Latest Features
Talking Point ARMS Turns 3 And Deserves More Love Than Ever
It's got LEGS
It’s hard to believe that ARMS burst onto the scene three years ago today, pushing forward new gameplay ideas and mechanics that in theory couldn’t have been done on the Wii U, although you could possibly have got away with two Wii Remotes with Wii Motion Plus but let’s not get into that now. When I first got a go at it back at...
Guide The Escapist Indie Showcase 2020 - Every Nintendo Switch Game Featured
Every confirmed Switch game from the 2-hour presentation
Following the unfortunate cancellation of E3 this year, Summer 2020 is now jam-packed with online digital events showcasing video games to look forward to. Closely followed by the three-day Guerrilla Collective event over the weekend, the two-hour opening show of The Escapist Indie Showcase...
Guide Guerrilla Collective 2020 - Every Nintendo Switch Game Revealed
Every Switch game announced and featured
Following the unfortunate cancellation of E3 this year, Summer 2020 is now jam-packed with online digital events showcasing video games to look forward to. The three-day Guerrilla Collective event began on Saturday 13th June and featured a cavalcade of announcements, with 43 games confirmed for Switch...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 13th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
It's been a painfully quiet week in the Nintendo world - things have been much more exciting in the futuristic, wireless router-inspired land of PlayStation over the last couple of days - but that doesn't mean we can't still gather around and discuss our favourite hobby. Members of Team Nintendo Life have...
Feature Biped Producer On The Cute Co-op Platformer's Journey To Switch
"We naturally took a lot of inspirations from various Nintendo games"
Earlier today we reported that Biped, the cute robot puzzle platformer from NExT Studios, is coming to Switch on 2nd July. The game released a couple of months ago on PS4 and PC, but with its local cooperative gameplay and accessible controls, it sure looks tailor-made for...
Talking Point The Time Is Right For Microsoft And Nintendo To Get Comfier With One Another
My enemy's enemy is my friend?
Forgive us for going back over old ground we've already covered, but could Microsoft and Nintendo please just stop flirting with one another and hook up? The fact that the two firms have enormous respect for one another isn't fresh information – heck, they collaborated so that Banjo and Kazooie could appear in
Feature Game Of The Decade Staff Picks - Xenoblade Chronicles
The game the fans asked for
Xenoblade Chronicles is 10 years old today, so we thought it a perfect time to republish this personal account from our Games of the Decade series back in January. We recently revisited the game with the excellent Definitive Edition on Switch, of course, but here Mitch discusses his experience with the original version,...
Poll Which Remastered Mario Games Would You Pick For A 'Super Mario All-Stars 2'?
Assemble your personal All-Stars from this buffet of 'Bros.
It's the time of year for big video game announcements, and while 2020 has turned out a little differently to what you may have expected, there are sure to be big video game reveals in the coming days and weeks ahead. One announcement that many are banking on is the much-rumoured remasters...
Feature 2020's Breakout Star? It Has To Be Animal Crossing's K.K. Slider
"There’s definitely a K.K. Slider song out there for everyone"
Forget the Billboard charts and the most popular celebrities on them – there’s a new breakout star in town, and most Nintendo fans have heard his music for weeks through remixes, social media videos and trendy TikToks (as well as in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, of course). K.K...
Soapbox Wii Party Is 10 Years Old, And I Really Want A Switch Version
This is a (Wii) Party political broadcast
The party game is a seriously underrated genre. Unfairly written off as overly simplistic or even shovelware by some gamers, party games can, in fact, be immensely enjoyable for casual players and hardcore gamers alike. After all, I’ve 100% completed numerous Zelda and Resident Evil
Gallery Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Playable Characters - Full Roster
Plus how they compare to their live-action counterparts
Update 3: Now includes Shadow of Doom DLC Fantastic Four characters - Mr Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch and The Thing. Update 2: Now includes Rise of the Phoenix DLC X-Men characters - Cable, Iceman, Gambit and Phoenix. Update: Now includes unlockable and DLC Curse of the Vampire...
