Full Void, a narrative platforming puzzle game from London indie studio OutOfTheBit Ltd, wears its love of cinematic platformer classics on its sleeve. Bringing along core gameplay ideas from early entries in the genre, it mixes in some modern influences and introduces a few new ideas of its own.
You play as a hoody-up teen on the run, lugging a backpack with a computer in it as you trek through desolate cityscapes in knee-patched jeans. You are hunted by evil robot monsters, tracking you down with their menacing stop-light eyes and scuttling about on spidery legs. As atmospheric as it is, quite why this is happening takes a while to become clear. Nonetheless, the threat of your pursuers feels real and lends significance to the companionship of a small robot helper you encounter later in the game. Flashback cutscenes suggest this robot was developed by your mother before things went bad, bringing a satisfying element of vengeance to the story.
The main gameplay influence is clearly 1991’s Another World from Delphine Software. Full Void’s very first scene is a clear and direct homage that ’90s gamers will love – a close replica of Another World’s opening moments, when Lester stumbles onto the scene and must escape a pursuing black beast. Just like that older game, Full Void’s characters move on a grid, allowing detailed, lifelike animations to play out between each step, at the expense of responsiveness of controls. This gives a sense of rhythm and structure to the gameplay that suits both the non-stop jeopardy of some segments and the logical thinking needed to navigate others. The game also borrows the trial-and-error gameplay of learning how to pass different scenes by failing at them first, then repeating until you can pull off the required manoeuvres. Thankfully, checkpoint spacing is more modern, which is one factor that keeps the playtime down to two or three hours, but makes it much more fun.
Another World’s influences continue in other ways: sections navigating tight crawl spaces, incidental cutaways to show close-up actions, and the aid of a sympathetic turncoat who can match the enemy in ways you can’t. However, it also becomes reminiscent of Inside as its story progresses into strange laboratories and brief stealth segments. Meanwhile, Full Void’s biggest distinguishing gameplay feature comes in its hacking sections. Plugging your computer into certain terminals throughout the game allows you to control elements of the environment or your robot friend. Entering a series of commands and hitting play to see things move is a lot of fun, and makes great use of the game’s inherent grid structure by overlaying a green matrix to navigate by.
With such a tight run time, Full Void’s ideas don’t have time to wear thin, but neither do they have chance to develop much depth. As a modern game, it’s far more player-friendly than Another World, its main inspiration, and looks and sounds fantastic. It also brings fresh ideas to the table, rather than simply retreading the old for the sake of nostalgia. However, it lacks a compelling narrative arc, which could have made it feel truly cinematic.
Update [Sat 16th Sep, 2023 12:00 BST]: Level-5 has now released these trailers for the new Fantasy Life game, the new Inazuma Eleven, and also DECAPOLICE. You can see them all below:
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time – 1st Trailer
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time arrives on Switch in 2023.
Here’s a 4-minute look at this upcoming release. The next lot of information along with a playable version will be at the Tokyo Game Show 2023.
Original article [Sat 16th Sep, 2023 04:30 BST]: Level-5 fans are in for a treat later today with the Japanese company releasing multiple game trailers for various upcoming Switch titles.
“New PVs for “Inazuma Eleven,” “Dekapolis,” and “Fantasy Life i” will be released tomorrow, September 16th (Sat) at 8pm!”
Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any mention of Professor Layton and the New World of Steam, which was announced earlier this year for the Nintendo Switch. Last we heard, there’s no release date on this one just yet and it’s still in the early stages of development. You can learn more about it in our guide:
Interested in any of these upcoming Switch titles from Level-5? Comment below.
After a packed Direct, are you ready for a big weekend of gaming? We sure are! Welcome back to another edition of What Are You Playing. Before we dive into our Switch plans, let’s take a look at the highlights from this week on Nintendo Life.
Elsewhere, it was rumours ahoy as we heard the latest gossip about the ‘Switch 2‘ and took a look at some joystick patents that might signal the end of drift — our fingers are crossed…
Now, let’s have a look at what we’re all planning on playing this weekend, shall we?
Jim Norman, Staff Writer
It’s my birthday this weekend so I don’t know that I will actually have all that much time for gaming — unless you count pass the parcel, in which case, I will be doing a lot of gaming.
