Category: Nintendo News

Nintendo has seemingly finally realised just how popular Pokémon Pokopia really is.

Following in the footsteps of Australia and New Zealand, the company has announced a new Switch 2 bundle for Europe. It contains the console itself along with a download code for Pokopia and is scheduled to launch on 2nd July 2026.

So yeah, this seems to be the go-to bundle for at least the Summer months. Those in North America can also bag a fancy bundle, albeit one that provides the option to choose between Pokémon Pokopia, Mario Kart World, and Donkey Kong Bananza.

Nintendo has still yet to provide concrete details on any price hikes for the Switch 2 in the UK, but those in Europe can expect to pay an extra €30 for the console when the increase comes into effect from 1st September.

Price hikes are also due to occur in North America and Canada, while adjustments have already gone into effect over in Japan. If you’re looking to purchase a Switch 2 and happen to be a fan of Pokémon, this specific bundle might be worth keeping an eye on before the asking price goes up.

Will you be grabbing this new Switch 2 bundle? Would you have preferred a different game? Let us know with a comment.

Square Enix’s HD-2D art style has done wonders for its games. From creating new IPs like Triangle Strategy and Octopath Traveler, to tasteful remakes like the Dragon Quest Erdrick trilogy and Live a Live, the charming presentation has been able to deliver modern gameplay while still invoking a retro feeling.

So far, the HD-2D style has been used for only turn-based games, until now. The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales is the first HD-2D game with real-time action combat. It works surprisingly well, feeling like a mix between Zelda: A Link to the Past and Ys Origins. Fortunately, The Adventures of Elliot manages to establish an identity for itself thanks to its time-spanning story and incredible visuals.

You play as the titular Elliot, an orphan with a knack for adventuring. Beast tribes overrun the land of Philabieldia, and the Kingdom of Huther is protected from them by a magical spell cast by the Princess of Heuria. After discovering the Doorway of Time, he meets a fairy named Faie, and they go on a journey that spans a millennium in order to save Huther from falling.

While the story is your typical ‘save the world’ plot, it manages to stand out thanks to how Elliot’s actions in the past snowball throughout the different time periods he visits, eventually accumulating in his present time, the Age of Safekeeping. It gives a more personable angle to the story. There are multiple endings, but the true ending is particularly memorable, as you experience Elliot’s impact in a well-earned and emotional conclusion.

The gameplay is straightforward, with the hack-and-slash action feeling similar to Square Enix’s Mana series. You have access to seven different weapons to swap between at any time. Where combat lacks in complexity, it’s made up with variety. The sword feels like your standard jack-of-all-trades weapon, while the spear gives you more range. The hammer is slow but powerful, and the scythe chain rewards precision and timing by hitting multiple enemies simultaneously.

Elliot has an impressive arsenal of ranged weapons, too, including a boomerang, bow and arrow, and bombs. You’ll surely find your own preferences between the options, but what I found enjoyable was that each weapon was a viable choice.

Instead of dodging, you’re encouraged to block and parry. I found the parrying window surprisingly forgiving, but not so much so that I still felt satisfaction whenever I pulled it off. Successfully parrying reflects damage back onto enemies, and sometimes stuns them so you can put on even more hurt. It’s important to master your defensive options, too, as enemies hit hard, even on normal difficulty.

Instead of earning experience and levelling up, Elliot’s main form of combat progression is equipping magicite, magical gems that augment and add effects to his weapons. For example, the Shield Repair gem restores his shield stamina by a bit when he lands attacks with his sword, while Immovable Stance strengthens bow shots by 45%, but prevents him from moving while charging attacks. There’s quite an assortment of effects that let you build out Elliot’s kit to your liking. It’s a simple equipment system that’s equally compelling.

Faie can help out, too. While she’s usually autonomous, floating alongside you, she has her own powers, like being able to light herself on fire and cloaking Elliot’s feet with wind so he can sprint. Not only are they useful for traversal, but battle as well. Fire deals extra damage to enemies who touch her, and the sprint lets you quickly run away from incoming attacks.

Because of the game’s fixed camera angle, you’re able to directly control Faie with the right joystick if needed. I really liked that this gives her a sense of agency, as she’s actively helping the hero instead of just meandering around.

The open world is also notably small, but that’s to its benefit. Instead of a lifeless and empty desert like in Metroid Prime 4, each inch of Philabieldia is densely packed with dungeons and caves to explore. They have puzzles to solve, like moving mirrors to reflect beams of light, or changing water levels to get to higher elevation. At the end of each of these dungeons, you’ll often find a prize for reaching the end, such as a max health upgrade or sometimes a new ability for Faie. So you’re always encouraged to explore as much as you can.

