Nintendo’s next big release, and perhaps-penultimate Switch 1 title, is almost here. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream lands on Nintendo’s older hybrid tomorrow, 16th April, and critic reviews have dropped ahead of the game’s launch. That includes our own, written by the very person putting together this article.
The Nintendo Life verdict calls the follow-up to the 3DS cult hit “the strangest thing you’ll play from Nintendo, bringing with it laughs and creativity in abundance” but faults it for some repetition and lack of Mii sharing, scoring the game a respectable 7/10.
Still, the perfect game for those who need a good laugh. And trust us, it’s really funny, especially if you’re extremely creative.
But we’re not the only ones who have thoughts on the game, and for the most part, impressions are pretty positive!
Let’s start at the very top of the scale, with Quinn Collins at Pocket Tactics, giving the life sim a glowing 10/10. In Collins’ words, “this game is a masterpiece of relaxing, cozy gaming”. Very high praise!:
“Any minor complaint I have has been made up for with endless fun, with near-infinite customization, cut scenes I’m still seeing for the first time ten hours after rolling the credits, and a healthy dose of quirky charm.”
After that, most reviews sit around the 8/10 mark, which is exactly the score Jessica Filby awarded the game at Dexerto. Like many other critics, she calls it “one of the wackiest cozy games ever made”, though with a few minor critiques on the touchscreen creativity and repetitiveness. It’s still a winner for Filby, though:
Tomodachi is back, and it’s never been better. While the character creation is so nearly perfect, Living the Dream is a welcome trip down memory lane for fans of the original.
Nintendo Insider’s Alex Seedhouse is another big fan of both the 3DS predecessor and this new sequel, which nets the game another 8/10. “I have missed this utter madness” kicks off a review full of praise for the humour, customisation, and spontaneity of it.
“Never being able to guess what will happen next perfectly captures what Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream is all about. It’s packed with so much hilarious material that the best recommendation any review can make is to go and discover it for yourself rather than let someone else spoil it for you.”
TheGamer’s Jade King is also part of the 8/10 club. Well, the 4/5 one, at least! There’s a few little personal anecdotes here with famous Miis hooking up with family members, highlight the fun and creativity of the whole thing. But repetitiveness does become an issue, too. So as long as you can look past that…
“Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream is a bizarre delight with unlimited potential, but you must be willing to unearth that brilliance for yourself instead of expecting the game to guide you.”
Brian Shea of Game Informer brings things down a notch to a 7/10, and though he’s a big fan of the game, his biggest criticism comes from the lack of Mii sharing and the repetition. But hey, Ozzy Osbourne’s a resident!
“I would argue that it requires a fair bit of imagination on your part as a player to get the full value out of the experience. By that, I don’t just mean a desire to create visually, but also an overarching concept of who your characters are and what their relationships with the other residents should look like.”
Last up is IGN’s Logan Plant, who also scored Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream a 7/10 for similar reasons. Though the emphasis here really is on the lack of ability to play and share with friends. “Tomodachi Life is a deeply funny and equally personal civilization simulator”, is how he kicks off his conclusion, calling it “genuinely hilarious”, but there’s a “darkside” as he puts it:
“Where Living the Dream loses me is its extremely restrictive sharing capabilities. It’s beyond frustrating that there’s essentially no way to directly share Miis or other creations online, even with friends, which is an enormous downgrade from the 3DS version.”
All in all, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream’s enjoyment comes from your fingertips and creativity. Depending on who you are, this might be the perfect game for you. And right now it sits on a 78 on Metacritic (from 35 scored reviews).
We’ll be checking back in with you lovely readers to find out how you’re spending your time with Tomodachi Life. You don’t have long to wait, after all!
Let us know if you’re excited to live the dream in the comments below.
The next Pokémon Pokopia event is coming this weekend, but be wary, as it’ll require dextrous timing and button pressing on your part.
Bulbasaur’s Jump Rope Challenge is coming to the game on 19th April. The event will kick off 5am local time and will run for a week until 26th April. And all you need to have done is completed the very first Main Quest in Withered Wasteland, called Yawn Up a Storm.
