Okay, let get this out of the way: Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a MASTERPEICE. Everything down to the soundtrack and tremendously improved graphics of Animal Crossing’s former title screams “let me take you away from all of your responsibilities” for the time being. Heck, even the new characters are super adorable! While I could spend over a hundred hours on terraforming my island (like I totally didn’t already do btw – don’t look that up), there are so many more amazing reasons to pick up a switch this year, especially since Christmas is right around the corner!
You like cute graphics? What about relationship building? Wanna hop on that strawberry cow trend all over Tik Tok? Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town is a remake of the original Harvest Moon title. It revolves around you, the main character, taking up your old man’s farm and revamping it into a successful land for crops and farm animals to thrive. Oh, id that not enough for you? You can even interact with the townsfolk; make friends, get married, and even have children to raise! Not only this, but you can explore the surrounding forests, mountains and lakes to forge items, catch bugs and fish, and interact with the super cute wildlife! Last but not least, test your farming skills by taking part in the monthly festivals and earn cool rewards to better your farm!
If farming isn’t your thing, what about a little more action? Fire Emblem: Three Houses is such a good title if you like turn-based strategy games with a compelling story with tons of replay value, but it isn’t for everyone. Instead, Pokémon Sword and Shield is a very easy to follow, yet competitive linear game that has so many creatures to choose from to frolic around the Galar region with! Personally, even though I’ve played this title a million times over, I still love loading up a new game because I know the endless possibilities I have for building a new, yet kickass team. You can customize your character any way you’d like and build your relationships with your Pokémon with a new feature: Pokémon camp! Online play gives this game a whole new experience when you can join battles with other players and even trade Pokémon from across the world!
If you’ve heard of the switch, you’ve most likely heard of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Y’all, this game is HUGE. And pretty. And fun. And addicting – okay I’ll stop. This is an open world adventure that lets you explore at your own pace, with the ultimate goal being to stop Calamity Ganon, an evil being who blanketed the land with monsters and nearly wiped out the entire population – including your best friends (which is really rude). To avenge your friends, you’ll need to travel the expansive land of Hyrule to reactivate the four mechanical beasts and bring Hyrule back to fruition by teaming up with your late friends in an epic fight to the finish. If nothing else, the stellar graphics and voice acting will move your beautiful soul to the core.