Some dungeons require light platforming, as there’s also a dedicated jump button. Whereas in Mina the Hollower, where the jumping and platforming felt smooth, I found them to be quite annoying here. They don’t feel particularly accurate, and it’s frustrating to time jumps on moving platforms since falling into pits inflicts damage. Still, exploration was rewarding and fun.

Of course, the HD-2D art direction is absolutely stunning. The environments look exquisite and varied, filled with lava pools, icy tundras, and luscious forests. My personal favourite was the swamp areas, where the lighting refracts off the thick and oily surface, giving them a colourful rainbow sheen.

One of the standout parts of the HD-2D aesthetic is that across games like Octopath Traveler and Live A Live, boss sprites are greatly exaggerated and are much larger, providing them a threatening sense of scale and personality. The same is true for the bosses in The Adventures of Elliot. Each fight has unique mechanics to take them down, so not only are the battles a spectacle to behold, but they’re also engaging.

While there’s a diverse array of environments and bosses, the enemy variety is surprisingly low. The same automatons, flying griffins, bugs, and bipedal beasts infest the same areas regardless of which era you’re in. It gets tiring fighting palette swaps of identical enemies after more than 15 to 20 hours in.

There are also plenty of side missions to tackle. While many of them are simple fetch quests, they usually have some sort of backstory to them to build out Philabieldia’s lore. Eventually, these side missions span across different ages, for example, requiring Elliot to search for a missing item that can’t be found in the current time period but in a past one. It’s a clever way of using the time travel premise to create more involved quests.

They’re always worth spending time to complete, too, as they offer useful rewards like accessories to equip or weapon upgrades. Some examples include the Gather Ring, which makes it easier for Faie to pick up items like currency and magicite shards dropped by enemies, or an extra quiver, which increases the max capacity of arrows.

Unfortunately, performance is lacklustre on Switch 2. Load times are long. Even opening up the world map takes a while. From the time you press the minus button to do so, there’s about a two-second gap before the map pops up. Additionally, there’s noticeable lag when you’re trying to switch between different eras on the map menu, which is genuinely distracting. And that’s in docked mode. In handheld mode, these issues are exacerbated.

Even with performance problems, though, The Adventures of Elliot feels right at home on Switch 2. Gameplay is smooth in both docked and handheld modes. If you can ignore the loading times and lag hiccups, there’s plenty here to keep you immersed in Philabieldia across all its different ages.

Indie developer Powerhoof, who you might remember is behind the wonderful multiplayer title Crawl, is bringing its latest game to the Switch and Switch 2 – and it looks excellent.

The Drifter is a traditional point-and-click adventure with a heavy pixel art visual style and a story that encompasses murder, conspiracy, shadowy corporations, and more. Though it’s coming to both Nintendo platforms, those on Switch 2 can swap between twin-stick controls and a more traditional mouse setup.

The Switch 2 will also feature support for 4K visuals on compatible TVs alongside 120fps performance, so those parallax scrolling backgrounds will look extra smooth.

Over on Steam, the game has received a total of 3,337 reviews with an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ consensus. Meanwhile, it’s also bagged a number of awards at the 2025 Australian Game Developer Awards, including Game of the Year, Excellence in Narrative, Excellence in Visual Art, and Excellence in Sound Design.

Here’s a look at the key features:

– A Pulp Adventure Thriller from the minds that brought you Peridium and Crawl.

– An engrossing roller-coaster of a story – Drawing on King, Crichton and Carpenter, with a dash of 70s -Aussie grindhouse.

– Point ‘n Click or Controller – Unique twin-stick controls make The Drifter as comfy to play on the couch as at your PC.

– Bursting with raw crunchy pixel art and high-impact animation.

– Professionally voice acted, with a brooding dark-synth cinematic score.

You can currently pre-order The Drifter on the eShop for £16.75 / £19.99. The price is the same across both consoles, while a free upgrade pack is also available if you want to move from Switch to Switch 2 later down the line.

What are your thoughts on this one? Will you be picking it up? Let us know with a comment down below.

Pokémon Champions arrives on mobile devices today, and alongside this, the Switch version of the game has been updated.

This bumps the battle title up to Version 1.1.0 and adds Pokémon and held items for Regulation Set M-B. It also includes some other fixes on Switch platforms tied to visual and network issues. Here are the official patch notes via Nintendo’s support page:

Pokémon Champions: Ver. 1.1.0 (16th June 2026)

The following updates have been made to the game.

• Pokémon and held items added for Regulation Set M-B.
• Other fixes to the visuals during battles and certain network-related issues.

For now, you can check out the new usable Pokémon and items on Serebii.net. It was previously mentioned how the plan was to expand the Pokémon roster in Pokémon Champions over time.

