Latest Features
Hardware Review Hyperkin Supa Retron HD: Time To Dust Off Those SNES Carts
UPDATE: UK launch now confirmed for March
For a wide range of reasons, the public's interest in retro gaming has arguably never been higher. New players are being drawn into this fascinating corner of the industry to explore the origins of characters like Mario and Sonic, while veterans who still bear the scars of the '80s and '90s console wars are...
Art Check Out This Incredible Zelda: Breath Of The Wild x Splatoon Mash-Up
Inkling Boy, Inkling Girl, Inkling Bokoblin?!
As you are probably aware, we're pretty big fans of Splatoon here at Nintendo Life. Then Breath of the Wild came in to our lives, and - even though it was only one year ago - we really don't know how we coped without it. Imagine our shock and delight, then, as we stumbled upon illustrator...
Feature Getting Inside The Head Of Membrane Developer Seth S Scott
"There's always that moment when you realise how much freedom you have"
Membrane is a creative action puzzle game that's landed on the Nintendo Switch eShops and it's already made quite the impression on us - just check out our glowing review. It's the brain child of husband and wife development team Perfect Hat and it's proved to be one of the most...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend?
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
Another week has come to an end, and that can only mean one thing - the weekend is upon us, in all its glory. Some of you might be off relaxing, some of you might have work, but there's still going to be a little time for some Switch, 3DS or Wii U-based gaming. So, to get you in the mood for a little virtual...
Tool up
Equipment can completely turn the tide of battle, looting, and escaping in PAYDAY 2. In fact, it's a pretty essential feature of the game, and bringing a variety that each complement each other can make your life an awful lot easier. But first you have to know what each of the equipment types are capable of, and that's where we come in...
Guide PAYDAY 2 Heist Tips - How To Grab Loot, Escape, And Get Paid
Get in, get out, get paid
Payday 2 is the first competitive first-person shooter to launch on Nintendo Switch since DOOM. While DOOM focused more on its single-player experience, Payday 2 is all about the multiplayer though. In fact, aside from a brief tutorial and offline modes, there's no single player to speak of in the game. As a result, you...
Guide PAYDAY 2 Tips - All Primary, Secondary, And Melee Weapons, And How Much They Cost
A call to arms
You're not going to complete any heists in PAYDAY 2 without the appropriate weapons, that's for sure. But before you go equipping anything, you're going to have to understand how it all works. That means how the different weapons function, the difference between a primary and secondary weapons, and how much it all costs. Now, we're...
Guide PAYDAY 2 Perk Decks - How Perk Decks Work And All Perks Listed
Perky
There are 20 Perk Decks in PAYDAY 2, and each of them provide a bunch of passive bonuses that help customise your character in your own play style. This guide takes a good look at Perk Decks to help you understand the system. We'll also include all perks in the game to help you decide which deck is for you. <related tags="Payday 2,...
Feature 7Levels Has Its Finger On The Pulse With Castle Of Heart
"Making games for Nintendo consoles has been our goal since the beginning"
Castle Of Heart is a Switch-exclusive, hack-'n'-slash platformer where you control a cursed knight under the spell of an evil sorcerer, features lush, dynamic environments and a variety of weapons to collect. Sounds intriguing, right? Well we were lucky enough to catch up...
Guide PAYDAY 2 Skill Trees - How the Skill System Works and All Skills Listed
Get paid
A big part of the fun in Payday 2 is creating your own character build to suit your play style. There are a lot of skills too, and you can mix and match them as you grow in levels to further refine your character. In this guide, we'll explain exactly how the skill system works, how many skill points you can acquire in total, and how much...
Soapbox Switch Continues To Give Older Games A Second (Or Third) Chance At Redemption
Ports can be a good thing, right?
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In today's article, editor Dom delves into the vast ocean of ports on Nintendo Switch and argues that bringing older games to the platform can relight the fire for...
Guide How Does PAYDAY 2 On Switch Compare To Other Console Versions?
UPDATE: The Switch version is currently a year behind in updates
UPDATE: Publisher-cum-developer Starbreeze has confirmed that the Nintendo Switch version of PAYDAY 2 is indeed outdated in terms of updates. In an official response to Polygon, it confirmed the port includes content up until last year's Most Wanted update. The firm says Nintendo...
Guide PAYDAY 2 FAQ - Everything You Need To Know About The Co-Op Heist Shooter
Cash out
PAYDAY 2 is about to join the Nintendo Switch's very small selection of first person shooters. But where this differs from the likes of DOOM, is in that multiplayer takes priority over single player. More importantly though, it focuses on co-op, which is an area in which the Switch specialises in. You'll play with up to three other players...
