If you thought the Summer Game Fest ran through a lot of announcements really quickly, then the Wholesome Direct must have looked like a blur in your rear-view mirror. With 75 "wholesome" games to run through in just an hour, we managed to get quite a few "coming to Switch" titles but very little time to get to know them before they were gone again.
(Also, if you missed the Wholesome Direct, you can watch it again here!)
But we've got you covered!
Here's a list of every game from the Wholesome Direct that's coming to the Nintendo Switch, with short descriptions from the developers and release windows or dates, if they exist:
Amber Isle
Amber Isle is a shop management/social sim set in a quaint, friendly world of prehistoric animal villagers called Paleofolk! Tasked with opening the only shop in a small, sleepy village, you find yourself crafting and selling items to solve unique problems of the unusual clientele. A table big enough for a brontosaurus, a water-proof picnic set for a plesiosaur, or a special toothbrush for a sabre-toothed cat!
Bear & Breakfast
Build and run a Bed+Breakfast in the woods, but you’re a Bear. Tourists are flooding in, your decoration senses are tingling, and the woods are making a kooky noise.
Release Date: 2021
Beasts of Maravilla Island
Embark on your adventure as an aspiring wildlife photographer in the hidden, magical jungles of Maravilla Island. Explore this mysterious island and solve puzzles to discover extraordinary creatures, interact with them in their natural habitat, and photograph the enchanting, unique behaviours you reveal!
Release Date: Out now!
Button City
Button City is a colourful low poly narrative adventure game about friendship and community. Enter a pastel diorama world inspired by 90’s nostalgia and filled with cute characters to befriend. Complete quirky quests around town, play arcade games, collect fun costumes, solve puzzles and more as you follow a story about growing up and saving the things that are important to you.
Release Date: Q3 2021
Dordogne
Dordogne is a narrative adventure game in which you play as Mimi, a 32-year-old woman visiting the house of her recently deceased grandmother. As a souvenir of the childhood summers Mimi spent with her in Dordogne, her grandmother left her letters and puzzles to solve, to remind her to make the most out of life.
Release Date: 2021
Dreamland Confectionery
Dreamland Confectionery is a comforting narratively driven exploration game about baking desserts to transform your world. Journey throughout the land to reclaim a lost childhood dream with the help of a vibrant cast of old friends.
Fire Tonight
Inspired by Information Society's song of the same name, Fire Tonight is a light-hearted but thoughtful walk through the story of a relationship. A story about believing in each other when the whole world tries to keep them apart.
Release Date: 12th August, 2021
Freshly Frosted
A dozen dozen dazzling donut dilemmas await you, that's 144 (and, perhaps more...) puzzles to please your particular puzzley passions. To excite and delight there are mechanics galore; from splitters to pushers, mergers and cloners, randomizers, teleporters, and more!
Release Date: 2021
Garden Story
Unify a broken community as the newly-appointed Guardian of The Grove. Traverse a vibrant island to combat invasive Rot, inspire its inhabitants, and rebuild your home. You won't have to do this alone: fruity friends await, ready to lend a hand!
Release Date: Summer 2021
Here Comes Niko!
In Here Comes Niko! the cozy 3D platformer for tired people, you’ll play as Niko traveling across scenic islands. Make new friends, catch fish, solve puzzles, snag bugs, and more! Oh, Did I mention your boss is a frog? With Here Comes Niko! you're in for the most laid back adventure of your life!
Hoa
Hoa is a beautiful puzzle-platforming game that features breath-taking hand-painted art, lovely music, and a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere.
Release date: 24th August, 2021
KeyWe
KeyWe is a cute, co-operative postal puzzler starring Jeff and Debra, two small kiwi birds working in a whimsical post office. They must jump, flap, peck and butt-slam their way across an interactive landscape of levers, bells and buttons to get those messages delivered on time!
Release date: 31st August, 2021
Kokopa's Atlas
After crash-landing on a new planet unknown to all who previously passed by this sector of the galaxy, Kokopa and Pollimero soon realize their plight. With a ship that’s too damaged to resume flight (What else would you expect? They crashed from outer space!), Kokopa and Pollimero set out to see what adventures they can find. Join them and explore a world full of beautiful landscapes, quirky characters, and untold secrets.
KreatureKind
In KreatureKind, the heroes – Riley, Yui and Mitra – have all found magic swords which enhance their inherent abilities. It just so happens that they are really good at hugging, listening, and sharing memes!
And in an effort to stop your browser overloading with all the videos (apologies iuli!), head to page 2 for the final 14 Switch games featured in the Wholesome Direct, starting with LEGO Builder's Journey...
Comments 55
The one and only comment.
Wow how did you make this article that fast ? It always takes me half an hour to come up with the first sentence when I write anything
@Farts_Ahoy Not anymore!
@Farts_Ahoy I second that
@SigmaNoire Copious amounts of caffeine 💪
I don't know why but the switch is great for playing indies and that's what I prefer to play them on.
A lot of games for switch indeed
Nothing for me here Was it only new releases or some of those were ports?
Kokopa's Atlas, Letters, Snacko look very promising.
From the presentation Fire Tonight is the only game that caught my eye that is also coming to Switch. Hopefully developers will bring more of those games to Switch.
Could play them on other platforms but Switch just seems ideal for these types of games.
You have done the Lord's work here @kateGray. That Direct was as wholesome as a rollercoaster!
I have my eye on Woodo. Looks good! Maybe the wizard academy one... but I'll have to see how that pans out.