As part of the launch on iOS and Android devices today, there’s a special gift in the form of a Raichu and the Raichunite X and Y Mega Stones. You can find all of this in the game’s mailbox when you log in during the event period.

The mobile version includes cross-save support as well. So if you’ve been playing on the Switch or Switch 2, you can continue battling on your mobile device. And if you haven’t already tried out this title, check out our Switch review of the game:

Will you be checking out Pokémon Champions on mobile? How about this new game update? Let us know in the comments.

Square Enix has today updated the excellent Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles for the Switch 1 & 2.

It adds New Game+, which allows you to carry over your levels, item data and more from the previously completed playthrough.

In addition to this, it’s now got a Zodiac Compatibility function. There are also improvements to the game’s stability, new language support and more settings to enhance the overall experience. Here’s exactly what you can expect via the game’s official Steam post:

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles – Version 1.5.0 (17th June 2026)

Update Announcement (v1.5.0) An update featuring various improvements is now available

The game will be updated to version 1.5.0. The version number can be viewed in game from the version selection screen or the enhanced version title screen.

Enhanced

New Features

• New Game + has been added. This feature allows you to start a new game with unit levels, item data, and more carried over from a previously completed playthrough.

• The Zodiac Compatibility function has been added. You may now check a unit’s zodiac sign and compatibility from its status screen.

Adjustments

• When selecting a tile to move to or target with an ability, you may now check the status of a unit under the selection cursor.

• “Remove All Equipment” has been added to the Equipment & Abilities section of the unit status screen.
• Job unlock conditions are now displayed more clearly for those currently locked, via the Job section of the unit status screen.
• During battle, the camera angle and zoom settings are now retained for the entirety of that battle.

New Settings

• The “Maintain Auto-proceed” setting for cutscenes has been added. To activate it, go to the main menu’s Options tab, followed by Settings, then Gameplay, and use the “Maintain Auto-proceed” toggle.

The “Ability Incantations Guaranteed” setting has been added, which ensures that dialogue spoken when using certain abilities is always performed. To activate it, go to the main menu’s Options tab, followed by Settings, then Gameplay, and use the “Ability Incantations Guaranteed” toggle.

The “Ability Cursor Memory” setting has been added, which retains the cursor position in the Abilities section of the battle menu. To activate it, go to the main menu’s Options tab, followed by Settings, then Gameplay, and use the “Ability Cursor Memory” toggle.

• Minor text changes have been made in all languages.
• Certain sound effects have been adjusted.
• Overall stability has been improved.
• Other minor issues have been resolved.

New Languages

• The enhanced version now includes text support for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean.
  • To change the enhanced version text language, go to the General Settings menu’s Language tab and select a language from “”Text Language (Enhanced).””

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If you haven’t already played this title on the Switch 1 or 2, be sure to check out our review here on Nintendo Life. Here’s how we summed it up:

“Yes, Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles cuts content from the War of the Lions version, and it’s a shame. However, put this one issue aside, if you can, and you’ve got a fantastic — and fantastically thoughtful — revamp otherwise. Meaningful QoL changes meld with delicate gameplay nips and tucks, CPU enemy tune-ups, and a smoother-flowing experience overall to deliver a game that’s pretty much impossible to knock.”

Have you downloaded this update yet? How are you finding it so far? Let us know in the comments.

Ahead of the release of Minecraft on the Switch 2 later this year, Mojang has this week released the new update Chaos Cubed.

This exciting new game drop brings chaos in the form of sulfur cubes, a new cave biome to explore, new blocks and much more. The new mob is described as a “source of endless experimentation and possibility”.

Here’s a bit about this block, which can absorb everything from TNT to magma:

“That’s because the sulfur cube’s physical properties will change depending on what sort of block it has absorbed. Different blocks will change the sulfur cube’s speed, its bounciness, and its overall chaos levels, so there’s a perfect cube combo for every situation — and countless more waiting to be discovered.”

As for the new sulfur cave biome, it’s filled with Geysers, which can send you skywards, as well as sulfur pools and spikes.

“Those bubbling waters will actually leave you with a spot of the Nausea effect thanks to the potent sulfur blocks. Oh, and while you’re exploring the sulfur caves, watch out for sulfur spikes! These form on cave ceilings and floors like stalactites and stalagmites, and they can also fall randomly from the sky, and cause damage!”

There’s much more detailed about this new update in the patch notes below. Once again, Minecraft will release on the Switch 2 later this year. Switch 2 players will also be able to enjoy the new vibrant visuals update, featuring enhanced lighting and shadow effects. There’ll also be the ability to carry over existing worlds from the Switch version of Minecraft

Here are the patch notes for Chaos Cubed. You can find out more about what’s included in the latest game update on the official Minecraft website.

