Released on other platforms in November 2025, Total Chaos is an intriguing first-person survival horror in which you explore the mysterious island of Fort Oasis. Once a bustling community of industry, it’s since fallen into ruin, and it’s your job to explore the environment, piece together fragments of the past, and ultimately survive against the encroaching horror.
Born via a Doom II conversion mod from developer Trigger Happy Interactive, Total Chaos is a slow burn that encourages you to scour the environment for items, weapons, and notes. Emphasis is on survival, and you’ll need to not only keep your health full, but also make sure you’re eating to stave off hunger. Thankfully, you have a pretty hefty inventory, so it’s worthwhile just grabbing whatever you see lying around.
Throughout the environment are crafting benches, and here you can combine certain objects to make weapons or recovery items. They show up quite frequently, as do the manual save stations, so you’ll rarely find yourself lacking essential resources or having to reload to a much earlier save.
Though it’s a slow-paced experience, you’ll quickly come across waves of enemies on the island. Combat is fast and responsive, though there’s a jankiness that could do with ironing out. Swinging melee weapons or using ‘A’ to dodge will quickly deplete your stamina, so you’ll need to be strategic in how you approach each encounter.
What’s nice is an abundance of options when it comes to tackling the main game. You can adjust your inventory space to give yourself a little boost, or begin in ‘Tourist Mode’, which allows you to disable mechanics like weapon durability, hunger, and bleeding. Chapter select is also an option, but you’ll need to make sure you complete each at least once to unlock them.
There’s a lot here that directly speaks to me as a horror fan, and I wish I could say that I loved my time with Total Chaos, but unfortunately the visuals and performance severely dampen the experience. This is a Switch 2 title, but it feels like it was built for Switch 1. Visually, it looks muddy and lacks essential detail, especially in the outdoor environments. Some of the lighting effects are nice, but the overall brightness is way too low. You can crank it up in the settings, but then you completely lose the sense of atmosphere. Sophie’s choice.
Then you have the frame rate. Oh boy… You can choose between quality and performance modes, but neither feels particularly great. At a push, quality mode probably offers a bit more stability, but it still judders. Performance mode, meanwhile, hits that 60fps sweet spot on rare occasions, but you’ll find it struggles to keep up no matter what environment you’re exploring.
With a patch or two, this one could be worth investigating, but for now, maybe stick to other platforms.
We’re baffled that, somehow, Nintendo hasn’t given us a proper Zelda dungeon maker. No, the Chamber Dungeon in Link’s Awakening on Switch doesn’t quite scratch the itch. So thank goodness for indie developers, huh?
Temple Maker 64 (spotted via Dexerto) is looking to fill that gap with a specific chunky N64 flair. Developed by Ki3 Games, a one-man studio with a passion for Zelda and developing 3D Zelda-likes, it’s currently slated for release on Steam, but we had to report on this, because look at it; it’s basically an Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask dungeon maker.
Using an intuitive 3D map editor, players can create their own devilish dungeons and then share them online for others to play.
You place down traps, monsters, and all sorts of objects where you please. And you can even include various sub-weapons — classics such as bows and bombs, but also more-unique items.
If you’re not the creative type, however, you can just try out other people’s creations, too. Looking at the way the main character moves, it looks like Ki3 has really nailed the N64 feel, not just the chunky look.
Ki3 has been running a playtest for the game over the past few weeks, and some creators are already going all-in on creating both realisting Zelda-like dungeons or crazy challenge maps:
The developer has been working on the game for about a year and a half now, but they’re also working on another 3D Zelda-like in Seed of Life. This game takes a more traditional route — except, you’re a wolf accompanied by a bird and not a boy who can transform into a wolf.
There’s no release date for Temple Maker 64 yet, and so far, it looks to only be coming to Steam. Perhaps we can pray for a Switch (2) version in the future?
We wish Ki3 the best of luck on the game — it looks fantastic so far!
What do you think of Temple Maker 64? Want to see it on Switch? Let us know in the comments.
A popular Pokémon YouTube channel called ‘PokéNational Geographic’ is no more after a series of copyright strikes from Nintendo.
