Nintendo’s Indie Direct showcases tend to leave me drooling and begging for more, and today’s presentation is no different. This time around, it focuses on games for both the Switch and Switch 2, and I’ve made sure to note the platform(s) for each game. As always, seasons referenced are in the Northern hemisphere; for example, if something says it launches in autumn 2025, it would launch in spring 2025 for those below the equator.
Game highlights
Neverway
Keep Fiona’s life from falling apart in Neverway, a nightmarish life sim RPG developed by a studio founded by Celeste’s pixel artist. After Fiona quits her job, she moves to a farm — a common trope in video games. But instead of becoming a normal farmer, she becomes the immortal herald of a dead deity. There are certainly farm-sim aspects: farming, fishing, and cooking are part of the game. But there is also fast-paced combat while exploring the post-apocalyptic world filled with dangerous creatures and charming characters to befriend or romance… or deceive, if you so desire.
Developed by Coldblood Inc. and published by Outer Sloth, Neverway will be released for Switch in 2026.
Is This Seat Taken?
Seating with strangers around is difficult to navigate in real life, but cozy puzzle game Is This Seat Taken? lowers that pressure. Players are put in charge or who sits where in various levels/scenarios, including in a cinema, on a bus, at a wedding reception, and more. Each character has specific tastes, and it takes some matchmaking to account for everyone’s preferences.
Developed by Poti Poti Studio and published by Wholesome Games Presents, Is This Seat Taken? will be released as a timed console exclusive for Switch today.
Glaciered
In futuristic aquatic action game Glaciered, it is 65 million years in the future. The Everwinter has turned Earth’s surface into a giant sheet of ice, and a new species prospers: the Tua, descended from birds and successors of dinosaurs. Players take on the role of a Tuai, exploring a mysterious underwater world and fighting marine creatures with real-time combat.
Developed by Studio Snowblind and published by Playism, Glaciered will be released as a timed console exclusive for Switch 2 and Switch this winter.
Strange Antiquities
Strange Horticulture follow-up Strange Antiquities is launching for Switch, and its release is simultaneous with that of the PC version! Become the caretaker of an occult antiquities store in the quaint and gloomy town of Undermere, where strange goings-on happen daily and dark mysteries lurk. Find and identify artifacts, and use your collection to help the townsfolk with their… unusual… problem.
Developed by Bad Viking and published by Iceberg Interactive, Strange Antiquities will be released for Switch on September 17.
Full list of featured games
- Mina the Hollower (Yacht Club Games) — launches for Switch 2 and Switch on October 31
- Well Dweller (Kyle Thompson, Top Hat Studios) — launches for Switch in 2026
- Neverway (Coldblood Inc., Outer Sloth) — launches for Switch in 2026
- Herdling (Okomotive, Panic) — launches for Switch 2 on August 21
- Is This Seat Taken? (Poti Poti Studio, Wholesome Games Presents) — launches for Switch today
- Little Kitty, Big City (Double Dagger Studio) — free update for Switch launches August 27
- Content Warning (Landfall) — launches for Switch 2 and Switch in 2026
- BALL x PIT (Kenny Sun & Friends, Devolver Digital) — launches for Switch on October 15 and Switch 2 this autumn
- Ultimate Sheep Raccoon (Clever Endeavour Games) — launches for Switch 2 and Switch this winter
- Glaciered (Studio Snowblind, Playism) — launches for Switch 2 this winter
- Winter Burrow (Pine Creek Games, Noodlecake) — launches for Switch this winter
- Undusted: Letters from the Past (5minlab Corp., Toge Productions) — launches for Switch this October
- Tiny Bookshop (neoludic games, Skystone Games) — launches for Switch today
- Caves of Qud (Freehold Games, Kitfox Games) — launches for Switch this winter
- Strange Antiquities (Bad Viking, Iceberg Interactive) — launches for Switch on September 17
- OPUS: Prism Peak (Sigono, Shueisha Games) — launches for Switch 2 and Switch this autumn
- Go-Go Town! (Prideful Sloth, CULT Games) — launches for Switch in spring 2026
- UFO 50 (Mossmouth) — launches for Switch later today
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Love keeping up with indie games! If you haven’t already done so, please be sure to check out “Dear Me, I Was…” on Switch 2. It’s not so much a game as much as it is an absolutely beautiful narrative about the importance of art and celebrating all of life’s interactions and the relationships people build over their lives. It’s not even an hour long, but it’s easily more memorable, powerful, and beautiful than most of what’s out there right now. It also helps that the watercolor art is and the art direction are both fantastic. Thanks, Matt! Hope you’re doing well! Looking forward to your visual novel! I’m keeping my eye on it to get on my steam deck!