Digimon Survive is one of the best visual novels to come out so far this year, with plenty of heart and tension to carry you through to the final act. Fans looking for an engaging story with well-written and presented characters that deal with life-and-death situations will enjoy the ride, while players focused on the combat will probably find that the game comes up short. Despite its sluggish, padded start, Digimon Survive is well worth the long wait.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is the strangest thing you'll play from Nintendo, bringing with it laughs and creativity in abundance. But even with improvements over the 3DS game, it follows a familiar structure that isn't always enthralling or hilarious.Tomodachi fans will certainly be living the dream with this new entry, but I'm not desperate to keep coming back to my island. A little more variety would've been welcome, but the customisation, and the thought of my cat being best friends with DMC's Dante, will have me peep in every so often for a little pick-me-up.
Although Cronos: The New Dawn doesn't quite reach the heights of Bloober Team's excellent Silent Hill 2 remake, it's nevertheless the result of a studio that has levelled up significantly from the days of Layers of Fear and Blair Witch. It's a celebration of survival horror, paying homage to all the genre greats effectively, although failing to do anything truly original.That said, the setting and story really help elevate the experience. This is a solid Switch 2 version (assuming a rather unpleasant bug gets fixed soon), and there's real potential here for Cronos to become a central pillar of the genre going forward, should Bloober choose to expand upon it in the future.
NBA 2K26 on Switch 2 fails to deliver the 60fps gameplay we've all been holding out for. It also runs at a lower resolution than I would have expected, and its online modes, thanks to no cross-play or cross-progression are ghost towns.However, if this is your only platform, and if you are okay with 30fps, there is still a huge festival of basketball to enjoy here. This is a game packed full of fun modes, and it'll teach you everything you could ever need to know about the sport whilst giving you some fine on-court action to boot. Here's hoping for a patch down the line, but 2K26 comes off as a great game underperforming on Switch 2 at launch.
Bokura: Planet was a lovely surprise, with an intriguing, diverging co-op narrative that creates tension beneath its novel puzzles without completely jettisoning its cutesy vibes for pixel horror. If you're looking for a reflective, grown-up adventure with laughs, gasps, and perhaps even a tear or two, this affecting little expedition will claim but a few hours of your life and is worth enlisting a friend for.
In reinventing the retro wheel, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance leads the way: a demonstration of how modern tools, accompanied by thought and talent, can be expanded upon to not just reboot franchises, but actually rebuild them in new and incredible ways. It's one thing to revisit an arcade action game with new graphics, moves, and weapons, cherry picking familiar set-pieces and nostalgic visuals; it's another entirely to create a new experience, utilising craftsmanship and a belief that the hardware can offer more.Art of Vengeance, its cadence and flow, its violence and exhilaration - and the fact it makes you feel like an absolute badass from one slain enemy to the next - is a trendsetter. Fix that frame rate, and it's pure ninja gold.
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion is a decent mech game with plenty of depth in its weapons setups and lots of cool loot to discover in its large open-world maps. The combat is flexible, it's fast, and it's very often plenty of fun.However, performance issues - which are also present on other platforms, so don't sweat it too much, Switch 2 owners - make for a janky experience in places, with mushy controls and limp feedback. It's just not nearly as polished as it could be in this respect. With stutters loading into new areas and low-res textures a common sight (again, also on other systems), the overall feeling here is of a game that needs a few patches and tweaks to get it where it needs to be.
The notion of picking up a collection featuring three light gun shooters and a relatively obscure Super Scaler-style game might be a little too esoteric for some Switch owners, but hardcore Taito fans will have a blast (no pun intended) with Operation Night Strikers. The emulation is perfect, the control methods are decent, and there's plenty of customisation on offer, making this another highly recommended M2 offering.Longevity is going to be an issue for some - even with the online leaderboards in place - and some of the included home ports are a little rough around the edges, but players of a certain age will find a lot to like here, given the legendary status of Operation Wolf and the quality of the other titles included.
Shuten Order is an ambitious visual novel that tells an intriguing story with consistently engaging characters and more than a few twists and turns. Unfortunately, with the inclusion of five distinct forms of gameplay driving the story, it ultimately feels bloated and directionless, and not one of the sub-genre sections is polished enough to stand on its own two feet.I wholeheartedly commend the audacious, multi-genre effort, but Shuten Order would have benefited from a lot more focus.
Kirby And The Forgotten Land - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World gives you the base Forgotten Land experience at a delicious 60fps with a whole big bunch of new content thrown in for good measure. The 12 remixed areas that make up the DLC are uniformly delightful, the new transformations are excellent, and there's even new challenges for hardcore Kirby fans to get stuck into.One of the best games on Switch, and one of my favourite 3D platformers in years, polished to a sparkly sheen and packing some meaningful new content? That's a very easy recommendation and a truly excellent addition to the Switch 2's early lineup.
Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution is an interesting 'new' entry in the beloved indie franchise, a curious fusion of old and new design philosophies. Its creative world-cycling gameplay mechanic, sharp 32-bit visuals, densely packed overworld, and charming narrative all come together to make for a worthwhile experience, even if some more outdated elements like the lack of a map hold it back.I'd recommend this both to series veterans and to newcomers-even if this isn't Shantae at her greatest, Risky Revolution is a solid adventure.
Roadwarden is a fascinating text-based RPG that delivers top-notch writing, meaningful and impactful choices, and way more interactivity than you may be expecting from a game of this type. Managing your time, health, armour, and more as you explore and map out a dangerous peninsula gives you plenty to consider as you pick and choose the narrative threads and situations that concern you most.Almost impossible to put down, and definitely something I'll play more than once, this is a genre highlight on Switch that's only slightly let down by a bit of clunkiness on the UI front.
If you're in the mood for an engaging, endearing, and cute farming game, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar should tickle your pickle with aplomb. It might not have the depth of other farming sims, but it's fantastic to control, and the well-written (and voiced) characters alongside the many tasks and calendar packed with events to occupy your time, make you feel like part of a bustling little community. I fell in love with Zephyr Town, and thanks to the satisfying gameplay and intricately connected web of rewards, I can't see myself putting it down any time soon.
Herdling is a cosy, heartfelt trek that feels like a breath of fresh air and its stunning atmosphere and soundtrack do much of the heavy lifting. Whilst the game rarely stumbles, it seldom soars and often gets stuck behind janky controls or disappointing performance. Still, for all its rough edges, Herdling is a memorable adventure. If you're chasing the next grand expedition, this game might fall short, but if it's vibes you seek, look no further than this herd of lovable, clumsy beasts.
Discounty is a solid addition to the Switch's healthy stable of cosy sims. These games feel right at home on a console you can take anywhere, with a bite-sized day cycle that works just as well for long sessions as it does for quick breaks. Growing your supermarket is a deep and satisfying experience, but getting involved in your customers lives can be a bit shallow. But, most importantly, Discounty manages the impossible task of making retail work fun and relaxing, and that's a feat in itself.
OFF is a decent remaster of a great game and ultimately stands as a worthy return to this watershed moment in the 'weird' side of the indie RPG scene. Its memorable story, engaging combat, and challenging puzzles all combine to make for a brisk and enjoyable RPG adventure that no fan of the genre will want to miss. Even though the additions in this remaster feel a bit minimal, OFF is overall well worth batting for.
What stands out about UFO 50, Mossmouth's delightful collection of retro-styled games, is not that so many of them are absolute bangers – although they are – rather, it's the fact that it genuinely all comes together as a single experience. In this game, you are a visitor in some wonderful exhibition, and UFO 50 is your 8-bit time machine. It's magnificent, and a perfect fit for Switch.
