Category: Nintendo News

Even if we overlook the limited launch Pokémon, the swathe of bugs, and the strange monetisation, Pokémon Champions still had more issues up its sleeve — talk about a dramatic launch, eh?

Those playing in Docked Mode on Switch 2 might have noticed that the latest battler looked… a bit naff. Up on the TV, the game still doesn’t hit the promised 4K resolution, with the stretched image looking all the worse as a consequence. Thankfully, there is a fix, but it relies on (you guessed it) another bug.

As spotted by Serebii‘s Joe Merrick, you can encourage Champions to improve its docked resolution by starting the game up on the big screen, removing your Switch 2 from the dock, and then reinserting it again. Just like that, the game gets the kick up the backside it needs and pushes things up to a native 3840x2160p. Hardly the neatest solution, but hey, whatever works!

Matthew Reynolds over at One More Catch reached out to Digital Foundry‘s Tom Morgan for a comment on this bug and received the following:

It’s true, Pokemon Champions runs natively at 1920×1080 when booting Switch 2 in docked mode. All signs point to a bug that has the game run in a ‘portable state’ even when connected to a TV. The problem is made more egregious by the lack of aliasing treatment to the image overall – meaning its rough, jagged edges are scaled from 1080p to 4K to disastrous results. The fix works well, of course – lifting and re-docking your Switch 2 gives the system the necessary trigger to flip to native 3840×2160 – but still it’s an issue that needs attending to.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, this was apparently the first time that Tom had seen such a quirk from the Unity Engine, though he recalled that PAYDAY 2 had a similar, but opposite, issue on its Switch 2 launch, where portable play was accidentally boosted up to docked resolution.

It’s a slight resolution bump, admittedly, but we’ve included One More Catch’s before and after Pokémon Champions footage at the bottom of this article, so you can see the game as it was meant to be played.

The Champions devs have already announced that they are working on the game’s first bug-squashing patch, though the resolution quirk was not one of the issues they specifically mentioned they are targeting. We’ll wait and see what other tweaks come to Champions in the coming months because, at launch, it has a long way to go.

Will you be trying out this Champions resolution fix? Dock and undock your thoughts in the comments below.

If you’re a fan of Toby Fox’s bangers in Undertale, you might be interested to hear these tracks are on the way to Rift of the NecroDancer.

This new “Undertale Music Pack” crossover is now available in the Steam version of this rhythm title, and according to the developer Brace Yourself Games (Crypt of the NecroDancer, Cadence of Hyrule), the Switch version of this paid DLC is on the way.

When it does eventually arrive, fans of Undertale can look forward to six tracks (including the one and only Megalovania), a bonus track, multiple difficulties and various other features. Here’s the rundown via the Steam page:

Featuring SIX new Rhythm Rifts by Toby Fox:

• Hopes and Dreams
• Death by Glamour
• Bergentrückung / Asgore
• Battle Against a True Hero
• Megalovania

As a bonus to celebrate this release, enjoy a free Rhythm Rift:

• Spider Dance

Each UNDERTALE Rhythm Rift features:

• A member of the Rift cast in their favourite UNDERTALE cosplay
• Background visualizer with custom particle FX
• Four Difficulties: Easy, Medium, Hard and Impossible
• Remix Mode: Experience a fresh beatmap your way every playthrough while enjoying the original level’s rhythmic design
• Buying this Music Pack also unlocks custom UNDERTALE items to equip in your Rift Profile!

There are no dogs in this Music Pack, sorry.

Rift of the NecroDancer was originally released on Switch in 2025. We thought it was great, awarding it eight out of ten stars:

Would you be interested in this music pack? Have you played Rift of the NecroDancer yet? Let us know in the comments.

Warhammer has revealed its new game – borrowing the template of the insanely addictive roguelike Vampire Survivors and adding characters, weapons and enemies from its own tabletop universe – will be coming to the Switch 1 and 2 at some point this year.