Feature Golf With Your Friends Dev On Community Feedback And The Secrets Of A Great Hole
"The game changed as we gained more knowledge and experience"
12-player mini-golf game Golf With Your Friends snuck out onto the Switch fairway for a cheeky few rounds towards the end of May and brought with it a dose of party-like levity to a sport that can get a teensy bit serious in real life. We recently caught up with Kailan Clark, CEO of...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects - May 2020
May's best Switch eShop games!
Another month has been and gone, with plenty of new games to choose from on the Nintendo eShop. If you're hoping to check out the best latest releases, you've certainly come to the right place. These awards aim to celebrate the best of Nintendo's digital store, giving some love and attention to the games that could so...
Guide Metroid Prime 4 - Everything We Know So Far
Every shred of information on the upcoming Metroid Prime sequel
Metroid fans have had some ups and downs when it comes to Nintendo's haunting space-based series, but it's been a while since we'd seen everyone's favourite bounty hunter outside Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The most recent outing for galactic bounty hunter Samus was 2017's excellent...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 6th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Congratulations on making it through another week! This week brought us a surprise launch from Konami, some unorthodox Animal Crossing weddings and release date news for Pokémon Sword and Shield's first DLC,
Guide Pokémon Sword And Shield - Best Ways To Catch And Breed Shiny Pokémon
Eggs, Shiny Charm, Masuda Method and more
If you're looking for more to do after beating the main game in Pokémon Sword and Shield, or if you're just fed up of seeing your friends brag about their latest Shiny Pokémon capture, you might want to get in on that Shiny catching action all for yourself. In this guide, we'll be covering everything you...
Feature Designing Our Own Hedkayse Unique Cycling Helmet
Skullcandy
We'll admit it, this is a bit of a random one. First, let's dismiss the myth – Nintendo Life Towers does not actually exist. In fact, most of our team have always worked remotely, although we do indeed have a small (shoe box-sized) office in a shared building at Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park, which we think sounds...
Hardware Classics Sega Game Gear - The System Which Spawned The Game Gear Micro
Getting into Gear
With the announcement of the Game Gear Micro, we thought you might like to revisit our Hardware Classics feature – originally published in 2016 – on the real deal. Enjoy! It's easy to see the thinking behind the Game Gear, the machine Sega positioned as a Game Boy-beater in the early '90s. The firm's
Guide The Best Video Game Books
Slim volumes, huge coffee table books, the lot
The only thing more fun than playing video games is reading about them, and in the past few years, we've seen the number of game-specific books explode as players seek to learn more about the industry and writers strive to catalogue and analyse what has become one of the world's most popular forms of...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 30th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Another busy week has been and gone, this time bringing with it a new Animal Crossing datamine effort, a new (but minor) Switch update, and plenty of
Feature XCOM 2's Creative Director On The Challenge Of Bringing The Series To Switch
"It’s a privilege to finally bring it to one of my personal favourite platforms"
It's natural to think that franchises are borne out of the pursuit of profit, isn't it? That someone in a suit sits in a boardroom, glances over a "units shipped" column, and abruptly demands a series when a new IP hits a prerequisite sales target. But when it came...
Talking Point Has Animal Crossing Finally Made The Nintendo Switch Online App Worthwhile?
Just don’t lend your phone to Gulliver
A little way into my time with Animal Crossing: New Horizons I was confronted with an ancient relic. No, I’m not talking about a T-Rex skull or a deep-sea dwelling coelacanth – I’m talking about the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app. Like many Switch owners, I downloaded it when I first got my...
Feature XCOM 2 Collection Port Specialists Virtuos On Bringing The Series To Switch
"This process is like squeezing water from a sponge"
Virtuos has made a name for itself with Switch gamers as one of the premier developers of quality ports on the platform. With impressive Switch versions of L.A. Noire, a clutch of Final Fantasy remasters, Starlink: Battle for Atlas and
Feature Delays And Customer Communication Blackouts - What's Going On With Dispatch Games?
