the Gamecube (five years, two months), the N64 (also five years, two months) and even the Super Nintendo (five years, one month). The Wii was Nintendo’s “current” system for a whole six years, but who wouldn’t bet against another discussion on the Switch’s probable line-up in 2023?
No longer is this a case where one game of 2018, or 2020 in fact – so revered, speculative and guaranteed to generate buzz – can carry Nintendo through a quieter period. Back then the prospect of third-party titles, be they current releases or ports from a prior year, was only hampered if one took issue with the inevitable downgrading and cutting back on niceties, just to get it running properly. Now, the added suffix “Cloud Edition” has become more present for such games that finally make their way to the platform. The Switch is being pushed as much as it can to get games that aren’t even on a physical medium, to run at an acceptable or at least tolerant level. Former novelties of playing AAA titles “on the go” in Handheld mode are slowly making way to the reality that the Switch’s Tegra X1 SoC [System on a Chip] was not exactly top of the line from day one. It’s only because there’s been such a rich variety of games to enjoy – among the best of recent times, some may argue – that concerns on hardware have been brushed aside, if not totally forgotten.
Why else would the rumor mill on a “more powerful” Switch have gone on for as long as it did, continuing to this very day. Even after the OLED Model’s reveal, many would still not exorcise the lingering belief that Nintendo still had a beefier version to reveal some day soon. Maybe they have, maybe an alleged “Pro” model has become video game’s worst kept secret and we are still living the slow, agonizing wait to see not so much the announcement itself, but on how far back – as is tradition – it fairs when compared to the competition. But for all the ridicule, mockery or justifiable criticism they’ve received via one failed gimmick or oddball idea after the next, the Switch as a concept has cemented itself undoubtedly as one of Nintendo’s best. A concept that has crowned the device officially Nintendo’s best-selling console of all time and in all likelihood will continue to see success over the next twelve months and beyond.
I haven’t even gone into great detail the smaller-scale games that Switch owners have to look forward to in the near future. Oxenfree II, Sea of Stars, Sports Story, Rune Factory 5, Metal Slug Tactics, the return of a beloved platformer or two with Klonoa’s dual-bundle release and one of 2020’s hidden gems13 Sentinels: Aegis Rimis coming to the Switch soon too. There’s also this one sequel about a kingdom of bugs, but I’m sure no one’s bothered about updates to such an obscure game. As we all of course already know, Nintendo’s recent history during the Switch era has shown that even a company of such polarizing, see-sawing history – having gone through such a calamitous period that was the Wii U’s success, or lack thereof – can still find the means to flip the figurative switch (no pun intended) and come out on top as if those prior fears were never present to begin with.
But where this should be the moment one piece of hardware slowly-but-surely makes way for what inevitably follows, Nintendo remain intent on keeping gazes fixed on the Switch. Both Microsoft and Sony are well into their own respective second year of what is now the de facto “current-gen” cycle. The latter of which making moves into the PC market on top – a signal perhaps that the notion of exclusivity and a name like PlayStation or even Xbox can mean more than just a physical box you own. A fool’s errand it may be to assume Nintendo will be close behind in this branching-out approach, it means the Big N will – more than ever – have to prove that a console in totality is defined more so by the games on offer and not the other way around. Hardware limitations and all. The novelty of its concept may no longer be enough – for the Switch in 2022, it’s all about the games.
