Author: sick skills

Yes, the time is finally upon us. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now available in its swanky new Nintendo Switch 2 Edition package!

While the free ver. 3.0 update arrived a little earlier than expected for all users (Switch 1 and 2), yesterday marked the big release of Nintendo’s latest paid Switch 2 upgrade. This one includes a resolution bump, the new Megaphone item, Mouse Mode integration, and beefed-up online capabilities to make the most of GameChat.

It’s something of a slight package, considering there’s no free path between the two (it’ll only set you back £4.19 / $4.99 to upgrade, but still), and that was our Alex’s biggest gripe in his 6/10 review. “It makes things a bit prettier, has a few more options to take advantage of the console’s new features,” he wrote, “but all in all, it’s not an especially exciting upgrade”.

But of course, this is Animal Crossing: New Horizons that we’re talking about, perhaps the defining game of the Switch generation, so we want to hear what you think too.

Whether you’ve spent the whole day getting to grips with the latest addition to the NS2E lineup, or you’re just diving in for the first time, you can tell us what you make of the upgrade in the following poll. And don’t worry if you want to change your mind later on, you can come back whenever and do exactly that!

Thanks for voting! If you want to share more of your thoughts on ACNHNS2E (as we’re sure nobody is calling it), head down to the comments

Hi-Fi Rush, the most GameCube-esque title to launch in the last five years, has once again been rated for the Switch by PEGI.

Sound familiar? It should, because this has happened before. Back in April 2024 when developer Tango Gameworks was still sitting under Microsoft, a PEGI rating for the game on Switch appeared, but sadly nothing happened and Microsoft unceremoniously ditched Tango Gameworks entirely later that year.

The company has since been acquired by publisher Krafton, and so this latest rating could actually result in a port coming to fruition. Indeed, the source over on PEGI lists two separate entries: one underneath ‘ZeniMax Europe Limited/Bethesda Softworks Europe’ and the other under ‘Krafton, Inc’.

So, is this it? Are we finally going to see Hi-Fi Rush on a Nintendo platform where it (in our opinion) rightly belongs? Who knows. We’re also a little disappointed that the rating doesn’t specify Switch 2, as we think it would really flourish with the added power, but we’ll just have to see what happens.

Hi-Fi Rush was originally released in 2023 and sees you partake in vibrant, colourful fights to the beat of the background music. It’s an awesome game, honestly, and we’d be thrilled if it got another boost on the Switch.

Would you like to see Hi-Fi Rush on the Switch or Switch 2? Let us know with a comment.

Wading into Dynasty Warriors: Origins on Switch 2, I’m keenly aware that there’s been a lot of conversation about the game’s frame rate on Nintendo’s console in the run-up to release.

Yes, it’s not a super-sweet 60fps as on some other platforms, and yes, that is a shame. However! Anyone who fancies a little Musou madness but isn’t jumping in as a result of this fact is genuinely shooting (or slicing) themselves in the foot, as this is a genuinely brilliant series refresh that looks and plays great on Switch 2, in both docked and handheld modes.

I’ve already played this one through on a PS5 Pro when it released in January 2025, and taking everything into consideration, I’ve got zero hesitation in fully recommending this Switch 2 port as heartily as that 60fps version. How so when they’ve halved the frame digits? Well, playing portably is a big selling point with a game that suits dipping in and out of for a quick blast this well, so I’m way more likely to stick at it on Switch, and that frame rate drop honestly makes little real-world difference. This is one of those 30fps situations where once you’ve spent 10 minutes readjusting, it’s all good. It feels smooth and responsive at all times.

Indeed, even though Koei Tecmo has gone and thrown in a “variable” unlocked frame rate toggle for you to mess with, honestly, I recommend just leaving this off to enjoy a consistently smooth and fully exhilarating ride without any little niggling stutters that this toggle introduces at points. You don’t need niggles distracting you from the story or the ‘1 VS 1000’ battles here either, as what Dynasty Warriors: Origins brings to the table is a grand refocusing of the usual Warriors caper that makes for a very exciting and stylish reboot.

