Author: sick skills

Yosuke Saito and Yuji Horii from Square Enix have revealed the new title for Dragon Quest XII after confirming that development was completely reset following multiple hurdles.

The new title is Dragon Quest XII: Beyond Dreams. As a reminder, the old sub-title was Flames of Fate, with a much darker and oppressive logo.

No platforms have been confirmed at the time of writing, and it sounds like we might be waiting for quite a while for this one to launch. Gosh, it’s Metroid Prime 4 all over again, huh?

Despite this, we’ve gotten our first glimpse at footage from the game, including a look at the main protagonist, who is said to be “beset by strange visions in their sleep”. The visuals look nice, and hopefully it’ll all run perfectly well on the Switch 2 – if it’s confirmed, of course.

Yuji Horii also confirms that the game will feature Akira Toriyama’s characters and music from Koichi Sugiyama. Given that Toriyama-san sadly passed away in 2024, we’re not entirely sure what this means. Perhaps he contributed to the character designs prior to his passing.

Here’s a look at how it’s shaping up so far:

So there you have it! We’ll keep you updated on any further developments, but as we mentioned earlier, it seems likely that we’ve got a long wait ahead of us before Beyond Dreams launches.

What do you make of this? Do you like the new title and footage? Let us know with a comment down below.

Since its release in 2014, Shovel Knight has been a gift that keeps on giving. Groundbreaking for its hugely successful crowdfunding campaign, it also helped usher in a glorious era of throwback platforming gems like Sabotage Studio’s The Messenger. Yacht Club Games has spent years expanding the Shovel-verse while developing its next project in parallel. Now that follow-up is finally here, and with Mina the Hollower, the studio is moving beyond Mario-like platforming to explore the formative era of action RPGs.

Blending the exploratory charm of The Legend of Zelda with the European gothic setting of Castlevania, and adding subtle nods to numerous other titles, Yacht Club Games has delivered another finely polished gem that stands shoulder to shoulder with the classics it pays tribute to. Zelda is the key inspiration here, though – the game takes its cues from Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening, key maturation points for the series.

The story follows Mina — an inventor and member of the earth-studying guild known as the Hollowers — who is summoned to Tenebrous Isle to reactivate the Spark Generators, revolutionary power sources of her own design. At the request of her old friend, Baron Lionel, she travels across the island to investigate why the generators are failing, repair them, and restore balance to the local communities.

Along the way, you explore the regions around the capital, battle hordes of monsters, and repeatedly cross paths with Thorne, a mysterious rival. The main narrative is fairly straightforward, but it’s fleshed out with side quests and smaller subplots, including Thorne’s ongoing opposition to Mina’s mission and lighter diversions such as helping two hunters take down a bunny-shaped monster. Tenebrous Isle is filled with stories both funny and sad.

Building on the style of its previous title, the game sticks with the 8-bit visuals, this time drawing inspiration from the Game Boy Color’s palette. Jake Kaufman returns with another strong set of chiptune compositions, collaborating with the legendary composer Yuzo Koshiro (ActRaiser, Streets of Rage) to produce an infectious musical suite.

Everything about Mina the Hollower oozes retro cool, demonstrating an expert command of style and genre conventions. Rather than feeling like a simple throwback, it’s a focused, confident reinterpretation of classic action RPG execution.

Tenebrous Isle is an intricately designed area to explore, with a central town hub that connects in all directions to mechanically distinct biomes that you must traverse to find and fix the Spark Generators. The looping, layered design harks back to classic top-down and side-scrolling RPGs of yesteryear, recreating the kind of interconnected map that went on to inspire Hidetaka Miyazaki’s From Software titles (which are heavily referenced throughout).

You are free to venture out from the hub, tackling any of the six areas in whatever order you choose. Without a map to refer to, NPC dialogue, signage, and environmental clues are all you have to go on as you hunt down the next objective.

