Latest Features
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Pragmata?
Eight/10?
Capcom recently rolled out an easy GOTY contender with Resident Evil Requiem, but that apparently wasn't enough for the Japanese publisher. It's now unleashed Pragmata, a futuristic action-adventure that blends fast-paced shooting with intricate puzzle-solving mechanics. We thought it was pretty great, too. In our 9/10 review, Ken Talbot...
Round Up The Previews Are In For Yoshi And The Mysterious Book
Gearing for the Booker Prize?
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is mleming its way to its 21st May 2026 release date, and we have a bunch of previews to showcase to see how it's holding up so far. Our own Jim Norman recently went hands-on with the latest Nintendo title and came away feeling pretty optimistic, stating: "It'll be interesting to see how...
Preview 'Yoshi And The Mysterious Book' Is More Than Just A Pretty Face
Goodbye, Mr. E
I thought I knew what to expect from Yoshi and the Mysterious Book when Nintendo invited me to a recent hands-on preview ahead of the game's launch next month. I had played a good chunk of Crafted World and Woolly World (still waiting on that Switch port, Nintendo) in years gone by, and the trailers for the latest adventure had clued...
Talking Point Star Fox Zero Is 10 Years Old - Have You Actually Played It?
And would you want a Switch port?
Today marks the 10th anniversary of Star Fox Zero's North American launch, the last release in the series at the time of writing. In fact, it shares that honour with Star Fox Guard, but as an eShop game whose only physical version came bundled with Zero, the tower defence spin-off tends to get overshadowed. After a...
Talking Point So, What Are Your First Impressions Of Splatoon Raiders?
Raiders of the lost Shark
Splatoon Raiders has made a big splash today thanks to a big release date trailer. It's our first proper look at the upcoming Splatoon game, which swaps the focus from online multiplayer to single-player, and it's swimming onto Switch 2 on 23rd July 2026. And, amazingly, this is the first time we've seen more of the game...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream?
Are you living your best Tomodachi Life?
After reportedly being feature-complete roughly one year ago (see, the industry can still keep some secrets), Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is out now on the Switch. If you thought that releasing on such a monumentally successful console like the Switch would dilute the game's eccentricities, then worry...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Professor Layton And Pandora's Box
A Diabolical Duel
Hmm, this week's Box Art Brawl reminds me of a puzzle... Before we get to the answer, however, let's recap what went down last time. It was a good old one-on-one for NSO newbie Mendel Palace, with North America facing off against Japan. While the contest was a close one, the Western design just cinched it, taking 53% of the vote...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (18th April)
Taking the Pragmata approach
Hello. Okay, enough waffling, for goodness' sake. This week saw the release of Pragmata from Capcom for the Switch 2, and though it should really come as no surprise, the action title is really darn good. We awarded it a score of 9/10. We also received news that the Legend of Zelda movie has now officially wrapped...
Talking Point What Would You Want From A New Star Fox Game?
WHAAAAT?
Whispers of a new Star Fox game this year just waiting to be announced by Nintendo for the summer have many a fan on edge. On the one hand, it's been nearly 10 years since Lylat's finest had their own game — the admirable but divisive Star Fox Zero — so it's certainly high time for a new series entry. Fox's appearance in The Super...
"people forget we’re a relatively small indie team"
Yooka-Replaylee is a great reimagining of the enjoyable yet flawed 2017 original, yet for many the lack of a 60fps performance mode on Switch 2 was disappointing. Well, the good news is that it's finally here! After m
"it's goofy, but it's fun"
Denshattack! is, in our opinion, one of the most unique games we've seen in quite some time. Sure, the basic gameplay loop of launching into the air to pull off tricks before grinding across some tracks isn't exactly new in itself, but get this... it's a train. It's a train! There's a demo available on the Switch 2 right...
Talking Point If The Star Fox Rumours Are True, Where The Heck's Our Captain Toad Sequel?
Treasure Lacker
The word on the street is that Nintendo has an Arwing in the hangar and it's ready for takeoff. Of course, rumours are nothing more than, uhh, rumours, until the Big N confirms, but there's something about the rumblings of a new Star Fox game that feels faintly plausible to me. Mainstream appeal for McCloud and co. was effectively...
Community Played A Great Switch Game We Missed? Send Us Your Hidden Gem Tips
Treasure tracker
Blimey, that rolled around fast! It's once again time for our Games We Missed round-up, our community callout where we ask for Switch game recommendations for games we weren't able to review. Back in October we rounded up 32 gems, as recommended by you lovely people, in the first edition of this twice-yearly feature to come out...
