February Nintendo Direct highlights

Nintendo held a gigantic presentation showcasing dozens of games and release dates, and these are the best of the bunch.

Nintendo typically holds a Nintendo Direct presentation every year in February, and 2023 was no exception, with dozens of games announced and even released during the presentation.

The Direct focused primarily on games that are set to be released in the first half of the year, with games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Bayonetta Origins, and Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe all headlining the show.

Watching through the whole 40-minute presentation is one option – we’ve embedded the video below if you’d like to do that – but we’ve also put together a list of all the highlights during the presentation.

Some of these games are big, others are much smaller, but all of them look amazing and worth keeping an eye on. We also have more in-depth stories for some of these games, so we’ll be linking to those as they come up.

Pikmin 4 – July 27, 2023

Pikmin 4 is the latest in the widely beloved Pikmin series, offering a new protagonist, a new world to explore, and as revealed in the Direct, a canine companion. Pikmin games don’t typically perform particularly well, but the Switch re-release of Pikmin 3 got a lot of attention so this one probably will too.

Decapolice – 2023

Decapolice is the first of three new games announced by Level-5, a Japanese company that used to be quite prominent but fell by the wayside following the catastrophic collapse of its Yokai Watch franchise. Decapolice seems to be a stylish detective game with a lot of charm and interesting combat mechanics, and definitely a game to keep an eye on.

Octopath Traveler 2 – February 24, 2023

We’ve known about this game for quite some time, and it’s set to release later this month. Alone, its appearance here wouldn’t be very interesting, but it’s also been given a new demo on the Nintendo Switch eShop that lets players try out the early parts of the game ahead of launch.

Advance Wars 1+2: Reboot Camp – April 21, 2023

This remake of the first two Advance Wars strategy games was just weeks away from release last year when it was delayed at the last moment due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Now it finally has a release date, and fans couldn’t be happier to see it so close to release.

Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe – February 24, 2023

Kirby's Return to Dreamland Deluxe will feature a new epilogue story not present in the original. Picture: Nintendo

Like Octopath Traveler 2, this is a game that’s been known for a while, and like that game, it’s also been given a demo that’s available right now. Nintendo also revealed that it would be getting a new epilogue story not present in the original game, focused on fan-favourite character Magalor.

Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games – Out now

Classic Game Boy and Game Boy Color games are available for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers now, while Game Boy Advance games are available for Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers, all at no extra cost to subscribers. These game libraries will be added onto over the life of the Switch.

Metroid Prime Remastered – Out now

One of the bigger announcements in the show, the classic GameCube game that’s beloved by fans across the world has gotten a shock remaster, although it had been rumoured for quite some time.

Metroid Prime Remastered was rumoured for years before its release. Picture: Nintendo

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time – 2023

Another game from Level-5, this time a follow-up to a classic Nintendo 3DS title. The Animal Crossing-like Fantasy Life series continued with a lacklustre mobile game and a Japan-only web sequel, but this is the first new game available outside of Japan since the original release.

Professor Layton and the New World of Steam – No date

The last of the Level-5 games, and probably the one that’s gotten the internet the most excited. The Professor Layton series is a fan favourite series of narrative puzzle games that were extremely popular on the Nintendo DS. There hasn’t been a new game in the series for over ten years.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC – Autumn 2023

The next wave of DLC tracks for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is due to be released very soon, and brings with it a surprising addition: a new character, in the dinosaur Birdo. Previous waves of the DLC have only offered new tracks, but Nintendo says that future waves will include characters too.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – May 12, 2023

The headlining act in any Nintendo Direct, the next Zelda game was given a trailer showing off some slick new gameplay. The trailer was light on story, but it looked phenomenal, and as a follow-up to 2017’s Breath of the Wild it looks like it’s checking all the right boxes.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.