The freedom to explore and the lack of hand-holding are hugely refreshing in this current era of quest markers and constant tutorial pop-ups. That said, it can be easy to get lost on this treacherous island, and for a while I found myself wandering back and forth between the hub and seemingly blocked paths.

Later, after the game forced me to be more observant and realise that secrets and hidden paths appear on each screen, everything started to click into place. There’s an extensive manual tucked away in the menus, but for the most part, Mina’s journey is one of discovery.

There’s a heaving menagerie of deadly creatures great and small across the island, and you are given plenty of ways to dispatch them. Combat and movement both revolve heavily around manual jumping, which conjures fond memories of the Roc’s Feather item in Link’s Awakening. Mina can burrow underground, then burst up to launch herself into the air. Mastering this ability is essential for progression, with jumping puzzles scattered throughout every area and a high number of aerial enemies to contend with.

Health is managed by a potion system, the replenishment of which is tied directly to aggressive offence in combat. Spark charges add an extra layer of survivability, while bones are the game’s primary upgrade resource. A surprisingly deep weapon system provides a wide arsenal of primary and secondary tools to experiment with. Each main weapon has a distinct feel and can be upgraded to unlock additional utility. The Nightstar is a chain whip that will have you feeling like a Belmont, while the Blackstrike Maul delivers slow but heavy-hitting attacks. Whisper and Vesper favour rapid dagger-based combat, the Battery Buster caters to projectile-focused playstyles, and the Guardian Casket supports defensive approaches.

Sidearms add further variety, offering both offensive projectiles and defensive options that complement primary attacks. Mina can also equip trinkets that further customise and modify her overall playstyle.

Speaking of modification, the game has an exhaustive menu of quality-of-life and difficulty options that let you tweak the entire experience to your liking. These mods build on the cheat code system in Shovel Knight and can be enabled at any time if you don’t mind sacrificing the game’s feat challenge system. Not very good at jumping? Give Mina a super jump. Looking to sprint through another playthrough? Double her walking speed. Maybe you’re playing with a young adventurer and just want them to breeze through Tenebrous Isle with no resistance. There are plenty of options for casual players.

The modifier menu is so jam-packed that it even includes a favouriting system. This can be a punishingly difficult game at times, with the boss battles in particular providing a serious challenge, so it’s nice to see the developer cater to those of us who prefer an easier time at the cost of earning achievements. It’s worth noting that there are modifiers to increase difficulty as well, so there are plenty of options for those who baulk at easy modes.

Mina the Hollower, like Shovel Knight before it, pays careful homage to a beloved genre and visual style, while also blending in modern design sensibilities. While the potential for future DLC that could bring players back to Tenebrous Isle is exciting, the base game already feels substantial, offering plenty to uncover across the main campaign. Re-igniting all the Spark Generators took around 25 hours and there’s a wealth of post-game content, as well as numerous weapon builds to experiment with.

It also feels purpose-built for handheld play. The Game Boy Color-inspired visuals suit a smaller screen perfectly, and Jake Kaufman’s soundtrack, best experienced through portable speakers, adds even more character to the small-screen experience. Performance is razor sharp in both modes and offers a stability that’s noticeable during visually busy boss battles and platforming puzzles. The original Switch targets 60fps, while Switch 2 has 120fps support and HDR settings for those that have the display to accommodate it.

Square Enix has revealed the debut trailer for DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition (holy moly, these Switch 2 titles really are something, huh), launching on 24th September 2026. The game was previously rated earlier this year, so this announcement doesn’t come as a massive surprise.

The version will come packed with neat new features, including new story chapters, the ability to switch between 3D and 2D modes, and toggles to prioritise visuals or performance. This follows the launch of the Switch version back on 27th September 2019, with the original 3DS game landing on 29th July 2017 in Japan.

So yeah, another Dragon Quest game, huh? Pretty cool. Hopefully it’ll keep us occupied while we continue to wait for information on the elusive Dragon Quest XII.

