Author: sick skills

As you’ve probably heard by now, Nintendo has announced it will be increasing the price of the Switch 2 – so what does it plan to do to maintain sales momentum around the globe?

Nintendo president Shutaro Furukawa has reportedly issued an official response during the latest investor briefing. To overcome this potential price “barrier” for new players wanting to join the growing Switch 2 community, Nintendo will simply offer more games.

He elaborated on this, explaining how the company would prepare a robust software lineup to enhance the ownership value of Nintendo’s new hybrid system. Here’s a translation via Nintendo Patents Watch:

“We will prepare a robust software lineup to enhance the Switch 2 ownership value. We will work diligently to overcome this barrier.”

Although the price hike could impact sales going forward, Furukawa also apparently stated how the current demand for the Switch 2 in the second year remains “firm” and overall adoption of the system is progressing smoothly.

The price revision for the Switch 2 will begin on 25th May 2026 in Japan, increasing the price of the system by ¥10,000. Locally, the price hike will come into effect on 1st September 2026, bumping the cost of the new system from $449.99 to $499.99. The cost of the original family of Switch systems will also see a price increase in Japan.

Looking ahead at Nintendo’s software lineup for this year and beyond, the Japanese firm will be calling on IP such as Splatoon and Fire Emblem, with a new generation of Pokémon to follow this in 2027. There was also the announcement of the Switch 2 exclusive Star Fox this week, which is due out next month.

Do you think more software will be able to counter the impacts of this global price hike? Let us know in the comments.

In case you missed it, pre-orders for Star Fox on Switch 2 have officially gone live, and there’s currently a deal available for the physical version in the US.

Instead of paying the standard price of $60, Walmart and Amazon are currently offering the hard copy of the title for just $50. This offer matches the Nintendo eShop price, and this version of the game is also releasing worldwide on 25th June 2026.

Nintendo hasn’t announced any rewards or pre-order bonuses for the US, but if we hear any updates, we’ll let you know.

This new Star Fox game is officially as a modernised take on the original 1997 Nintendo 64 title, where Fox and his crew are tasked with saving the Lylat system from the evil Andross.

It will include campaign and challenge modes, online multiplayer supporting up to 8 players, Joy-Con 2 mouse support and also GameChat and GameShare features.

Will you be picking up the physical version of Star Fox for the Switch 2? Have you already pre-ordered it? Let us know in the comments.

eShop clones and rip-off games are still a problem in 2026, and we’ve spotted another particularly bizarre offender today on the digital storefront.

Now, the name should give everything away here: Dead Gears – Space of War. It’s not even trying to hide anything here; just look at the logo and the font.

Coming to Switch on 29th May 2026, this is clearly a rip-off of Epic Games’ seminal cover shooter series Gears of War and EA’s classic sci-fi horror shooter Dead Space. Well, if either game were incredibly grey or devoid of personality.

It’s certainly leaning more on the former, though — without the signature cover mechanics, at least. Though, despite the key art’s attempts to make a spacesuit-clad Marcus Fenix-like, the in-game character of Darius Vex looks anything but.

And as Vex, you’re fighting for survival. Apparently you can “move through shadows” and fight more stealthily, or or use your arsenal of weapons to jump into “high-intensity encounters”. Energy management is also apparently important, as you’ll need it to erect shields or deflect attacks. You can upgrade your equipment, too.

It all sounds terribly generic, and it looks it too — some of the environments are trying to emulate the destroyed streets of Gears of War or the metallic, spaceship corridors of Dead Space. But you can see the low textures and fuzziness throughout.

Oh, and it seems like publisher Consann Real Estate (yes, that is their name) has a bit of a track record of releasing stuff like this.

In 2026 alone, the studio has launched Fall Buddies, a Fall Guys clone, and is about to drop Ace Thunder: Aircraft Wingman Simulator, which looks like a blend of Ace Combat and Flight Simulator.

So, yeah… make of that what you will.

Let us know if you’ve seen any other dodgy eShop clones in the comments.

With just under two weeks to go until Yoshi and the Mysterious Book launches on Switch 2, the excitement for Yoshi’s next platformer is beginning to build.

If you can’t contain that excitement, then there’s some good news if you live in North America: select Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and GameStop stores across the country have a free demo available at Switch 2 kiosks in-store.

This year alone we’ve already seen demos for Mario Tennis Fever and Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park, which means the demo should also be available at Canadian retailers.

We’ve actually gone hands-on with the game itself, with our very own Jim being pleasantly surprised at the depth of the platformer. he had this to say about his time with it:

“I went in expecting to fly through levels in a matter of seconds with a genuine, albeit short-lasting, smile on my face. I never thought that those levels would hook me in with their secrets, then bring me back once I had discovered more about the world. After a few entries firmly at one end of the scale, it feels like Yoshi is finally hitting the sweet spot between a game aimed at both kids and long-time fans.”

So, things seem pretty good, and you’ll be able to verify yourselves if you find a demo at your local retailer. It’s unlikely that Nintendo will release it on the Switch 2’s eShop at this point, so this’ll be your only chance to try the game out before launch.

