 All right, it's that time of year again. Well, the start of a brand new year means the start of brand new video game releases. And hear me when I say that 2022 will go down as the best year the Nintendo Switch has ever seen. I know, that sounds like a big claim. The current greatest year the Switch has had was its initial year of release. We saw Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey. But this year we get another Breath of the Wild as well as so many other games from Nintendo and third-party companies and indie teams. It is bananas. Which means so many videos from me throughout the year. If you don't want to miss any of it, you want to get on board for the ride, you gotta hit that subscribe button. Turn on the little bell, like the video while you're at it, please. This video was brought to you by Tokyo Treat and Sakurako. Tokyo Treat and Sakurako boxes are perfect for Valentine's Day. Oh yeah, this is Valentine's themed because it's Valentine's Day. Kim, I got you a Valentine's Day present. Yeah, sounds about right. These boxes are very different in their themes. Tokyo Treat is more for people into the popular Japanese snacks. Like who doesn't love a Japan exclusive Kit Kat or a nice cup of ramen? A croissant with chocolate in it? You love those? Okay, you can have half. You know what? It's gonna be so much better, trust me. Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I'm wrong, I'll look you in the eyes and call your life. But Sakurako is very different because it's full of traditional Japanese snacks made by some of Japan's local artisan snack makers. Like there's a bunch of teas in here and then like biscuits and a Danish that pairs really well with those teas. You know what I bet? Biscuit, shortbread by the way, delicious. Goes with the tea. Yeah, nice to meet you. Let's have a tea. It's a tea and biscuit box. I'm Australian slash British. I love tea and biscuits. Whichever box you choose, every month is a different theme and full of different snacks. Obviously, this month is Valentine's theme because Valentine's Day is coming up. And if you're afraid of opening the box and having no clue what any of it is, don't worry because there's a booklet inside the box which explains every snack included. Oh, we got popcorn. What flavor is that? Lettuce flavor. Mike popcorn shrimp salt. It's actually pretty good. Wanna try? So whichever box you want, go to the description and you'll find a link. If you're grabbing the Tokyo treat box, you can use code KitKat22 to get a bonus KitKat with your first box. Or if you're grabbing the Sakurako box, you can use code Tiger to get a bonus Japanese home goodie with your first box. These promotions are only available for the rest of this month though, so you gotta be quick. So starting with the games with release dates. The first one, you already know. Pokemon Arceus. This is a new kind of grand Pokemon adventure from Game Freak that blends action and exploration into the RPG roots of the Pokemon series. It's the Pokemon game we've all been asking for. It honestly feels way too good to be true, which makes me worried that it's not gonna be good. But I'm very hopeful and very excited. In fact, I'm streaming it on Twitch today, so come check out my first impressions of the game. Silk song? It's coming out February 1st. Moving on. I'm as sick of speculating about this game's release date as you are hearing me talk about it. Late last year, there were some rumors about this game dropping on February 1st, which is why it's second on today's video. That's the only reason I put it here. I don't think it's happening February 1st. I think we would have heard about that by now. I fully believe this game is releasing this year. Or not at all. I swear the rest of these games are more solid than that one. Life is Strange Remastered Collection. The remastered collection features the first game and it's prequel Life is Strange Before the Storm. With remastered visuals and animations, it's set to breathe new life into the great cast characters and gripping stories. I loved the first game. The second one, I could take it all even. Dying Light 2 drops on February 4th. As we move into the futuristic year of 2022, we're probably going to see a lot more games release via cloud streaming. Dying Light 2 is the next cloud gaming experience. I recently fell in love with the first Dying Light on Switch, which runs perfectly locally on the console. But I can totally see how cramming the sequel onto this system would just not have been possible. So hopefully it's playable in this futuristic way. We really are in the future. Did you know George Jetson was born in 2022? I mean born. But think about that. Olly Olly World. Just so you know, this is actually the third entry into a long-running critically acclaimed series that started on the PlayStation Vita in 2014. There's a console I haven't thought about in a hot minute. Flip and flow through the vivid and vibrant world of Radlandia, meaning colorful