For now, here’s a look at the official description:

What does it mean to be a hero? A young lad from a country village sets out to find the answer to this question, embarking on an epic adventure that will lead him to uncover the secrets that lie at the heart of his world.

Play the entirety of the ageless Erdrean adventure, all in one package! DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition for Nintendo Switch™ 2 includes:

• New story chapters where the party members take center stage
• Japanese voices and additional English voices
• The ability to switch between 3D and 2D mode
• An orchestral score
• All new optimization modes, allowing you to prioritize graphics or performance

The game page is now live on the Switch 2 eShop and it’s priced at £34.99 in the UK. It doesn’t, however, sound like there’s any kind of upgrade offer for current Switch owners.

Meanwhile, those looking to go physical should be aware that this will be a Game-Key Card. Like the digital version, this is also priced at £34.99 via the official Square Enix store.

Another Switch 2 port, huzzah! Will you be grabbing this one? Share your thoughts with a comment down below.

Jackbox Games has announced My Arms Are Longer Now for the Switch 1 & 2, developed by Melbourne-based studio Toot Games.

Scheduled to release on PC this year, a console launch is currently planned to follow in 2027. Blending absurd comedy with puzzle solving and stealth mechanics, it looks like a cross between the excellent Thank Goodness You’re Here and Untitled Goose Game.

In other words, it’s right up our alley.

It’s tough to really get a feel for what the gameplay is like from the above trailer, but it seems you’ll be worming your way around different environments to nick valuable items and generally just cause a bunch of chaos.

The art style and sense of humour really shine though, and it certainly helps that Toot Game’s co-founder and narrative lead, Millie Holten, has experience in creating the ‘Long Head’ webcomic alongside being shortlisted for the 2023 Australian Writers Guild Monte Miller Award.

Let’s check out a few screenshots:

We’ll be sure to provide updates on My Arms Are Longer Now as soon as we hear more.

What are your thoughts on this one so far? Will you be keen to check it out? Let us know.

CD Projekt Red has finally announced the long-rumoured third expansion for The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, titled Songs of the Past.

Developer Fools Theory, which previously worked on The Thaumaturge and is currently conjuring up a remake of the original Witcher game, is joining CDPR to create the new DLC. It’s scheduled to launch in 2027 for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, but unfortunately there’s no Switch version in the pipeline.

We’re not surprised, mind you. With the Switch 2 in full swing, the original console is looking exceptionally long in the tooth these days, and there’s currently no sign of a potential ‘Switch 2 Edition’ for The Witcher III (as much as we’d love one).

In fact, CDPR has gone on record to alter the minimum system requirements for the new content, suggesting that it will look better than ever.

Still, considering the game was marketed as a ‘Complete Edition’ back in the day, we can’t help but feel a bit deflated at the notion of a completely new expansion skipping the Switch entirely. We’ve got our fingers crossed for a Switch 2 upgrade at some point in the future. Even if the new expansion doesn’t come with it, we reckon The Witcher III will look and run great on the successor console.

What are your thoughts on this, dear reader? Do you reckon we’ll get a Switch 2 upgrade for The Witcher 3 at some point? Let us know with a comment.

Publisher Arika has announced that Tetris: The Grand Master 4 – Absolute Eye will launch on the Switch on 4th June 2026.

This follows a release on Steam back in 2025, though Arika notes that the Switch version will include a few adjustments to the gameplay. This includes the following:

– The difficulty of MASTER mode has been adjusted. As a result, some title names have been changed.
– The difficulty of SHIRANUI mode has been adjusted. As a result, some title names have been changed.
– CPU Level 0, which was selectable in the Steam version’s SHIRANUI mode, has been removed.
– Implemented in accordance with AI learning policy guidelines.
– Replay save data now has approximately 16MB storage limit, equivalent to several hundred replays depending on the mode.
– Players can now delete replays directly from the menu.
– A message will now appear when replay storage reaches its limit.
– Only one USB keyboard connection type is supported. (The Steam version supports up to 6 connection types.)