Channel creator Elious delivered the new himself (thanks, Kotaku), confirming in a video posted on 26th April that he has 7 days before the channel is gone for good. This is in accordance with YouTube’s three-strike policy, which was quickly enacted after Nintendo of America sent four separate copyright notices across a total of 20 videos.
The videos, which were animated takes on David Attenborough nature documentaries, are alleged to inappropriately contain “content used in Pokémon video games including audiovisual works, characters, and imagery”. He claims that the only content directly pulled from were “tiny sprite roars”, while noting that other content on YouTube, including some generated via AI, have not been targeted.
Ultimately, Elious expressed willingness to comply with the copyright strikes, stating “I can’t fight this”. However, he’s understandably unset over the loss of the channel’s 100K+ subscribers, while a Patreon page launched to support his work now “under review”.
He’s also stated that he will continue to create animations for his alternative channel (which you can visit via the video above), but these understandably won’t be related to Pokémon in any way.
What do you make of all of this? Was Nintendo right to target Elious’ channel? Let us know with a comment.
As we get closer to June, Square Enix is gearing up for the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on the Switch 2.
Previews, which were limited to handheld mode, have now gone live alongside the demo release. Here are our first impressions:
“The Remake trilogy remains in safe hands on the hybrid console, and as long as those larger areas hold up, it should still be a perfectly pleasant way to experience the trio for the first time. Like Remake, there are some cutbacks here, but nothing remotely drastic enough to affect the overall experience. Let’s just hope that the open world doesn’t prove too taxing in the long run.”
And here’s what other sites had to say about this upcoming release:
RPGFan: “I didn’t get too much time with the Switch 2 version of Rebirth, but playing in handheld mode showed me that it is truly enjoyable in this iteration. I played the first section in Kalm and noticed a few things about the Switch 2 version of the game. First off, the frame rate was steady in handheld mode, both in and out of combat. I didn’t notice any dips. If I had to guess, it was running at a steady 30 FPS, at least. Load times were quick and snappy for cutscenes and when initiating Queen’s Blood with the opponents around the town. It looked great as well, probably on par with how Final Fantasy Remake looked on the PlayStation 4, and in docked mode, I can only assume it looks better with the higher resolution. Overall, the game plays great on the Switch 2.”
Temple of Geek: “After spending about 30 to 45 minutes with the game in handheld mode, the clearest takeaway is this: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth works on Switch 2. That does not mean it is the most visually impressive version of the game. During my hands-on time, I noticed some texture pop-in, especially in denser environments. Some areas looked like they were clearly making concessions for the hardware. However, the more important part is that the game felt playable where it needed to. Combat was smooth, inputs felt responsive, and the open-areas I played maintained the core rhythm of Rebirth’s exploration and action.”
But Why Tho?: “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth runs very smoothly on Switch 2, but it doesn’t always look its absolute best. Again, my time in the game was spent with handheld mode, where the very occasional texture looked a little rough, but the most glaring issue was with hair, which often took on a fuzzy look. This has been explained in the past as an issue attributed to the Switch 2’s handheld resolution and the game’s temporal anti-aliasing. It’s honestly nothing that should detract from the experience, but it’s definitely worth knowing about going in.”
Indy100: “When it runs as it should, the game looks great, performance is largely stable and it’s genuinely mightily impressive a game of this size and scope runs on the console at all. I have experienced more hiccups playing this early build for 30 minutes than I did in the whole time I’ve played Remake on the console and I’ll reserve full judgment until playing the more expansive open world sections as well as the more dense areas of Kalm.But if Square Enix can iron out those kinks and polish Rebirth‘s Switch 2 port, then it has the potential to overtake Remake as the console’s best port yet.”
RPG Site: “Switch 2 actually holds up rather well. I did notice some slight hitching in towns, but the game feels like it mostly hits that 30 FPS target where it counts. Crucially, the game’s input latency is practically negligible despite its 30 FPS target… In terms of visuals, thigs are similar. The game of course is using DLSS to output to a higher resolution, and the game unsurprisingly doesn’t look quite as sharp as Remake on Switch 2 – but it still holds up remarkably well in handheld mode compared to PC gaming handhelds.”
