LEGO Builder's Journey
LEGO Builder’s Journey is an atmospheric, geometric puzzle game that asks us to sometimes follow the instructions… and sometimes to break the rules.
Release date: 22nd June, 2021
Letters - A Written Adventure
Letters is a fun word puzzle game about friendship, growing up and finding your place in life. Follow Sarah, a shy girl from Switzerland, by moving through her pen pal letters and chat messages. Use the power of words to solve riddles, interact with her friends and decide who she will grow up to be.
Release Date: Late 2021
Mythic Ocean
Teach the gods to create a better universe - or mess it all up in Mythic Ocean, a narrative exploration game where your choices shape the fate of the cosmos.
Release date: 2nd July, 2021 (Demo on Switch available now)
Please Be Happy
A story of love and friendship, and about understanding not just how to be happy, but how to be human.
Release Date: 2021
Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan
Save whimsical creatures with the power of kindness in order to recolor a black-and-white world in Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan, a wholesome 2.5D Adventure-RPG!
Seasonspree
A game about nurturing friendships and celebrating the changing of seasons, where you play as Sunny, a cute little tanuki with the ability to control the flow of time just by walking around.
Release Date: 2021
Skatebird
Grind on bendy straws, kickflip over staplers, and carve killer lines through cardboard and sticky tape parks. Above all else, skate birds try their best!
Release Date: 12th August, 2021
Snacko
Former big city kitties Momo and Mikan are starting a new life on a seemingly deserted island. Unravel its mysteries while you rebuild a community, farm, fish, and explore the island and beyond!
Release Date: 2022
The Gecko Gods
Explore a mysterious island as a tiny lizard. Complete ancient puzzles, effortlessly climb cliffs, and eat bugs as you make your way across an island civilization lost to time.
The Magnificent Trufflepigs
The Magnificent Trufflepigs is a first-person, romantic, metal-detecting game. You play as Adam, a sharp-witted but compassionate man returning to his childhood village of Stanning. There he’ll help a woman named Beth on her mission to unearth a local treasure.
Release date: Out now!
The Outbound Ghost
An adventure game about a ghost figuring out the cause of their own death, and helping others come to terms with the afterlife.
Release date: 2022
We Are OFK
We Are OFK is the story of how four friends came together to release their debut music without throwing their phones at walls in frustration. A making-of-the-band series & Interactive EP about dreaming, dating, and paying rent in Los Angeles.
Release date: 2021
Witchery Academy
Witchery Academy is a life simulator where you live the adventures of a wizard apprentice with your spirit companion. Train your magical skills and learn how to brew potions, grow vegetables and catch spells to challenge the curse that lurks in the world.
Woodo
Woodo is an upcoming puzzle game with a striking artstyle inspired by wooden construction toys. "With imaginary friend Woodo, we build tiny things bit by bit, immersed in a calm, peaceful world where time stands still."
Release date: 2022
Phew. That's a lot of games. Still, you won't catch us complaining about a host of excellent indies making their way to Switch. Which one do you have your eye on? Let us know in the comments!
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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