Now that we’ve got the most pressing issue out of the way — now that we know there’s no awful image blurring or crippling stutters — I can get down to praising it freely for all the very many things that it does so well.

Anyone who knows me knows I love Musou, and thankfully we’ve had a few absolute belters of late, most recently in the form of the stellar Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. This game, though, sees the Romance of the Three Kingdoms core of the franchise finally get some much-needed TLC.

I’ll never agree that a Musou game, even the older ones, are actually all that repetitive or simplistic, as they’re often attacked as being. I’ll defend them for what they are at all times, and the repetition and trance-like whipping through enemies that they bring to the table has always been a source of great personal gaming comfort. But it did need a kick up the arse. That much I can accept. Dynasty Warriors: Origins is that kick up the arse. And it’s a good one. A real ‘toe-poker’.

Here, for the first time in the series, you play as a nameless travelling wanderer, who I’ll admit is a bit of a bland and boring avatar overall. But it’s for good reason. You see, the narrative approach taken is to slow the whole thing down, and to give you a little breathing space amidst all the events, character introductions and storylines of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms saga. To do this, we have no more switching around a huge catalogue of protagonists, instead sticking with this one, very upgradeable, main avatar.

Yes, you do get to muck around with some other characters in side missions and at specific moments — and there’s more of this on the way in the game’s DLC, which launches alongside this Switch 2 port — but what sticking with one character for the main duration does is ground us in a fixed perspective, making the constant introductions of important historical figures and political events easier to keep a foothold in. I didn’t get lost along the way. I remembered people when they returned to the fray, and this helps enormously with the game’s overall narrative, which settles on a part of the overall Romance saga, rather than trying to blow through way too much history all at once, as has been the case in the past.

I won’t spoil any of the plot or surprises, but this refocusing works really well. This is absolutely my favourite game in the main franchise in terms of both its narrative and its slightly darker and more brutal vibe. It also introduces some nice RPG aspects, now that we’ve only got one main character to worry about, and these add more depth than ever. There’s a range of 10 weapons to level up and master, unlocking new battle moves and skills for each one as you go. It all feels much more personal and the sense of progression, given the narrower scope and roster, is more keenly felt as a result.

The combat’s main draw, pre-release at least, was the sheer number of enemies that are now present on the screen. On the PS5 it properly wowed me, even though I’m used to battering my way through these enormous Musou crowds.

On Switch 2, and especially when you’re playing in handheld, the wow factor has not been diminished one iota. Indeed, it honestly feels like a new benchmark for portable play with the sheer scope of what’s going on, unfettered by technical issues, on your screen. The enemies are absolutely everywhere, and so it’s lucky you’ve got a ton of cool new tricks and skills to beat the snot out of them with, innit.

Starting with a trusty sword, you’ll soon find yourself picking up gauntlets, lances, and a whole bunch of other weapons that all excel in different scenarios. The lance, as an example, is a cracker for clearing huge crowds, whilst the gauntlets are my go-to for juggling boss fools in the air like the clueless children they really are.

Each weapon feels unique, and given that the enemy AI here is the best I’ve seen from the series — you’ll actually need to use your perfect dodges and parries! — you really do get a chance to dig in and try them all out to find which ones work best and where.

And that’s all before you add the series’ signature screen-shaking musou attacks to the equation. Yes, they’re just as satisfying as ever to pull off, and watching hundreds of wee guys fly into the air in unison just never fails to make me feel much better about my life. It is what it is.

Over the course of the main campaign’s five chapters, and through a whole bunch of side skirmishes and missions that are spread out across the game’s dinky mini-world map (it’s one of those nice ones you get to walk around), the story is also woven at a nice pace, providing enough of a backdrop to keep you going, whilst the combat continues to drop just the right amount of new gear, new moves, and new tactics along the way to keep you invested.