Otherwise, if you just want to know more about the game itself, Nintendo put out an overview trailer for this beautiful-looking sketchbook adventure just a few weeks ago.

Are you excited for Yoshi and the Mysterious Book? Turn the page and let us know if you’ll be hunting down the demo in the comments.

Camping is great in theory, but not so much in reality. The itchy grass and leaves, vulnerability to the elements, and a dirt bedroom…and bathroom. I would much rather play video games about camping. Luckily, Outbound lets you traverse the great outdoors without digging a hole for the bathroom – just one thing that makes it such a joy ride.

Square Glade Games takes you on a campervan road trip through wilderness forests, grasslands, rocky canyons, sandy beaches. Here driving sim, walking sim, and open-world intersect for a trip that’s every bit as compelling as it is relaxing, although it’s not without bumps.

On your journey you collect materials like wood and scrap metal to upgrade your van or repair bridges and roads leading to uncharted territory. Later on you get a dog, too, a good boi or girl who’s useful for the journey (but, more importantly, cute!). You find campfires to light, cabins to explore, and satellite towers to download crafting instructions. An hour in and you’re already loaded up on materials and missions.

And once you think you’re nearing the end of things, you unlock new areas and new maps to discover. As the road gets even more open before you, you realise this world is much bigger than you thought – and that makes it even more fun.

There may be lengthy stretches of road, but Outbound packs a lot in and it’s hard to tire of the many activities. In fact, I was often at a crossroads (literally and proverbially) choosing between doing one task or another, left to a building or right to a satellite tower, this light puzzle or that bridge repair. Almost everything is interesting to scour and satisfying to tick off. Oh, and there’s a bunch of collectibles scattered about. It will all feel like well-trodden ground for Spiritfarer or Disney Dreamlight Valley fans.

Crafting is done in two different ways. Van and tool upgrades are done via a minigame where you tap ‘A’ every time a cursor hits a green bar. Meanwhile, you make materials and food with machines in a set-and-forget mechanic similar to Spiritfarer: pop raw items in and leave them for a time. When you come back to the machine, your wood planks/metal/bread are ready. As the game progresses you get more of these machines, and you’ll be crafting things in one then taking them to input in another.

You can play co-op, too, except it’s online only. I didn’t get to test it, but if it’s anything like the demo, you can have up to four people riding around in a single van, sharing machines and a common goal as you craft, cook and adventure together. Cue arguments about who gets to take the wheel.

With Outbound’s setting, it naturally comes with a strong environmental message – the wind farms, picking up dead wood (not chopping trees), collecting trash to recycle, natural resources for fuel. Among all the horrors in the world, this game’s utopian vision for the future is a gentle shred of optimism.

You’ve got three health bars: fuel for the car, hunger, and health. The car runs on basic plant-based items which are easy to come by (if only). You keep yourself fuelled by eating forageable food, as your avatar seems to be satiated by berries and mushrooms alone. If you don’t eat, your hunger gauge runs out and begins chipping away at your health gauge. Your health is also affected by walking too close to campfires or jumping off high cliffs. If it runs out, you faint and wake up the next day. It’s as close as you get to ‘dying’.

There are features closer to reality, though. You can’t run if your backpack is too full or it’s too late at night. Likewise, the car slows down when there are too many items in the trunk. This is kind of freeing, in a sense. Rather than limiting your inventory, Outbound says, “Carry as much as you want, but it’ll slow you down.” Your dog can help you here, too, as they have their own backpack and can obediently stay by the car or follow you.

As much as you’re on an outdoor adventure, your campervan was not made for off-road driving. Any time I drove off the beaten path, I struggled to right the van. There’s an ‘unstuck’ option which puts you and your car back on the straight and narrow, thankfully – I ended up using it a lot.

I can’t help comparing Outbound to Firewatch based on its art style (which I’ll park for a tick). For that reason, I noticed it lacked the same compelling and emotional story. There are vague signs of other life in this world: cabins, notes, half-eaten food, and drying laundry. While these look like environmental storytelling, whatever story they’re telling feels like it stalled.

Customisation is decent, though not executed in the best way. Your van is a blank canvas (van-vas?) you’ll paint with items for appearances and application. I found the first-person view a little fidgety for this and sometimes it took a few taps of the analogue stick to lock onto the object I wanted. The Switch 2’s mouse function might have been useful here but alas, it’s not available. Although these little nuts and bolts weren’t dealbreakers for me, they didn’t make for a perfectly smooth ride.

Outbound runs nicely enough on Switch 2; I didn’t come across any stuttery frame rates or laggy load times. However, the visuals aren’t always crystal clear, and background objects like trees and rocks don’t appear until you get closer to them.

That brings us back to the aforementioned art style. The colour palette is lovely: midday skies of crisp blue melt to warm yellows and soft pinks as the day passes. Grasses mix different shades of green with husky yellows, red and browns. The hues can get oversaturated at night or during bad weather, though, and the details are hard to make out – especially in handheld mode.

