Category: Nintendo News

Atari and developer Ilex Games have unleashed a new update for Adventure of Samsara on Switch, adding in some new context and extensive adjustments.

Version 2.0 comes directly via fan feedback and boasts an overhaul to the combat, boss re-balancing, and plenty of quality-of-life improvements. A completely new optional boss called ‘Buzz Killer Swarm’ has been added, while you can also make use of the new Bestiary mechanic to learn more about the world of Samsara.

Here’s a look at the new features:

• Combat Overhaul – Combat and movement have been refined to feel faster and more responsive, making it easier to avoid enemy attacks by dashing, and to use health potions during combat.

• Quality of Life Improvements – New improvements include full PC input remapping, clearer map labeling when new areas are discovered, and an extra option on the main menu allowing players to replay cutscenes.

• Boss and Enemy Rebalancing – Several boss and enemy encounters have been rebalanced, including difficulty adjustments to Athalos, as well as refined AI, movement behavior, attack patterns and damage logic for Dhar’klaw and Doctor Gwar’udum, resulting in more consistent and satisfying fights.

• Bug Fixes & General Improvements – A range of fixes and polish updates have been implemented, including camera behavior during unlock sequences, resolved progression blockers and various balance tweaks.

Will you be jumping back in Adventure of Samsara to check out this new update? Let us know with a comment in the usual place.

Hot off the back of its Adventure Time pack (which’ll finally launch on Switch 2 on 29th April, after a last-minute delay), FuturLab has today announced the second wave of DLC for PowerWash Simulator 2. And yes, the Force is strong with this one.

The Star Wars pack will arrive on Switch 2 at some point this Summer, offering up a handful of locales from the iconic series and asking you, a class-five labour droid, P0-W2, to clean ’em up. From the reveal trailer (above), we’ve already seen the Lars Homestead, an X-wing and the Super Star Destroyer Bridge, all of which look particularly mucky, but there are even more tasks to come.

This pack will set you back £7.99 / $9.99 / €9.99 when it launches in the coming months, pairing the new mission locations with a fresh character skin and cleaning tool. Here are a couple of screens, so you know what to expect.

We’ll be keeping an eye out for a precise release date as we get ever closer to that ‘Summer 2026’ window. Here’s hoping that the second DLC pack can land the Switch 2 launch without any delays this time.

Will you be checking out these Star Wars levels in PowerWash Simulator 2? Let us know in the comments.

Despite putting up a staggering run at the box office, it looks like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie might be heading for a video on demand release even quicker than its predecessor.

As reported by When to Stream (and brought to our attention by Forbes), the Mario Galaxy Movie will apparently arrive as a paid digital stream on 5th May — that’s a mere five weekends since it launched in cinemas at the beginning of April. While the outlet is often accurate with its VOD release dates, neither Universal nor Nintendo have made an official announcement at the time of writing.

The window fits within Universal’s new five-week theatrical exclusivity promise (which’ll extend to seven weeks in 2027), though The Super Mario Bros. Movie hung around exclusively in cinemas for six weeks back in 2023 as it continued to break box office records.

The Galaxy Movie’s UHD digital release is now available to pre-order on Amazon for $29.99, though, of course, the storefront doesn’t confirm the release date at the time of writing.

We’ll be keeping an eye out for the official word on the Mario Galaxy Movie’s VOD release date in the coming days.

Just last week, the Mario Galaxy Movie surpassed $747.4 million at the global box office, pushing the two films’ total earnings across the $2 billion mark. A digital release will keep those dollars rolling in for the foreseeable future, so don’t be surprised to see it stick around on the ‘highest-grossing’ lists at the end of the year.

Will you be watching The Super Mario Galaxy Movie on demand? Let us know in the comments.

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Developer Creative Assembly has released a short teaser trailer for something related to Alien: Isolation.

Titled ‘False Sense of Security’, the short video showcases a door opening into a rain-drenched exterior location, with the iconic save station visible in the background. The Creative Assembly logo displays before we’re treated to a close-up of the save station.

Meanwhile, the video description states the following:

“A feeling of being safer than one really is.”

Presumably, this is our first look at the studio’s upcoming Alien: Isolation sequel. Announced to be in development in 2024, it’s yet to receive any kind of release window or target platforms, but we’ve got our fingers crossed for a release on Switch 2; even if it’s not necessarily day and date with other platforms.