This new standalone release, officially titled Warhammer Survivors, is developed by Auroch Digital (Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun) in partnership with Warhammer and poncle (the small development studio founded by Vampire Survivors creator Luca Galante). This title will include a roster of playable characters from both the Warhammer 40K and Age of Sigmar universes.

“Thrust into a universe of relentless war, become the embodiment of bullet hell in Warhammer Survivors, a fast-paced roguelite survivors game. Play as characters from the Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar universes, collect and evolve iconic weapons and destroy endless swarms of enemies.”

This follows multiple DLC updates and crossovers for Vampire Survivors including one based on Castlevania. Poncle is also releasing its new spin-off Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors on the Switch later this month.

Would you be interested in this? Let us know in the comments.

Mortal Kombat‘s movie reboot is well underway, with the second film Mortal Kombat II due out in cinemas next month on 8th May 2026.

To build some excitement (and promote the fact that tickets are now on sale) a new trailer for the sequel has today been released. Apart from many new and returning faces, there’s also a major cameo in the trailer… spoiler alert, it’s the Mortal Kombat co-creator and games industry veteran, Ed Boon!

You can see him behind a bar around the one-minute mark, in a scene alongside Johnny Cage (played by ‘The Boys‘ star Karl Urban). Of course, this sequel will also be loaded with various other characters. Here’s the official description about the story and cast:

From New Line Cinema comes the latest high-stakes installment in the blockbuster video game franchise in all its brutal glory, Mortal Kombat II. This time, the fan favorite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.

Karl Urban stars as Johnny Cage, alongside Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, with Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han, and Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion.

In some other Mortal Kombat news this week, NetherRealm Studios yesterday announced the latest video game entry Mortal Kombat 1 has now sold over eight million units worldwide.

Will you be taking a trip to the cinemas to see this new Mortal Kombat movie next month? Have you watched the first movie yet? Let us know in the comments.

Will you be watching the Mortal Kombat II movie? (226 votes)

1. Yes57%
2. No23%
3. I still need to see the first movie19%

At the end of last month, Nintendo released a major update for its Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World – adding Bob-omb Blast to the game’s Battle mode. It also included various adjustments and fixes.

Now, in a new update today, the Mario Kart team has released a smaller update resolves some minor issues. This includes one fix when players would “sometimes” not get a speed boost, and the other patch note says an issue with the game ending when switching between modes with multiple players has now been resolved.

Here’s what you can expect from Version 1.6.1, courtesy of Nintendo’s official support page. If we hear anything else about this latest update for Mario Kart World, we’ll let you know.

Mario Kart World: Ver. 1.6.1 (Released April 9, 2026)

Fixed Issues

• Fixed an issue where you would sometimes not get a speed boost upon landing after starting a rail ride following a Jump Boost or similar action.
• Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes end when switching between TV mode and handheld mode / tabletop mode after starting a game with three or more players in Multiplayer.

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You can find out more about the previous Version 1.6.0 update and see Bob-omb Blast in action in our previous post here on Nintendo Life. This new Battle mode joins Balloon Battle and Coin Runners. And if you haven’t even played Mario Kart World yet, be sure to check our review.

In some other update news this week, Nintendo released a new firmware update for the Switch and Switch 2. It’s also expanded the Switch Online ‘Nintendo Classics’ subscription service this week with three more NES titles.

Have you downloaded this update yet? How are you finding Mario Kart World since the big patch last month? Let us know in the comments.

Nintendo today lifted the lid on Rhythm Heaven Groove’s release date (2nd July, if you missed it), and followed it up by opening pre-orders and revealing the all-important price.

The upcoming rhythm title will set you back £33.99 / $39.99, with pre-orders now live on both the European and North American eShop. For reference, this is a good bit cheaper than many had dreaded it might be, coming in a good chunk lower than the latest Switch 1 release, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, at £49.99 / $59.99.

The other good news is that Groove will receive a physical release to boot. You can pre-order your boxed copy from the North American My Nintendo Store for the same price as its digital counterpart, and just feast your eyes on this box art:

The design is every bit as bright and colourful as we would expect from a Rhythm Heaven, packed with weird little guys that we’re sure we’ll become overly attached to when July rolls around.