Feature A Look Back At Every Game Nintendo Life Scored 10/10 Over 20 Years
70 outstanding video games
Last November, Nintendo Life turned 20 and since then we've been looking back over two decades-worth of Nintendo coverage. In that time, we've built up an enormous repository of reviews and today we're going to look back on every single game we've awarded an NL 10 since the site began. There's a good mixture of the usual...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Mendel Palace
Getting Game Freaky
We hope you're ready for another clash of covers, because it's time for this week's Box Art Brawl! Last time, thanks to a certain Super Mario Galaxy Movie appearance, we took a look at Star Fox: Assault for the GameCube. While the grey Japanese cover put up a good fight, it was the European and North American design that...
Opinion Of All Things, Animal Crossing (And 'FOPI') Has Made Me A Switch 2 Evangelist
(Fear Of Price Increase)
When the 3.0 update arrived for Animal Crossing: New Horizons in January, covering it for this here website returned me to a place I thought I'd left behind. Playing for guide purposes brought me back to my island, Twin
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (11th April)
Fight night
The weekend is finally upon us, so it's time for another edition of What Are You Playing! We thought that things might slow down a little after last week's Galaxy Movie extravaganza, but nooo. We got a new Pokémon game in the shape of Pokémon Champions (complete with bugs and unusual resolution quirks), a tr
Round Up Everything Announced In The Level-5 Vision 2026 April Showcase
Layton! Inazuma! Snack World??
Level-5 has returned to the livestreamed showcase scene with its first 'Vision' showcase of 2026, providing an updated look at all the titles it is currently working on. Overall, the details were kept pretty vague in this one — more than a few games had a noncommittal "in development" label attached rather than a...
Preview SNES RPG Meets Celtic Tradition - Can 'Forge Of The Fae' Stand Out In The Pixel-Art Crowd?
What's the craic?
I’ve become a little wary of the plethora of gorgeous retro pixel-art RPGs that keep popping up in recent years. I’m talking about the games that are inspired by classics such as Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, and EarthBound, or sell themselves as spiritual successors. These often look the part, sucking me in with stunning...
"Game systems help you understand the real world"
“What's the mindspace of someone that is trying to rebuild from scratch, away from all her friends? What is that mindspace like? Is she really healthy or happy? What leads her to do that?” Those are the questions Isadora Sophia, lead coder and writer on Neverway, an unsettling horror RPG with...
Talking Point Which Zelda Game Would You Most Like To See Remade?
Spirit Tracks - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Chuchu Train
Another year, another jaunt on the Rumour Express, right? Yes, whispers of a new Zelda remake are making the rounds once again following a recent claim that Ocarina of Time is making a big comeback on the Switch 2 later this year. We've been here before and we'll probably be here again, but...
Poll Super Mario Galaxy Movie Characters Compared, Film Vs. Game Designs - Which Are Best?
Galaxy gallery
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has been out in the wild for nearly a week now, so we thought it was only right to take a look at its new faces and see how they match up to their game counterparts. Those with a really good memory might remember that we did something similar for Illumination's first Mario Movie back in 2023, though it's...
Feature Nintendo Life eShop Selects (March 2026)
Our picks for the best eShop games on Switch 1 & 2 in March
As early signs of spring emerge after a pretty rough winter, there's only one thing we can think about right now: what's waiting for us on the eShop. Yep, it's eShop Selects for March 2026, and yes, believe it or not, there's lots to dig into besides building and breaking things in Pokémon...
Feature "Stop Tagging Us About Bubsy!" - Fabraz On Being Bullied Into Reviving A Maligned Mascot
"We were blown away by the reception"
Bubsy, it's safe to say, doesn't have the greatest reputation in the world. So when Bubsy 4D was announced at Gamescom 2025, we were honestly pretty floored. Not only was Atari reviving a series that's arguably had far more misses than hits in its 30+ year history, but it was bringing on critically-acclaimed...
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Star Fox Assault (GameCube)
Team Star Fox, ready for duty!
Welcome welcome welcome, to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we stepped into the ring with Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO for the GameCube, as this was a really close one, folks. Both designs are really cool, but in the end, Japan and Europe won the day with 53% of the vote, leaving North America to mop up the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (4th April)
Catching a talkie?
Hello there, lovely people. (Hey, Alex is off right now, so I'm nabbing the catchphrase.) It's been a Mario-filled week with the launch of a certain record-breaking motion picture. Yes, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie came out fire flowers blazing this week. Reviews followed in the footsteps of its predecessor, with critics failing...