Have you tried out this demo? Will you be getting the full game when it arrives on Switch 2 this June? Tell us in the comments.
The catch is they’re not actually proper physical releases. In fact, they’re not even being distributed as game-key cards.
Instead, you can expect a “code-in-box” release, with the box art on each case noting how a game card is “not included” and a full game download is required. So it’s a display case at best! Here’s the official reminder from Bethesda:
Bethesda Studios: “The Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition arrive on Nintendo Switch 2 in a physical code-in-box edition. Available now!”
Image: Bethesda
If you already own the Nintendo eShop versions of these titles, you’re not really missing out on anything here.
Since these games arrived on the Switch 2, Bethesda has released some updates. This includes a 60Hz mode for Skyrim, and more recently, DLSS support was added to Fallout 4.
Top-down pixel art adventure games are one of the most popular genres for indie developers, and why wouldn’t they be? The Legend of Zelda, which often serves as the inspiration for many of these titles. And today, another has landed on the eShop, though it features its own little twist on the genre.
Elementallis launches today, 28th April 2026, on Switch and, from just one glance, those Zelda inspirations are plain and clear. There’s your typical sword and real-time combat, a bunch of puzzles to solve, and even temples to traverse through, and developer Ankae Games promises a healthy amount of challenge.
But the wrinkle is hinted at in the title: you have access to a bunch of magic, which you collect and master throughout your adventure. You can see them in the game’s logo, so expect the usual fire, water, wind, lighting, etc.
And it’s all in aid of fixing something you’ve broken; the elemental balance. It’s all out of what because of your actions. So it sounds like character and narrative are pretty crucial to the game.
So, if you’re craving a little bit of top-down Zelda action, Elementallis might just satisfy you. It costs $17.99 / £16.19, but if you grab it before 12th May, you’ll get a 15% discount.
Do you like the look of Elementallis? Will you be trying it out on Switch? Flood the comments and let us know.
The Zelda series has a passionate and devoted fanbase. Over the years, timelines have been debated, settled, shaken up, or outright ignored. Storylines have been contested, shredded apart, put on a pedestal. But nothing, not even recovering the Triforce, is more important than making sure Link is holding his sword in the right hand.
‘Right? You mean left, right?’ Okay, perhaps ‘correct’ is the right better term.
Upon his debut in 1986, our favourite green tunic-donning hero wielded his sword in his left hand and his shield in his right. And in the North American manual for Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, it even states: “Then, with a magical sword in his left hand and a magical shield in his right, he set off alone on his long travels.” And the Hyrule Historia touches on why Link is (largely) left-handed, stating on page 138 that:
“Link was depicted in early art examples as right handed. However, in order to aid in the creation of the pixel art and for the purposes of configuration in game screens, he was altered to be left handed.”
Image: Nintendo Life / Dark Horse
Pretty definitive, right? Well, no.
Things have changed, and Link has proven himself to be a little more ambidextrous over the past 20 years. Some whippersnappers out there might not have even seen Link wield his sword in his left hand at all, but I promise, it was that way for a long time.
Recently, the debate over Link’s dominant hand crept up after the upcoming Legend of Zelda movie’s Director of Photography shared (and promptly deleted) a clipboard with what looks to be our best look at Link yet, played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, in the full green tunic and the Master Sword in his right hand. *gasp*
So, what’s the story behind Link’s hand-swapping mastery? Is it really a case of inconsistency, or is Link just ridiculously talented and can defeat Ganon with whatever hand he pleases?
So, is Link a lefty or a righty?
As you’ll see, it depends on the game!
For a long time, Link held his sword in his left hand. The very first game to break that pattern was Twilight Princess, but only the Wii release (we’ll get into the reason in a moment). Since then, he’s swapped between the two. But as recently as 2023, Nintendo has said that “Link is left-handed…mostly.”
Link has been in a lot of video games, but for this table, we’re going to stick to the Zelda series itself. No Smash Bros. — though, if you’re curious, he’s left-handed in every game except his adult version in Smash Ultimate.
