7 new Switch 2 games you should play in April 2026

Spring has sprung a pretty interesting crop

April tends to be a quieter month for new games, sandwiched between the traditionally busy release months of March and May. That’s mostly true this year, but as ever, these quiet spots in the calendar are a good moment for quality indie games and smaller games to rise to the fore. There are four really promising examples of this phenomenon coming to Switch 2 in April 2026: a platformer, a role-playing game, a first-person shooter, and a cozy survival game, all with very unique twists.

Nintendo itself isn’t letting the month go unmarked though, dropping a new Pokémon free-to-play game and a follow-up to a cult life sim. Meanwhile, Capcom continues its staunch support of the Switch 2, following Resident Evil Requiem with another day-and-date launch on the Nintendo console alongside PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.

1 Darwin’s Paradox!

Release date: April 2

This delightful-looking platformer stars a cunning octopus who must sneak, scuttle, leap, and flop his way to freedom in the sea after being abducted and dragged onto land. Debut Parisian studio ZDT Games was formed by veterans of the animation as well as game industries, and you can tell from the octopus’ fluid and characterful moveset. Publisher Konami contributes an unlikely but amusing collab with Metal Gear Solid.

2 People of Note

Release date: April 7

As much as it might seem like a random collision of two popular things, our preview’s description of People of Note as Clair Obscur meets KPop Demon Hunters looks pretty accurate to both its involved, turn-based RPG battle design and its colorful cartoon presentation. It’s billed as an epic adventure about conflict and collaboration in a musical world; there are rhythm-game elements to its battles, and your party combines the skills of a pop singer, rock god, DJ, and rapper. Publisher Annapurna Interactive usually has pretty good taste, so it’s one to watch.

3 Pokémon Champions

Release date: April 8

Honestly, who knows if this one is going to work out — but if you’re a Pokémon fan (and if you recently picked up a Switch 2 to play Pokopia, you might be) there’s no reason not to check Champions out, because it’s free to play. Champions is essentially an online multiplayer arena battler in the mould of Pokémon Champions; you can import your best Pokémon from Pokémon Home. It’s also intended to be the default home of Pokémon World Championships Competitive Play. Quite a lot riding on the first game from newly formed studio The Pokémon Works.

4 Mouse: P.I. For Hire

Release date: April 16

This is just such an irresistible concept: a black-and-white boomer shooter starring a mouse private detective, drawn and animated in the style of classic 1930s cartoons (like Cuphead before it) and with a thumping jazz soundtrack. There’s even a vocal performance from Troy Baker. Debut developer Fumi Games has brought such style to Mouse it’s got to be worth a spin.

5 Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream

Release date: April 16

Nintendo’s all-in on life sims in 2026. Following the big Animal Crossing: New Horizons update and the surprise hit Pokémon Pokopia, Nintendo has one out of left field: a sequel to its quirky Sims-like Tomodachi series, which first appeared on DS and 3DS. You can create or import Miis of yourself and your family and friends and watch them interact on a tropical island. Full of offbeat humor, Living the Dream looks as wacky as it is cozy. (Technically, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is just a Switch game — it has no Switch 2 edition or patch planned — but of course it will be playable on the newer console.)

6 Pragmata

Release date: April 17

Announced too early and left to languish in mystery for years, Pragmata smelled like development-hell disaster. Instead, it’s shaping up as a stylish and unique sci-fi action game about shooting and hacking that might remind you of PlatinumGames fare like Vanquish or the Capcom Five experiments of 20 years ago like Killer7. Capcom is overflowing with confidence these days and willing to take risks again; if 2024’s excellent Kunistu-Gami is anything to go by, this could be one of the year’s most interesting games. And our early preview showed it running quite well on Switch 2 too.

7 Outbound

Release date: April 23

Here’s an alternative take on the survival/life sim, in which you explore, craft, and modify a classic VW camper van (or legally distinct alternative) into a kind of futuristic traveling home using sustainable materials and green technologies. Outbound supports four-player co-op and just looks like a really chill time.