And those of you who have played the game and hung out with the adorable Bulbasaur will know what to expect.
You’ll be taking part in a Jump Rope contest, using Bulbasaur’s vines as a rope to hop over as many times in a row as you can. Depending on how well you do, you’ll unlock various prizes, with an exclusive trophy being the number one draw.
The event is also available in multiplayer and on Cloud Islands, though only the host will receive prizes.
Sounds like a bit of fun! You can obviously have a little peek at the event if you want to play with your console’s internal clock, but there’s another event coming shortly after that you can also check out.
Will you be taking part in the Jump Rope Challenge next week? Hop to the comments and let us know.
Launching on 18th September 2026, the package will come rocking a lenticular postcard and an art book, and judging from the promotional image included with the announcement, it appears that this one won’t be a Game-Key Card release.
We’ve reached out for clarification and will provide an update as soon as we can.
Otherwise, yes, this looks to be the definitive way to experience Layers of Fear on the Switch 2 if you’re a fan of physical games. The package includes both Layers of Fear and Layers of Fear 2 with numerous enhancements, plus all previously-released DLC.
Here’s a look at the key features:
Deep Exploration: immersive first‑person gameplay that blends story-driven exploration, environmental puzzles, and psychological horror.
A Web of Obsession: the interwoven stories of three creators: The Painter, The Actor, and The Writer, each consumed by their craft and willing to pay the ultimate price for it.
Next‑Gen Visual Atmosphere: rebuilt visuals with HDR, ray tracing, and dynamic lighting that deepen atmosphere, enhance realism, and make every flicker of light feel alive.
Unsettling Original Score: a haunting original soundtrack by award‑winning composer Arek Reikowski, weaving fragile beauty, emotion, and unease into every scene.
Image: Meridiem
We reviewed the eShop release of Layers of Fear: The Final Masterpiece Edition and gave it a score of 6/10. There’s a lot to love about this one, including some truly impressive visuals and excellent mouse controls, but it’s also one that we feels lacks player agency, and the scares can quickly lose their edge.
Will you be picking up a physical edition of Layers of Fear on the Switch 2? Let us know your thoughts with a comment.
Fans of the 3DS game are champing at the bit to lose their lives to this long-dreamt-for sequel. Many have waited since 2014 to create more freakishly terrifying Miis and test the limits of humanity and absurdity.
We asked the residents for their reaction. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” said Jim, an advocate for the previous game.
I’m Alana, and you’re up-to-date.
Well, you’re not quite up-to-date, but if you have no idea what Tomodachi Life is like, this update is a good little snippet. This isn’t a life sim, it’s more like a simplistic, absurdist, Nintendo-esque take on The Sims.
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)
You are the master of your own island, which you populate with Miis of all kinds: yourself, real-life family members, friends, celebrities, or characters from TV shows and media you love (or hate). Add more Miis to your island and you unlock more stores and buildings, plus your island will gradually get bigger, allowing you to place more decorations and continue creating the most chaotic set of island residents imaginable. This is all about creating Miis and letting them live their lives. Oh, and what silly lives they lead.
Living the Dream started off as one of the funniest video games I’ve ever played. The laughter starts at minute one, when I’m creating my own Mii and messing around with the voice filters. The Mii creator is absurdly detailed with hundreds of options and the ability to draw on your character’s face – more on that later.
But the voices, once you start giving your character tones that make them sound like everything is a question, or they speak so high-pitched you can’t understand a word they’re saying – that’s when the uncontrollable giggles kick in.
As I began to populate my island, I got to witness some of the most absurdly funny interactions. I snorted way too many times at the bizarre dreams my Miis were having. Seances with rabbits, coral, or shells, spring rides through safari parks, an avalanche of chocolate-chip cakes (poorly designed by me).
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)
One time, some Miis gathered at the local restaurant and a sitcom-like scenario would play out. It’s like being in a Nathan Fielder show, except you’re sort of in control of what happens.