Same goes with the audio. As with nature itself, the game is pretty quiet, accessorised with birds chirping, leaves rustling, and weather-appropriate sounds of rain, thunder, and wind. There are some nice-enough lilting piano tunes, but they are inconsistent and the silences in the empty woods turn from serene to eerie, giving Outbound the ambience of a different game. Sound effects for rewards are also sparse, reserved more for non-essential collectibles than structural repairs (which is when I really craved them).

While I would have loved to give Outbound a higher score, the lack of story and the fiddly customisation made me pump the brakes. I will say this, though: I don’t often play review games after I finish the article, but by the time you read this, I’ll probably be back in my campervan.

This week’s surprise Star Fox Direct gave us, well, a lot of surprises. A new game in the form of Star Fox, new designs, more multiplayer options, toys… the list is endless.

But the coolest part of the Direct, arguably, were shown in the last three minutes — a prologue featuring Fox McCloud’s father, James McCloud. Now, you can watch those last three minutes on YouTube.

It’s a bit of a treat for Star Fox fans, as it shows off the battle where James is betrayed by fellow pilot Pigma Dengar. Peppy Hare, of course, also features heavily in the short.

This might well be our first real look at how much more story-focused the upcoming reimagining of Star Fox 64 will be — but also at how cool James looks. Look at those shades. We could never.

Watching it through again now, the cutscenes look absolutely gorgeous, something we didn’t really appreciate when watching the Direct. The fur on James and Peppy, the darker lighting, the action, explosions… we’re really excited to see this in action on our Switch 2.

And we don’t have to wait long: Star Fox launches on Switch 2 on 25th June. Japan is also getting some adorable plushies of the Star Fox crew. Let’s hope we get those, too.

Let us know what you think of the prologue in the comments.

In light of Nintendo’s recent financial report and price increases for the Switch 2, an analyst has predicted that the fiscal year ahead might be “relatively silent” for the company.

Speaking with VGC, Dr. Serkan Toto from Kantan Games comments on the notion of Nintendo lowering its console sales forecast for the year ahead, noting that second-year sales are generally higher than the first. He goes on to say that Nintendo has been “caught on the wrong foot”.

“We truly live in weird times. Usually, unit sales of new consoles increase in year two – whereas Nintendo now predicts them to drop 17 percent. This is of course due to the price hikes that seem to be inevitable against the backdrop of the memory crisis we are in, but Nintendo is trying to build an initial install base and now got caught on the wrong foot. Overall, I expect this fiscal year to be a relatively silent one for Nintendo.”

In our opinion, “silent” seems like quite a strong term to use, particularly when you consider that the company is gearing up to release its first Legend of Zelda movie in 2027. We also have a decent slate of games coming up too, including Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Star Fox, Splatoon Raiders, and more.

Then, of course, we’ve got the lingering rumour of a Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake later this year along with the 2027 release of Pokémon Winds & Waves – both of which are likely to perform exceedingly well (if the former is real, of course).

So yeah, we’re not entirely convinced by the idea that the year ahead is going to be “relatively silent”. Sales of the Switch 2 will no doubt slow down in light of the price increase, but the company has still forecasted 16.50 million, so that’s pretty good.

What do you think? Will Nintendo be “silent” during its next fiscal year? Leave a comment in the usual place and let us know.

Dr. Jones is making his grand return to Nintendo consoles next week with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. And developer MachineGames has been answering questions about the port over on its Discord.

Sharing one such Q&A on social media, executive producer John Jennings has reconfirmed that yes, Mouse Mode and gyro controls are available on Switch 2. Both control schemes can be used for aiming and looking around, but not specifically for whipping — sorry!

Mouse Mode will require a day one update, but their inclusion makes sense as mouse controls work wonderfully on PC, and gyro is also an option on PS5 via the DualSense.

The Switch 2, though, gets both, with full customisation. Jennings says that “When combined with the full controller remapping options, you’re certain to find a way to play that you enjoy.”

We actually confirmed this in our interview with MachineGames’ Creative Director Axel Torvenius last week, who was full of praise for the Switch 2. On the topic of controls, he said:

“Specifically looking at the gyro controller and the mouse support that we have as well, which adds to how you actually perceive the game with aim assist and all of these things. So it really gives players an opportunity to experience the game in a new way. Hopefully, we’ll see fans who have been playing the game on other platforms, but now have the opportunity to re-experience the game in a slightly different way.”

On the topic of potentially being able to use gryo or mouse controls to whip (again, you can’t, it’s just aiming), Torvenius said the team focused on “What makes sense and what will enhance the experience?”.

Regardless, it seems like a perfect excuse to add a new layer of immersion to the Indiana Jones experience. The Great Circle launches on Switch 2 on 12th May for £59.99 / $69.99, and early impressions of the Switch 2 port have been positive so far.

Will you be grabbing Indiana Jones’ latest game on Switch 2? Curious to try out Mouse Mode or gyro? Let us know down below.