characters as you grind, trick, and air your way to discover the mystical skate gods. Many Assassin's Creed games have come to the Switch and they all look and play really nice. Japan even has Assassin's Creed Odyssey via cloud streaming. But on February 17th, the full Ezio collection drops on the console. And let me tell you why that is exciting. Each Assassin's game introduces a new protagonist. But back in 2009, Assassin's Creed 2 saw Ezio as our second ever playable assassin. And he was instantly beloved mostly because he actually had something that all the other assassins previously and since have been lacking. And that's a personality. So much so that he was the only Assassin to get two more games directly after, Brotherhood and Revelations. Both fell under the same Assassin's Creed 2 blanket, which is why this is called the Ezio trilogy. I am weirdly excited for Evil Dead the game to release on Switch. It's obviously based on the Evil Dead franchise, but with PvP combat pretty much like Dead by Daylight, which I didn't like really at all. But also like Friday the 13th, which I did really like a lot. One person being the deranged psycho killer and everyone else either trying to work together or alone to escape. It's such a cool concept, especially with the proxy chat. It's just a blast. Yeah, so Chocobo GP is literally just Final Fantasy Mario Kart. But you can play as a VV, so it has my money. I have not seen enough people get excited for the .hack. What a confusing title. It's releasing March 11th. And I am a little confused by this series in general because there was a series on PlayStation 2 called .hack. It's not those. It's the .hack forward slash forward slash G.U. I don't know. All I know is that the .hack games are supposed to be really fun JRPGs. And those PS2 games can get kind of pricey. So this is a win-win. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a fighting game in the Persona 4 universe. I talk about it more, but A, I think you get it. And two, this is the second non-Persona Persona game on Switch. And honestly, I'm just sick of being teased. Kirby Forgotten Lands. This is one of those perfect releases where it feels like it was just last month the game was announced with gameplay. And already it's about to launch on Switch in March. Kirby's first big debut into a 3D platformer world. And with that recent gorgeous trailer showcasing how stunning this game looks visually. I don't see how this isn't going to be a hit. Better edit something in there, otherwise that's just going to be cringe. Marvel Midnight Sons. I feel like even just a few years ago the tactics genre of video games had seemed to have all but died out. And I was sad about that at the time, but recently it seems like that genre has exploded to the point where I'm getting kind of sick of it. Be careful what you wish for. Midnight Sons is a tactical RPG set in the darker side of the Marvel universe. So think Marvel Ultimate Alliance, but dark and tactical. House of the Dead Remake comes to the Switch April 14th. It's the original 1997 arcade on rails shooter hit, but with modern graphics and controls. Sick. Rune Factory. It's a series of games that I keep telling myself I will play one day and then never do. So maybe the fifth game might be the place for me to start on May 20th. It's a fast paced action RPG with farming, relationship building, fishing and dragons. So what's not to love? But can you date the dragons? And then you would have me Genshin. Genshin? Look, if Genshin Impact doesn't drop on Switch this year, I say honestly don't bother. That would be like releasing full guys on Switch this year. You missed the mo- What's that? Many people have just frankly moved on already or given up waiting and played it on PC or PlayStation. That said, there is a strong rumor it's dropping on Switch mid this year. As someone who's been waiting to play the game for the Switch port, I'm pretty excited still. River City Goes To is the sequel to a game that aimed to be like River City Ransom, but in the style of Shantae. And it did that. It was praised for its art style, graphics, soundtrack, inventive bosses, and its sense of humor. So no surprise, we are seeing a sequel. Upping the playable characters from four to six, enhancing the combat, adding new locations with multiple routes, look like we're in for more of the same fun butt kick in action. I had to say butt kicking because my channel is like PG and I can't say F. The Legend of Zelda Heroes. The Legend of Heroes series has had many installments, but back in 2010 and 2011, two PSP games Trials From Zero and Trials To Azura were released in Japan and now both those games are finally being translated into English and releasing on the Switch. Trials From Zero drops this year and Azur in 2023. Little Devil Inside is what I call my depression, but also the name of a game that I thought was a PlayStation exclusive turns out it's coming to Switch too. We recently got a good look at this action