Jack_Goetz

"At least it's getting fixed now with the slightly bigger cards on the way for devs to work with."

*Smaller

I agree, it's so hard to believe Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition came out this year (and I've still not finished it...)

Great article. My parents bought me a copy of World Warrior for Christmas '92, and it's easily one of my most cherished festive memories. They must have figured out it was cheaper for me to have my own copy than constantly pumping coins into the arcade machines.

Ubisoft, you say? Yeah, I'll pick this up on deep sale in a few months then.

Well, this is a pleasant surprise! Trails in the Sky is certainly worthy of the top spot (at the time of writing). It also proves what many of us have been saying this year, which is Nintendo's losing its mojo as of late. Let's hope things pick up first-party-wise in 2026.

My 'GOTY' is, without a doubt, Ball x Pit, which somehow placed below MKW. A travesty, I tell ya.

I really can't recommend Laika: Aged Through Blood, unfortunately. It was a game I was really looking forward to for a long time as well.

Ohh... I expect new adopters are going to end up being even more vocal about MKW being a poor, cash grab entry in time then. Many of us who opted for the bundle have gone 'well, at least I didn't pay full price for it'.

Nintendo could have offered some free DLC to tie in with new adopters having to pay full price for it, but its too busy trying to finish the game with updates that should have been in place on day one.

@FelixSandwichez I didn't realise you spoke Thai.

Bananza is probably game of the year on Switch 2, first-party title-wise. Thing is, it's not a fantastic game by any stretch of the imagination. The gameplay out stays its welcome, making it an 8 of 10 at best.

Nintendo really needs to get its mojo back in 2026. If Switch 2 didn't have GameCube games I'd have sold mine by now.

OMG, let the collecting commence!

"We'll have to wait and see how many other publishers decide to utilise the smaller Switch 2 cartridges in the future..."

Capcom, are you there? Hello?

PS5 out sells the Switch 2 in November. Rumour of new, smaller Switch 2 game cards incoming soon. Coincidence? 😉

Starts petition for Ingrid Hunnigan to appear in Requiem

...and Quad HD, again. How many native 4K games are on Switch 2 almost six months later? Fewer than 10 maybe? Yet some people in these comment sections would have you believe that every Switch 2 game outputs 4K natively.

Capcom is really scraping the barrel now.

Yay, even more GKCs incoming...

@9_10DOH64 Completely agree with everything you've said. Crazy to think that the Switch 2's 'best' new first-party game in 2025 is a Switch release with a Switch 2 'upgrade'.

Gotta love a crappy cash grab. I feel like we're gonna to be seeing a bunch of really low effort Switch 2 Editions over the coming years.

Never has a game sounded so unappealing to me. I'm completely grateful about that though.

Looks at mounting backlog of untouched games

@SamSt565 Dread didn't try to reinvent the wheel and hardly anyone complained about that game, so I don't think that's an accurate assessment of what's going on here.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond just isn't that great of Metroid Prime game for many reasons. My biggest issue with it is the padding.

"Oh, you found a chip, bring it over to me so I can make it compatible with your suit". Sure, all the way to the opposite side of the map, across a dull desert hub, on a bike which is totally unnecessary (and just plain silly in a Metroid game). But hey, let's dedicate a 6th of the game to Samus acquiring said bike from a bike factory.

@KingMinosOfKnossos Incoming: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/12/assassins-creed-shadows-update-to-resolve-switch-2-crashes-and-stability-issues

Proud to be part of the 17% that bought the Switch version. Playing it on my Switch 2 of course, with the upgrade pack (kinda unnecessary to be honest) but wanted the unspoiled artwork.

Great to finally see another major update. I still play this everyday and was getting worried, as the lobbies have been getting emptier in recent months. Great to have some new backdrops too, as I finished collecting all the previous ones about six months ago.

Not a huge fan of the original secret tracks, so hopefully these new three will be more fun. Just need those remaining BS tracks now.

I see Sakurai's on the neat vodka again. If I know anything about these guys, it's that they had to call a taxi to get Suda51 back home.

Getting there, very slowly but surely. Mario Kart World - Nintendo Switch 3 Finished Edition incoming.

Crazy to think Nintendo sat on this game for two years, thinking it was done.

@Thomystic The cover art is a compilation of each game's pixel art icon.

Just picked this up on the strength of the review. I missed out on picking up Year Walk in the Wii U days, so happy to finally have the chance to experience it. I've never heard of the other titles, but they sound very creative and, most importantly, fun!

It's not a great move, but it's not like the games division of Warner Bros. could get much worse really.