You now also have a bunch of larger-scale tactical options on a drop-down menu that work on a cooldown timer. These allow you to dramatically change the tide of battle (a big boost to overall morale) by allowing you to call catapult barrages, volleys of fiery arrows, and chariot charges. There’s also a few points along the way where your main character will need to choose sides and run with a particular crew. This not only makes things more absorbing in the moment, but adds plenty of replayability with multiple endings and a ‘true’ ending to unlock.

Honestly, with the story switching between the main Romance saga thrust and our new hero’s amnesia issues (I know, cheesy, but it works), you’ll feel way more involved than you might expect for the genre, and the combat is addictive in the extreme, meaning replays for those alternative endings are all but guaranteed.

In terms of negatives, well, the loading times are a little longer in starting a mission, and the cutscenes that bookend battles and other moments as you wander the map can introduce a little bit of 30fps stutter. It’s very minimal, and it’s only during cutscenes, but it’s there. Related to this, try as I might, I just couldn’t get on with the variable graphics mode at all; you can really feel it as the camera moves around, so let’s hope that gets improved down the line.

Other than that, though, and other than some horrendous English voice acting which you should switch out for Chinese with English subs immediately, Dynasty Warriors: Origins on Switch 2 is every bit as good as on other platforms, which is very good indeed! It also feels like a bit of a watershed moment, I have to say, as someone who has reviewed a whole lot of action games on both Switch consoles. This game, and especially in portable, feels a little magical in just how good it looks and feels whilst delivering enormous and incredibly good-looking battles to the palm of your hand.

Right folks, get ready to file this one under either “huh?!” or “hmmm….”, because an unusual discovery on Nintendo’s official website has got folks chatting about a potential new Switch 2 model.

The discovery comes via Bluesky user dootsky, who notes that a new product code labelled ‘OSM’ can be uncovered on the Nintendo Account Portal page. They state that requesting the OSM product code returns an image of the Switch 2, while folks over on ResetEra claim that any other code results in an error message.

So what does this mean? Are we due a new Switch 2 model already? Well no, hold your horses.

In a follow-up post, dootsky quite rightly states that the original Switch models – i.e. the Lite, OLED, etc – all had similar product codes: HAE, HAD, HDH, and HEG. The BEE product code for the Switch 2 shares no similarities with OSM.

That’s not to rule out a new model entirely, but dootsky makes it clear that we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions just yet. For one, today (16th January) marks one year since the Switch 2 was officially revealed to the world, so can we really expect a new model anytime soon..? Our gut says no.

Still, it’s interesting nevertheless. It’s obviously something – Nintendo doesn’t just come up with new product codes for no reason – but just what it could be is anybody’s guess right now.

What do you make of all this? Could this product code relate to a new Switch 2 model, or is it something else entirely? Let us know with a comment.

Denis Dyack, the former president of Silicon Knights and director of games such as Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, has revealed the latest look at Deadhaus Sonata, a new ‘spiritual successor’ to Blood Omen.

Originally announced back in 2018, there are no target platforms at the moment, but a Steam page is now live with more information on its Early Access release. Dyack has previously stated that Deadhaus Sonata will be coming to consoles, but given the sheer amount of time it’s been in the works, we can’t say for certain if this includes the Switch or Switch 2.

Looking at the gameplay footage, it looks… okay? It’s hard to really parse exactly what’s going on. There’s a lot of hack and slash action being showcased, but there’s quite a busy UI to go along with it, and we’re not quite sure how everything functions. Early descriptions state that tarot cards can be used to customise your build, while loot is tied to your actions and performance, rather than being completely random.

Still, it’s nice to be shown gameplay at all in this day and age, and we’re certain Dyack will reveal more in the coming months.

Here’s the official Steam description:

Step into Malorum, a dark and crumbling world where the lines between life and death no longer hold. Deadhaus Sonata invites you to embrace the undead, master supernatural powers, and carve your place within a realm shaped by ancient forces, political intrigue, and the choices of its players. Play alone or join up to six players in cooperative play as you face the living and uncover the secrets that shape this fallen realm.

