We typically see some major new releases in May, and this year is no exception. There are two AAA heavyweights on the horizon in the form of Forza Horizon 6 and 007 First Light. Neither of these games is coming to Nintendo Switch 2, leaving Nintendo’s console with a slightly quieter month than we’ve seen recently.
But never mind, because Nintendo loves to offer some counter-programming of its own. This month, that comes in the form of a new, Switch 2-exclusive Nintendo platformer. There’s also a port of a recent, classic AAA action-adventure; one of the year’s most hotly anticipated indie games; and a couple more notable releases. Let’s dig in.
1
Mixtape
Release date: May 7
Mixtape is a nostalgic, highly personal indie narrative adventure, published by the always on-trend Annapurna Interactive and developed by Beethoven and Dinosaur, the Australian studio which made the hipster musical platform game The Artful Escape. Inspired by the iconic 1980s high school movies of John Hughes like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mixtape is set in the 1990s and features a group of friends making their way to a party on the last night of high school, reminiscing about their friendships and defining their lives through their favorite songs.
2
Call of the Elder Gods
Release date: May 12
This looks like a good time: a solemn but not too serious Lovecraftian puzzle adventure, all eldritch locks, otherworldly dimensions, and pipe-smoking old men in leather armchairs. It’s a spiritual sequel of sorts to developer Out of the Blue Games’ Call of the Sea, a similarly atmospheric old-timey mystery box with lush artwork. A good bet if you have already played the next game in our list — another period first-person adventure on an altogether grander scale…
3
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Release date: May 12
The Switch 2 has been on a roll of delivering really credible versions of recent AAA games for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X: Resident Evil Requiem, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Cyberpunk 2077, Pragmata… Hopefully the trend will continue with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, MachineGames’ wonderful take on the iconic adventurer. With first-person gameplay focused on puzzles, stealth, and storytelling just as much as action, it’s not the Uncharted clone you would expect, even if it would have been justified in reclaiming Nathan Drake’s debt to the original treasure hunter.
4
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book
Release date: May 21
It’s a great month for “[Iconic character] and the [adjective] [noun]” games on Switch 2. It’s also a great month for those games not panning out exactly as you expect them to. Yoshi’s first Switch 2 exclusive is another gentle platformer, but one that’s much more focused on exploration, experimentation, and learning than traversal gauntlets. It’s a kind of nature collect-em-up as Yoshi tries to help the titular encyclopedia fill in his blank pages. It sounds delightfully chill.
5
Bubsy 4D
Release date: May 22
Going head-to-head with a new Nintendo platformer is not the wisest thing to do, but that’s kind of in character for the return of this largely unloved 1990s platforming mascot, a wisecracking bobcat. If you like your platform adventure with a side-order of nostalgic irony (or ironic nostalgia?) and self-aware jokes, this is the game for you. Will it be charming or grating? Will it somehow redeem one of gaming’s great also-rans? We’ll find out in a few weeks!
The 25 best Switch 2 games
Here’s what you should be playing on Nintendo’s new console