The combination of the video title and the save station, meanwhile, perhaps indicates that players will no longer feel quite so ‘safe’ when recording their progress. You could theoretically get attacked while saving in the first game, but it was admittedly quite rare.

Fortuitously, we’ve also detailed six ways the upcoming sequel can potentially improve upon the original. We’ll keep a close eye on its development over the coming weeks and months and relay any updates as soon as we’re able.

Is this definitely ‘Alien: Isolation 2’..? Sure seems like it. Let us know what you make of this teaser trailer with a comment down below.

Today, 26th April, is ‘Alien Day’.

I know at least some of you might be scratching your head and wondering why, so let me very briefly explain. The planet on which James Cameron’s Aliens takes place is called LV-426. Get it? 426. April 26. There we go. Alien Day.

Anyway, with that in mind, I thought this would be a good opportunity to examine the upcoming sequel to Alien: Isolation, which was confirmed to be in development back in 2024. The original game garnered some criticism upon its release in 2014, but for many, including myself, it has stood the test of time and is arguably one of the greatest survival horror games of all time.

There are ways, however, that the sequel can improve upon Isolation’s greatness, and I’d like to highlight six of them right here. Granted, the development team over at Creative Assembly is hopefully far beyond the initial concept stages at this point, and so these points may fall on deaf ears. But just humour me, yeah?

Stick with me, dear reader. Priority One. All other priorities rescinded.

#1 – New Enemies

To be crystal clear, I think the primary antagonist for any Alien: Isolation sequel should still be the Xenomorph. But after Alien: Romulus and Alien: Earth, there’s an opportunity to add new, additional foes to the mix.

I’m mainly thinking of the Trypanohyncha Ocellus (a.k.a. ‘The Eye Midge’) from Alien: Earth. This thing was the standout star of the first season, effortlessly turning what was once a harmless sheep into one of the most intimidating creatures in franchise history.

Imagine clearing out a room of human enemies only to return later and find that one of them has reanimated after T. Ocellus buried its way into the corpse’s skull. It would introduce a terrifying sense of unpredictability, and I’m sweating just thinking about it.

Another enemy I’d love to see would be ‘The Offspring’ (from Romulus, not the punk rock band). Some folks thought this thing was a bit goofy, but I honestly found it to be horrifying. It’s a kind of Engineer/Xenomorph hybrid and, unlike the Xenomorph itself, moves relatively slowly. It would make for a great change of pace to have it relentlessly stalking you throughout the environment, moving between rooms like Mr. X from Resident Evil 2.

#2 – Even Better Xenomorph AI

The Xenomorph in Alien Isolation has some of the best behavioural AI (the good kind) I’ve ever seen in a game. The way it swoops through the environment before jumping up into the ventilation system makes it an incredibly unpredictable foe. Even after beating the game multiple times, I haven’t quite nailed down how to manipulate it to my benefit, and so I still find myself cowering in lockers or underneath desks.

Astonishingly, however, Isolation is almost 12 years old, so there’s ample room to expand upon the Xenomorph AI and make it act in ways that feel even more realistic. For as terrifying as it was to see it stalking through corridors, it never did much to interact with the environment. It would be cool to see it climb over obstacles, destroy go-to hiding places, or strategically use its own acid blood to coax you into the open.

#3 – A New Setting

This is a no-brainer. I absolutely love Sevastopol Station from the original, which paid homage to Ridley Scott’s original Alien, utilising the same retro-futuristic aesthetics to great effect.

It’s time for something new, though. One potential option would be something similar to Hadley’s Hope, the terraforming facility seen in Aliens. It became home for dozens of families before everything fell apart, so this would make for some nice variety. You could include the more industrial areas seen in the 1986 movie, but also areas geared toward family life: classrooms, a mess hall, or a garden of sorts.

Another option would be Earth itself. Alien: Earth proved that you can set an Alien story here and it not be an absolute disaster. Something similar to the Neverland research facility would make sense, but a more urban environment like New Siam would work, too.

Don’t make it open-world, though – keep everything tightly designed with narrow corridors and dense environments.

#4 – Better Pacing

As much as I adore Isolation, I’ll be the first to concede that it suffers from poor pacing. Whenever I recommend someone play it, I always feel the need to set expectations: “Don’t worry, it gets real good after about two hours.” Two hours is a long time, and though I’m certain Creative Assembly fully intended for the opening to be a slow burn, it went just a bit too far (and many folks reckon the latter portions drag on too).

