Nintendo seems keenly aware that people need distraction, and announced more than 25 new Switch games and expansions in a surprise Nintendo Direct stream on March 26. Well, “new” might be pushing it — most of the games are remasters, re-releases, ports and DLC. But a lot of them are time-tested games that you probably haven’t touched in years, so they may still be worth checking out.
If you’ve got 28 minutes to spare, you can watch the full Nintendo Direct stream below, but we’ve covered the highlights here, if not. At a glance, Nintendo has more than two dozen games and/or DLC packs that are coming to Switch in the next few months. At the risk of invoking a cliché, it really looks like there’s something for everyone.
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Do you like RPGs? Then you can play Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition when it launches on May 29. This cult classic Wii RPG also showed up on the new 3DS, but this time around, you’ll be able to play a new epilogue chapter called Xenoblade: Future Connected. I’m unsure if Xenoblade Chronicles has aged well; even by early 2010s standards, it was slow-paced and abstruse. But it’ll definitely fit the bill if you need something long and immersive.
Fans of 2K Games should be extremely happy with Nintendo’s announcements. On May 29, the Switch will get the Borderlands Legendary Collection (which includes the first three Borderlands games) and the BioShock Collection, which comprises BioShock, BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite.
If you’ve never played the BioShock series, this could be the perfect opportunity to escape into a dystopian nightmare world brought on by the ravages of unchecked capitalism. If that hits a little too close to home, you can also fight aliens on strategic battlefields in the XCOM 2 Collection.
Star Wars fans have two classic games to look forward to in Star Wars: Jedi Academy and Star Wars Episode I: Racer. The former is a first- or third-person action game, in which you can customize your own Jedi Knight to run a variety of missions for Luke Skywalker and Kyle Katarn (the protagonist of the Dark Forces series). The latter is a surprisingly good racing game that puts you in control of the most interesting vehicle from the prequel trilogy on a variety of alien worlds. Episode I racer will be out “soon,” but you can play Jedi Academy right now.
Speaking of games that you can play now, Switch games launching today include action-puzzle game Good Job!, the Fantastic Four expansion for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, a Nintendo-themed update for Ring Fit Adventure, undersea exploration game Shinsekai: Into the Depths and the hotly anticipated Panzer Dragoon: Remake. Visit the eShop to find them.
There are a handful of other titles coming up in the next few months, including Harmonix’s creative rhythm game Fuser and the risqué puzzle game Catherine: Full Body. If you haven’t bought a Switch yet, now might be a good time — if you can find one.