Minecraft: Bedrock Edition 26.30 Changelog – Chaos Cubed

Chaos Cubed Features

Bucket of Sulfur Cube

• Need an easy way of getting your new Sulfur Cube friend from the Sulfur caves to your base? Sure, you could experiment with blocks to make the Sulfur Cube bounce, slide, or traverse long distances – or you can just scoop it up with a bucket and tuck it safely away in your inventory.

Sulfur Cubes

• Sulfur Cubes are a new mob coming to Minecraft with a curious appetite for… blocks! Found in Sulfur caves, this curious mob transforms depending on which block the player feeds it. Experiment and discover how to send Sulfur Cubes bouncing, sliding, and more!

Sulfur springs

• Found across the Overworld, you’ll know if you’ve spotted a Sulfur pool thanks to its Sulfur and Cinnabar blocks – and the noxious gas coming from it! But dig beneath these and you’ll discover a Sulfur cave, filled with new blocks to mine and a new mob to meet!

Potent Sulfur

• The new potent Sulfur block is the reason why Sulfur springs are so bubbly – and a bit nauseating. You can also create hot bubbling pools by placing potent Sulfur beneath water! You’ll soon spy bubble columns, as well as puffs of noxious gas. Build with caution, because noxious gas will trigger nausea in players and nearby mobs!

Sulfur caves

• Discover this new cave type, with shallow pools of water and glow lichen. Sulfur caves are filled with yellow blocks of Sulfur, red blocks of Cinnabar, Sulfur spikes, and a curious mob called the Sulfur Cube!

New block sets

• You’ll find two new block sets in Sulfur caves – Cinnabar and Sulfur! These new blocks allow you to add rich reds and yellows into your builds, and each comes with its own full block set. Cobble them, craft with them, turn them into stairs or bricks – the choice is yours!

Sulfur Spikes

• Sulfur Spikes grow on Cinnabar and Sulfur blocks, giving Sulfur caves a distinctive look. Unlike Pointed Dripstone, stepping on Sulfur Spikes is harmless, but they can still fall and hurt you – it’s just a pretty rare occurrence.

Geysers

• Watch your step or you’ll go flying! Geysers form when a Magma block is generated or placed underneath a potent Sulfur block that’s submerged underneath 1 to 4 blocks of water. Use them for a vertical boost or a dramatic landscaping element!

Special block: TNT

• Why would anyone feed a TNT block to a Sulfur Cube? To see what happens, of course! Try it out for yourself, ignite it, and enjoy (or deeply regret) the explosive results.

Special block: Magma

• Play hot potato by having a Sulfur Cube absorb a Magma block.

Music

• Added new music by composer fingerspit (Paula Ruiz) to the game
  • Added a new music disc with the song “Bounce” that may be found inside Minecarts with Chests in abandoned mineshaft structures within Sulfur Caves
  • Added new music tracks Ebb, Home, Memories, Nightly, and Shores to the main Menu music, Creative Mode music, and several biomes
• The new music tracks will play in the following biomes:
  • Mesa
  • Bamboo Jungle
  • Cherry Grove
  • Desert
  • Dripstone Caves
  • Flower Forest
  • Forest
  • Frozen Peaks
  • Grove
  • Jagged Peaks
  • Jungle
  • Lush Caves
  • Meadow
  • Old Growth Spruce Taiga
  • Old Growth Pine Taiga
  • Snowy Slopes
  • Sparse Jungle
  • Snowy Peaks
  • Swamp
  • Sulfur Caves

Features and Bug Fixes

Accessibility Features

• Added a Panorama Scroll Speed slider to Video settings that controls the rotation speed of the main menu background (MCPE-180178)
• Fixed a bug where animations always generated closed captions regardless of distance (MCPE-238088)
• “Hide Sky Flashes” setting now also suppresses lightning sky flashes in the Overworld, matching Java Edition behavior (MCPE-180737)
• Text to speech (TTS) will now read the character ‘&’ as ‘and’ instead of ‘ampersand’

Biomes

• Fixed a bug that caused custom Nether biomes to generate with a repeating tiling pattern across chunk boundaries

Blocks

• Fixed Command Block Hover Note text not updating after changing it until the world is reloaded (MCPE-236701)
• Iron doors and stone buttons now generate in strongholds (MCPE-11765)
• Fixed wooden doors in strongholds being placed with the wrong orientation
• Fixed Java parity issue where Cauldron/Composter blocks pulled by sticky pistons can pull player through walls (MCPE-181221)
• Using Bone Meal on Dirt in shallow water will now correctly create Seagrass or Coral (MCPE-91152)
• Fixed a client-side display issue that caused falling blocks (such as Sand, Gravel, and Anvils) to appear to pass through Cobwebs without slowing down and to lose their collision after landing
• TNT blocks now have smoke particles when ignited (MCPE-238488)