With the sequel, we need something to really hook us right from the start. Perhaps you could open with a prologue sequence in which an unnamed playable character falls foul of the Xenomorph – just something to get the pulse racing, y’know?

Setting the right tone and pacing will prove a tough balancing act, and I don’t envy the developers one bit. It needs a little bit more momentum than the original, but if you stray too far in the opposite direction, you end up with something that’s more Aliens than Alien. Not a bad thing necessarily, but that’s not what Isolation is.

#5 – Sack the Working Joes

In addition to the Xenomorph and human enemies, Isolation also plays host to an unreasonable amount of Working Joes, synthetics that, thanks to budgetary restraints, don’t exhibit the same human-like characteristics as Ash or Bishop.

But while the Working Joes were certainly creepy at first, they outstayed their welcome, and there’s a section toward the end which threatens to veer into straight-up action territory, given how many of the blighters you need to fend off.

I’m not saying get rid of all of them, then, but just show a bit more restraint. If utilised right, they could be a terrifying, formidable enemy; they just cropped up far too often in Isolation, ultimately becoming a frustration.

#6 – A Bit More Polish

The environments in Isolation remain absolutely stunning, even on the humble Switch. Granted, I think the heavy noise filter hides a few blemishes, but whatever – it’s gorgeous.

However, a few things break immersion: the ladder-climbing animation is janky and weird; the human NPCs lack realism, particularly in their facial animation; and although the crafting system is simple, its UI needs refining, as it never quite felt intuitive enough.

These are just a few of the minor grievances I have with the original, but they all add up. Creative Assembly would be wise to ensure the sequel is even more polished, and I can only hope the team is afforded the budget it needs to deliver on its vision.

What do you think the folks over at Creative Assembly need to do to improve upon Alien: Isolation? Let us know with a comment.

Hello chums, and welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl!

Last week, we checked out Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box for the Nintendo DS. It was a surprisingly close race, but in the end, Europe managed to take the win with 41% of the vote. Japan claimed second place with 31%, and North America trailed with 28%. Well done, Europe!

This week, as we inch toward the launch of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, we thought we’d go back to one of the dino’s more obscure titles for the GBA: Yoshi’s Universal Gravitation, or Yoshi Topsy-Turvy in the US.

Originally launched in 2004 in Japan before moving West in 2005, Universal Gravitation utilised a built-in sensor to tilt the game’s environment. It received some middling reviews at the time, but you have to commend the originality. We also have a proper three-way brawl this week, so let’s get to it.

Europe

Europe’s approach is probably the more action-packed of the bunch, featuring Yoshi and a whole bunch of bad guys careening down a slope. Even Bowser’s joining in the fun!

It’s a colourful piece, and we just can’t get over the game’s title: Yoshi’s Universal Gravitation. How cool!

North America

What’s the deal, America? Yoshi Topsy-Turvy? Come on, we all know that just doesn’t sound as good as Yoshi’s Universal Gravitation. Anyway… This design takes on a more abstract approach, with the enemies featured in the European background relegated to an arrow at the bottom.

We like the texture used for the background though. That’s nice.

Japan

Japan’s design is actually quite similar to North America’s, utilising a similar colour scheme. Naturally, it’s using the region’s landscape boxes to great effect, adding in more character artwork to fill the scene. Bowser, for example, is back – well, sort of.

Also, look how they integrated Yoshi into the actual title text. Adorable!

Thank you for voting! We’ll see you next week for another edition of Box Art Brawl!

Digimon Story Time Stranger is on its way to the Switch 1 & 2 this July and Bandai Namco has now updated the official game site with the Switch specifications.

As previously confirmed, the Switch 2 version of the title will offer “quality” and “performance” modes. Here’s how the Switch version compares (via the Digimon Story Time Stranger website):

Nintendo Switch version

• TV mode resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Handheld mode resolution: 1280 x 720

• Frame rate: “Up to” 30fps across both modes
• 4K compatible: No
• HDR compatible: No

Nintendo Switch 2 version

Quality Mode

• TV mode resolution: 3840×2160
  
• Handheld mode resolution: 1920 x 1080

• Frame rate: “Up to” 30fps across both modes
• 4K Compatible: Yes
• HDR compatible: Yes

Performance Mode

• TV mode resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Handheld mode resolution: 1920 x 1080

• Frame rate: “Up to” 60fps across both modes
• 4K Compatible: No
• HDR compatible: No

As previously mentioned, Digimon Story Time Stranger will also offer an upgrade for Switch owners, similar to the one available for Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! ZERO.

