With the school year coming to a close, we move the summer months. The entertainment industry is ever changing, and 2021 is a prolific year for gaming. Summer is a popular time for releasing games, as many students are out of school at this time. So, here are three games that come out in summer of 2021.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the sixteenth game in the mainline Zelda series, and was originally released in 2011 for the Nintendo Wii. It was also playable on the Wii U due to backwards compatibility.  Backwards compatibility is the ability for a console to play games that were available on previous hardware, like Xbox 360 games on an Xbox One, or Wii games on a Wii U. This summer, the remaster of the game — The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD — will be released. Other than using the joycon to emulate the Wii’s motion controls, there is an alternative method that maps the sword direction mechanic to one of the thumbsticks. This will negate the need for motion controls if one desires. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD releases on Jul. 16, 2021 on the Nintendo Switch.

Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 are considered some of the best science fiction games of the 2010’s, and it comes as no surprise that they are getting a remaster. Announced on Nov. 7, 2020, Mass Effect (ME): Legendary Edition is a remaster of the entire original ME Trilogy, with changes made to make all three games fall in line visually, meaning the games look similar across the entire trilogy. Originally, these three games looked quite different. These changes include edits to the user interface (UI) —  the way the controls affect gameplay primarily. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition releases May 14, 2021 on Xbox One, PC, Playstation 4, Xbox Series X|S and Playstation 5.

The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) enters its seventh years in 2021, with quite a bit of content in fact. With ESO: Greymoor now under its belt, ESO takes its story in a brand new direction. Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood is the second installment in ESO’s 2021 story arc Gates of Oblivion; having been preceded by the expansion ESO: Flames of Ambition back in March. ESO: Blackwood will take you to the region around Blackwood, such as the city known as Leywiin, found at the southern area of the imperial province of Cyrodiil, which was last seen in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Along with this chapter, ESO will bring the Companions system, allowing you to bring specific non-player characters in your battles against the Daedra, monstrous creatures that come from the realms of Oblivion. ESO: Blackwood launches on PC and Stadia on June 1, 2021, and arrives on Xbox One and Playstation 4 on June 8th.

There are far more than just these games coming out in summer 2021, and I recommend you go looking for them. Summer is always the biggest time for gaming other than the holidays, and there promises to be a large variety of games this year.