Character Creator

• Improved character load time on the main menu
• Fixed error message displayed when importing a custom skin on Android without enough device space (MCPE-231262)

Gameplay

• Fixed items being duplicated when crossing chunk borders in The End (MCPE-233883)
• Fixed a bug that caused entities on the edge of less-than full-height water and lava to still be affected by the liquid. (MCPE-45633 ) (MCPE-183531)
• Fixed a bug where bees don’t pollinate Spore Blossoms and Chorus Flowers (MCPE-174401)
• Fixed a bug where Strider’s loot was not affected by Looting Enchantment (MCPE-112761)
• Fixed Experience Orbs spawning at an incorrect position after killing a Bee, Phantom, or Vex (MCPE-61885) (MCPE-49418)
• Bees now follow players holding Chorus Flowers or Spore Blossoms
• Bees can now be bred and aged by Chorus Flowers and Spore Blossoms
• Fixed a bug where trees growing next to Spore Blossoms and Chorus Flowers did not have a chance to generate beehives.
• Fixed an issue where dimensions with large sections of air blocks could degrade performance during initial load
• Fixed a bug where vehicles with a non-zero lock_rider_rotation value would continuously rotate when a player was riding them without giving any movement input
• Removed warning text that “you can’t earn achievements” when creating a world with Add-ons enabled.

General

• Fixed the rest of the cases where offline multiplayer would load infinitely (MCPE-173418)
• Fixed bug where boat would jitter when switching from one to the other.
• Connections from players with names that could interfere with game functions are now rejected (MCPE-233682)
• Fixed an issue where players could not join another player’s game session when launching the game from an external invitation
• Dedicated servers now have the allow list enabled by default in the server.properties, and will display a warning on server startup if the allow list is enabled but contains no entries
• Party chat now appears in the world, and you can respond from world chat with the /party command
• Fixed a crash that could occur when loading behavior packs with multiple custom dimension definitions (MCPE-238456)
• Updated the game credits
• Updated the Cubemap
• Fixed an issue where accepting a game invite while the game was loading could fail due to skins not yet being loaded
• Fixed placement of Lakes where they would not break above the surface
• Fixed a scenario where the game would send excessive web requests.

Graphical

• Texture streaming is now enabled by default on supported platforms and can be disabled in Video settings. Texture streaming is currently only available to PC and mobile devices and will be expanded to other platforms in the future
• Fixed some blocks appearing as semi-transparent in the inventory when Texture Streaming is enabled (MCPE-235799)
• Streamed textures are no longer completely invisible after being off-screen for a while.
• Fixed an issue where dithered objects would flicker in split-screen.
• Fixed an issue where item-in-hand was clipping when inside a block in Vibrant Visuals
• Fixed an issue for certain item-in-hand not rendering when inside a block in Fancy
• Snow golem heads no longer render as completely black with Vibrant Visuals enabled
• Added fog in the End Dimension while the Ender Dragon is alive.
• Fixed some animations not working correctly on certain Android devices (MCPE-235729)
• Fixed an issue that caused dropped items to sometimes appear behind other objects in Ray Tracing graphics mode
• Fixed snow golem heads disappearing in Ray Tracing mode when the player is too close
• Fixed z-fighting on scaffolding top face.
• Fixed an issue where loading in some Marketplace worlds would result in all white screen in Vibrant Visuals.
• Updated the fog JSON schemas to allow keyframes for the following volumetric fog data members. JSONs must target the 1.26.20 schema version to use this new capability :
  • Max Density: Maximum fog density (0.0–1.0)
  • Zero Density Height: Y level with maximum density
  • Max Density Height: Y level where density reaches 0
  • Scattering: RGB scattering coefficients (light bouncing in fog)
  • Absorption: RGB absorption coefficients (light absorbed by fog)
  • Henyey Greenstein G: Scattering asymmetry parameter
• Fixed bug with the sky Cubemap and volumetrics not updating after teleport in Vibrant Visuals.
• Fixed incorrect tile border seam for tiles with heightmaps in Vibrant Visuals.
• Fixed Snow Golem heads being sometimes incorrectly lit in Vibrant Visuals
• Fixed an issue where emissive parts of Eyeblossom and Firefly Bush were affected by Dithering. (MCPE-225919)
• Fixed issue causing textures to appear broken when Ray Tracing is enabled.
• Fixed issue causing name tags to not appear when Ray Tracing is enabled.
• Fixed a bug where Boats and Chest Boats would visually fill with water when the player was seated inside them near the water surface
• Re-enabled texture streaming in PC and mobile previews after fixing a bug with blank textures
• Fixed shulker boxes appearing as semi-transparent in the inventory when Texture Streaming is enabled (MCPE-235799)
• Fishing line no longer disconnects from the bobber in split-screen mode (MCPE-230910)
• Clouds no longer jitter when upscaling is enabled in Vibrant Visuals.
• Armor attached to player no longer flickers when upscaling is enabled in Vibrant Visuals.
• Atlas composited textures for in-hand items now render correctly (JIRA (MCPE-223126)
• Fixed Vibrant Visuals shadows and reflections not rendering on PlayStation 4
• Fixed a crash that could occur on Windows when resizing the game window during initial loading
• Fixed corrupted visuals on mobs when using Vibrant Visuals with PBR resource packs that include heightmap textures for actors