That being said, I would really, really like to get another chunk of Sea of Stars under my belt. I am just having the best time with it and I feel like it’s going to be one of those that takes a good few weeks to get over once I’ve wrapped it up.
I’ll be finishing up Sea of Stars – around 30 hours into it – and wow, it is just a fantastic game. It keeps having fantastic twists and turns, and I can’t wait to see what’s at the end of the road. Oh, I’m probably also gonna hit up some more races in F-Zero 99 because, MAN, that game has no right to be as fun as it is!
Austin Voigt, Contributor
Whenever there are announcements about certain IPs, the excitement always makes me want to go play all of the other games in the series, no matter how old or outdated, just to sate my cravings. After yesterday’s Nintendo Direct, I’ll likely crack open all of my Splatoon, Luigi’s Mansion, and Paper Mario games just for the heck of it, not only on Switch but probably on the old Wii U and Cube of Game, as well.
I’m also still playing through all of my hundreds of StreetPasses from PAX West, because I refuse to let any of those minigames go to waste… being a completionist is a heavy burden. Send good vibes — and all the snacks.
Alana Hagues, Deputy Editor
It’s demos, demos, demos this weekend for me! Star Ocean: The Second Story R‘s demo is a delightful slice of nostalgia for me — it looks absolutely beautiful on Switch and runs like a dream, too. And Dave The Diver is a title I’ve been meaning to check out since it got rave reviews on Steam earlier in the year.
For Switch, my main aim is to check off the last few bits in The Teal Mask so that’s out of the way. Otherwise, my time will be spent on the PS5 playing through Baldur’s Gate 3 with my partner. What an overwhelming game that is — I can’t wait for it all to click into place, because I sense there’s something pretty special about this one.
Do your weekend gaming plans match any of ours? Drop the game that you will be maining in the poll above and then take to the comments to let us know what else you have on the cards.
During the latest Nintendo Direct broadcast in Japan, Hatsune Miku fans got another look at her upcoming Fitness Boxing Switch game. It’s scheduled to arrive in this region on 7th March 2024. There’s no word on localisation at this point in time.
Here are some additional screenshots from Nintendo’s official website:
Original article [Fri 1st Sep, 2023 04:00 BST]:
Following the news earlier this week that the original Fitness Boxing would be removed from the UK eShop, developer Imagineer has now announced a brand new Switch game featuring the superstar virtual idol Hatsune Miku.
Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune MikuIsshoni Exercise is launching in Spring 2024 in Japan and will allow players to enjoy boxing exercises under the guidance of the famous idol. Hatsune Miku’s tracks will also feature in the game including her “main theme song by cosMo@bousouP”.
You can see a brief teaser in the video above. There’s no mention of a localisation, but a Fitness Boxing spin-off based on the manga series Fist of the North Star was released on Switch in Europe and America last year, so there might be a chance.
Would you be interested in a Fitness Boxing workout with the virtual idol Hatsune Miku? Tell us below.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is arriving on the Nintendo Switch next month. If you’re still searching around for a physical deal and happen to be located in the US, you might want to check out Target’s offer.
If you purchase the game from this retailer for $59.99 USD, you’ll receive an exclusive Super Mario Bros. Wonder Shadowbox Collectible. This item will be available in stores only and is available in limited supply – so get in while you can. Here’s a look:
In case you’re wondering, a shadowbox is a glass-enclosed display case featuring a piece of artwork or something similar . If this doesn’t interest you, there are plenty of other pre-order deals available in the US. You can check them out in our Nintendo Life guide which also covers deals in the UK.
What do you think of this Super Mario Bros. Wonder Target exclusive? Comment below.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been an absolutely huge part of Nintendo’s software and hardware success in 2023, and this trend continued in the month of August in the US.
As highlighted by Circana (via video game industry analyst Mat Piscatella), Tears of the Kingdom actually moved up a spot in the “top 20 best-selling premium games” for August 2023, going from seventh to sixth place.
Madden NFL 24 debuted in the top spot, with FromSoftare’s new Armored Core game just below this and Remnant II in third place. Apart from Zelda, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe also managed to crack the top 10 in the charts, and Pikmin 4 dropped from sixth to 11th place in August.