Feature Getting The Best Picture Out Of Your Nintendo 64: The RGB Edition
Soupy visuals, begone!
You'll have to forgive us, but we're a little obsessed with getting the best picture quality out of dusty old game hardware here at Nintendo Life. Those of you with long memories may recall our early experiments with upscaling and scanline-generating devices many years ago, and more recently we've looked at the benefit of HDMI...
"I think you can call it a spiritual successor to Gals Fighters"
Of all the titles announced in January’s Nintendo Direct, one of the biggest surprises was SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. An all-female fighter featuring 2-vs-2 action and a cast of some of SNK’s best-loved characters, wrapped up in over-the-top costumes and candy-coated style, SNK...
Feature Brushing Up On Fox N Forests With Developer Bonus Level
A love letter to the 16-bit era for seasoned platforming fans.
Inspired heavily by the golden age of 2D platformers, German developer Bonus Level is bringing Fox n Forests, its gorgeous, season-changing action game to Nintendo Switch after a successful Kickstarter campaign way back in August 2016. It's already made a name for itself on Steam, so...
Feature Catching Up With Mega Ran Ahead Of His UK Tour
"I'm really excited to see places I've never seen before"
Hip hop/ nerd core artist and producer Mega Ran returns to our humble shores this month for a nationwide tour. After securing an exclusive licensing deal with Capcom, the former teacher has toured all over the world and released multiple albums inspired by some of the most revered games and...
Feature Suiting Up For Combat With Battle Princess Madelyn On Switch And Wii U
"I hope Maddi is proud of what we’re accomplishing"
With its gorgeous 2D visuals and old-school sensibilities, Battle Princess Madelyn has been on our radar for months now. A love letter to games like Ghosts 'n Goblins and Black Tiger, Madelyn is built using Unity and is currently scheduled for release on Switch and Wii U - yes, you read...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend?
Here's what Team Nintendo Life is playing...
Talking Point is back (and fashionably late) so it's time for team Nintendo Life to share the games they're playing here in the warm embrace of the weekend. This week, we've got Darren heading back to a neon-tinted co-op shmup, Glen strapping on his golden boots, Dom continuing his Dark Brotherhood...
Soapbox What Happened To All The Great Baseball Games On Nintendo Consoles?
Ian Cortina laments the lack of decent sluggers on Switch
“Right! Try and get your heads round this, okay? Imagine the sun setting on the vast waters of Lake Victoria... A hundred thousand wildebeest grazing on the Masai Steppe, yeah? A misty, sleepy dawn rises to reveal Kilimanjaro in all its hypnotic majesty…” Lovely stuff. Those are the...
Feature Unbinding The Fall Part 2 with Developers Over The Moon
"We're in a crazy time right now"
As a follow up to the award-winning 2014 Wii U Sci-Fi adventure The Fall, developer Over The Moon took some time to talk to us about the upcoming sequel, bound for the Switch. With an interesting mix of exploration, puzzle solving and an absorbing psychological story, The Fall Part 2: Unbound is sure to grab...
Soapbox Call Of Duty Can Work On Switch, Activision Just Needs To Pull The Trigger
And it deserves more than a straight port
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In today's article, editor - and long-time Call Of Duty advocate - Dom goes beyond the rumours and investigates the reality of whether the shooter franchise...
Feature This Ain't A Scene It's An ARMS Race (At EVO Japan 2018)
Switch exclusive has a competitive community to cherish following EVO Japan
Before fighting game regulars Tekken, Street Fighter and Smash Bros took to the stage at EVO Japan last weekend, a select group of a strong, committed and vocal community came together to advocate the inclusion of the newest title on the roster - Nintendo Switch exclusive...
Preview Fighting Foes With Friends In Kirby Star Allies For Nintendo Switch
Three's company, four's a party
With the first month of 2018 having gone by, many of us are looking to the horizon for the next big Nintendo Switch games to hit. The console remains every bit as popular as it nears the end of its first year on store shelves as it did in the weeks and months following in its launch. At E3 2017, Nintendo...
Feature Xeodrifting Onto Nintendo Switch With Jools Watsham
"I like to challenge myself by embarking on things I've never done before"
Mutant Mudds developer Atooi will be bringing its pixel art Metroidvania-style platformer Xeodrifter to Nintendo Switch next week, so we thought it was high time spoke to Jools Watsham, developer, artist and founder the Austin-based indie studio. We talk developing for...