Input

• Fixed a crash that can occur when prompted about extra Joy-Con controllers that are connected

Loot Tables

• Fixed loot table container filling so that when trying to insert a new item, existing partial stacks will be merged to open up slots for new additions (MCPE-233039)

Marketplace

• Fixed instances where open color picker button appeared on pages with no color picker (MCPE-229764)
• Fixed flickering crosshair in split screen (MCPE-123918)

Mobs

• Skeletons, Strays, Bogged, and Parched now shoot arrows at the same rate as Java Edition, with difficulty-based attack intervals instead of distance-scaled intervals (MCPE-61036)
• Fixed issue where Villager farmers get stuck nodding while planting crops (MCPE-237708)
• Fixed a bug where Ghasts could get stuck in the preparing-to-fire animation pose after the player walks out of attack range
• Fixed an issue where mob audio could switch to underwater sound variants while the mob was still above the visible water surface
• Sulfur Cubes can now receive angled knockback when hit using weapons enchanted with Knockback and when the attacker is sprinting or swimming (MCPE-238284)

Realms

• Fixed a bug in the Realms saves screen where the “Save to storage” button on an automatic save displayed the active world’s size instead of the selected save’s size, and the “Free up space” dialog was not shown when the selected automatic save was too large to fit in the Realm’s storage
• Fixed an issue where two states could be presented in the moderate feed screen
• Added information surrounding resource packs download progress to join Realm progress message
• Fixed number of online players not showing on chosen Realm screen
• Added achievements disabled warning modal to Realms Edit World
• Fixed an issue where clearing Realm members via “Clear All Members” resulted in a crash

Realms Hub

• Realms Hub added to In-game pause screen, replacing the Realms Stories button.
• Server Settings added for Render distance, Simulation distance and Max player count.
• “No Members Found” modal no longer briefly shows up before loading members in Realms Stories and Realms Hub
• Fixed Realms Hub settings screens not exiting properly after saving changes made on the screens.
• Disable clear all members button for admin roles to avoid confusion, since admins cannot remove other admins or owners
• Adding in a hardcore heart and border in the Realms Hub Slots section
• “No Members Found” empty state no longer briefly shows up before loading members in the Realms Hub Members tab

Social Drawer

• Fixed a crash that could occur when trying to search for players without signing in (MCPE-235488)

Sounds

• Tune trumpet sound assets for Copper variants Note Block interaction so that they are in tune with other Note Block variants (MCPE-237578)

Stability and Performance

• Fixed a crash related to the data-driven renderer when an entity’s geometry expression was unable to be resolved
• Fixed crash when using a structure block that contains a glow stone in Ray Tracing graphics mode . (MCPE-236402)
• Fixed constant hard drive activity caused by the texture cache flushing to disk every frame (MCPE-238187)
• Fixed a crash that could occur when loading recipes with invalid result counts from behavior packs during server initialization
• Fixed a crash that could occur on world exit or join when texture streaming is enabled
• Reduced unnecessary copies in atmospheric scattering keyframe lookups to improve frame time when Vibrant Visuals are enabled
• Fixed a crash that could occur when initializing a dimension on the client side if the spawn dimension was set to a non-Overworld dimension
• Fix a crash that could occur when a player takes too long to join local multiplayer on XBOX

