Need more Marvel after Endgame? Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is just just over 2 months away. The dormant action-RPG franchise was revived as a Switch exclusive a few months back. Now the release is approaching expect to hear a lot more details being revealed. The game already has a pretty sizeable roster, including almost everyone you’d expect from Marvel’s cinematic universe. This week saw Hawkeye and the current comic book Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, added to that list. Its nice to see the game pulling from a diverse roster, not just the movies, and varying characters appearances so it does not feel like just another movie tie-in. There’s still a long list of things I’d like to see added though, ranging from more characters to alternate costumes. Between its potential characters and co-op functionality you can expect the hype for this title to only build in the coming weeks.
Super Mario Maker 2. June 28th.
The Switch has already seen a lot of top-tier first party titles, and Wii U ports, so Mario Maker arriving in some form has been long expected. The strong reaction to the first game, despite the Wii U’s small user base, means this has the potential to be one of the must-play games of 2019. Nintendo have done a great job so far in emphasising the new aspects of this sequel, with the Mario’s cat suit front and centre. Much like Marvel Ultimate Alliance expect more trailers and reveals for this one in the lead-up to launch. Nintendo have other Switch games in the pipeline, from Fire Emblem Three Houses to the Link’s Awakening remake, but Mario Maker 2 might just be the biggest.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. June 25th.
If it seems an age since Bloodstained was first kick-started, that’s because it has been. Like almost all crowd-funded games there’s been some rough periods for those looking forward to this nostalgic Metroidvania. The release date announcement included a new look at the games improved visuals meant to assuage some backer concerns. There’s no doubting the dedication, pedigree and fan-money that went into making this into reality and so far it looks like it might deliver. There’s already a fair few excellent Metroidvania’s among the current Switch games. Hollow Knight in particular has much been lauded, and coincidentally is making its way to store shelves on June 28th. Hopefully Bloodstained does enough to stand out.
Team Sonic Racing. May 21st.
There may be much to be miserable about in the land of Sonic at present, but his last two racing outings have been rock-solid. With Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still showing up among the best-selling Switch games it seems like Team Sonic Racing should be able to find an audience. If you need a little more convincing there’s also been some nice promotional animations that are well worth a watch. Much the ones produced to promote Sonic Mania these are entertaining in their own right. Considering its been considerably delayed hopefully Team Sonic Racing is worth the wait, and doesn’t get buried under bigger releases.
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization – Deluxe Edition. May 24th.
What would a list of upcoming Switch games be without a port or remake? I’m not the biggest fan of Sword Art Online but this sounds like a solid JRPG regardless. This might not be the best anime game in existence, but if you’re craving a new adventure its nice to see this made the jump from PS4. The extra content included with the deluxe edition might persuade a few people to play this one through a second time. The real appeal here is undoubtedly being able to play it in handheld mode. Its also nice to see Hollow Realization getting a full release after Dragon’s Dogma went digital-only.