If you boot up the Switch version of the title on the Switch 2, you’ll be able to download a free update that will give you graphical improvements, which are the equivalent of the Switch 2 version. Here’s the rundown:

“When playing the Nintendo Switch version of Digimon Story Time Stranger on the Nintendo Switch 2 version…Graphics will be improved to the equivalent of the Nintendo Switch 2 version after downloading the update data.”

In case you missed it, Digimon Story Time Stranger will also be getting a major DLC update in 2027. Find out more in our previous story:

Will you be getting this game on the Switch or Switch 2? Have you already played it? Let us know in the comments.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is already 2026’s biggest box office hit. It’s also helped Mario’s movies surpass a total of $2 billion at the global box office.

Unsurprisingly, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto is overjoyed and has now thanked fans in a special video message via the Nintendo Today! mobile app.

In the same message, he encourages fans to revisit Mario’s video game history as the series continues its 40th anniversary celebrations. Here’s exactly what he had to say:

Thank you so much for watching The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Even though the movie is called The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, I’m sure you saw that we packed it full of material from 40 years of making games with Mario.

I hope some of the references to our games reminded you of fond memories you have playing them.

We’d love it if you felt excited to return to those games and play them again.

In the meantime, please look forward to more content featuring Mario from us in the future.

Here we go!

Shigeru Miyamoto

The Mario Galaxy Movie contains references to Mario’s past and present video games, and even has characters from other Nintendo series.

You can find out what you might have missed in the Mario movie in our previous coverage here on Nintendo Life. If you want to relive Mario’s history, Nintendo’s eShop and Switch Online subscription service offer a whole library of Mario-themed titles.

This message from Miyamoto follows some comments he recently made about the movie’s critical reception, describing it as “truly baffling”. He also made some comments about Peach’s backstory in the new movie.

Have you seen the Mario Galaxy Movie yet? Did you end up revisiting any of Mario’s games after watching it? What did you think about Mario’s 40th anniversary celebrations? Let us know in the comments.

Final Fantasy XIV Online is on its way to the Switch 2 this August, and if you’re wondering how it will perform on Nintendo’s new hybrid system, director Naoki Yoshida (aka Yoshi-P) has shared some information.

Speaking during a press conference at Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival 2026, director Yoshida confirmed the game is “able to reach 30 frames per second in a stable state” on Switch 2 hardware.

He added to this, stating the development team is “working really hard” on optimisation and is “striving to get the best performance”. However, players may see frame rate drops in “certain areas” of the game, such as towns, “because there are so many players that are rendered on the screen”.

Overall, though, performance “considering Duty content” is apparently an aspect of the game players “don’t have to be concerned about” on Switch 2.

Of course, fans will be able to see the title’s performance first-hand when it launches on Switch 2 this August. Square Enix will also offer a one-month free period for early access, allowing players to test the experience before committing to the popular MMORPG on this particular platform.

What are your thoughts about 30fps? Would you like to see more performance and graphics options for a Switch 2 release like this? Let us know in the comments.

After 40 years and 21 mainline games (counting the multiplayer ones, discounting remakes and remasters), we like to think that we’ve got a pretty good grasp on the Zelda formula by now. Sure, there’s every chance that the series will have a ‘Breath of the Wild moment’ again somewhere down the line, but for the most part, we know what we’re looking for in our Zelda games.

If we had to make a list of the important elements, dungeons, bosses, puzzles, and an expansive overworld would all make an appearance would all go on there, but would ‘Story’ make the cut? All Zelda games have had a story, of course, varying from ‘Hero is found’ and ‘Hero defeats evil’ to more intricate narratives, but are they integral to your enjoyment? They’re nice to have around, for sure, but do any of us play these games for the plot?

It’s a topic that we were discussing at Nintendo Life Towers this week, and, naturally, it brought up the question of how much we care about Zelda stories in the first place. We’ve each shared our thoughts below, but we’ve also added a poll so you can have your say, too. Are you a story stalwart or a narrative nay-sayer? Let’s find out!

