This handy video game guide helps uncover summer’s hottest titles

As the school year winds down, thoughts turn to vacations and video games, the latter dominated in the news by Nintendo’s Switch console, which you can play on your TV in air-conditioned comfort or detach from its base and take with you to the beach or other summer destinations.

The Switch, which is still selling out as fast as stores can get them in, has broken records for Nintendo, including the biggest hardware debut and the bestselling launch title that wasn’t bundled with a console. That title is, of course, “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.”

Despite the trending nature of the Switch, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One remain the systems of choice for many gamers, thanks to their vast libraries of games, including such recent A-list titles as “Prey,” “Mass Effect: Andromeda” and “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands.”

Regardless of which gaming system (or systems) you own, you should find something on this list to keep you entertained while escaping the summer heat.

Available now

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

System(s): Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U

Publisher: Nintendo

ESRB rating: Everyone 10+

Price: $59.99

“Breath of the Wild” has been out since early March, but if you’re like us, you will still be playing it well into the summer. We know people who are more than 200 hours into the adventure and still thoroughly enjoying it, going on every side-quest, uncovering every secret, and otherwise exploring every virtual inch of the vast, open-ended, fantasy world of Hyrule.

Devoted fans can add to the experience by downloading the Expansion Pass ($19.99), which immediately adds three new treasure chests full of items (including an in-game Nintendo Switch shirt), plus reserves, and pays for two forthcoming DLC packs. DLC Pack 1, featuring a new Cave of Trials challenge, a new hard mode and an additional map feature, launches this summer, while DLC Pack 2, featuring a new original story and a new dungeon, will be available in time for the holidays.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

System(s): Nintendo Switch

Publisher: Nintendo

ESRB rating: Everyone

Price: $59.99

One of the bright spots of the short-lived Nintendo Wii U was “Mario Kart 8,” which turbo-boosted the popular multiplayer series with new online features, gorgeous HD visuals and the ability for gamers to race along walls and upside-down on anti-gravity racetracks. Now the game is available in a deluxe edition for the Switch.

While an all-new title — “Mario Kart 9,” anyone? — might be preferable for the Switch’s small library of games, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” does offer some fresh new features, most notably a much better Battle Mode with eight new arenas. In addition, you can now carry two items at once, and there are five additional playable characters: Bowser Jr., Dry Bones, King Boo, and the Boy and Girl Inklings from “Splatoon.”

Coming Soon

RiME

System(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Publishers: Grey Box and Six Foot

ESRB rating: Everyone 10+

Price: $29.99 ($39.99 for the Switch)

Release: May 26 (later for the Switch)

Featuring cel-shaded graphics, a serene color palette and a sweeping musical score, “RiME” puts you in the role of a young boy (viewed from a third-person perspective) who washes up on a beach after a storm at sea. You wake to find yourself on a sun-drenched island, surrounded by hills, trees, rock formations and ancient marble ruins, including a huge tower.

This sets the tone for your expedition of discovery, which includes uncovering secrets, finding collectibles, interacting with wildlife (including your fox companion) and simply taking in the sights and sounds. You also will solve puzzles with “sound, light and shadow projection, perspective, platforming, and even time manipulation.”

Sounds like a good way to kill a rainy Saturday afternoon, but the way these kinds of immersive, exploratory games go, it will likely take you late into the night and beyond.

Tekken 7

System(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment

ESRB rating: Teen

Price: $59.99

Release: June 2

Dating back to 1994 in the arcades and 1995 on the original PlayStation, “Tekken” was an early 3-D fighter and a follow-up of sorts to Sega’s “Virtua Fighter” (1993), the first 3-D fighting game. Both franchises have made the transition to the modern era, with “Tekken 7” carrying the one-on-one formula forward while adding “new moves and battle mechanics like Rage Arts, Rage Drives and Power Crushes,” the last of which lets you continue attacking while being hit by your opponent.