And, you’ll see below that are many games where Link is left-handed. (Well, unless you’re someone who thinks the shield should be held in the dominant hand, in which case, swap that around. More power to you!)
We’re going by official art, Link’s in-game model, and by Link’s front-facing sprite where appropriate. And unless there’s a difference in a port or a remaster, we’ve listed the original releases only.
Left-handed Link 🤚
✋ Right-handed Link
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii only)
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons / Ages
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GameCube & Wii U)
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
So, there’s an overwhelming winner here, but it still varies.
Even most of the amiibo! — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
What seems to be consistent is that most modern games starring adult Link show him as a right-handed sword user, while the top-down games, and appearances from Young Link, show him using the sword in his left hand.
The CD-i games (yes, I’m going there) show Link holding his sword in his left hand in official art, but in-game, his sprite is holding the sword in whatever hand is facing the screen.
Cast your mind back to 2003, and you might remember that SoulCalibur II on GameCube (which is also playable on Switch 2 NSO, by the way) depicts Link as left-handed.
Oh, and the, ahem, roughLegend of Zelda cartoon from the ’80s presents Link as right-handed.
Got a handle on it?
Why did they change from left to right for some games?
The answer is pretty simple, at least for two of the games: motion controls.
In an Iwata Asks interview from 2006, lead enemy designer Yoshiyuki Oyama explained that the change for Twilight Princess — which infamously mirrors the entire game (so basically, whatever is east on the GameCube is West on Wii) — is because of the Wii Remote. With the majority of players favouring their right hand, Nintendo decided to flip everything.
Even so, there was still fan demand to keep things faithful: “I think that was the best solution, but even looking at this one point, there were people who said they thought Link should still hold the sword in his left hand.”
(When Twilight Princess was remastered in HD on Wii U, the original GameCube orientation was used, so Link was once again a lefty.)
That right-handed decision stuck for Skyward Sword for similar reasons (remember Wii Motion Plus?), but Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have stuck to adult Link’s right-handed ways.
Back in 2016, series producer Eiji Aonuma told IGN and GameSpot explained the decision:
“With the gamepad, the buttons you’ll be using to swing the sword are on the right side, and thus he’s right-handed.”
To which my response is… well, that’s how it’s always been? Buttons have never been in your left hand, unless you like to live dangerously and hold your Wii Remote in your left hand and nunchuck in your right.
Amusingly, because Tears of the Kingdom understandably stuck with Link’s right hand, that means Link’s magical hand and sword hand are one and the same.
Hold up, is Zelda left or right-handed?
Oh goddess, we’re not doing this, are we?
She’s right-handed in every game she wields a weapon or wand. There. An easy answer, for a series that doesn’t always have easy answers. I love that.
Does it really matter?
Ultimately? No, not really. Link is going to defeat Ganon/Ganondorf/Vaati/Ghirahim/whoever, with whichever hand he’s using.
But I have to admit, as much as it doesn’t bother me, there is something unique about having a left-handed hero.
To some, Link being a lefty is a big deal — there aren’t many left-handers out there in the video game world. Raphael from SoulCalibur, Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII, and Crono from Chrono Trigger are just a few. That means Link is one of the first.
Of course, in motion-controlled games, it might feel a bit weird to have a character swing with his left hand while you’re using your right; that’s the kind of thing that would throw me off. But the changes haven’t stopped fans coming up with theories as to why some Links are right-handed which concerns their training as a knight.
Image: Gavin Lane / Nintendo Life
Will Wes Ball’s 2027 Zelda movie finally address Link’s ambidexterity? Will it say why he’s right-handed? Or is the shot on the banner misleading? We’ll need to wait until trailers start dropping, and the full release on 7th May 2027 to find that out.
Does it matter to you? Do you think Link is a lefty or a righty? Vote in our poll below and get discussing the hot topic of Zelda’s 40th anniversary in the comments.