It’s worth noting the digital sales of the Nintendo titles are not factored in, so they could be a lot more popular than this chart suggests. As we get closer to the holiday period, Tears of the Kingdom is likely to continue to sell incredibly well in the US.
As for hardware, sales fell by 13% year over year to $328 million and the Switch had a bit of a slump itself during August:
Mat Piscatella: “Video game hardware spending fell 13% when compared to a year ago, to $328 million. PlayStation 5 dollar sales fell by a single-digit percentage in the month when compared to a year ago, while both Switch and Xbox Series declined by a double-digit percentage…PlayStation 5 was the best-selling hardware platform in both unit and dollar sales during August 2023, with Xbox Series ranking 2nd across both measures.”
Did you buy any Nintendo games or hardware last month? Let us know in the comments.
The official “status update” on Chapter 3 is the team is currently hard at work on it and the chapter is now “playable from beginning to end”. Unfortunately, it’s not quite finished just yet, but they are slowly getting there:
Toby Fox: “Can’t say it’s finished yet, but the unfinished parts are certainly seeming less and less numerous. That’s good because try as I might to sleep, until the game is finished, I’ll see nothing but nightmares…”
Toby also went into some detail about a “stealth-focused section in the game” that apparently didn’t make the cut. The song that was going to be used for this part has also been shared online if you want to have a listen.
“Earlier, we were considering having a stealth-focused section in the game where you would slowly, slowly sneak around certain areas. After developing some concepts, we realized a mechanic which basically just makes you move slower isn’t necessarily fun.”
Last but not least, Undertale is now officially eight years old! Toby says he doesn’t have “much energy for a wild and crazy event this year”, so apart from this newsletter update, there’s nothing special happening. You can check out some “sleepy-themed goods” on Fangamer like the new Toriel slippers. Undertale has also been available on the Switch eShop since 2018.
So, there you go then – Deltarune Chapter 3 is getting there and it is now playable from start to finish, with a release hopefully on the horizon.
Will you be playing this next chapter when it shows up on Switch? Have you played the previous chapters and Undertale? Tell us in the comments.
Nintendo’s latest entry in its Nintendo Switch Online-exclusive Battle-Royale-style series — which includes Tetris 99, the dearly departed Super Mario Bros. 35, and the soon-to-be dearly departedPAC-MAN 99 — returns a fan-favourite racer to a Nintendo console for the first entry since 2004’s Japan-only F-Zero Climax.
F-Zero 99 takes all the high-octane Formula-Zero action of the original SNES game and adds online multiplayer with up to 99 players battling it out across a variety of racing modes. It’s an addictive and complex game, and you’ll need all your wits about you if you want to climb the ranks and make it to the podium.
It’s a tough game, though, especially if you’re not familiar with the original. In this F-Zero 99 guide, we’ll cover some basic advice to help you get to grips with the vehicles, including tips and tricks, how to corner successfully, how to use your Super Boost and the all-new Skyway effectively, and more.
Ready…
F-ZERO 99 Guide – Tips & Tricks
In this guide, we’ve split the tips into Beginner and Advanced sections. All the information may be useful, but if you’re an F-Zero veteran you may want to skip to the Advanced section.
First things first, though.
Which ship should I pick?
Personally, we think Wild Goose is a good early-game vehicle, but you’ll want to use the Practice mode and try out each one to find your own personal favourite.
All the ships come with familiar plus points and caveats — here’s a rundown of the basics:
Blue Falcon
A good starter, a classic all-rounder:
Image: Nintendo Life
Golden Fox
Has good acceleration and more Boost potential at the expense of grip:
Image: Nintendo Life
Wild Goose
A damage sponge that can take more of a beating than the others. Slower acceleration but increased grip:
Image: Nintendo Life
Fire Stingray
Has the fastest top speed and best cornering of all the machines, if you’re skillful enough to stay at max speed. One for the pros:
Image: Nintendo Life
Beginner’s Tips
Here we’ll lay out some general F-Zero 99 tips useful to pilots both new and rusty.