What are your thoughts on Deadhaus Sonata so far? Reckon it’s worth keeping an eye on? Let us know with a comment.

Those who have played The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy know just how big of a game it really is. According to the publisher, however, the release was actually two games in one, and that’s supposedly how it’s going to be marketed from now on.

Confused? Yeah don’t worry, it’s understandable. Effectively, once you complete 100 in-game days, you roll the credits and then commence ‘New Game +’ (although the title menu does, in fact, display ‘The Hundred Line 2’), during which you make key decisions to splinter the narrative into dozens of potential branches.

So, the first 100 days is ‘The Hundred Line’, while the following narrative is ‘The Hundred Line 2’. So there you go: it’s now officially two games in one! So the title that launched last year is now being described as a ‘value 1 & 2 pack’.

To mark the occasion, a new trailer has been released (above) to highlight the events that take place in the ‘sequel’, while a brand new piece of key art has been shared to demonstrate the two distinct narratives. Pardon the poor quality, it’s the best we could find from an official source.

In addition, it’s been confirmed that an official soundtrack is launching on all major streaming services on 17th January 2026. A physical soundtrack will also be made available in April to mark the game’s first anniversary. In Japan, meanwhile, a new special edition release of the game will be made available from April, featuring brand new artwork to acknowledge the ‘sequel’.

Well, that’s a weird update, huh? What do you make of all of this? Let us know with a comment in the usual place.

Late last year, after some rumours, Nintendo teased a new Legend of Zelda-themed Lego set coming in 2026.

Now that we’re in the new year, it seems this set might have actually leaked ahead of the official reveal. As the rumours suggested, it appears to be a diorama based on the “final battle” between Link, Zelda and Ganondorf in the N64 hit, Ocarina of Time.

According to this latest scoop (via r/Legoleak), it’s officially titled ‘77093 The Final Battle: Ocarina of Time’ and will contain 1003 pieces and the three Minifigs. Additionally, Zelda fans will also apparently get Navi the fairy, a “brick-built” version of Ganon, the Megaton Hammer and some recovery hearts.

This set is supposedly priced at $129.99 and is said to be launching on 1st March 2026. Here’s the first proper look:

This build would follow the Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 set which arrived in 2024 for $299.99 and contained 2500 pieces. This year also happens to mark the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series, so plenty of announcements are expected.

This follows the official reveal of three Pokémon Lego sets earlier this week. These are scheduled to launch on Pokémon Day.

Would you be interested in a Zelda set like this? Let us know in the comments.

Nintendo launched Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Switch 2 this week, and some video comparisons have now popped up online.

One of these has been shared by the YouTube channel ‘ElAnalistaDeBits’, which not only presents a side-by-side visual comparison of the Switch 2 Edition next to the existing Switch release, but also shows other improvements such as the game’s loading times.

As Nintendo has previously noted, the Switch 2 Edition is “4K” in docked mode. As for handheld, it’s 1080p (so everything looks nice and “sharp”), and both versions of the game run at a consistent 30fps. There’s also a demonstration of the improved load times. Similar to the resolution bump, you may or may not notice the difference when you’re playing the game.

In this particular video demo, you can see in one example, on Switch 2, how it takes eight seconds to get from the title screen to the game, while the Switch version takes around 17 seconds. In another test, loading from the system home menu to actual gameplay takes 16 seconds on the Switch 2 and about 30 seconds on the original system.

We’ve also shared our thoughts about the Switch 2 version’s resolution, frame rate and load times, so if you haven’t already read our review, be sure to check it out. Nintendo previously highlighted the Switch 2 Edition’s “enhanced resolution” in the original announcement trailer. You can see this side-by-side comparison in our full guide.

How are you finding the Switch 2 version of New Horizons so far? Let us know in the comments.