User Interface

• Text fields can now be navigated using the Tab key, which enters editing mode with all text selected. Pressing Tab while editing moves to the next field
• Fixed an issue that caused the Default Game Mode and the Activate Cheats settings to appear editable to players that don’t have operator permissions. (MCPE-237784)
• Fixed the on-screen keyboard not dismissing after submitting text in JSON UI text fields on iOS and Android
• Fixed Banner message for graphics mode settings option (MCPE-231879)
• Storage indicator now is taller and has a square action button. Copy has been updated from “Go to storage settings” to “Settings”.
• Enabled add-ons in the create from template screen for preview (MCPE-232902)
• Narrate chat text if UI or Char narration is enabled
• Stop narration of typed letters when the message is sent
• Narrate chat input text when it’s auto-completed or taken from history
• Updated Recipe unlocked tooltip design
• Fixed issue on the idle device screen on Switch, which could result in the text showing incorrectly. The image has been updated also.
• Fixes buttons sometimes becoming unselectable at the bottom of a scroll panel while using a controller (
• Crafting preview now shows the correct wood material variants.
  • Recipes containing different wood materials now show the variants related to the materials you own.
• Fixed a bug where resource packs with subpacks would not correctly save to new worlds when they were added automatically by activating a corresponding behavior pack.
• Fixed a bug where resource packs with subpacks would not display the valid default settings when they were added automatically by activating a corresponding behavior pack.
• Fixed format for number percentage strings in Turkish language
• Fixed the profile picture on the start screen showing a blank space instead of the default Alex icon while loading
• Fixed the profile picture not updating after signing in due to the refresh window closing prematurely
• Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow now correctly moves the cursor by word in Ore UI text fields on Windows
• Ctrl + Backspace and Ctrl + Delete now correctly delete an entire word in Ore UI text fields on Windows (MCPE-237189)
• Fixed sorting by Installed state in player library not working on Switch
• Players are now informed when their skin is not compatible with cross-platform multiplayer and can choose to proceed when creating or starting a world
• Double tap or click now selects a word, and triple selects all text in Ore UI text fields
• Tap and drag now moves the cursor in Ore UI text fields
• Tap and hold now allows selecting text in Ore UI text fields
• Added ContentCard component to display marketplace items with pricing, ratings, and content badges
• Furnace recipe book was moved from experiments to the common game
• Fixed Fullscreen mode to remember which screen it was last on.
• Added a new color formatting code (§w) for the shade of blue used by party chat
• Added Wishlist grid component to display marketplace wishlist items with responsive column layout
• Prevent game freezing when loading a world if a specific resource pack is enabled – Fixed a bug that could cause the game to freeze when loading a world with a specific resource pack applied (MCPE-237537)
• Fixed a bug where the emote wheel could be opened while riding a mob or Minecart, causing the player to crouch instead of dismounting
• Added Marketplace Error component to display marketplace errors
• Non-gameplay related toast notifications (e.g. Minecraft Live reminders) will no longer be able to show during gameplay
• Added ability to access Marketplace for Preview
• Fixed an issue that caused the framerate limit option under Vibrant Visual Options to behave differently from the other quality options
• Improved the furnace recipe book UI
• Fixed a freeze when opening a furnace without recipes
• Replaced the Locator Bar toggle in the Multiplayer tab of the Create New World and Edit World screens with a Player Waypoints setting, allowing players to choose between “Off” (no players shown on the locator bar) and “Everyone” (all players shown on the locator bar)
• Added support for new Marketplace Content Cards
• Updated skin info panel in dressing room to remove duplicate author label

World Storage

• Added OREUI Storage Settings: Storage Status and Management
• Added cloud backup of Windows worlds as an early preview
  • Please share your feedback at feedback.minecraft.net and report any bugs you find at bugs.mojang.com to help inform next our steps
• Increased Windows Preview cloud backup storage capacity to 4GB

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Will you be checking out this new Minecraft update? Let us know in the comments.

If you’re looking to get a little extra out of the Switch Online + Expansion Pack service, Nintendo is currently offering a free bonus month. This offer applies to Switch 1 & 2 users in the US when purchasing or redeeming a 12-month individual or family membership of the premium tier before 28th July 2026.

Existing Switch Online + Expansion Pack members can also redeem this bonus month by renewing their membership or adding another year. Switch Online members can also upgrade to the Expansion Pack tier to unlock this offer.

Once you’ve activated it, the bonus month will automatically be added to your account within 3 business days. Certain other locations and countries, such as Australia, are also currently offering an extra two months when you buy or renew a 12-month membership.

Apart from the ability to play games online and communicate with friends and family via GameChat, the Switch Online + Expansion service also allows members to acces multiple retro video game libraries. Most recently it added Donkey Kong 64 to the Nintendo 64 library. Switch Online also offers access to other services such as Nintendo Music.

Have you got a Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership? Will you be renewing while this offer is available? Let us know in the comments.

Sitting in our Monday meeting, a theme emerged when answering the standard question, “Play any games over the weekend?”

Following on from last week’s announcement (and months of rumours), we’ve all got Ocarina of Time on the brain. Jim and Ollie have been replaying via NSO, and the rest of us have only resisted the urge thanks to other games on the docket or life getting in the way.

It’s the same whenever a new Zelda is announced. I remember how the upcoming release of Tears of the Kingdom sent us back into the cellars to quench our thirst on a previous vintage. I never finished that Skyward Sword HD playthrough, but I put a good 20 hours into it, and it got me in the mood. It’s only natural!