The hardware feels great in the hand but I've been pretty underwhelmed with the launch titles, and MP4 has kinda proven that I really didn't didn't need to upgrade at the earliest opportunity. I've yet to buy any physical games for it, as they're either available much cheaper digitally (thanks Amazon.co.jp) or they're GKCs, which I still refuse to purchase.

Improved loading times is about the only real difference I've noticed first-hand. I've also had issues with the intermittent black screen, which I believe is down to the new dock and LG TVs having some handshake issue, which is yet to be fixed. Overall, it's been fairly underwhelming. And don't get me started on Mario Kart World.

@HeeHo "Both the Switch 1 and Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will be getting a physical in the US courtesy of PM Studios, with Reef Entertainment's European release sticking with just the Switch 2 version."

This might be my first Switch 2 physical if the European release isn't covered in useless text at the bottom of the artwork. Picked up the Switch 1 version of MP4 today because of the state of the Switch 2 box art.

I'd put Ball x Pit and The Hundred Line over anything new Nintendo's published this year. Honestly, it seems like 2025 has been one of Nintendo's weakest years in terms of how well its first-party titles have been received, bar DKB.

Any major potential DLC for this game should be given away for free, considering how many of these 'updates' should have been in the base game on launch day.

Nintendo has certainly 'cashed in' on this release, so it could at least show some good will.

@LazyDaisy I've got some bad news for you...

The biggest problem with the open world desert in MP4, according to many reviews, is that it predictably serves as padding and nothing more.

Hell, the desert even contains it's own tedious crystal collecting fetch quest, which is necessary to complete in order to finish the game. If that's not a shoed-in open world then I don't know what is.

IGN has covered the Switch 1 version: "The resolution downgrade is obviously noticeable in comparison to the fancy Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, as things look much fuzzier than they do in crisp 4K. But it still holds its own and runs at an impressive 60 fps on the old hardware. The initial loading screen upon choosing your save file felt much longer, and there was some slight pop-in I noticed when driving around the desert."

@Qwiff Indeed.

I just read Metro's 7/10 review which says: "Barely a Metroidvania at times, with some sections being almost entirely linear. Very simplistic puzzling and few new ideas in terms of items and weapons."

The Eurogamer review is quite fascinating in the way it compared MP4 to several elements from various Zelda entries, including Wind Waker's end game fetch quest. Worth a read if you're on the fence about Beyond.

The reviewer sadly didn't feel the need to start over again on hard mode or to 100% it, and ending up playing through Dread again instead.

It's quite remarkable to see Retro Studio's name on something after so long.

The Eurogamer review kinda confirmed my fears regarding the desert just being Hyrule Field though. In fact, that review compares this game to a number of Zelda entries. Not always in a good way either.

I loved Streets of Rage 4 and Shredder's Revenge, but Marvel just doesn't do anything for me. Maybe I'll try it after a deep sale.

My favourite of the series. Really loved all the characters in this one. The one-two of this and Torna was just incredible. I imagine there'll be some kind of expanded Switch 2 Edition down the line, ala Animal Crossing.

Doesn't really make sense for Nintendo to give us a free patch when it can resell us the same game again.

Retro Studios: Let's take the worst part of the most poorly received Prime game and rack it up a notch!

Nintendo: Love it!

Tip: Press, hold, or tap 'B'.

Feeling sorry for anyone who brought a 4K TV just for the Switch 2 at this point. I nearly pulled the trigger myself, but I thought I'd wait until Black Friday, which is now here and I have no desire to pick one up. Maybe next year, eh?

Interesting. Seems there are slightly better deals available for Switch 2 bundles on the continent than in the UK.

The only reason Ubisoft still wants to put this out is for the hefty tax write off.

The demo did little to convince me to pick it up, especially at its RRP in Europe. However, it's only £35 on Amazon Japan, so I may get around to it at some point.

Still, no racing game on Switch (or Switch 2) gets my adrenalin going as much as F-Zero 99 does. I was hoping for something similar from Air Riders.

I wonder if Air Riders would have done better if it didn't have a demo...

I feel like each iteration of Animal Crossing gets progressively worse. For me the GameCube version was peak. Having Wild World on the go was certainly novel and easier to dip into, but it felt like too many corners were cut to make it a DS game. Let Go to the City, could have been a contender to knock the GC version off its perch, but the city just felt bolted on, making it more of a nuisance to navigate. New Leaf felt a bit too bloated for my liking, and New Horizons completely alienated me with all the terraforming stuff.

Still, I'm open to seeing how things will look going forward. I'm going to give NH another shot when the next major update drops in 2026.

Rushes to see what's at No. 1

Ah, Super Mario World is still where it should be.

'Make Mario Kart World even more boring by watching other people play it instead'. 😅

Some of the screenshots are reminiscent of Eurotrash.