Feature Behind The Scares With Layers Of Fear: Legacy's Bloober Team
"It will be a descent into madness..."
Nintendo Switch has its fair share of platformers, shoot-em-ups and retro fighting games, but it's taken a while for the grisly realm of horror to finally make its gruesome home on the handheld platform. Layers Of Fear: Legacy is one of the first to make horror portable, with its unique mixture of first-person...
Talking Point What Games Are You Playing This Weekend?
Here's what Team Nintendo Life is playing...
After a long vacation overseas, our weekly 'What Games Are You Playing This Weekend?' feature is back, refreshed, revitalised and ready to go it again in 2018. Talking of 2018, we're barely a month in and we've already been treated to some great new games on Nintendo Switch, with countless more gems on...
Hardware Review Does The Retro-Bit NES Power Stick Give You The Advantage?
Microswitched marvel
These days, gamers are pretty comfortable with the fact that there are multiple control options available when it comes to playing on their console of choice. The basic, in-the-box pad isn't always the best that's on offer, and there are myriad official and unofficial controllers doing the rounds, each claiming to hold a...
Soapbox The Super Mario Movie Might Not Be All That Great
“The perfect mix of terrible”
Mario had a film before, and it wasn't exactly stellar, and so when the news was confirmed this morning that Nintendo is partnering up with the studio responsible for such products as Minions and The Secret Life Of Pets, it was hard for me to contain my scepticism and frustration. I can't personally see how a film...
Soapbox Nintendo's Riding High On Switch's Wave, But What Does It Need To Do To Stay There?
It’s time to change the playbook
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In today's article, editor Dom mulls over Nintendo Switch's big sales milestones and how Nintendo needs to adopt new tactics to stay relevant in the months...
Video The 26 Best Game Boy Advance Games of All Time
Advance to the next level
Every Nintendo system has its gems, but to say we were a bit spoilt with the Game Boy Advance is an understatement. Game after game after game kept being released, and there were so many incredible ones our original list was well over double the size of this one. For the sake of brevity and my own sanity, we cut it down...
Feature Skin Deep With The Exciting World Of Nintendo Tattoos
Inking boys and inking girls
Die hard fans of any medium or facet or popular culture have been known to take their passion to the next level, and Nintendo fans are no different. A Portsmouth tattoo parlour has seen an increase in the number of requests for some of Nintendo's most famous mascots. Nintendo Life decided to go under the proverbial...
Feature Shooting Up A Storm On Switch With Aperion Cyberstorm's aPriori Studios
To infinity, and beyond!
With an explosive combination of a stylish neon aesthetic and an enticing wealth of co-operative as well as competitive game modes, sci-fi twin-stick shooter Aperion Cyberstorm blasts on to the Nintendo eshop next week. Nintendo Life was lucky enough to catch up with aPriori Studio's Jack Davis to talk the game's journey...
Soapbox Monster Hunter World Has Claimed Its Prize, But Capcom Shouldn't Forget Nintendo
3DS helped make the series what it is today
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In today's article, editor Dom argues that Monster Hunter World needed to leave Nintendo behind to make a different success of itself, but that the wider...
Soapbox Miitomo's Days Are Numbered, But Its Death Was Written In The Stars From The Start
Exit stage-left for the Mii
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In this piece, editor Dom takes a look back on the forgotten first child of Nintendo's mobile marriage and why its surprisingly the semi-social network even survived this...
Feature The Need For Bleed With Bootdisk Revolution's Ian Campbell
Cutting edge
Bleed comes from one-man team Bootdisk Revolution, AKA Ian Campbell. Mixing speedy platforming and tight twin-stick shooting, this high-octane indie won us over when it arrived on Nintendo Switch in December 2017. Nintendo Life had a chance to speak with Ian about bringing his first solo-developed project to the console, how the indie...
Feature The Most Exciting Indie Games Coming to Nintendo Switch In 2018
Small yet mighty titles on the horizon
If you thought 2017 was a big year for Nintendo Switch, you're about to have your metaphorical socks blown off because it's only the start of the year and we're already racking up an impressive lineup of games. We've already shared our recommendations on the biggest retail games headed to the Nintendo Switch in...
Soapbox Labo Could Help Nintendo Finally Crack The World Of Education
An elusive but profitable market could be won over, says Yuri Litvinenko
For any company whose products happen to be popular among children, the education market has always been one of the most lucrative to target – but it's one which poses a stern challenge, too. A manufacturer has to offer something that appeals to kids and teachers alike, being...