adventure game, which has both single player and co-op multiplayer modes where you explore the land searching for monsters and supernatural events. I mostly think it just looks super charming and just so striking visually. Alright, cool. That is all the games with dates. I think it's pretty safe to say everything from this point while they are releasing this year, you can expect to see them in the mid to late end of the year. I wouldn't be surprised if some get delayed. I mean, it happens all the time. First off, Nintendo 64 games totally count for the video. Obviously, we can expect the ones they have already announced, like Banjo-Kazooie, Pokemon Snap, and Majora's Mask, but I'm betting we get a bunch of other drops and surprises throughout the year. Oh, and I guess Genesis will also be getting new- I- who cares? I'm sorry, I'm sure somebody does. From the creators of Octopath Traveler comes Triangle Strategy, and if there's one thing these devs have shown, it's that they do not know how to name a game. Well, that and they can really make the heck out of a 2D, 3D sprite visual look. I mean, it's just gorgeous. Their new game moves away from the standard term-based JRPG mechanics and instead heads to a tactical JRPG, because of course it does. That said, I am excited for this one and it looks great. Advance Wars 1 and 2 Reboot Camp was supposed to launch last year, but it has become a 2022 Spring Fling. And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, would I thought you said these ones didn't have dates? Yeah, but it's funnier this way because this is another tactical game. Look, I don't know what to tell you. However, the Advance Wars games received universal acclaim back in the day for its ingenious design of being both super in-depth, but also instantly accessible, and it's very often featured as inspiration for newer tactics games released to this day. Mario and Rabbids Sparks of Hope is a turn-based tactics 2022, man. This is the year of tactics games. Actually, Mario and Rabbids, the first one, was a strictly turn-based tactics game, and it was fantastic. But this new one, it does look like they are trying something pretty different. It's still listed as a strategy game, but in the trailers, you can see characters running freely around a set limited area. Maybe it's still turn-based, but you have more freedom in how you act each turn. Either way, I loved the visual story and gameplay from the first title, so this should be great too. Digimon Survive is a say it with me now, everyone. Turn-based tactic strategy game. Good job, everyone. But this game features survival elements. It's aimed at an older audience, with its dark undertones and different paths through the game, where wrong choices and characters... Yeah. Let's take a break from the tactics games for a second, and instead talk about, I don't know, metal slug. Tactics. Developers.EMU have been doing great work for years, and seemingly struck gold when they made Streets of Rage 4. They managed to create a fantastic and successful new game in a beloved retro series, and from there, they would just hand the keys to a few other old-school franchises, all three of which launch on Switch this year. First, a new title in the Metal Slug franchise with this tactic spin-off. They're not developing this one, they're publishing it. But the developers they got for it have managed to nail the beautifully animated pixel art style the series was known for. Then, you have TMT Shredder's Revenge. Again, this time .EMU is just publishing, but the developers are actually ex-Ubisoft employees who worked on the Scott Pilgrim beat-em-up game, which is my favorite beat-em-up game of all time. And finally .EMU themselves are developing and publishing a new sequel to Neo Geo's 1994 game, Windjammer's. I do actually think that's all the tactics games, so we'll move on to something completely different. A game that I already kind of mentioned in the video, Four Guys. Is anyone still waiting for this to come to Switch? I mean, who's still playing Four Guys? I really mean no offense here. It's just the same thing with Genshin Impact. The game is great. I just feel like you missed the boat a little bit, I feel like. Tomb Raider is finally launching on the Switch. No, it's not the new rebooted franchise they have going. That would be cool. It's not even the original PlayStation 1 trilogy. No, it's Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, as well as its sequel Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris. Yes, I had to read those. I didn't know what they were. They're very arcadey games, played from a top-down isometric view, like the Diablo series. Maybe if these do well, we'll get some actual Tomb Raider happening on Switch. Okay, let's just knock out the other two cloud-based games coming this year for Switch. First, we have Kingdom Hearts, like all of it. We're talking 10 freaking Kingdom Hearts games. You'll be able to buy it all in one go by grabbing the Integrum