During Thursday's Nintendo Direct Mini, CAPCOM made 2021 a big year for Monster Huntin' fans, assuming they also happen to have a Switch.
The series began in 2004 on PS2 and got a long-awaited and largely successful reboot in 2018 with Monster Hunter: World. This new commitment to Nintendo is a bit of a surprise given MH:W was available on PS4, Xbox & PC, but looking at the trailers below, you'd have a hard time denying that these games will suit the Switch perfectly.
Monster Hunter Rise will be available on March 26th 2021, with pre-orders open now. The trailer shows off a bunch of monsters and a new (rideable!) dog companion. The name comes from the introduction of wall-climbing abilities and the Wirebug - a grappling hook that'll add a new dimension to exploration. At a glance it doesn't seem that the combat will be springing any surprises, but the 4-player co-op is bound to be a blast.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is predicted to land at some point in the summer of 2021. The original was a Pokemon-esque JRPG on the 3DS that got a remarkably decent mobile port in late 2017, and this looks like, well, more of the same.
The graphical style is a little cutesier than Rise, with all the spiky-haired earnestness one would expect from a turn-based RPG about saving the world for/from/with gigantic monsters.
Since conquering Octopath Traveller I haven't found another Switch RPG to sink my teeth into, so will be keeping a close eye on how these two turn out. Roll on 2021.