Feature Conquering The Indie Mountain With Celeste Creator Matt Makes Games
We speak to co-developer Noel Berry on all things Nintendo Switch
Celeste is a tight, tough and tantalisingly precise platformer from the creator of the TowerFall series. Starting life as a game jam project in a 'fantasy console' called PICO-8, this new slice of indie challenge has blossomed into a beautifully crafted old school-style...
Feature Bugging Out With Hollow Knight's Team Cherry
The other dark Knight
Hollow Knight is a cute yet dark Metroidvania from the talented minds at Australian developer Team Cherry. After a hugely successful 2017, the insectoid platformer is preparing to embark on the greatest adventure of all as it makes its way to Nintendo Switch this year. To celebrate its impending arrival, Nintendo Life was lucky...
Feature The Best Zelda Cosplays To Hyrule Them All
The best fan-made costumes rupees can buy
The Legend Of Zelda series of games is loved by Nintendo fans world-wide, and has proved popular with cosplayers around the globe as a way of showing their appreciation for its myriad characters and creatures. With Breath Of The Wild winning multiple awards in 2017 and frequenting the top of many 'game of...
Soapbox Alex And Dom Discuss If Dark Souls Will Really Work On Switch
Prepare to vie (for attention)
A short time ago, shiny new Nintendo Life Editor (TM) Dom wrote an excellent piece about Dark Souls coming to Switch, and why it's such a spiffing idea. His decision to pen this piece was also a spiffing idea; so much so in fact that we decided Dom and our resident video guru Alex should have a wee natter about the...
Feature The Biggest Nintendo Switch Retail Games of 2018
Lots to look forward to this year
With the new year no longer that new, and with Nintendo Switch having had one of the best first years in the industry's history, we thought it was a good time to revive our 'Biggest Games' lists, which were previously started to feel a tad stretched for Wii U and 3DS. So with so many games already hitting the...
Movie Review King Of Kong Meets Spinal Tap In Going For Golden Eye
"Rule no. 1: Absolutely no use of Oddjob"
Video games and movies often make uncomfortable bedfellows; just look at the Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993 and Jean-Claude Van Damme's equally risible Street Fighter flick. However, sometimes the combining of these two mediums can yield positive results; King of Kong is one notable example. Jim...
Feature Shooting The Breeze With Chromagun Developer, Pixel Maniacs
"It’s a love-letter to Portal"
Chromagun is a first person puzzle game with more than a passing resemblance to Valve's much loved Portal games. Despite the immediate similarities, its developer hopes to impress with its own sense of witty humour and fiendishly clever colour based puzzles. With only three colours to choose from, it might seem that...
Preview Hands On And Flying High With Dustoff Heli Rescue 2
Get to da choppa!
Much like its mobile and PC-based predecessor, Dustoff Heli Rescue 2 is arcade-style helicopter sim that sees you moving left and right across a 2.5D plane in a variety of customisable whirly birds. Only three of this skyward machines were available in the first game, which increases to a much more satisfying nine this time around...
Feature Nintendo Labo Shouldn't Be A Big Surprise, Nintendo Is A Toymaker First And Foremost
It's all just a little bit of history repeating
No doubt the recent reveal of Nintendo Labo came as a massive surprise to many who were expecting the Japanese veteran to reveal something like Virtual Boy 2 or finally have the ill-fated Vitality Sensor brought back to life for Switch, but when you put down that pitchfork and really stop to think...
Hands On The Future Of Gaming Is Cardboard, Thanks To Nintendo Labo
First impressions of Nintendo's latest left-field revolution
Whenever an invite is extended to check something new and interesting at Nintendo's offices immediately after a Nintendo Direct broadcast, it's easy to fall into the trap of making rash assumptions. Given that it has just been confirmed that Dark Souls is Switch-bound, we took it almost as...
Feature Drumming To The Beat With Switch Music Title Gal Metal
"There are no rules and no limit"
Since its reveal in September, Gal Metal - an exclusive music rhythm game from Japanese gaming industry treasure Tak Fujii - has gained the attention of Nintendo Switch fans for myriad reasons. Most interesting is the fact that the game uses the technology in the Joy-Con controllers to mimic the playing of...
Guide How To Get All The New Armour And Gear In Zelda: Breath Of The Wild's Champions' Ballad DLC
Armour up
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild's latest and final DLC the Champions' Ballad (here's how to beat it) didn't only contain a new dungeon, side quests, and the Master Cycle Zero. It also contains a bunch of exciting new armour and gear. We want to help you get all of it. So without further ado, here's a list of each new piece of...