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Our most anticipated Nintendo Switch games of 2022

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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.

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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.

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Pokémon Legends: Arceus (January 28)

Hisuian Braviary in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

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 (winter 2022)

A player looks to attack an enemy with a gun card in Neon White.

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.

Triangle Strategy (March 4)

A player plots an attack in Triangle Strategy.

Triangle Strategy may win the award for “funniest title” of 2022 when all’s said and done, but the game itself isn’t a joke. Created by the team behind hit Switch RPG Octopath Traveler, Triangle Strategy is an intriguing tactics game sporting excellent pixel art graphics. For Fire Emblem fans craving a new Switch strategy game, this should be the next best thing.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land (spring 2022)

Kirby sucks up an enemy in in Kirby and the Forgotten Lands.

The news that the Kirby series would be returning to 3D for the first time in decades was exciting enough on its own. But the actual reveal trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land was really what got fans talking. The mysterious clip shows off what appears to be a postapocalyptic open-world game where Kirby explores dilapidated shopping malls like he’s in The Last of Us. It’s a bizarre pitch for such a cute and cuddly series, so color us intrigued.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-boot Camp (spring 2022)

The updated visuals of Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the Advance Wars series, but that’ll finally change in 2022. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-boot Camp will bring the classic handheld strategy series to Switch via a remake two-pack. Updated visuals and mechanics should modernize the beloved series, giving an influential series some much-needed shine. Fingers crossed that this leads to a proper sequel down the line.

The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild sequel (TBA)

Link runs across Hyrule in the sequel to Breath of the Wild.

It may not have an official title, but the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is on every gamer’s lips regardless. Scheduled for a 2022 release, the game has the herculean task of following up arguably the best video game of the past five years. Judging by its E3 2021 trailer, it looks like Nintendo is up for the task. The clip showed off some impressive new features, such as an entire sky world reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. We’d be shocked if lightning didn’t strike twice here.

Splatoon 3 (TBA)

A team of Inklings in the air.

Splatoon is one of the most creative shooters around, so a sequel is always welcome. Splatoon 3 will once again pit player versus player in a battle of ink warfare. What’s particularly exciting this time, though, is that the latest installment is going even deeper into fleshing out the world of Splatoon. Trailers have promised a more lore-heavy adventure that should make this appealing to people who want more single-player potential from the series. Those who want traditional PVP will still get it, though, and they’ll have plenty of new ink-shooting weapons to try out when it launches.

Sonic Frontiers (TBA)

Sonic stares at an open world in Sonic Frontiers.

The Sonic series has been full of disappointment over the past few decades, but I can’t help but get excited about Sonic Frontiers. The “open zone” game draws some clear inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which has proven to be a winning formula for games like Genshin Impact. Will Sonic’s speedy gameplay really match up with that idea? Maybe not, but the franchise is in desperate need for reinvention and this is as good an experiment as any.

Bayonetta 3 (TBA)

Bayonetta in Bayonetta 3.

Bayonetta 3 has been a long time coming. The sequel was first announced in one of Nintendo’s first Switch Directs in 2017. Fans wouldn’t get another glimpse of it until 2021, when it finally got a 2022 release window. So far, the gameplay glimpses have lived up to the hype. PlatinumGames’ signature action looks as fast and weird as ever, which is exactly what fans crave with Bayonetta. Strap in for a fun, weird time.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (TBA)

Mario and company in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was the biggest surprise of the Switch’s maiden year, so my hopes for its sequel are high. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope will double down on everything that made the original tactics game work, while adding in some new mechanics and characters. The new “sparks” system looks like it’ll add even more options to battles, amplifying an already excellent strategy game. Plus, how can you not be excited about the prospect of Rabbid Rosalina?

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Giovanni Colantonio
Giovanni Colantonio
Section Editor, Gaming
Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…
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The day of reckoning is fast approaching: The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShop isclosing down on March 27. When that happens, you’ll no longer be able to make any digital purchases on those systems. Considering that several games on each platform only ever got digital releases, it’s creating a bit of a preservation nightmare. Hidden gems that never came to another platform, like Affordable Space Adventures, will be totally lost to time.

But it isn’t just obscure indies that are impacted by that change: One of Nintendo’s biggest franchises is about to lose a piece of its storied history. You’ve only got just over a week to grab a certain Legend of Zelda game before it disappears forever -- though it’s probably not one you’re expecting.

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Link looks at his hand in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be Nintendo's first Switch game to be priced at $70. News that Tears of the Kingdom, a sequel to one of the bestselling and most critically acclaimed titles on the system, will have an increased price compared to its predecessor came as a surprise over three-and-a-half years after its announcement. It also raised questions about what the future of pricing for Nintendo games will be, especially as Sony, Microsoft, and third-party publishers all upped the cost of their new games in recent years. 
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"No," the spokesperson said when Digital Trends asked if this is a new standard. "We determine the suggested retail price for any Nintendo product on a case-by-case basis." 
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Official Trailer #2
To get more insight into the price shift, I spoke to Omdia Principal Analyst George Jijiashvili, who explains what has caused the price of games to go up in recent years and how Tears of the Kingdom demonstrates that Nintendo will "remain flexible about first-party title pricing." Ultimately, Nintendo fans are finally starting to feel the impact of inflation that's been sweeping across the game industry, even if it's only "on a case-by-case basis" for now.
The price is right
Nintendo claims that not every one of its significant first-party game will be $70, and we can actually already see that in action. Preorders just went live for Pikmin 4, which launches on July 21, after Tears of the Kingdom, and it only costs $60. Still, Zelda's price tag indicates that going forward, Nintendo will at least consider raising the price of its most anticipated games to $70. But why start with Tears of the Kingdom?  
When asked why it chose Tears of the Kingdom as its first $70 Nintendo Switch game, a Nintendo spokesperson simply reiterated that the company will "determine the suggested retail price for any Nintendo product on a case-by-case basis." Still, it's a surprising choice for Nintendo to make that pricing change to just one exclusive game almost six years into the Switch's life span. Jijiashvili thinks the choice to do this with Tears of the Kingdom was a pretty apparent one for Nintendo, although it won't apply to everything going forward.
"If you are going to make a game $70, it's going to be the follow-up to one of your most critically acclaimed and bestselling games ever," Jijiashvili tells Digital Trends. "I don’t think that this means that $70 will become the standard price for all major Nintendo releases. It's worth noting that Metroid Prime Remastered is priced at $40. It's clear that Nintendo will remain flexible about first-party title pricing."

It makes basic financial sense for Nintendo to ask for a little bit more for a game it knows will be one of the biggest releases of 2023. But what factors in the game industry and world's economy at large caused Nintendo to make this decision? 
Priced Out
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"The games industry has already been experiencing a lot of inflationary pressure," he explains. "AAA games are much more expensive to make now than they used to be, but prices have actually been declining in inflation-adjusted terms -- if prices had risen with inflation since 1990, they would now be over $90. On top of that, we’ve had a big burst of general inflation, meaning that publishers are looking at big increases in everything from salaries to tools. It’s going to be really hard for most publishers to avoid passing on all those extra costs at some point."
Jijiashvili provided us with a graphic created by Omdia that "shows what the typical price points for each generation would look like if you adjusted for inflation." As you can see, the inflation-adjusted prices are only exponentially growing, and the big game pricing shifts the graph highlights were all technically not even enough to keep up with inflation when they happened. 

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