UPDATE: Another statement from Dispatch, two months after the last
Update #3: Dispatch has now committed to giving weekly updates on the status of its projects via email and on its social media channels. We've added the first update (via Twitter) at the bottom of the page. Update #2: On Saturday 23rd May 2020 Dispatch put out a second update...
Guide How To Redeem Nintendo Switch eShop Codes From Your Smartphone Or Computer
No Switch required!
Buying your games digitally is a super-convenient way to get your hands on the latest and greatest titles, and buying directly from the Nintendo eShop via your console or online is a doddle. Sometimes, though, you might find yourself with a code to redeem; unless you happen to have your Switch or 3DS on you at the time, this...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 23rd)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Another week of this Nintendo Life draws to a close, a week that featured the now-customary dose of community-created Animal Crossing goodness, the steady building of anticipation for the next big Nintendo release of the year, and a one-off return this weekend of
Guide Genshin Impact - Everything We Know So Far About This Ambitious Zelda Wannabe
Updated: New character Fischl revealed
Genshin Impact is an action role-playing video game developed by miHoYo, but is perhaps best known to Nintendo fans as the title which caused one Zelda enthusiast to smash up his PS4 due to the close similarities between the game and Breath of the Wild
Guide Untitled Goose Game Walkthrough - Puzzle Solutions And To-Do List Objectives
How to be a horrible goose
Untitled Goose Game is a game in which you assume the role of an annoying waterfowl and cause merry mayhem in a sleepy village, just because you can. It's a sandbox title which rewards experimentation, but there are a set number of objectives you have to undertake if you want to complete it. We've covered the entire game...
Talking Point Are You Suffering From Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fatigue?
Is it your daily ritual, or the chore you keep putting off?
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is something of a phenomenon, in case you hadn't noticed. Not only has it sold by the bucketload, but it has also attracted celebrity fans like Danny Trejo and Elijah Wood
Feature Moving Out - SMG Studio On 'Pre-Gaming' Apartment Moves And Collaborating Across Continents
"I’m not sure what hours [Jan] kept in Sweden as he always seemed to be up"
When it comes to great co-op games to enjoy with your friends and family, competition is certainly fierce on the Switch. Moving Out is Australian developer SMG Studio's latest offering and follows on from Death Squared, a brilliant local-co-op title that proved that the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 16th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Another busy week has been and gone, this time bringing a cheeky asset flip game on Switch, more Animal Crossing item duplication glitches, and the big Paper Mario Switch reveal, but now it's time to
Guide Pokémon Sword And Shield - How To Get A Foreign Language Ditto
And how to tell if yours is foreign
Ditto is perhaps the most important Pokémon to have on your team if you're hoping to catch 'em all and get as many Shiny Pokémon as possible. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, using a foreign language Ditto is a great way to improve your chances of hatching a Shiny Pokémon, actually providing you with the best odds...
"Some Dark-Soulish interactions [...] A Hat in Time cuteness, with maybe a Zelda base"
Cast your minds back to Nintendo's Indie World Showcase in March this year and you may well remember the intriguing reveal that kicked off the presentation. Blue Fire is a mysterious 3D combat platformer from Argentina-based Robi Studios which piqued our interest,...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 9th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
With yet another week down, this time bringing with it a newly-found Animal Crossing glitch, a super gorgeous Super Mario 64 PC port, and all sorts of interesting stats from Nintendo's fiscal year earnings rep
Feature Spirit Of The North Developers On The Challenges Of Bringing Their Fox To Switch
"It was very important that the game be as perfect as possible on the cart"
Following Spirit of the North's debut on PS4 last year, Merge Games revealed back in February that it was heading to Switch (and PC) this year in the Spring. Well, despite many of us having been stuck indoors for the last few weeks, Spring 2020 has indeed sprung and Infuse...
Talking Point Should Nintendo Create An Apple Arcade-Style Service For Smartphones?
Money for nothing, or harmful to Nintendo's core business?
Nintendo is certainly enjoying something of a purple patch right now. The Switch is selling in astonishing numbers, the company is broadening its appeal via movies and theme parks and its franchises are
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects - April 2020
April's best Switch eShop games!