Jim Norman, Features Editor

I love a bit of Zelda lore, and while I can’t say that I have given it too much thought before, I think I do play the games for the story at this point. To be clear, I’m not expecting some grand narrative that’s going to blow my socks off, but anything (and I mean anything) that links back to the wider series or expands a character in some meaningful way is enough to get a big old grin from me.

Of course, very few Zelda games have historically given all that much time to the story, and that’s okay — a lack of direct sequels will do that — but gosh, do you remember the run-up to Tears of the Kingdom and all of that discussion about timeline theories, the Zonai, and mysterious characters? Man, I was in my element back then!

Even putting the timeline aside for a moment and thinking about individual stories, yep, I’m still on board. I was genuinely interested in what was happening to Hyrule in Echoes of Wisdom, what Lorule was and how it came to be kept me hooked throughout A Link Between Worlds, and, casting the net a little further, I’m not afraid to admit that I shed a tear at the end of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.

So yes, keep up with the Zelda stories, please, Nintendo. In fact, give me more!

Ollie Reynolds, Reviews Editor

I do enjoy a good Zelda story, but one that merely gets me from beginning to end, you know? I genuinely couldn’t care less about how each title fits into the wider timeline. Take Wind Waker, for example. When Aryll was abducted from Outset Island and you set off to rescue her with a bunch of low-life pirates, you better believe I was hella invested.

If you ask me what I think about how the events from Ocarina of Time directly affect Wind Waker, however, I’d just look at you like you’ve barged into my home and raided my fridge. It’s all meaningless to me. And you know what? I think it’s pretty meaningless to Nintendo, too.

I much prefer the smaller narrative beats in a Zelda game: the people you meet, the environmental storytelling, the side-quests. Just tell a good, engaging story that’ll see me to the end credits, and I’m happy.

Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor

I’m going to preface this and say that I appreciate that later Zelda games have a ‘story’, even as basic as ‘save the princess’. I like Tears of the Kingdom’s story! It’s not revolutionary at all, nor does it need to be, but it actually has something going for it, which is more than Breath of the Wild does.

But, ultimately, I don’t really care. I’m not playing a Zelda game for the story at all. I think a hook is necessary, so don’t just drop me in a world and do nothing with it. But like with basically every single Nintendo franchise — Mario, Metroid, Donkey Kong, Kirby (anything but Xenoblade or an RPG) — I don’t care about the story.

Of course, I love a good story in a video game. But it just isn’t crucial in many of these games. I live for the emotional moments, sure, and Majora’s Mask is a shining example of this. But when people start trying to join the dots in the overall narrative for every single game, I zone out. I would rather enjoy the game for what it is — good writing is more important than a good story, even in a Zelda game.

Gavin Lane, Editor

I recall TOTK’s launch and Alana setting off on her guide campaign the day it came out. A brand-new Zelda is a rare occurrence and some NL staff were avoiding any information whatsoever. As editor, I was giving guides the once-over before them going live, so I knew all the Tears memory details and boss battles well before I saw them for myself. And I remember thinking how little I cared about spoilers for it.

Three years on, I still haven’t finished TOTK because, to me, that’s really not the point. I couldn’t give less of a monkeys about the Imprisoning War or if Ganon’s the baddie (shocker) or if Zelda does this or that. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy character moments or specific scenarios. The little interludes with Saria and Epona at Lon Lon and Princess Ruto and the Deku Tree and so many more are treasured Ocarina memories. I care about the characters, just not the lore.

Another example: I adore Majora’s Mask and its many slice-of-life vignettes. I love the tone of Skull Kid’s loneliness, the individual characters’ tales, and the impact of that lone tree in the glade as I approached the endgame. But the hows and whys of Termina’s plummeting moon and the slumbering giants’ backstory? *shrugs* I suppose I don’t much care for the legend of Zelda; that’s all just a framework to hang the adventure, the canvas to paint.

The closest I’ve come to genuinely caring about a Zelda story is Wind Waker, and that’s down to the pathos of Ganondorf’s ending, plus the intrigue of another Hyrule beneath the waves. Each to their own, timelines and historias aren’t my bag. Give me a floppy green cap and a sword and just point me in the direction of Hyrule Field. I’ll take a horse with a funny name if you’ve got one, too.

That’s what we think, but what about you? Let us know which side of the debate you fall on in the following polls, then take to the comments to dive even deeper.