Feature Our Top Ten Favourite Easter Eggs In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Spoilers a-plenty, obviously
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has a lot of easter eggs. Too many, in our opinion. In fact, we'd go so far as to say that the whole film is essentially propped up by constant hits of nostalgic dopamine. But that's not to say that the easter eggs themselves are bad – far from it. So, here we're going to go through ten of...
Poll What Review Score Would You Give The Super Mario Galaxy Movie?
Go on, tell us
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is out now, proving that time is indeed going way too fast for our liking – didn't the first one just come out? Regardless, initial reactions are also out in the wild, and with a 42% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems pretty clear: this is indeed an Illumination movie. Our own 6/10 review...
Guide Best Space And Sci-Fi Games On Nintendo Switch 1 & 2
The answer to the Ultimate Question
The launch of Artemis II has gotten us excited here at Nintendo Life. For everyone at NL Towers, NASA's latest mission is the first in our lifetime to see humans journey to the moon, and potentially travel further from Earth than anyone has gone before. The astronauts' and global team's inspiring efforts have put...
Round Up It's April Fools' Day, Here Are The Best Gaming Gags We've Seen (2026)
Fools rushin'
It's April Fools' Day once again, which means today you'll find a big dollop of ridiculous gaming news (fun) mixed in with your usual ridiculous gaming news (price hikes, layoffs, not-fun). So as is customary, we've rounded up our picks of the best gags for your amusement as we kick off April with a smirk. We'll be adding to this...
Feature The Best (And Most Cursed) Tomodachi Life Miis We've Seen So Far
But who is the dreamer?
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream got a surprise demo or 'Welcome Version' on the Switch eShop last week following a round of previews for the upcoming life-sim/quirk generator. The demo includes the Mii creator from the game proper, and the internet has busied itself not just making their Miis say
Feature No Love For Simisage? - The 47 Pokémon That Didn't Get A Single Vote In Our Polls
Won't you play with my Chingling?
Back in February, we ran a series of polls to determine your very favourite Pokémon after 30 years of the franchise. With 1025 known Pokémon at the time (this was before the reveal of the Gen 10 starters, and we've asked for your thoughts on those already), it was no mean feat to c
Poll Box Art Brawl: Duel - Capcom Vs SNK 2 EO (GameCube)
Extreme Offence
Well hi there, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last week, we checked out Resident Evil: Code Veronica X for the GameCube, and would you believe it, we have a tie! Yes, both North America and Europe bagged 38% of the vote each, leaving Japan trailing with 25%. We're not entirely surprised by the result, since both...
Opinion As Resident Evil Turns 30, It's Time Capcom Revisits The Classics
Where are they, huh?
Last weekend, Resident Evil turned 30 years old – can you believe it? The original game launched on the PS1 all the way back on 22nd March 1996, kickstarting an enduring franchise that’s arguably more popular now than it's ever been. I still vividly remember borrowing the PS1 trilogy from my brother, completely entranced by...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (28th March)
Ready? Fight!
You've done it, folks. You've got through another week, so well done! It's been a relatively quite week, but we've certainly had a few things to talk about. First up, Nintendo confirmed that its digital Switch 2 games will be cheaper than their physical equivalents in North America, following the example set by the UK and other...
Talking Point Should Nintendo Have Kept The Mario Galaxy Movie Fox Reveal Under Wraps?
For Fox's sake
Yesterday, ahead of next week's opening for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Nintendo pulled back the curtain on a surprise character who'll be showing up in what we thought would be a Mushroom Kingdom-only affair (Pikmin notwithstanding). Fox McCloud is in the Mario Galaxy Movie. Yes, Nintendo put out the poster across social media
"I see this game as the foundational product for the future"
Virtua Fighter isn't a series you'd generally associate with Nintendo systems, and that's probably because the closest we've had to an entry is Virtua Quest, a GameCube spin-off from 2004 (though we also had a Virtual Console release of Virtua Fighter 2 back in the Wii era). But now,...
Poll Who's Your Favourite Resident Evil Playable Character?
REmind me
22nd March 2026 marked the 30th anniversary of the Japanese launch of Resident Evil — or Biohazard — on PlayStation. To celebrate, we'll be publishing various articles this week focused on Capcom's quintessential survival horror series. After three full decades of Capcom cooking up brown-trouser-inducing undead encounters in...