Use the Practice mode to learn the courses!
Seems obvious, but if you’re not familiar with the circuits, use the Practice mode and get familiar with them!
Get a starting Boost
Not like this — Image: Nintendo Life
Press ‘B’ to accelerate just before GO appears at the start of the race and, yep, you got boost power.
Sorry, that’ll make zero sense to series newbies, but, ahem, F-Zero sense to veterans.
Oof, on with the tips!
Slow down on the recharge strip
If your Power Meter is low, there’s nothing to stop you slowing down in the Pit Area if you need some more juice for the next lap. Better to be safe than sorry.
Image: Nintendo
Slow down in general!
Of course you want to get around the track as fast as possible, but with 98 other pilots crowding the track, don’t be afraid to slow down a little and let the pack thin itself out.
Hanging behind the leaders also means you can collect more Super Sparks (the yellow orbs) that drop when machines collide, which you can use to ascend to the Skyway — more on that later.
Slowing down will also, naturally, make cornering much easier.
Try tapping the accelerator around the bends
If you don’t want to use the brake (pah!), try tapping the accelerator as you take a corner — it’ll give you better traction on the bends.
The game itself recommends releasing the ‘B’ button entirely when you corner.
Use the Speed Boost on the straights…
Image: Nintendo
Knowing when best to use a regular Speed Boost (‘A’) can be tough, and experienced drivers will be able to deploy it successfully at almost any time.
However, if you’re starting out it’s best to stick to the straights so you don’t go ricocheting off the barriers, completely wasting your boost and, likely, heading to early retirement.
…or to ‘shortcut’ over rough patches
On some tracks (Mute City 1, for example), you’ll quickly notice people boosting over the slow-down ‘gravel’ patches. You should probably do that, too.
Collect the Super Sparks
Those yellow orbs (Super Sparks) are the key to filling your Super Boost meter and ascending (temporarily) to the Skyway track above the main circuit. Make sure you collect any along your path.
Bump the big golden car for more Super Sparks!
That big shiny gold bumper car that appears periodically? Bump into it for a bunch of Super Sparks and fill your Super Boost Meter quicker.
Don’t forget your Spin Attack
Tapping ‘ZL’ or ‘ZR’ sends your vehicle into a brief spin. Hitting other racers using this Spin Attack will take a chunk off their Power Meter and potentially lead to a KO if their energy is low enough. Spin Attacks operate only after a short cooldown, so watch for the meter to fill up (or listen for the audio cue that signals it’s ready).
Spin Attacks can also be used as a defensive measure to ward off marauding racers and give them a taste of their own medicine.
Image: Nintendo
Spin Attacks recharge instantly after hitting a jump ramp
If you’re approaching a Jump Plate and your Spin Attack is charged, you may as well hit ‘ZR’ or ‘ZL’ before the ramp as it’ll instantly top up your Spin Attack meter when you hit it. You just might get a sneaky hit in.
Advanced Tips
Here we outline a few slightly more advanced tips and strategies you’ll need to employ if you want a chance at a podium finish.
Use the Skyway strategically
Look for opportunities to avoid tricky sections of the track by boosting to the Skyway at a strategic time.
For example, there’s a particular 180-degree turn in Sand Ocean that’s always a total pile-up. Even if you’re the world’s finest pilot and negotiate the corner perfectly, you’re guaranteed to take multiple hits that slow you down regardless. Saving the Super Boost for this section has seen us jump dozens of positions in a matter of seconds.
Tight turning, drifts, and slides
Hold down ‘L’ or ‘R’ to drift on those 180-degree bends. This activates a slide that you can also use on the straights to make minor adjustments to your racing line.
KOs come with multiple benefits, so DRIVE DIRTY
Image: Nintendo
Knocking out another pilot does several things, all of them good (for you).
KOs instantly refill your Power Meter, extend your Power Meter, AND give you bonus points at the end of the race. If you’re racing in a Grand Prix, the Max Power remains for the following race, meaning more boost energy and/or more resilience to collisions.
A strong offence really is the best defence, so watch out for flashing racers and show no mercy.