And that’s the thing: Living the Dream is much more interactive than Tomodachi Life was on 3DS. Miis will actually walk around the island now and talk to other Miis themselves; you can pick them up and take them to any place of your choosing, have them stare at trees or use vending machines, or sit at tables on their own. You can pet them on the head or give them food or new clothes to make them happy.
Raising happiness is the one thing you really want to do in Living the Dream, as doing so gives you wishes, which you can spend at the Wishing Fountain. The best way to do this is to figure out what kind of clothes, gifts, or foods each Mii likes — which is basically trial-and-error — or to solve their Troubles by talking to them when they have a little bubble above their heads.
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)
There’s a rhythm to Living the Dream, a kind of short-session game where I’ll load up my island, see what new food items the shop has, how much money I’ll spend on clothes, and go around and fix Miis’ problems by feeding them what they want or getting them to make friends with another resident. Sometimes I’ll play a minigame with a few of them, like bowling, or What’s Missing?
Or I can just muck about: I can drag my Mii to hang out with Vivi from Final Fantasy IX and talk about the concept of death, as long as I’ve introduced the word ‘death’ to the in-game lexicon. Or Dante from Devil May Cry can talk to Guts from Berserk about “a silver-haired man”. Romances, marriages, and relationships can flourish or fizzle out with a little encouragement. I can even draw an approximation of my cat as a Mii or as a Treasure to give to another resident.
You can see via the screenshots that I’m not an artist; you’re probably terrified of my cat Miles and his gormless eyes and weird stripes, and you’re probably asking, “Is that Tom Nook from Animal Crossing?” But you don’t have to be good at drawing to design a hilarious congregation of Miis. (Shoutout to TomodachiShare for buckets of inspiration.)
In fact, the creativity is incredible across the board. Not only can you draw your Mii’s face, but you can actually design structures — Moomintroll has become fond of sleeping next to my strange purple Eiffel Tower — create interiors and exteriors for your Mii’s houses, design your own food, books, and video games, and even create custom pathways.
You can use the touchscreen for all of these things, and for a few other moments in-game, like petting your Miis and using the in-game keyboard. But the touchscreen functionality is weirdly limited. I can’t use it to pick up my Miis or decorate my island in Build Mode. I can’t even use it in most menus. It’s a bizarre choice, which extends to the lack of Mouse Mode implementation on Switch 2.
It’s good that Living the Dream looks great on both Switch 1 and Switch 2, with the latter getting a resolution boost, but at least on the new console, I’m surprised the game runs at 30fps. It’s a little jarring, especially in some of the dream sequences where it drops frames thanks to some high-octane falling action (you’ll need to see to understand). Perhaps a Switch 2 patch is incoming, and I hope Nintendo at least adds Mouse Mode and perhaps expands the number of Miis you can have on the island (70, down from 100 on 3DS).
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)
Back to Build Mode, this was one of my favourite parts of the preview period, but as I unlocked more and more decorations, the variety felt a little limited. I still redecorate and rearrange my island frequently thanks to how simple it is, but it’s here where I start to see my issues with the game.
Because, without the customisation options, Living the Dream is basically an elaborate game of watching goldfish and imagining personalities for them. And that’s been a struggle for me. As funny as the game can be (and sometimes still is), the novelty of the bizarre hijinks wore off after about 10 hours.
I’m more than triple that now, and I’ve seen at least five different Miis ride a spring bear in front of a realistic photo of a lion. I’ve watched multiple residents get stuck in a hiccup rut. I might get a new cutscene every so often if I drag Tom Nook over to Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII, but they also might just walk off and chat together.
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)
Even as I unlocked new buildings and got a few new cutscenes and interactions, or got Miis to move in together, I felt like I was falling into the same rhythms all the time. Poke and prod Miis, drag them around, feed them, create a new Mii, get them integrated, and so on. I got bored of the loop, which the short play sessions helped with, but it sometimes felt meaningless.
