Switch 2 Game Reviews
Review Octopath Traveler 0 (Switch 2) - A Bit Of A Retread, But Unmissable (And Enormous)
Zero to hero
In 2020, Square Enix released an interesting 'stopgap' in the Octopath Traveler series called Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent. This free-to-play mobile game took the gacha approach to design, regularly launching new units and storylines to interact with as the years rolled by. The company wrapped up that initial version in...
Mini Review Red Dead Redemption: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - The Update That This Epic Deserved
"It's wanting that gets so many folk in trouble..."
The first time I played Red Dead Redemption was, of course, the day it launched. 2010 really doesn't seem all that long ago at all, but there was a level of expectation and excitement to those opening moments in Rockstar's utterly wild West that I do feel I haven't experienced in a very long time...
Review Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition (Switch 2) - Samus Returns In Prime Form
Sy-luxurious
I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Ever since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption ended on a slight cliffhanger (provided you obtained the 100% completion rating) back in 2007, I’ve been wondering where exactly Nintendo and Retro Studios might take the series next. 18 years would follow, and that’s an awful long time to formulate an...
Review Assassin's Creed Shadows (Switch 2) - An Ambitious Port Of A Captivating Series Refresh
Without a Shadow of a doubt
Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft’s flagship series, has delivered two decades of time-hopping adventure. Over the years, it has spawned a glut of expansions and spin-offs, building a franchise with a legion of faithful fans. Moving away from the Hitman-like structure of working through a target list, the series reinvented...
No more delays
If you’ve spent years of your life waiting for Metroid Prime 4, Silksong, or one of the many other highly anticipated games that spent substantial time on the horizon, just remember that it could always be worse — you could be an Inazuma Eleven fan. Developer Level-5’s RPG-tinged take on football (or soccer, if that’s your...
Review Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted (Switch 2) - An Imperfect Specimen, But Still Bloomin' Good
The need for seed
When you think of platformers, you likely think of Super Mario Bros. When you think of JRPGs, you likely think of Final Fantasy. When you think of FPS, you likely think of Call of Duty. Some games are just synonymous with their respective genres. And when it comes to tower defence games, what comes to my mind immediately is Plants...
Review Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (Switch 2) - A Serviceable Port Of One Of Lara's Very Best
Gloom & Tomb
As a person who grew up on the original Tomb Raider games back on the PS1, I eagerly anticipated the ‘new era’ of Lara Croft promised by publisher Square Enix and developer Crystal Dynamics for the 2013 reboot. Seemingly inspired by the success of the Uncharted franchise (which itself was inspired by Tomb Raider), the first game in...
Splash of the Titans
Developers Purple Lamp Studios are single-handedly keeping the dream alive for the continuing adventures of everyone's favourite sentient sponge. 2020’s Battle for Bikini Bottom: Rehydrated was a fine update to a cult classic and a huge success to boot. The studio followed up with a solid sequel in The Cosmic Shake, making...
Review DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO (Switch 2) - A Brilliant Brawler With A Colossal Roster
The spark that lights the fire
When Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero launched last year on non-Nintendo platforms. I was taken aback at how much time had passed since the last entry in this series. I was a teenager still in school! With the launch of Nintendo Switch 2, a flurry of ports are coming to the updated console and handheld system, including...
Mini Review Arcade Archives 2 TOKYO WARS (Switch 2) - Another Polished But Wafer Thin Hamster Port
Tanks for the memories
Hamster Corporation's Arcade Archives series is back with another cabinet classic on Switch 2. I got to check out Jet Ski racer Aqua Jet back in August, which was a lovingly crafted port. This time I'm revisiting the destructive tank combat of Namco's Tokyo Wars, which served as inspiration for The 3DO Company's N64 classic...
Review Kirby Air Riders (Switch 2) - Incredibly Chaotic, But Satisfyingly Deep & Rewarding Racing
Air force one
Kirby Air Ride, I think it's fair to say, didn't receive all that warm a welcome when it launched back in 2003. With lucky GameCubers already marinating in the delicious driving juices of Mario Kart: Double Dash and F-Zero GX, Kirby's cute and chaotic style of racing just didn't seem to stick with the mainstream, and, as a result,...
Mini Review Yakuza Kiwami (Switch 2) - Kiryu's Debut, Smoother Than Ever
Majima magic
It only feels like yesterday that Yakuza Kiwami finally made its way onto the Switch, and yet here we are with a beefed-up Switch 2 version. This new release is effectively the same game, but Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have taken advantage of the newer console’s specs for a much smoother, crisper experience. Crucially, the frame...
Review Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Switch 2) - One Of The Series' Very Best
Kiwami-likey
Sega and developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio are seemingly on a mission to bring as many Yakuza games to the Switch 2 in as short a time span as possible. With Kiwami and Kiwami 2 joining Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut, we’re already at three within five months of the console’s release. Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties next February will make it four...
Review Goodnight Universe (Switch 2) - A Supernatural Adventure, Quirky & Heartwarming
Don't blink
In 2021, publisher Skybound Games put out Before Your Eyes on PC and Mac (later on mobile and PSVR2), which offered an innovative control mechanic in which you primarily interacted with the game through eye movement and blinks. Alongside this cool gimmick, Before Your Eyes was lauded for its gripping emotional story, quickly turning it...
