Monster Hunter! Ori! More!

The latest Nintendo Direct mini has just wrapped up, with a smattering of new release dates and a couple of big announcements.

Monster Hunter Rise, the next mainline game in the series for Switch, opened the show. It arrives 26th March 2021 and has a rideable dog companion, which everyone is excited about.

Next up was confirmation of spin-off sequel Monster Hunter Stories 2, coming summer 2021. The original launched for 3DS several years back.

The other big confirmation was Xbox and PC platformer Ori and the Will of the Wisps, which launches on Nintendo Switch today.

Supergiant Games’ Hades and survival game The Long Dark both also release later today, while PGA Tour 2K21 arrives on 25th September and Sniper Elite 4 heads to Switch this winter.

Fitness Boxing 2 launches 4th December. It’s a Wii Fit-esque boxing game which lets you wave your arms to music tracks like YMCA.

Looking to next year, Square Enix’s bizarre 3D platformer Balan Wonderworld arrives on 26th March 2021, while Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny has a summer 2021 launch date. Disgaea 5 Complete is getting a free trial at some point for Nintendo Switch Online members.

We also saw Romero Games’ mobster game Empire of Sin, due on 1st December, and farming and monster hunting RPG Rune Factory 5, due 2021.