Do you think Link is left-handed or right-handed? (804 votes)
Left-handed! That’s how he began, that’s how he should stay39%
Right-handed! More people are rightys, after all1%
Ambidextrous – he’s a talented sword-and-shield user!17%
Different Links, different handednesses, right!?30%
Well, ACTUALLY, I think you’ll find he holds his shield in his dominant hand, so…1%
In case you missed it, you can now try out Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on Switch 2 thanks to a free demo. If you loved Remake Intergrade earlier this year, then it’s well worth a shot — because you can transfer your save data from the demo to the main game when it launches on 3rd June 2026.
For those of you who don’t have time to check out the demo right now and want to have a little peek at how the game looks and runs, we have you covered. We’ve got 13 minutes of gameplay from the very first chapter of the Rebirth demo, so feast your eyes up-top.
Of course, you should expect some downgrades from the PS5 version — and we’ve mentioned some of those in our own hands-on preview, which focuses on the second chapter — but you can see that Square Enix has clearly put a lot of effort into the Switch 2 version.
Some fuzzy textures, pop-in, and clearly less-populated areas are easy to spot, but movement and combat is smooth, and the game generally looks great. It’s an impressive port, at least in the early stages of the game.
If you’re thinking about picking Rebirth up on Switch 2, then you should absolutely give the demo ago, because as we said above, it gives you access to the first two chapters of the game. And that’s a lot of gameplay.
Rebirth is a much-longer game than Remake, with open zones (as you’ll see in Chapter 2), multiple sidequests, and rideable chocobos. That last thing is very important. Plus, this gives you a head start on this mammoth RPG with that save data transfer. Just make sure you have some space on your console, or your microSD Express Card…
Have you downloaded the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth demo on Switch 2 yet? Looking forward to the game’s release? Let us know in the comments.
With The Super Mario Galaxy Movie rolling in the dough right now, it makes absolute sense that Nintendo and Illumination are looking ahead to the future. And, it seems like the two studios have a plan.
Currently, it’s listed as Untitled Illumination/Nintendo Event Film, so we have no idea what that means. Is it a new Mario movie? It might. But the first and second films had three years between them.
Some suspect that this date could be referring to a Donkey Kong movie, but of course, others are having fun with it (just check the replies and quotes, though be careful of some minor spoilers if you haven’t seen the latest movie).
Others think it may be a Star Fox movie — especially given that Fox McCloud has a pretty decent presence in the Mario Galaxy film.
Could it be the rumoured Metroid movie that Nintendo is apparently pitching, and is supposedly being chased by Sony and Universal? Unlikely, as word on the street is that film would likely be live-action, and the movie mentioned above is clearly an animated film
Ultimately, we’re not going to know until either Illumination or Nintendo lifts the lid. Anyway, we have The Legend of Zelda movie to look forward to next year, which is coming from Sony, so that’s next on the Nintendo Cinematic Universe (sorry…) docket.
What do you think Nintendo and Illumination’s next project will be? Let us know in the comments below.
Capcom isn’t done with Resident Evil Requiem just yet, with director Koshi Nakanishi confirming that both a minigame and a story expansion will be added as post-launch DLC. While the latter is still very much under wraps for the time being, the minigame is seemingly just around the corner.
According to an interview with Denfaminico Gamer (thanks, Push Square), Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa heavily implied that the minigame DLC will be added after Golden Week in Japan, which takes place from Wednesday, 29th April to Wednesday, 6th May, while also confirming that players will need to beat the main campaign to unlock it.
Here’s what he had to say:
“This mini-game is unlocked once you complete the main story. So, if you’re planning to play it, I think clearing the main story during Golden Week will be just the right time.
Sure sounds like they’re gearing up to launch the DLC after Golden Week concludes, right?
As for what the minigame might be, we still don’t know. In the same interview, Koshi Nakanishi confirms that it will be “based on the battles in the main game”, which is about as vague as you can get. Many fans are eager to see a new iteration of ‘The Mercenaries’ in Requiem, in which you play as various characters fighting off hordes of enemies, but we’ll have to wait and see.
As for the story expansion, all we’ve been told for the time being is that it will delve “deeper into the world of Requiem”.
Are you hoping to see a new Mercenaries mode in Resident Evil Requiem? What else do you think this minigame might be? Let us know.