Watch for the orange arrow
Image: Nintendo
Keep an eye on the little arrow at the bottom of the screen indicating if someone’s coming up behind you. Granted, this can be a challenge when the track is crowded, but it can be a lifesaver if you’re low on Power and some chancer gives you a rear-end shunt. Use the Spin to repel the blaggards.
Slow and steady doesn’t win the race…but it might win the championship!
Remember that when it comes to the Grand Prix, crashing out on the third lap because you over-boosted or got overly competitive with a Rival will kill your championship run. Obviously, you want to be the fastest thing alive, but sometimes you’ve got to play the long game.
Try to remember the bigger picture when you’re chasing that podium place in individual races: Is it worth risking it all now? Perhaps it is, and if you’re a good enough racer, this advice will become less relevant over time. But the bright spark that burned out in Race 2, Lap 3 isn’t getting any of the glory — or the points.
FAQ
How do Rivals work?
You’re given four Rivals to beat per race. Simply, these are random players that happen to be near your skill rating. Beat them in the race and you’ll increase your rating, lose against them and you’ll slide back.
Do these ship customisations and badges affect anything?
Image: Nintendo Life
Only how cool you look. All the unlockable customisation options (Colors, Decals, Boosts, Badges, etc) are purely cosmetic, so head to the Workshop and go wild.
Will F-ZERO 99 be removed from Nintendo Switch Online?
We hope not! But as we’ve seen, Nintendo isn’t averse to removing even its big-name Super Mario Battle Royale from the service, so we certainly wouldn’t get too attached to this one.
If there’s a sliver of hope that this won’t be retired after a year or two, it’s that F-Zero 99 was an internally developed, cross-company project with Nintendo Software Technology heading up development (as evidenced in the credits, which you can watch at any time from the Options menu). Conversely, development on all the previous entries in this loose series was primarily handled by external company Arika.
Whether the fact it was developed internally makes any difference, only Nintendo can say. You might argue that Tetris 99’s continued survival is down to its function as a marketing tool which periodically hosts tie-in events to new releases. F-Zero doesn’t have that brand of cross-promotional potential, perhaps, but let’s all cross our fingers that Nintendo sees fit to keep this one alive for a long time to come.
Hopefully you’ve found this F-Zero 99 starter guide useful. If only we could have come up with 99 tips and tricks, eh!? We’ll no doubt be updating this guide as we play more of the game. Let us know below if you’ve got any to bolster the pack.
If you’re hoping to find where you can pre-order the game for the best price, we’ve got you covered. We’ll be keeping track of all retail options for you on this page, highlighting the best deals and cheapest prices available as and when they appear. Enjoy!
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
Pre-Order Princess Peach: Showtime! In The US & Canada
Here are your current options in the US and Canada (we’ll add more links as and when they appear):
Pre-Order Princess Peach: Showtime! In The UK
There aren’t many options in the UK yet, but you can secure an order with Nintendo’s official store or GAME now:
Buy Princess Peach: Showtime! With eShop Credit
If you’d rather own the game digitally, you can also pre-order it from the Nintendo Switch eShop. We stock Nintendo Switch eShop credit vouchers at our very own store – if you’d like to top up your account and support our work here at Nintendo Life at the same time, you can buy some below:
Are you looking forward to playing a new game starring our favourite gaming princess? Let us know if you grab a copy with a comment below.
Note: NBA 2K24 does not allow you to take in-game screenshots on Switch. The images throughout this review were taken from the game’s page on Nintendo’s website.
Whenever September rolls around, you can expect a new entry in 2K’s NBA series to bounce onto the court. These games aren’t usually all that revolutionary, with a handful of new features and surprisingly good performance on Switch giving them enough to get by. We expected the same from NBA 2K24, but having got to grips with the latest title, the rinse-and-repeat formula is beginning to show its age, and purchasing the series annually has never been a less attractive prospect.
It is usually the case that each new title can be summed up by, “It’s the same as last year’s, only X has been added and Y has been tweaked”, but the Switch version of NBA 2K24 notably has fewer options than its predecessor.
