Another year, another Game Awards, and while previous years have seen Super Smash Brothers fighter reveals, trailers for Breath Of The Wild, Bayonetta 3, and much more; 2021 was a decidedly quiet year for Nintendo fans. It wasn’t a bad night for Nintendo though, as Metroid Dread got to take home an award, as well as a few minor treats for Switch fans.
Details finally arrived on Cuphead’s upcoming expansion, the Delicious Last Course DLC pack, that was announced quite some time ago. Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak finally got a little bit more information, and fans were even treated to a trailer for the upcoming Lord Of The Rings game Gollum, which is slated for Switch next year.
It may have been light on huge reveals, but you can’t win them all, and Nintendo isn’t known for playing by the rules of the industry. When and where we do get information on Nintendo’s 2022 games is a mystery, but it’ll surely happen in the most Nintendo way possible.
Here’s our rundown of all the Nintendo Switch news from 2021’s The Game Awards:
Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak News
A new trailer for Monster Hunter Rise’s upcoming expansion, Sunbreak, has revealed a look at the location of the DLC as well as revealing a new character and a new monster. It seems the adventure will take place on Elgado Outpost, with sailing likely to be a part of the journey. Hopefully, this means a return for some of the water-based monsters from the series.
A new female character has been revealed, whose outfits and dialogue allude to them being royalty of some kind. Meanwhile, we also got the reveal of a new monster based on a werewolf, Lunagaron. There was even the announcement of brand new amiibo, with new outfits for the malamute and palico, as well as a figure for the new flagship monster, Malzeno.
Cuphead Delicious Last Course DLC
Years after being announced, the expansion to Cuphead finally has a date! Expected to arrive next year on June 30, it sees Cuphead, Mugman, and Ms. Chalice take off on another adventure, to the dangerous new location Inkwell Isle. Ms. Chalice is a brand new playable character with a new moveset, who once unlocked, is playable in all previous Cuphead levels.
Of course, there are plenty of new bosses here to test your skills. Not to mention, new abilities are available to unlock for each and every character. There seems to be a huge helping of tough-as-nails action here, that any fan of the original Cuphead will be thrilled to play.
Sonic Frontiers reveal trailer
The blue blur returns next year, to Nintendo Switch and other modern generation consoles. This latest outing seems to bring an open-world element to the series, with wide-open vistas visible and floating monuments in the distance. Sonic has needed a shake-up for a while, and if SEGA had to look for Breath of The Wild or Shadow Of The Colossus for inspiration, well that doesn’t seem like a bad idea to me. Time will tell, and we look forward to hearing more about Sonic Frontiers next year.
Metroid Dread wins the best action-adventure game
Even though they didn’t have a huge presence, Nintendo still made a mark at the awards, with several nominations, including a number for the recent release Metroid Dread. In what would eventually be Nintendo’s only award for the evening, Metroid Dread bagged best action-adventure game, beating the likes of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Resident Evil Village, and Psychonauts 2.
Gollum receives a new trailer
A new video game in the world of Lord Of The Rings, Gollum promises to tell the untold story of everyone’s favourite ring-lover and is coming to Nintendo Switch and current-gen consoles next year. The cinematic trailer doesn’t give a lot away, but reveals a glimpse at the tone of the game and perhaps a hint at gameplay. It seems to suggest Gollum will be something of a puzzle platformer, as the gruesome little ghoul hobbles around in the shadows and affects the world around him with devious, violent choices.
Well, that’s about it for big Nintendo Switch news from the 2021 Game Awards, which may have been slim, but it’s still good to see Metroid Dread taking home a much-deserved trophy. If you played Dread and need a similar fix, be sure to check out our guide to the best Switch Metroidvanias to keep you busy until we get some actual Nintendo news…