With April all done and dusted, we somehow find ourselves a whole third of the way through the year. Where on Earth does the time go? As such, it's time to once again visit our tried and trusted Nintendo Life eShop Select awards! These awards aim to celebrate the best of Nintendo's digital store, giving some love...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 2nd)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
So, yet another week has been and gone, bringing with it a new Switch system update, new fish and bugs to catch in Animal Crossing, and even the wonderful fact that Tom Nook somehow made it on to the front page of the Financial Times
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 25th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Yet another week has passed by, this time with the return of Crazy Redd in Animal Crossing, a welcome Switch eShop update and concerning reports of Nintendo Account hacks
"We’re super proud of the result on Nintendo Switch"
Last month Firesprite Games announced that it was bringing its first-person sci-fi horror game The Persistence to Switch in 2020, and the release date has now been confirmed for 21st May. The studio, originally formed by veterans of
Feature Trials Of Mana Producers On The Challenges Of Remaking A Classic 16-Bit RPG
"We wanted to give the player more freedom and made drastic changes to the overall direction"
Last year Switch owners in the West were able to get their hands on a previously-unavailable RPG treasure for the first time when Square Enix put out an official localisation of Super Famicom classic Seiken Densetsu 3 from 1995, renamed Trials of Mana and...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 18th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
After a new Nintendo Switch update (remember to update those Joy-Con, too!), rumours of a Resident Evil 4 remake and the last few days of the
Talking Point What Does That New ESRB Loot Box Warning Actually Mean?
Or 'surprise mechanics', as certain companies prefer
A few days ago, the ESRB made a blog post detailing a new descriptor it will be adding to many game ratings going forward, which essentially is going to be a loot box warning. Many have praised this move, as the prevalence of loot boxes in modern games is something that’s met with casual...
Soapbox This Little Plastic Disc Has Enriched My Animal Crossing: New Horizons Experience
Should you also join the (N2) Elite?
The arrival of Animal Crossing: New Horizons has predictably triggered a surge in demand for Animal Crossing amiibo cards required to invite certain villagers to your island, so much so that some of them are now trading hands for
Poll Does Resident Evil 4 Really Need The REmake Treatment?
And why isn't Capcom bringing them to Switch?
Following whispers last week that the next numbered Resident Evil game was in the works, further rumours surfaced over the weekend of an incoming remake of Resident Evil 4, a game originally developed as a GameCube exclusive as part of the fabled
"There is definitely room for us to consider other titles for [Switch] going forward"
Last year NIS America confirmed that it was bringing JRPG The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III to Switch in 2020, with the game scheduled to arrive on 30th June. The long-running Legend of Heroes series has over a dozen entries to its name, and for fans...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 11th)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Another busy week has flown by, with Cooking Mama's troubling cryptocurrency allegations, Pokémon player ban threats and a ridiculously large Switch sale
Talking Point We Should Brace For A Huge Games Industry Knock-On Effect Following The CERO Shutdown
Down to CERO
Today's news that Japanese video game rating organisation CERO--that's the 'Computer Entertainment Rating Organization'--is closing temporarily in response the COVID-19 pandemic will likely have far longer lasting repercussions on the video games industry than recent cancellation of annual events such as E3 and GDC. Japan's response to...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects - March 2020
March's best Switch eShop games!
March was a yet another busy month on the Switch eShop, with plenty of seriously exciting titles popping up all over the place. As such, there's never been a better time to dig out the good old Nintendo Life eShop Select awards! These awards aim to celebrate the best of Nintendo's digital store, giving some love and...
Feature Why We Think Crazy Redd Will Bring His Artwork To Animal Crossing: New Horizons
We're Redd-y for ya, cousin
For those who have played any of the previous entries in the Animal Crossing series, you're all-too-familiar with that crazy black market-dealing fox named Redd. Love him or hate him, he carries wares that are impossible to find anywhere else – including counterfeits and fakes. The paintings, statues and sculptures –...