So, what features make up the roster this time around? Those who have played an NBA 2K title before will find no major surprises here. MyCareer, MyTeam, and MyLeague are still your main ways to play, with the new ‘Mamba Moments’ subbing into the slot occupied by last year’s brilliant ‘Jordan Challenge’. 2K24’s next-gen release brought a whole batch of new features to the table (Crossplay, ProPlay, The W, MyNBA), but with none of them making the cut on Switch, this version feels more watered-down than usual.
Let’s look at what the Switch does offer. Beginning with the newbie, Mamba Moments sees you playing through seven iconic games from Kobe Bryant’s 20-year career, replicating historic plays in an attempt to collect stars and ‘beat’ the game mode. If this sounds like last year’s Jordan Challenge, that’s because it is, but while last year’s new mode was presented as a history lesson for MJ’s career — complete with changing TV graphics and CRT filters — Mamba Moments instead becomes quickly repetitive. This isn’t a celebration of Kobe’s legendary performances but rather a whistle-stop tour of some of his accolades (the omission of his 81-point game in 2006 is baffling to us). A short piece of footage from the games themselves prior to each tip-off provides a nice bit of context, but this feels like a step back from what we have seen before.
Similarly disappointing is the MyCareer mode — which is usually one of our favourites. Much like NBA 2K23, the Switch misses out on the next-gen consoles’ new expansive hub world, ‘The City’ — where players can buy new gear, play streetball or simply strut their stuff — and instead has to settle for the much smaller ‘The Neighborhood’. The mode is still very much built on a pay-to-win structure, with player upgrades and gear dependent on 2K’s in-game currency (VC), which otherwise relies on a silly amount of grinding to catch up with others that walk the courts.
All of this is expected, of course, but what we had not foreseen was that the Switch would miss out on the MyCareer story mode this year — something that has been continued on Sony and Microsoft’s consoles. Instead of watching your player make their way into the league and gradually accumulate minutes and respect (as was the case in 2K23 on Switch), the Nintendo version of ’24 sees you dropped straight into a starting role with a 60 overall rating. With no cutscenes, action, or character growth, our designed player felt about as realistic as the handful of NPCs that coldly throw challenges at you as you walk around The Neighborhood.
Fortunately, MyTeam once again proves itself to be the standout mode. There have been a couple of new additions for 2K24 including an all-new player market and salary cap. The latter of these is a fun way to make things feel that bit more realistic (worry not, 2K23’s decision to remove player contracts has continued into this year) but the new way to buy cards is the real MVP, making it a good amount easier to add some star power to your team in the early days — we are particular fans of the new collections and ‘Deal of the Day’ features.
The control scheme has stayed pretty much the same as it was in NBA 2K23, with a clear shot meter making it easier to land a perfect release. Elsewhere, the mildly frustrating alley-oop commands make a return, though the dunk and lay-up animations look crisp and realistic amongst the otherwise less-detailed player visuals.
Sticking with the on-court action, 2K24 is once again surprisingly smooth on Switch. Of course, the visuals are nothing compared to what you can find on more powerful consoles (good luck identifying any key players as they get back on defence), but the bread and butter of the gameplay is nicely responsive, with the quality sticking pretty firmly at 30 FPS by our estimation in games.
What we see outside of the games themselves isn’t quite as polished, sadly. From the stuttering opening cutscene (a montage of Bryant’s best bits) to the minuscule text of the in-game menus, getting yourself into a game is more draining than the act of playing itself. This isn’t helped by long load times and server issues that make the simple act of switching between game modes comparable to trying to win a Championship Ring. There were several occasions during our playtime where the game required a manual restart from the Switch’s home menu, and one fix that saw us needing to delete and reinstall the game just to get past the initial loading screen — hardly ideal scenarios to play in.
Conclusion
NBA 2K24 is less a continuation of what made the series good on Switch and more a downgrade of what has come before it. Even with how smoothly this one plays on the console, with some clean animations and a sprinkling of improvements to MyTeam being the real MVPs, all of this is overshadowed by just how watered-down this year’s entry feels. With none of the new game modes making the jump to Switch apart from the disappointing Mamba Moments, a severely lessened MyCareer and a model that continues to be plagued by microtransactions and long load times, the 2K franchise on Switch has never needed more of a boost. If you are after a basketball game on the go, last year’s offering is a much better option.