Otherwise, this is the same experience through and through. You’ve got the usual Normal and Marathon modes, but also Asuka mode which makes Tetronimos drop at high speed, and Konoha mode, where everything is bloomin’ massive – it looks cool!

The Grand Master series got its start all the way back in 1998 in Japanese arcades. The second entry followed in 2000, and a third in 2005. This means there was a whopping 20-year gap between the third and fourth entries.

Western prices have not been confirmed at the time of writing, but those in Japan can expect to part with JPY 2,800 for the new game.

What do you make of this one? Will you be picking it up? Let us know with a comment.

Over the years, the Switch has become home to several Fatal Fury ports, including a couple of cheeky additions to the SNES Switch Online library.

So if you’re someone who has yet to dive into the series or perhaps fancy picking up an entry or two, it might be wise to brush up on your Fatal Fury history to really appreciate what it is you’re getting into.

Enter Bitmap Books. After its stellar work in chronicling the history of both King of Fighters and Metal Slug, the publisher has turned its attention to SNK’s most important fighting franchise with Fatal Fury / Garou Densetsu: The Ultimate History.

The opening section of this 468-page tome, written by Robert Jones, dives into the series’ inception and evolution, culminating in a look at the latest entry, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, which has sadly yet to grace a Switch.

There’s a lot to unpack here, though, from how original Street Fighter creator Takashi Nishiyama jumped ship from Capcom to join SNK and craft that game’s true ‘spiritual successor’ with Fatal Fury, to how the development team closely studied Street Fighter III during the creation of Garou: Mark of the Wolves, a game that many hold to be the pinnacle of the franchise. Jones packs the section with interesting quotes to peruse from key creatives, with some gorgeous key art and screenshots included to add context.

The bulk of the book focuses on the vast array of artwork accumulated over the decades when creating the Fatal Fury games. Each entry is afforded roughly 40-50 pages consisting of concept art, key art, marketing materials, screenshots, animation frames, and more.

The quality is staggering, and I genuinely had to catch my breath a couple of times when I came across a particularly stunning two-page spread of gorgeous, vibrant pixel art.

Toward the end of the book, we’re also treated to an extensive interview with key developers from the franchise, conducted by James Mielke and Joy Mielke with bespoke illustrations provided by Rachel Cunningham. A few of the responses and remarks delivered here are a little dry, but there’s still plenty of stuff to sink your teeth into, including information around the cancelled Garou: Mark of the Wolves 2.

The visuals are the true star of the show, however, and the quality of this hardback really helps enhance the images. The lithographic prints are razor-sharp throughout, with many stretching to the very edges of the pages.

Similarly, the sewn binding allows you to lay the book down flat while open to really appreciate those gorgeous two-page spreads (along with a lovely fold-out look at South Town, a prominent location in the series).

You could get through the book in one go if you wish, but it’s the kind of volume you’ll want to keep on your shelf or table — anywhere within arm’s reach — for years to come, ready to peruse at a moment’s notice, or to showcase to your jealous friends when they pop over.

In short, it’s another triumph for Bitmap Books, and a worthy purchase whether you’re a longtime fan or a complete newcomer with an appreciation for historic series and excellent artwork.

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Thanks to Bitmap Books for providing a sample for review.

Will you be picking up a copy of Fatal Fury / Garou Densetsu: The Ultimate History? Let us know your thoughts with a comment.

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007 First Light is, according to IO Interactive, coming to the Switch 2 at some point in the Summer. So while we wait, a bunch of reviews have now gone live for the game on other platforms, so we thought it would be good to see what folks make of it so far.

Now, our understanding is that outlets received codes for this one quite late, and so a lot of the go-to sites have posted in-progress reviews for the time being. We’ve got a few scored ones lying around though, so we’ll do our very best to present a decent spread of opinions.