Will you be pre-ordering the physical or digital edition of Rhythm Heaven Groove? Let us know in the comments.

This week’s physical games chart from Famitsu are here, and they paint a very familiar picture, though the Switch 2 is busy smashing sales numbers as the console reaches 5 million units sold in Japan.

But first, Pokémon Pokopia is once again the number-one selling physical release of the week. While last week saw a big dip in sales across the board, the drop this week is much smaller, with Game Freak and Omega Force’s collaboration shifting 45,484 copies in the week of 30th March to 5th April 2026.

Other than Crimson Desert, this is Switch and Switch 2 heavy week, even with the lower numbers. Pokopia is comfortably ahead of the rest of the pack, closing in on 1 million physical sales fast, while only two other games managed to sell over 5,000 physical copies.

That honour goes to Mario Kart World, which is back in second place at 8,131, and Minecraft‘s Switch release, with 5,186 copies sold. There are no new releases this week, with Mega Man Star Force: Legacy Collection and Animal Crossing: New Horizons making up the top five.

Here’s the top ten in for the bigger picture:

Position	Game	Platform	Unit Sales (30th Mar – 5th Apr)	Total Unit Sales
1	Pokémon Pokopia	Switch 2	45,484	867,171
2	Mario Kart World	Switch 2	8,131	2,888,474
3	Minecraft	Switch	5,186	4,182,507
4	Mega Man Star Force: Legacy Collection	Switch	4,956	23,194
5	Animal Crossing: New Horizons	Switch	4,710	8,415,833
6	Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection	Switch 2	4,588	58,077
7	Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup at Bellabel Park	Switch 2	4,324	14,482
8	Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen (Download Card)	Switch	4,146	15,292
9	Crimson Desert	PS5	3,812	40,185
10	Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition	Switch 2	3,706	98,786

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If you’re expecting a different story with the hardware charts, well, you won’t find it here. The Switch 2 is once again sitting pretty in the number one spot, selling 59,543 units this week, well ahead of the PlayStation 5 SKUs combined 13,539 units.

But the big news is that the console has now sold over 5 million units in Japan alone, which is an impressive feat. It’s now sitting at 5,011,059 units from its release on 5th June 2025.

The older Switch SKUs are still doing pretty well for themselves, with the OLED, Lite, and OG model selling a combined 16,342 units. Plus, the Xbox Series X almost sold as many units as the base PS5. Not bad, little (well, big) Xbox!

Here’s the charts in full:

Position	Console	Unit Sales (30th Mar – 5th Apr)	Lifetime Unit Sales
1	Switch 2	59,543	5,011,059
2	PlayStation 5 Digital Edition	12,141	1,248,515
3	Switch OLED	7,468	9,526,329
4	Switch Lite	4,807	6,903,964
5	Switch	4,067	20,271,045
6	PlayStation 5 Pro	840	341,548
7	PlayStation 5	558	5,910,474
8	Xbox Series X	525	325,952
9	Xbox Series X Digital Edition	278	29,362
10	Xbox Series S	129	341,622

< Previous charts

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Impressed to see the Switch 2 hit 5 million this week? Let us know your thoughts on the Japanese Charts below.

This one has felt like a long time coming, huh? Nintendo has today revealed that Rhythm Heaven Groove will arrive on Switch on 2nd July.

Groove was first announced back in the March Direct last year with a mysterious ‘2026’ release date. Today’s announcement, made first on Nintendo Today!, was the first peep we’ve heard in the year since, and we even got a new bit of gameplay footage for good measure.

The new clip shows one of the rhythm games that Groove will be throwing our way, ‘Slice N Dice Kitchen’. Fittingly, this one is all about catching flying veggies in a kitchen and getting them chopped to the beat. It’s only a short clip, but you know our toes are a-tappin’ listening to the tunes.

We’re sure we’ll hear more information as we approach that July release date.

Will you be picking up Rhythm Heaven Groove this summer? Let us know in the comments.

