Nintendo Year in Review: Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom leads the charge in what could be a swansong year for Switch

Dec. 19, 2023

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It really has been a big year for Nintendo. With a strong spread of major first-party releases,Fire Emblem Engagekicked everything off in January. While it may not have quite measured up to its predecessor,Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Nintendo’s lineup only got stronger and stronger from there. Fast forward to May and we got TheLegend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which dominated the year as one of the most anticipatednew gamesto launch on Switch in recent memory.

Switching it up

We were treated to a swath of great new first-party games, but a lot can be said about the power of nostalgia for Nintendo this year. The summer saw the re-release of Pikmin 1 and 2 to complement the launch of Pikmin 4 soon after, and we also got the likes of Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe that brought the Wii game to Switch with added content, and a shiny coat of paint.

The biggest release in this department, though, wasSuper Mario RPG. Following a surprise reveal that at long last put to rest rumors in aJune Nintendo Direct, we got a remake of the famous plumber’s first foray into the RPG genre back in November. As afaithful remake to the original through and through, it beautifully brings to life the oddball adventure that makes for one very memorable slice of Mario’s history.

After all, despite how strong a year Nintendo has had, there’s been an ever-growing sense of anticipation surrounding what’s next for the Switch. With theSwitch OLEDlaunching two years ago, and reports alleging that Nintendo hadshown the Switch 2 to developers with a “souped-up version of Breath of the Wild”, it seems increasingly feasible that we’ll see a new console reveal in the not too distant future.

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Look back over the console’s game library highlights with our pick of thebest Switch games, or look forward to what’s ahead with our roundup ofupcoming Switch games.

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I’m not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.

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