Masterpiece Collection. Remember, it's all being streamed, though. Then we have Plague Tale Requiem, a sequel to Plague Tale, which is also streaming on the Switch currently. And look, I love the first game immensely. It is severely underrated, and I encourage you all to play it any way you can. But for me, I am 1,000% playing the sequel on my Xbox Series X, just like I did with the original. The stunning, crisp visuals and thrilling gameplay just needs to be appreciated the right way. It's just not the same experience at all. That's delicious. And I want people like that money. Gollum. I thought that Lord of the Rings Gollum would be streamed when I saw it was announced to be coming to the Switch. But apparently they're aiming to have it play locally, which is really cool. It's an action-adventure game, obviously, set in the Lord of the Rings universe. But following the character of Smeagol cut before the events of the Hobbit. And that's really all we know about the game so far. Time for a big one. If anyone else ever leans into you like that and says, time for a big one, run, get away. But when I do it, stick around, because it's Splatoon 3, baby! It launches this year and I'm very excited for this new installment. So Splatoon 1, it was all about the multiplayer action. Splatoon 2, it introduced a solo mode, but it was more focused again on refining the multiplayer and perfecting it. And it did. It was great. Splatoon 3 looks to be the best of both worlds, with a heavy emphasis on the single-player, post-apocalyptic world that I am hoping is as story-driven as it seems. And I'm really excited for this to be the definitive and most content-packed Splatoon yet. For the sake of time, I'm gonna do a sizzle rail really quick. For a bunch of indies that I am, and you should be, very excited for. Card Shark is a rogue-like card-based game with real card manipulation techniques. Neon White actually looks really cool. It's a fast-paced first-person action platformer, but it also uses a card-based system for your attacks. Oxen Free 2 is set five years after the events of the first game, and if you haven't played the first game, do it. It's created by Adam Hines, who worked on The Wolf Among Us and is influenced by stories like Stand By Me. Bear and Breakfast is a laid-back management adventure where you play as a bear trying to run a BNB and what more do you need to know? I've never played Pillars of Eternity, but the sequel is coming to Switch this year, and to me, it looks like Diablo, but when I say that, people tend to get really upset, so I don't say that. Outer Wilds, not to be confused with Outer Worlds, is an open-world mystery about a solar system trapped in an endless time loop, and finally in our sizzle reel, sports story. The long-awaited sequel to Golf Story, featuring dungeons, espionage, mini-games, buried treasure, and they swear golf is actually in there somewhere around all the fun. Sonic Breath of the Wild is an open-world platform game and the first of its kind for the Sonic franchise. You explore the world of Starfall Islands, but developers and the writers of the game have said that the game's open-world design can be compared to Breath of the Wild, but that said, I hope they have a lot in place to separate this game from just being a Sonic Skin Swap Breath of the Wild mod, although that does sound pretty fun. Temtem takes the idea of Pokemon and, well, just kind of does it again. It's Pokemon, but it throws it into an MMORPG setting. It's been an early access for a long time. Last I played it, it had a long way to go as a concept. It's been a long time since then, though, and the full release is set for this year, and I will absolutely be giving it another chance. Okay, so LEGO Star Wars, the Skywalker Saga, it's a complete remake of the prequel and original trilogy games that they had already made, as well as the Force Awakens game. This is where I get a little confused. I don't think they're remaking that because it literally just released, but they never made Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker, so I'm assuming there'll be two new games in here, as well as the last game and then remakes of six other games. This sounds really cool, honestly. Bomb Rush Cyberpunk is a spiritual successor to Jet Set Radio. Dance, paint, trick, and face-off with the cops in this stylish adventure game filled with a great futuristic soundtrack. Okay, so how Blizzard is handling Overwatch 2 is kind of confusing. Like, I think I get it. I mean, essentially, there is a full sequel coming, which will be sold separately with all new heroes, maps, and competitive game modes, but all of that will also exist within the original game, so it's more of a massive DLC patch. Like, you have to pay for it, but if you have the original game, it just kind of, like, all smushes into it. That said, the Switch version will also come along for that updated Rise some point this year. I made a lot of these videos, right? You might have