BitSummit has once again come and gone, and unlike last year where it was a bit difficult to find indie developers committing to a Nintendo Switch release well before the Switch 2 was announced, we found a renewed enthusiasm for Nintendo as we pursued the two floors BitSummit took over in Kyoto’s Miyako Messe convention center.
BitSummit is a yearly gaming convention dedicated to not only Japanese indie developers but those from around the world. 2025 marked the 13th iteration which grows larger every year; this time around, they even had Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu make an appearance to perform some of his famous, genre-defining music on the second day.
But you’re here to read about the games of tomorrow, right? While many indie developers commit only to a Steam release well before even thinking about Nintendo’s handheld hybrids, we once again did our due diligence to track down 10 games that you will eventually get to play on a Nintendo Switch.
BitSummit 2025 – Every Switch 1 & 2 Game We Played
Hades 2 – 2025 (Switch 1 & 2)
Okay – let’s get the big boy out of the way. At the Nintendo Indie World booth we were intrigued to see three games available to play, the most prominent of them being Hades 2. We all already know the sequel to one of the best action roguelikes ever made is going to be a great game, and you might have already played it in early access on PC, but you’re likely curious how well it runs on the Nintendo Switch 2.
While we only got our hands on the handheld mode, we’re happy to report it runs at a crisp 60 frames-per-second at what looked like standard 1080p resolution. More importantly, the ghosting effect of the Switch 2’s LCD screen didn’t seem to have much of an impact on the frenetic action.
Our experience playing through the entire Erebus region right up until just before the boss encounter against Headmistress Hecate was smooth as butter, and we can’t wait to play more of it when Hades 2 comes to the Switch 2 at the same time it leaves early access.
Pico Park 2 + Mouse Stage – Out Now / Mouse Mode coming soon (Switch 2)
Another game at the Indie World booth was Pico Park 2, the sequel to the 2019 cooperative puzzle-action game Pico Park, and while it’s out already, we got to play four unreleased levels exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2 that utilized the Joy-Con 2’s mouse mode. We’re not being hyperbolic when we say it was the most delightfully chaotic fun we had at BitSummit and perhaps the best use of the mouse mode we’ve seen yet.
You see, of the three other teammates we had to solve these puzzles with, two of them only spoke Japanese. We had to press down on the R Bumper and move the Joy-Con in order to aim our different colored Pico’s distance and trajectory. Once we released the R Bumper, our Picos would go flying across the stage; as this was our only method of movement, hilarity ensued as we timed pressing switches and flying into obstacles that matched our individual Picos’ color without knocking each other into pits.
Language barriers aside, we managed to clear three of the four difficult stages, and came away thoroughly interested in trying out more exclusive Pico Park 2 levels with the mouse controls.
Obakeidoro 2 – Summer 2025 (Switch 2)
Obakeidoro 2 was also at the Nintendo Indie World booth, we sat down with the developers and seven other players to get the full experience of this asymmetrical party game where you take control of either monster ghost girls or the chibi humans they’re trying to capture.
Each match lasts only three minutes as the six chibi humans dash about a haunted mansion, stunning the monsters with their lanterns and avoiding pitfalls and other obstacles as they try not to get captured. The two chibi monsters – ours was riding a little toilet – can phase through walls, grabbing humans and throwing them into a little jail in the middle of the map.
The uncaptured humans, however, can hit several locks hidden throughout the map to free their friends. We played as the monsters first and despite our best efforts, the humans freed their friends several times, though we managed to eke out a heart-pounding victory in the dying seconds.
We then played as the humans and got captured several times; however, by utilizing team up moves one of our allies was able to throw our chibi schoolgirl across a gap in order to reach a final lock to free our friends, giving an easy win and a taste at some hidden depth to this anime-inspired party game.
Ratatan – TBA (Switch 1)
Yes, we got our hands on Ratatan, the spiritual successor to Patapon, which was actually announced during BitSummit 2023 and took home this year’s Vermilion Gate Award, which is awarded to the title that delighted with innovation and intuitive design more than any other.
And we don’t disagree with the BitSummit judges one bit for choosing Ratatan. Fans of Patapon will feel right at home with the rhythm-based gameplay of Ratatan, as you control one of several music-loving gremlin creatures called – wouldn’t you know it – Ratatans that, in turn, use music to motivate their little armies of Cobuns to attack and defend with charming beats.
This time around, Patapon and Ratatan creator Hiroyuki Kotani has seamlessly weaved in roguelike elements after each stage that greatly change how you play against opposing armies and massive boss monsters. We chose the guitar-wielding hedgehog Harigittan and played through the tutorial. While it took us a few minutes to get the hang of playing to a beat, before-long we were taking down castles full of adorable little foes while bobbing our head along to the catchy beats.
We’re looking forward to seeing more of Ratatan and the roguelike elements as it launches on Steam Early Access on 25th July, though there’s no sign of a Switch release date yet.
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