Powered by the Unreal Engine 4, “Tekken 7” features more than 30 playable fighters, and the developers are promising a dark, in-depth storyline to complement the battles. Further, Akuma from the “Street Fighter” series will play a prominent role in the story.

Cars 3: Driven to Win

System(s): PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo Switch

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

ESRB rating: Everyone10+

Price: $49.99-$59.99

Release: June 13

A sequel of sorts to Pixar’s “Cars 3,” which releases June 16, “Cars 3: Driven to Win” picks up after the movie’s final big race. The game features more than 20 customizable characters, including Lightning McQueen, Mater, Jackson Storm and Cruz Ramirez, and you can race in more than 20 locations from the film, including Radiator Springs and the Florida International Speedway.

Racing from point A to point B plays a prominent role, but you’d better learn to catch air, do barrel rolls and perform other stunts and tricks if you want to race well. In addition, you can use weapons and gadgets to take out other racers. There are six game modes in all, including local split-screen multiplayer, so prepare your living room couch for battle.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

System(s): PlayStation 4

Publisher: Activision

ESRB rating: Everyone 10+

Price: $39.99

Release: June 30

Many fans of the original PlayStation recall with fondness the original “Crash Bandicoot” series, featuring the running, jumping, spinning, platforming, crate-smashing anthropomorphic marsupial of the title. This summer, you can play fully-remastered, high-definition versions of the first three games via a single disc.

The “N. Sane Trilogy” collects “Crash Bandicoot, ” “Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back” and “Crash Bandicoot: Warped,” each of which holds up remarkably well. If you’ve never played these cartoonish but challenging titles, or if you want to introduce them to your kids, this is the perfect opportunity to give them a whirl.

Splatoon 2

System(s): Nintendo Switch

Publisher: Nintendo

ESRB rating: Everyone 10+

Price: $59.99

Release: July 21

Like the first game, which was one of the more popular Wii U titles, “Splatoon 2” is a brightly colored, nicely animated, third-person shooter designed with multi-player action in mind. Gamers control Inklings, which use ink-based weapons to shoot enemies, interact with the environment and perform objectives. You can alternate between humanoid form and squid form, the latter of which lets you quickly swim through ink of your own color and replenish your ink.

While it plays like the original “Splatoon,” the sequel does of course offer fresh content, including new maps, local multiplayer for up to eight gamers, and new weapons, such as “Splat Dualies,” which let you perform dodge rolls and fire ink from both of your hands. Also new is a Salmon Run mode, in which gamers team up to battle waves of enemy Salmonids.

Agents of Mayhem

System(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Publisher: Deep Silver

ESRB rating: Mature

Price: $59.99

Release: Aug. 15

An over-the-top, open-world, third-person action game that www.polygon.com says “might be the sleeper hit of the summer,” “Agents of Mayhem” lets you play as three of 12 different super agents, including Hollywood, a cocky action hero with a rifle; Daisy, a Gatling gun-wielding roller-skater; and Kingpin (known as Pierce Washington in the “Saints Row” series, which this game is an offshoot of), whose boombox makes nearby enemies dance.

As you make your way through the game, which is set in a futuristic version of Seoul, South Korea, you can swap between agents on the fly. The game moves fast — you can triple-jump your way around the city and commandeer cars to traverse the game’s world. Your ultimate goal as you battle enemies, gain experience points, use upgradeable gadgets and more, is to take down a criminal organization called Legion.

Here are seven more titles to consider this summer:

▪ “Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia” (3DS, available now)

▪ “Injustice 2” (PS4, Xbox One, available now)

▪ “Friday the 13th: The Game” (PS4, Xbox One, May 26)

▪ “Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers” (Switch, May 26)

▪ “Dirt 4” (PS4, Xbox One, June 9)

▪ “Arms” (Switch, June 16)

▪ “Valkyria Revolution” (PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, June 27)

This story was originally published May 26, 2017 at 9:45 AM with the headline "This handy video game guide helps uncover summer’s hottest titles."