seen them here or there, me talking about upcoming Switch games. But what you might not have noticed is that the tail end of almost all of them for the last five or six years of doing them, I've had to, like, out of obligation, put certain games at the end because, like, if I don't talk about them, it's kind of weird that I didn't, but we have no idea when they're coming out, but it should be soon, right? This is the first time I can finally talk about games like Bayonetta 3 and actually have a release date. Well, kind of, a release year. Bayonetta 3 releases this year 2022, and that feels so good to finally say. It's the bewitching third installment in the Bayonetta series, and I adore these games so much for their over-the-top hack-and-slash action, crazy character and enemy designs, and all-around vibes of Bayonetta dancing her way through hordes of demons. What does someone even say about Breath of the Wild 2? This is why this year is gonna be so huge. Bayonetta, Splatoon 3, Pokemon, and now the still unofficially named Breath of the Wild 2. We know it features new floating Sky Islands that Link can drip up to. We see that he can now reverse time as well as freeze it. What happened to Link's arm? Is the floating platforms and skydiving Link something that's reminiscent of Skyward Sword, or is the darker tones more reminiscent of Majora's Mask? Are we going back to the same howl as the first game? I have too many questions. I can't wait to play this game. And when it releases, if you don't see a video from me for a month, don't have to check on me. You know what I'm doing. All right, we have a few more games. They're all curveballs. So I had no idea this was a thing. Looking on Wikipedia for upcoming Switch games, making sure I didn't miss anything, I see this. Apparently, just weeks after the film released, the Pokemon company themselves announced in a press conference that Detective Pikachu 2 was being developed for Switch, being developed. Now, we've heard nothing about this since. And shortly after the movie release, they even scrapped this planned sequel to the movie because they thought that the movie underperformed, even though it is the second highest grossing video game movie adaptation of all time. So I don't really know what they were expecting the movie to do. The fact that they scrapped the movie, I mean it could mean that they scrapped the game as well, that doesn't change the fact that at some point, Detective Pikachu 2 was in development for Switch. I just thought that was more of a fun fact than anything. Yeah, I talk about those games. I'm obligated each video. And along with the ride, along with Bayonetta, along with Breath of the Wild 2, there's always been, of course, Metroid Prime 4. And sadly, we can't cross that off the coming this year list yet. But at the very least, the silver lining here is that it is the last big game we have to speculate. As the next big Nintendo games might end up being on the next generation Nintendo console. I really feel like it'll be next year as a way to round out the Switch's life. But one exciting thing from this year is I bet we'll see gameplay. That's honestly a pretty solid prediction I have. Okay, sure. I know what I just, what I literally just said, but let me go back on that with Mario Kart 9. If you're wondering why I'm even talking about it, it's because there have been a ton of strong rumors that this game is currently in development. But I don't think it takes a brainiac to figure out that yet more than likely. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Switch game to date, and yet it's a Wii U port. The Switch has still not seen its own Mario Kart game. I could see this game dropping about middle of next year, maybe around summer. I could see us racing in summer. Probably before Metroid Prime 4 drops, I would say around fall, kind of like what Metroid Dread just did last fall. Those two games would be just a bittersweet wind down to the Switch's lifespan. And yet, I don't know if you noticed, but we really are at that point. I think in 2024 we're gonna see the new console coming around, because if you think about it, there's nothing else left. Nintendo would have done all of its big IPs for Switch at that point. Maybe squeezing out a Mario Odyssey 2 to wrap it up, but I think what would make more sense is if the new Switch released in 2024 with Mario Odyssey 2 on launch day. Probably even on Switch and on the new console, replicating what Breath of the Wild did for the Switch on its launch with the Wii U. I don't want to get into a whole tangent about it. It just lines up far, far too perfectly. And that's the video. It really is at that point. This might be even the last upcoming games video I make for the Switch, maybe. Nah, I'll do one to start it next year. If this video helped you in some way, like it, but also share it. Get it out there with the world. The other people need to know. Bye. Bye, Zach. Bye, Zach. You don't have to accept those kisses.