The year is 2024 and Nintendo still refuses to acknowledge the Nintendo Switch is on its way out. All the signs however are suggesting that is the case and we should be looking at a Nintendo Switch 2 sometime this year (I won't be able to take it otherwise).
Of course, a console can be the best thing since sliced bread but if there's nothing to play on it then it'll just be an expensive ornament. There's no way Nintendo will do that, however, and we're confident the Big N will have plenty of surprises up its sleeve. But if they're after a little cheat sheet to impress us, here's what we (the T3 team) would love to see launch with the Nintendo Switch 2.
A supercharged Pokémon
Pretty much the biggest game of 2024 has given Pokémon fans like me (Andy Sansom – Tech Staff Writer) a real awakening. Palworld proves that while Nintendo's critter-catching series is beloved, it is seriously stuck in the mud.
Violet and Scarlet were a step in the right direction with their open-world formula, but I want to see Nintendo really push the boat out with the next instalment. A new generation of 'mons is always appreciated but even if it's just another Pokémon Legends: Arceus spin-off, I need up-to-date graphics and a bunch of new gameplay mechanics ASAP.
The seamless multiplayer, base building and flat-out challenge of Palworld have given me an itch I need scratching, with the monsters I know and love not a legally distinct facsimile. I don't want Digtoise, I want Blastoise. I don't want Lamball, I want Mareep.
A Yoshi side-scrolling adventure
When it comes to Nintendo, for me (hi! Mike Lowe – T3 Tech Editor) there's this nostalgic relationship with side-scrolling platform games. I loved playing the old Mario Bros back in the 90s, as I think every kid did, but when "everything went 3D" I really loved that Nintendo continued to invest in these kinds of games all the more.
A favourite, Yoshi's Crafted World, came out on the original Switch back in 2019. And while I can't imagine that Nintendo can knock up something so immediately charming and intelligent in a matter of moments, I have my fingers crossed that the team in Japan is working on a next-gen follow up for my favourite dino adventurer (by which I mean Yoshi, not Barney, just for clarity's sake).
I think side-scrolling platform games aren't given the respect they deserve, by and large, and Nintendo is the absolute master of developing them. The ones that just make you smile, are a joy to play, and bring the perfect difficulty curve. Not bastard-hard ones like Cuphead, much as I can appreciate that too. So if a Switch 2 was to launch with a new Yoshi platform game that families and ageing gamers like myself could play, I think there'd be a lot of love for it.
3D Mario, of course
While The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild turned out to be a perfect launch game for Switch, we had to wait until the end of 2017 for a bone fide 3D Mario game to arrive.
But what a game? Super Mario Odyssey is the only Nintendo Switch title I've completed twice (it's-a me, Rik-io Henderson – T3 News Editor) and while there will be some who disagree, it's my favourite game on the platform. That's why I really hope that Miyamoto has something up his ridiculously talented sleeves for day one of the Switch 2.
If so, I'd lap it up like banana milkshake. In fact, I might go back and play Odyssey one final time in eager anticipation.