Interview How An Italian Lunch Led To The New Standard For Competitive Pokémon Battling
Speaking to the champion of Champions
With Pokopia out of the way and Winds and Waves not launching until 2027, you might assume that we're due a break from Pokémon, but you'd be wrong. Pokémon Champions is right around the corner. After being revealed in the series' anniversary 'Presents' showcase last year, The Pokémon Company has drip-fed us...
Hands On Pokémon Champions Promises Top-Tier Battling, But At What Cost?
Put your money where your Meowth is
From the moment that it was revealed, I knew Pokémon Champions was going to be a tough sell for fans like me. You see, the battling has always been my least favourite part of the series — I'm more of a "catch 'em all" than "be the very best, like no one ever was" kinda guy — so seeing a game that promised to...
Feature Nintendo May Win Its Case Against The US Government, But Tariffs Are Here To Stay
Winning the battle, losing the (trade) war
Rewind the clock back to early April 2025. Gamers in the United States are eager to get their hands on a Switch 2 and are waiting on tenterhooks to lodge their pre-orders. But, as he tends to do, Donald Trump threw a spanner in the works. On 2nd April, he declared a national emergency over the US trade...
First Impressions The Diary Of A First-Time 'Tomodachi Life' Player - Am I Living The Dream?
Diary of an Omniscient kid
Dear Diary, I'm not sure if I'm Living the Dream just yet. You see, I don’t think Helga likes me. Not “me” me, but Mii. When I dragged my Nintendo-ified facsimile next to this nice-seeming old lady in the new Tomodachi Life, they greeted each other pleasantly. Helga isn’t anyone I know in real life — I’ve...
Feature Where The Heck Do You Start If You've Never Played Resident Evil?
Enter the world of survival horror
22nd March 2026 marked the 30th anniversary of the Japanese launch of Resident Evil — or Biohazard — on PlayStation. To celebrate, we'll be publishing various articles this week focused on Capcom's quintessential survival horror series. 30 years is a pretty long time for any game series. But while many —...
Poll Who's Your Favourite Resident Evil Villain?
The baddest of the bad
22nd March 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Japanese launch of Resident Evil — or Biohazard — on PlayStation. To celebrate, we'll be publishing various articles this week focused on Capcom's quintessential survival horror series. Also, a quick note before we start. This article encompasses all of the main villains...
Poll Box Art Brawl - Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (GameCube)
Welcome to Rockfort Island
Hello folks, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl! Last time, we looked at the overlooked DS title Mario Hoops 3 on 3, and it really wasn't a particularly close race. Although Europe / Japan performed admirably, the North American design easily won the day with 77% of the vote. This week, as we celebrate 30...
Hands On Nintendo's My Mario Toy Series Is Cute, But Offers Mixed Value For Your Little Ones
Wood you pay over £100?
I don’t think anyone was that surprised when Nintendo recently brought its My Mario line of children’s toys to Western markets. Mario’s huge in most corners of the world, and if the big N wants to instil brand awareness and loyalty at a young age, this is the way to do it. Nintendo UK kindly sent over a selection of...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (21st March)
Pokémoar?
It's Saturday, lovely people, and we're back after another packed week in the world of video games! Well, it wasn't too packed, Nintendo-wise, but it still felt busy as Pokopia continues to dominate the Switch-2-dom, and Nintendo itself just casually dropped a firmware update with a new Handheld Boost Mode feature that immediately had us...
Opinion Is Winds & Waves Just 'Pokémon: Tears Of The Kingdom'?
Gequa used Bubbul Beam!
If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably already seen the Pokémon: Winds and Waves trailer with its underwater exploration and probably-important cloud. You’ve marvelled at the tropical setting, sighed with relief at the 2027 release date, and admitted that Gecqua would be a cooler hang than Pombon. Pomeranians are...
Opinion Pokémon Pokopia Is Nostalgia Done Right
Rebuilding the past
When I step out of the starting cave for the first time in Pokémon Pokopia and look across the barren, dried-out grass, the withered trees, and abandoned caves, it all feels rather uncanny. The red brick roads. The Pokémon Center wreckage with two empty plots for buildings right next to it. A blocked-off pathway to the north,...
Community Which Switch 1 Games Benefit Most From Switch 2's New Boost Mode?
You got Handheld Mode Boost power!
Well, that's a tidy little overnight update to wake up to! In case you missed it, Nintendo's latest Switch 2 firmware update includes a neat new feature for Switch 1 backwards compatibility called Handheld Boost Mode. Long story short: when activated, it forces all backwards-compatible