You Korok my world
Back in 2014 when I picked up the very first Hyrule Warriors on Wii U, my expectations were set somewhere around 'Give me mindless musou action wearing its best Legend of Zelda costume and I'll be a very happy boy.' A simple boy, for sure, but a happy one. And I was a happy boy. I played through Hyrule Warriors in a delirious...
Get over here (and fix it)
Digital Eclipse doesn’t do things by halves. It’s already proven this with the likes of Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration and Tetris Forever, and yet I’m still blown away by what the studio has accomplished with Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection. For years, fans have been begging for a compilation of the original...
Review Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake (Switch 2) - Rounds Out The Erdrick Trilogy In Style
Erdrick of the tale
After its initial announcement of the Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, Square Enix took a few years before it shared any further significant information on the project, which led some at the time to wonder if it had been cancelled or was facing development issues behind the scenes. When the company finally broke the silence and...
Review Two Point Museum (Switch 2) - Probably The Best Game In The Series, But No Mouse Mode?
It belongs in a museum
Universities and hospitals: they’re well-known money spinners (assuming you ignore socialised healthcare) and make perfect sense for a management sim. What doesn’t strike me as such a lucrative institution is a museum. I went to a lot of them as a child specifically because it was a cheap day out, and as I rocket closer...
Review Persona 3 Reload (Switch 2) - A Great Remake, But Still Not Definitive
S.E.E.S. the day
If you’ve yet to play any version of Persona 3, then its darker tones and subject matter might come as a bit of a shock. The opening scene shows supporting character Yukari Takeba sitting alone with a gun pointed at her own head, working up the courage to pull the trigger. Even considering some of the directions the subsequent...
So that puts it at an M, right?
I honestly never thought I’d fall in love with Pokémon battles. That’s not why I play Pokémon – I don’t play competitively either – because I play a ton of RPGs where combat is the draw. I can get my fix elsewhere. But Pokémon Legends: Z-A may have done the impossible; in Kalos, I can’t wait to get into...
It takes two (consoles)
When the original Little Nightmares was released in 2017, it won praise for its fresh take on puzzle platforming horror. Its sequel upped the scare factor even further, earning critical acclaim while deepening the series’ mythos. With a new developer at the helm of its threequel, the question on everyone’s minds is...
Review Yooka-Replaylee (Switch 2) - Feels Like The Game It Was Meant To Be, Finally
Capital B here now
11 (!) years ago, a bunch of ex-Rare staff formed a studio called Playtonic to make Yooka-Laylee, a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie that promised to skillfully carry the 3D platforming torch. Yet when the actual game launched in 2017, following an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign, it didn’t fully deliver on that...
Mini Review The Touryst: Deluxe (Switch 2) - An Upgrade To First Class For The Return Trip
Has it all gone Pete Tong?
It feels like absolutely ages ago that I first reviewed The Touryst on Switch, and returning to it so far down the line, and on the Switch 2 no less, I've been excited to see just how it's held up in the six years since I last took a vacation. Seriously, though. I was bowled over back in the day, giving Shin'en's...
Why do humans read the air?
We reported on the Switch 2 version of Kuukiyomi 4: Consider It having arrived with new features, including a bunch of exclusive mouse-mode content, and as a result of that, well, I agreed in writing in the comments that I'd review it. Thanks, past me. Thanks a bunch. I jest, of course. This is an off-kilter Japanese...
Review Disgaea 7 Complete (Switch 2) - A Definitive Return For This Tactical RPG Giant
Limits were meant to be broken
Disgaea fans know the drill by now. Whenever a new mainline entry in the long-running tactical RPG series breaks onto the scene, it’s only a matter of time before it gets a re-released edition that bundles in the base game’s DLC along with a suite of gameplay tweaks and additions. It’s series tradition at this...
Happy Trails
Whether you're a long-time fan or just curious, it’s natural to approach the release of a new JRPG with measured expectations. These games often build on rich lore and deep series history, rewarding those who enjoy exploring vast worlds and narratives. On the surface, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter might seem like just another drop in...
Review Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac (Switch 2) - Short, Sweet, Prettified, And Not For Everyone
Waka Waka Waka 2: Much Prettier
I admit it. When this review came along, my gaming patience was being tested to its limit by Silksong’s brutal difficulty. So I rolled pretty enthusiastically towards an alternative I hoped would be more relaxing. (I genuinely regret the hours I spent defeating The Last Judge.) Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac seemed the...
Review Hades 2 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - A Bewitching Sequel That's A Spell Off Perfect
Time's (not) up
“Can time not be stopped?” That’s the question Hades II asks you every time you clear a run. The stakes are bigger in Supergiant Games’ first-ever sequel: This is no longer just about family drama, it’s about a dysfunctional family defending all they have against the clutches of the Titan of Time. It’s a story of tragedy,...
A dark night for Onion Knight fans?
Final Fantasy Tactics is probably, all things considered, my favourite Final Fantasy. As someone who isn't really a huge video game lore person at the best of times, as in I forget most of it because my brain needs the storage space for memories of food, in my eyes it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the...
Review EA SPORTS FC 26 (Switch 2) - A Fantastic Football Game, Once You're Used To The Frame Rate
Well worth a Lewandownload
EA’s football series has had a turbulent time on modern Nintendo consoles, as any long-time Nintendo Life reader will doubtless already know. When the Switch got its first entry in the form of FIFA 18, this very reviewer pointed out that it was essentially a port of the Legacy Edition on Xbox 360 and PS3 at the time,...
