E3 2019 | Nintendo at E3: Breath of the Wild sequel, The Witcher 3, and more

E3 is always an exciting time of year for gamers, but this year’s expo has been especially exciting for Nintendo fans. Here’s why.

Nintendo showed off a teaser trailer for a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild. There isn’t much to glean from the trailer, but the graphics and art style look like they will directly match the original. What makes this announcement particularly interesting is that the game is billed as a sequel to Breath of the Wild. While it’s not unheard of for a Zelda game to receive a direct sequel, it is exceedingly rare. Currently, the only other Zelda game to receive a sequel is The Wind Waker. (Phantom Hourglass on the Nintendo DS takes place directly after the Wind Waker, and Spirit Tracks on the DS is a sequel to Phantom Hourglass.)

The remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening will launch for the Switch on September 20. Link’s Awakening was the first Zelda title released on a handheld (notably, on the Game Boy). The game is a bit of a black sheep for the Zelda franchise in terms of tone and gameplay mechanics, but it has a rabid cult following. The remake of Link’s Awakening also looks like it’ll feature a dungeon creation tool.

Cadence of Hyrule is a unique entry in the Zelda franchise. The title is a crossover of Crypt of the Necrodancer and the Zelda series. Gameplay revolves around music; user actions must be timed to the beat of the soundtrack. Speaking of the soundtrack, the game will feature remixes of classic Zelda tunes backed by infectious beats.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition is coming to the Switch later this year. The port of the wildly popular PC title will include both expansions (Hearts of Stone & Blood and Wine) and all DLC released for the game. It’s unlikely to look as nice as the still-impressive PC version, but portable Witcher is not a bad thing.

The next Animal Crossing game, New Horizon, has been delayed until March 20 of next year. The title was originally slated to release in late 2019, but development has been pushed back. More information about the Switch’s first Animal Crossing title should be coming later this week.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 was announced and will feature both in-person and online cooperative play. Couch coop puts two players in the shoes of Luigi and Gooigi, a new character that can walk on spikes and damaging obstacles but is severely hydrophobic. Online play will involve up to 8 players in a Toad-hunt style game. Luigi’s Mansion 3 should launch later this year.

No More Heroes is getting a third installment in 2020. The hyper-violent No More Heroes franchise has a dedicated fanbase that has been clamoring for a third game since it was teased at the end of 2010’s No More Heroes 2.

A slew of other games are set to release later this year and early 2020, including Collection of Mana (Switch, early 2020), Dragon Quest XI S: Definitive Edition (Switch, September 27), Resident Evil 5 (Switch, fall 2019), Resident Evil 6 (Switch, fall 2019), Contra: Rogue Corps (Switch, September 24), a remake of Panzer Dragoon (Winter 2019), Empire of Sin (Switch, Spring 2020), the Spyro the Dragon trilogy (Switch, September 3), Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Switch, September 20), Minecraft Dungeons (Switch, Spring 2020), The Sinking City (Switch, Fall 2019), Alien: Isolation (Switch, 2019), New Super Lucky’s Tale (Switch, Fall 2019), Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo Olympics (Switch, November 2019), Dead by Daylight (Switch, September 24), and Dauntless (Switch, late 2019).