Trying to get certain Miis to fall in love, especially the more Miis you have, sometimes felt a little hit-and-miss. I put my Mii with my partner Zach’s Mii many times and, for a while, there was the threat of Lydia taking him away from me. It did make the eventual joining together and marriage all the sweeter, at least.
But then we had a squabble over something absolutely ridiculous, and I had to live in fear that I might be breaking up with my IRL husband. Don’t worry, though, you can usually repair those relationships, and it adds a little more drama to friendships and dating.
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)
In fact, relationships are another area where Living the Dream has made big strides forward. The game has no restrictions on gender or relationships, to the point where you essentially have aro/ace Miis who just want to be friends and live together. That, plus the addition of a non-binary gender option, choice of pronouns, and lack of clothing restrictions means this is a win for everyone.
Creating a plethora of Miis has been a bit of a tonic for me over the past few weeks, and is the most surprising thing I love about Living the Dream. But once that creative process is over, despite all of the improvements the game makes over the original Tomodachi Life, I feel myself slipping back into that rhythm that has worn me out a little.
For as many times as I’ve laughed, I’ve sat blank-faced, trying to figure out whether Guts likes fried spring rolls or milkshake. I wish it’s an experience I could share with others a little easier, too, but with the online restrictions — including restricting sharing Miis, which I do understand — it feels a lot more solitary than it should. Unlocking new things brings a little spark to it, too, but I’d say I’ve been Living the Nice Life rather than the Dream, and that’s okay.
Wolf O’Donnell, as seen in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate — Image: Nintendo
Veteran radio broadcaster and voice actor Jock Blaney passed away last month at the age of 76.
Nintendo fans will likely know him best as the original voice of Star Fox 64 antagonist Wolf O’Donnell, and he also portrayed Fox’s ally Bill Grey and Granga, the mech pilot who you may remember as the game’s first boss.
As noted on Reddit by ArmoredSarge via a March article on Wyoming station K2 Radio’s website, Blaney died on 19th March 2026. An obituary states that he passed away “peacefully in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada.”
The K2 tribute highlights that a voice-over clinic with Looney Tunes legend Mel Blanc helped steer his approach to voice work. In addition to his award-winning work on radio and in his wider career, Blaney’s résumé featured numerous video game credits, including No One Lives Forever, Aliens vs. Predator, and F.E.A.R. plus the Professor Layton and Forza series.
In later Star Fox games, other voice actors portrayed the characters he originated in English (although Blaney did reprise the roles of Wolf and Bill in the yet-to-be-released fan game Star Fox Event Horizon), but his lines and delivery remain iconic for many fans — us included — who first heard them on N64 back in 1997, and again in the 2011 3DS version.
Xbox’s co-creator, Seamus Blackley, has been known to be pretty blunt with his opinions in the past, especially in relation to the direction that Microsoft has taken its gaming division in recent years.
In a new interview with The Expansion Pass (thanks, Go Nintendo), Blackley touched on the idea that Microsoft is now “entirely AI-focused” and how a new game console would potentially fit within the company’s new mission. As such, he states that his interest in Project Helix, Xbox’s upcoming new hardware, is pretty low. Instead, he’s far more invested in Steam and whatever Nintendo has up its sleeve next – a hypothetical ‘Switch 3’, if you will.
“I don’t know what I’m excited about. I don’t know as a developer what I’m excited about and I don’t know as a gamer what I’m excited about. I am vastly more excited about Steam than about Helix. As a gamer, from a content standpoint, as I think everybody would be. Or, y’know, what’s Switch 3 going to be? That’s really interesting to me.”
When pushed to elaborate on why he’s specifically more excited about Steam and a ‘Switch 3’, Blackley responded with a pretty blunt statement:
“Are you high? Is there a gas leak over there? Well Switch 3, I just… Everything that comes out of Nintendo’s design department is at least really interesting and cool, even when it fails, right? Even Wii U was interesting and cool. I mean, it was a mess, but it was interesting and cool.”
We can’t argue with his points, even if it’s way, way too soon to even comprehend the possibility of a Switch 3. Like, let’s chill out a bit, hm?
