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Check Out What Games Are Most Anticipated with the 2021 NWR Hype Meter

Top 10 Most Anticipated Third-Party Switch Games for 2021 and Beyond

by Neal Ronaghan - January 13, 2021, 10:16 am EST

Heard y'all like RPGs.

9. (Tied) MLB The Show
Hype Level: 6.45%

Starting in 2021, the longtime PlayStation exclusive MLB The Show could start showing up on other platforms. That means a Switch release of this venerated baseball game could be on the way. I'd definitely welcome it as a perfect supporting sports game to Super Mega Baseball. Having both of those fantastic baseball games on the same portable seems like a dream.

9. (Tied) NEO The World Ends With You
Hype Level: 6.45%

When Square Enix teased a new announcement for The World Ends With You in 2020, the reality of an actual sequel seemed preposterous. We've gotten had by anime, mobile ports, and more with this game over the years. It still feels fake that a sequel is actually coming out, but the reality of it all is coming soon, as NEO: The World Ends With You is due out in 2021.

8. Little Nightmares 2
Hype Level: 7.74%

Set for a February 11, 2021 release date, Bandai Namco and developer Tarsier Studios (best know for The Stretchers, right?) are releasing Little Nightmares 2, a sequel to horror puzzle platformer that came out in 2017 (and Switch in 2018). I have no experience with this game, but our own Xander Morningstar seemed to enjoy the original.

7. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game Complete Edition
Hype Level: 9.03%

Thought lost to time, this 2010 retro-styled beat-'em-up with a dope Anamanaguchi soundtrack is back. By the time this is posted, our own Willem Hilhorst's review will be live, so check that out. The game comes out on January 14, but I feel like it's worth pointing out that Limited Run Games is doing a physical release, which might be worth getting since, well, this game was lost to time for a decade.

5. (Tied) Persona 5 Strikers
Hype Level: 10.32%

Wow! Persona 5 on Switch? How coo....wait a minute. Whether it's because of some Sony/Atlus contract or whatever, the actual RPG Persona 5 is stuck on PlayStation, but Switch is getting the next best thing (?) in Persona 5 Strikers, which is due out on February 23, 2021. It's worth noting that this isn't actually a true blue Musou (like Hyrule Warriors or Fire Emblem Warriors), it's kind of more of a hybrid brawler concepts and Persona battles? I don't know for sure; that's just what I heard from people who played the 2020 Japanese release. Anyway, we should have more coverage on this game when it comes out.

5. (Tied) The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV
Hype Level: 10.32%

Literally given a release date of April 9, 2021 while I am writing this, the fourth Trails of Cold Steel game becomes the second in the series on Switch. This is some high-class "Kingdom Hearts 3 was the first Xbox entry in the series" energy, but as someone who just started playing the first Trails of Cold Steel on PC, maybe this series is the truth? Maybe this is the best modern JRPG series? I feel like this is a game where if you know, you know, but maybe if you don't know, weigh your options of either hopping in with the third game on Switch or taking my route of starting with the first Trails of Cold Steel game (but not the related preceding series Trails in the Sky or any of the Japan-only releases; this franchise is confusing).

4. Shin Megami Tensei V
Hype Level: 15.48%

Almost four years to the day of writing this, Shin Megami Tensei V was revealed for Nintendo Switch. Four years later and well, we don't know that much more but it should be out, worldwide, in 2021. As someone who fell in love with this Persona originator (what's the opposite of spin-off?) on 3DS with Shin Megami Tensei IV and IV Apocalypse, I'm excited for this demon-negotiating RPG. This isn't Persona, but it will likely be the closest the Switch audience will get to playing Persona 5 (or Persona 5 Strikers is? I'm not even sure).

3. No More Heroes 3
Hype Level: 18.71%

Another game sort of revealed at the initial January 2017 Nintendo Switch presentation, No More Heroes 3 should be out in 2021, but it also should have been out in 2020 and Suda 51 keeps obscuring gameplay footage of the game so who knows anymore. In the meantime, you've got some time to play or replay series star Travis Touchdown's other adventures, whether it's No More Heroes 1 or 2, or the spin-off Travis Strikes Again (which I enjoyed but a lot of other people sure didn't).

2. Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
Hype Level: 21.29%

Perhaps speaking to how well-regarded Ys VIII was when it launched on Switch in 2018, Ys IX wound up being soundly one of the most anticipated games according to our readers and staff. Due out on PlayStation 4 in February and Switch sometime in 2021, this should continue the series' move into full 3D exploration and action. It will be the third Ys game on Switch after VIII and Ys Origins, but I'll keep waiting for The Oath in Felghana or Memories of Celceta to reach Switch. I really liked those two.

1. Monster Hunter Rise
Hype Level: 29.03%

After Monster Hunter Rise's demo crippled the eShop servers, maybe this shouldn't have been a surprise. This Capcom game is the first new Monster Hunter game after Monster Hunter World became the best-selling Capcom game of all time. For the Nintendo player, this game is even more impactful because not only is it a new entry in a series that has soundly been great on 3DS, Switch, Wii, and Wii U, but it's an entry that features a lot of the streamlined and improved design found in the successful World, which never came to Nintendo platforms. March 26 isn't too far away, and there's a good chance this game might be one of the best-selling third-party games on the Switch in short order.

Talkback

Order.RSSJanuary 13, 2021

Forgot about MLB The Show potentially going multi-platform! It'd be wild if that comes to Switch but Madden and NHL remain nowhere to be seen. If it does though, I hope it won't impact Super Mega Baseball's sales too much.

Cool to see Disco Elysium in the top three on the indie list. I've also purposefully stayed away from too much information on that game, but it sounds very special.

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