This was such a great show! I pretty much liked more than I can buy/play. The most impressive seemed Woodo and A Little to the Left (might scratch my OCD itch).
Oh, I was out & missed this. Thanks for the link in article.
Another pile of indie games, I will probably never play
It's crazy that I got impressed by almost every games shown. 😃
Button City suddenly stole my attention because I saw a DDR machine on it, with legit bar color like DDR A Arcade (Aqua and Pink).
This is the best Indie Direct that I have ever watched. 😘
@SigmaNoire Kate is also just a genuis!
@Nintendo4Sonic
Better you watch the trailer, the Indie games that shown during Direct was really worthy indie games, not a lazy cheap 8 / 16 bit retro style.
I almost thinking are they really indie games ?
The Lego Builder game and Woodo, the last one, were the ones that stood out to me the most, mostly because I really like the art styles in them both and they both looked quite simple to just chill and play. Most of the rest honestly looked like they were made with the same game creation tool or something and just blended into each other.
@Ziondood I wish I was a genius... Would help me writing my papers
Why isn’t Dark Souls II on this list? Color me surprised.
This wholesome direct definitely was the best of today's shows. So many games that interest me. Thanks for putting together a list of ones coming to Switch.
Wait a second, Yokai Inn isn't coming to Switch?! That was one of my favorite reveals!
@iuli I've split the article into 2 pages, hopefully that helps out with browser crashes.
And it's still information overload... I'm almost happy Ubisoft and Devolver had very little Switch news (the one obvious Ubisoft reveal that HAD to happen aside though, and I'm not talking about Just Dance)
Wow, when did "Stardew Valley but cats" become a genre?
Nothing complaining really, but ... just wow.
@Anti-Matter ok, thanks for the info
This is just too much wholesomeness for me. We're going to need a double order of Japanese horror tonight or I may die from wholesomeness.
I got a Fast and Furious 9 and USAA commercial for two of these; glad Wholesome Games supports America!
Looks like a lot of wack ass games.
Dordogne continues to impress, with gorgeous watercolor graphics and a simple yet relaxing premise. Also boasts the best art style to make use of the very trendy photography mechanic.
Hopefully Yokai Inn gets a Switch announcement!! I really need that game
@Ulysses Yokai Inn has not announced ANY platforms. I know, I know, it’s maybe my most-wanted game from the whole presentation.
@Keithustus Yes!! Same here! Beautiful pixel art, with a cute premise and interesting characters, and the isometric angle is nostalgic. But the website says it's in the early stages of development still
Preparing myself for a late 2022/2023 release...
@Lagster_YT I don't know why but the switch is great for playing indies and that's what I prefer to play them on.
It's because playing on a small screen makes indie games look better. Those terrible graphics won't look as good on a 4K TV.
Now you know why.
I am just out of touch I guess, none of these look interesting.
Wholesome is a word that is so overused it hurts me 😞
But regardless I’m looking forward to loads of these games. Thanks for the list Kate!
Man, I used to be aware of the cool games coming out, but I only recognized maybe 4 of these.
I'm rooting for Skatebird just for the premise and being a skateboarding game. I just hope it plays a little bit better than the early demo I played like 2 years ago.
I guess I'm the only one REALLY interested in Mythic Ocean. It looks like there are so many branching paths and ways you can affect the story that you could play it a dozen times and get a different ending each time. Definitely want to know more about that one. Skatebird is something I've been interested in since it was first announced. It just seems like silly fun. Also Witchery Academy, We Are OFK, Woodo...so many from this list caught my eye as something I would love to try out. The end of this year is stacked for me already, just from this one showing...and that's with three whole days of announcements to go! Woo boy!
@Crono1973
Gameplay does matter than 4K graphics in my opinion.
I was impressed by Wholesome Direct just now. The variety of games library from the Direct was really interesting.
Pass on all of the above.
@SigmaNoire press releases
Thanks for the article.
Only around 2 or 3 appeal to me at the moment out of those but future reviews could change my mind.
@KateGray And by caffeine, we all know you mean Adderall. Oh wait, sorry - that's probably just me projecting 🤣
lol and 99% of them is garbage
Garden Story looks amazing! I just love it.
@BlackenedHalo
Are you sure almost all of them are garbage ?
Almost every game shown from that Indie direct got my interest.
They are not lazy cheap 8 / 16 bit retro style games.
Some of them are good 3D indie games.
Most of these games look great, I am scared to see my wish list in a few months! I really like the whimsical nature and the art work. What a great time to be a gamer!
I would REALLY like to see Moonglow Bay make its way to Switch
I love the idea of this showcase. A lot of the games on the list look like something I would enjoy, as well! Kudos to all involved in the development of these games, the creation of this direct, and the writing of this article. Glad to see earnest passion projects like these getting their own 15 minutes in the spotlight
@Anti-Matter Yes but many indie games just don't look good on modern tv's and look fine on the Switch's screen.
@Crono1973
Not really.
There are some Switch indie games still look good on both TV and Switch's screen.
Letters, Beasts of Maravilla Island, Dordogne, and Mythic Ocean were the standouts for me!
@Lagster_YT same, but i feel bad sometimes when most of the games i buy, i could play for free on Xbox game pass if i just waited (since i have game pass anyways). I used to buy more games than i could play, so maybe i need to slow down on buying games. I like that i can test them on game pass, then come back & buy them on switch if it's something i will prefer to play in bed at night (handheld).
None of these are really my thing, but its great to see the diversity of approaches here
The title to this article genuinely had me assume every game from the indie direct was coming to switch before I just now got caught up on the news. Bummer.
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