So let’s get cracking:

VGC (5/5) – “007 First Light might just be the best James Bond game ever. The way IOI has translated the Bond fantasy into a 14-hour globetrotting epic is masterful. It’s a game full of spectacle, humour, action, and romance. Everything James Bond should be. New Bond owners Amazon must ensure this franchise continues.”

The Guardian (5/5) – “I have no doubt that this was made by excitable Bond geeks throwing “what if” moments at a whiteboard. What if you got to explore Q Lab watching underlings test malfunctioning prototypes? What if you were tied to a torturer’s table and had to talk your way out? What if you found yourself at 15,000ft with no parachute? And what if you had access to John Barry’s classic scores and could deploy a staggering needle drop out of nowhere?

“Very few fans get to play in the sandbox of their obsession like IO has here. As far as Bond video games go, nobody has done it better.”

Vice (5/5) – “007 First Light is easily the best James Bond game since GoldenEye and is also one of the better Bond stories told in the last decade. IO Interactive has created a game that is a culmination of all of their best mechanics over the years. 007 First Light has the addicting sandbox gameplay of the Hitman franchise while also having an incredible narrative that matches the quality of Naughty Dog and Rockstar Games. James Bond is finally back and is better than he’s been in years.”

Game Rant (8/10) – “007 First Light is one of the more content-rich James Bond games we’ve ever had, and it should only get better with future updates. What’s on offer at launch is a solid, polished James Bond adventure with a memorable story and exciting action that should please most fans of the franchise.”

Restart.run (7/10) – “If you do decide to take up First Light, I expect what you will find is a fantastic foundation for future updates and a likely sequel that will truly impress, nestled within a sincerely fun and well-designed stealth game that takes what Hitman provided and improves upon it. What you will not find is a game that is able to conceal or minimize all its flaws. It instead presents them to you fully emblazoned on its chest and at often interminable length. And all that left me shaken, not stirred.”

Push Square (score pending) – “I’m not quite finished with 007 First Light just yet, but overall I’d say it’s exactly what I was hoping for. The characterisation of this young Bond and his associates is really strong, and the globetrotting story lets you explore some great locations. It really shines in its sandbox missions, but shootouts have their moments too, and the whole thing weaves together really quite nicely. I’m really interested to see how the final few missions shake out, but beyond some technical quibbles and uncertainty on the driving, I’m pretty happy with IOI’s new vision for James Bond.”

IGN (score pending) – “007 First Light has made a fabulous first impression, and I’m certainly already quite comfortable to say it’s the best Bond has been since GoldenEye. I’ll be updating this review as soon as I’ve finalised the story and experimented with TacSim mode, which allows us to replay previous missions with extra challenges to earn new rewards.”

Kotaku (unscored) – “First Light’s biggest problem is its own scale and form. It’s a game from an incredible team playing against type, one which has a tendency to obscure its own strengths and overplay its weaknesses. Sometimes it wants to sand down its rough edges and be everything to everyone, but all of its best moments are where it stalwartly refuses to where other studios would fold. It’s too expensive for its own good, it’s smarter than it has any right to be and so much dumber than you wish it actually was. It’s not going to change your life, but it’s still a fun time at the movies, or rather, in front of your PS5 for a weekend or two. It is, for good and for bad, a James Bond film that you can play. Mission accomplished.”

So far, 007 First Light is sitting at 88 over on Metacritic, which is great to see. We’ll have to judge it for ourselves and decide whether it can hold a candle to GoldenEye 007, but we’re thrilled that folks seem to be enjoying it so far.

We’ll be sure to relay the final release date for First Light on Switch 2 as soon as this is communicated from IO Interactive.

Pretty good so far, right? Will you be picking up 007 First Light on Switch 2, or will you opt for a copy on a different platform? Let us know.