We know Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition is supposedly riding onto Switch 2 sometime in 2026, but not exactly when; nonetheless, pre-orders have opened up on Amazon in the US, giving us an idea of just how much it’ll cost to visit The Lands Between on the newest Nintendo console.

Spotted by u/mason2393 on r/NintendoSwitch2, Amazon is listing FromSoftware’s critically-acclaimed open world action RPG at $79.99 for a Game-Key Card — that’s the top-end of Switch 2 game prices.

A lot of people online are a little shocked and unhappy with the price. $80 is a lot for a four-year-old game, after all but it’s worth noting that this includes the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC and the bonus Tarnished Edition content. Though, again, that DLC is almost two-years-old too.

The $80 price tag actually matches the price of the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Edition on other platforms, so Switch 2 players aren’t getting any kind of discount on the seminal release.

Now, the Game-Key Card part is perhaps less of a surprise to us — pretty much all of Bandai Namco’s physical releases on Switch 2 have been GCKs, such as Little Nightmares III, DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO, an Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac.

But let’s focus on the positives for a second. Does that mean Elden Ring’s Switch 2 release is imminent? We know it’s supposed to be coming in 2026, as FromSoft’s owner Kadokawa stated that it (and The Duskbloods) is still aiming for this year in its latest earnings report, but when?

We’ll have to wait and see for now, won’t we?

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How do you feel about Elden Ring’s supposed Switch 2 price? Will you be playing it for the first time on the console, or double (or triple) dipping? Let us know down in the comments.

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When a video game’s biggest selling point is that it’s perfect for zoning out to, it could sound like faint praise. Yet the fact that I still wanted to deliver stuff and poke around for secrets in Sam C.’s Easy Delivery Co. — a low-poly delivery simulator that’s equal parts cosy and dreary — after the credits rolled speaks volumes about its absorbingly simple gameplay loop.

You play as a cat-like creature tasked with ferrying cargo of all sorts around an uncanny winter landscape while driving a Japanese-style kei pickup truck. While the NPC critters who hire you look straight out of GameCube-era Animal Crossing, the desolate world you inhabit evokes the technical limitations of the original PlayStation era and bleak visuals of Silent Hill.

Easy Delivery Co. is neither mechanically rich nor especially polished. This is a game that runs on vibes, and in its best moments, those vibes are immaculate. The simple routine of taking short delivery jobs and cruising down windswept highways, with lo-fi drum and bass tracks playing on the radio, lends the experience an oddly comforting sense of isolation.

While the game offers little challenge and baked-in repetition, it remains engaging throughout its five-hour runtime thanks to an understated sense of mystery involving the fate of your predecessor, Seb, whom various shopkeepers initially mistake you for. Without getting into spoiler territory, the climax hinges on a player choice that alters the world in an unsettling way.

But satisfying vehicle controls and inspired aesthetics — not story — are the game’s core strengths. As you progress, light crafting and survival mechanics are introduced, and money earned from deliveries is used to acquire key items needed to progress.

You’ll need to keep one eye on your character’s energy levels and another on your truck’s fuel gauge. Much like the real world, petrol is expensive, and you’ll need lots of caffeine to push through long shifts and freezing nights. You can also go ice fishing and cook your catch into a soup to ward off the relentless cold.

While it absolutely nails the feel of driving, movement on foot can be rather cumbersome by design. Your character trudges through the cold at a sluggish pace when their energy gauge is low, leaving you vulnerable to freezing to death, which adds a layer of resource management to even short walks.

There are also a few rough technical edges. Transitioning between map areas can feel abrupt, with the screen cutting to black for a few seconds before popping you into the next zone. Reloading after a death feels similarly janky. These interruptions never seriously disrupt play, but they do reinforce the sense that this is a small, somewhat scrappy production from a solo dev.

Easy Delivery Co. won’t be for everyone, but if solitary drives and chill vibes are your idea of a good time, it might be for you. Though its rough edges are visible, its repetition is strangely grounding and can be hard to put down. Ironically, it manages to make the drudgery of gig-economy deliveries feel like a meditative respite.