Regardless, he is right. Nintendo’s ability to make interesting games and hardware is unmatched. Even the Switch 2, which is largely considered to be an iterative upgrade over the previous model, boasts some sweet magnetic Joy-Con controllers with built-in mouse compatibility. If you’d asked us a few years back what new feature we’d like to see in the Switch 2, I don’t think we would have even considered mouse support.
Good going, Nintendo.
What do you make of Blackley’s comments regarding Project Helix and Nintendo? Share your own thoughts with a comment in the usual place.
Following last month’s release of Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness for the Switch Online GameCube library, Nintendo has now updated this app again.
This bumps it up to Version 1.6.1 and apparently comes with a helpful bug fix for the same title after reports of game crashes, resulting in players losing save data (thanks for the heads up, Nintendo Everything).
This fix for Pokémon XD is the only notable change discovered so far in Version 1.6.1, but if there are any other significant updates, we’ll let you know. If your app doesn’t automatically download this update, you can manually download it by pressing the + button on the Switch 2 controller and selecting “Software Update”.
If you haven’t already tried out Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness on Nintendo’s paid subscription service, here’s a bit about it and another look:
“Using Shadow Pokémon, an evil organization has unleashed a sinister plot of world domination. With Eevee as your companion, and with the help of numerous friends along the way, you must fight against terrible foes and race against time to snag and purify the Shadow Pokémon and save the world!”
Blizzard today launched Overwatch (formerly known as Overwatch 2) for the Switch 2 and it’s got off to a bit of a rough start.
Players of the free-to-play title have reported frame rate issues, limiting the game’s performance. Blizzard has shared a notice, confirming it’s aware of these issues and is already working on a patch to resolve the problem. So, if you have encountered this issue, don’t worry!
Blizzard: “We are aware of an issue with the FPS limit on the Nintendo Switch 2 being lower than intended. We are working on a patch to resolve this issue.”
As mentioned in the announcement post, the free Switch 2 upgrade is meant to include “improved visuals” and “up to 60fps” in both “handheld and docked modes”, which is a huge step up on the Switch version of the title.
This update also rolls out alongside the new season and hero, Sierra, who you can see in action in the trailer above.
When a fix is released, we’ll provide an update. Have you tried out the Switch 2 version of Overwatch yet? How are you finding it so far? Tell us in the comments.
We are mere days away from the release of Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream on 16th April, so, just like clockwork, Nintendo has published another entry in its ‘Ask the Developer‘ series, all about the upcoming life sim.
Expectedly, the discussion contains a whole lot of strangeness — with a game like Tomodachi Life, how couldn’t it? — as the development team breaks down the importance of user-generated content (USG), and how it makes up the backbone of the play experience.
While touching on how each member of the team brought their own experiences and memories of the series to the table over the game’s nine-year development (yes, really), director Ryutaro Takahashi confesses there was “a big debate among the team about whether Mii should be able to… break wind.” And thus, we get a small amount of fart discussion in an official Nintendo interview, of all places!
According to Takahashi, “Some people found it hilarious, while others thought it was a bit vulgar,” leading the studio to add it as an optional ‘Little Quirk’ in the end — minor personality traits that you can prescribe to each of your Miis.
“We really obsessed over getting the sound just right,” sound director Toru Minegishi added, revealing that some of his attempts were accused of being “a bit too realistic for my liking.” While he didn’t put a precise number on it, programming director Takaomi Ueno admitted that the team “did so many retakes” to get the sound effect in that Goldilocks spot — juuuust right.
Adding to the toot talk (yes, there’s more), art director Daisuke Kageyama chimed in to note that his department tried all sorts of visual effects to sell the wind breaking, too. “For a while, the fart effect looked like an explosion going off,” he said.
Of course, it’s not all toilet humour across the interview’s three parts. The devs also touch on playtesting the game with their families, innovating the Mii design, and how the music came to be. Be sure to head over to the Nintendo website to read all three parts in full.
Are you excited for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream? Let us know in the comments.