And yet, without knowing the exact form the upcoming Ocarina remake will take, it presents a poser: To replay or not replay? Despite our natural urges for a draught of Hyrule’s finest, we’re split on our replay plans over at Nintendo Life Towers.

For some of us (well, for me, at least), a Zelda game is such an event that we tend not to replay them often. Over the years, I’ve gone back and run through the Young Link section in Ocarina several times — just to revisit Lake Hylia in the morning, for instance — but my only 100% replay came with the 3DS remaster in 2011. For whatever reason, these games stand apart from others for me, feeling more like historic moments I don’t want to relive ad nauseam. I treasure them and then file them away in the memory banks.

But for others, these are comfort games like any other, as approachable and replayable on any given Sunday as a Jurassic Park rewatch or taking a favourite book from the shelf. Jim replays Ocarina every year.

This topic bleeds into previous discussions about what we all want from a (now-not-hypothetical) Ocarina remake. I would far prefer a total, REmake-style overhaul, myself. A paintover might work for Star Fox, but Ocarina? That deserves the most premium of premium treatment.

Then again, past evidence suggests something much more faithful than Capcom’s reimaginings; when it comes to remakes, Nintendo tends to follow the original blueprint closely. And murmurs based on NOA’s website blurb, which described the upcoming remake as “Ocarina of Time with stunning visuals, updated designs, and timeless gameplay”, also suggest a more straightforward, 1:1 reworking.

At this stage, with so little revealed, it’s impossible to have an informed opinion – we’ll just have to wait until Nintendo pulls back the curtain and gives us more than a glimpse of the boy without a fairy.

And let’s be absolutely clear: I will be playing this regardless. The opportunity to show my kids an updated Ocarina, possibly even recapturing some of that wonder from 1998, will be an experience to treasure, whatever its form. With that in mind, I won’t be replaying any old versions beforehand.

But what about you? Have you already started a playthrough? Are you saving yourself until the looking-at-the-slate-probably-November release? Have you, in fact, never played Ocarina of Time? Let us know in the poll and comments.

Will you be playing Ocarina of Time before the Switch 2 remake comes out? (982 votes)

1. Yes! I will (re)play the N64 original15%
2. Yes! I will (re)play the 3DS remake7%
3. Yes! I, a connoisseur, will (re)play the Master Quest GameCube version2%
4. Maybe – I haven’t decided yet14%
5. Noooo, I want to go in totally fresh55%
6. Noooo, I have zero interest in Ocarina of Time6%

And speaking of never having played Ocarina, former NL video producer and fine fellow Felix Sanchez played Ocarina for the first time just a few years ago and chronicled his NSO journey in a series of live streams. Check them out below if you fancy dipping back in but can’t commit to a full run yourself:

A dystopian cyberpunk future bombarded with rain? Check. Working-class people turning to body augmentations and drugs? Check. Rutger Hauer? Also check. Yeah, so far, so Blade Runner. Observer: System Redux isn’t shy about its influences, nor should it be, as this short-but-sweet homage to sci-fi murder mystery films delivers a thrilling ride and a knowing celebration of the genre.

Developed by Bloober Team, the Polish developer now possibly best known for the Silent Hill 2 remake, Observer is a contained, linear, narrative-heavy title set in a cyberpunk version of Krakow in the year 2084. The late, great Rutger Hauer stars as Daniel Lazarski, a world-weary detective searching for his son, and one of many ‘Observers’ that use hacking technology to enter people’s minds and relive their memories.

That hook right there is a great jumping-off point for a sci-fi story, but Observer pumps so much more into its 8-10 hour playtime thanks to impressive attention to detail and a heartfelt commitment to the futuristic mise-en-scène. Lazarski’s search for his son leads him to a rundown apartment complex, and you use both Bio Vision and Electromagnetic Vision to find clues ranging from blood spatters to hidden technology. Occasionally the story’s next objective isn’t obvious, but optional side challenges mean there’s plenty to do even when lost.

Solving this mystery takes time, and here gameplay serves this speed well, as even the admittedly simple mechanics are elevated thanks to the gritty realism of each apartment and the impressive graphical fidelity.

Don’t get too comfortable, though, as Observer’s horror moments keep you on your toes. Long reality-warping sequences use both gorgeous contrasting visuals and stunning sound design to make you feel like you’re sinking further into someone’s mind, with a couple of well-timed jumpscares shattering the tension. As a massive sci-fi fan, it’s fun to see the body-augmenting ideas of titles like Ghost in the Shell exaggerated with actual body horror.

An upgrade to 2017’s original version (which came to Switch 1 in 2019), Switch 2 performance feels consistently impressive outside of occasional pop-in, with sharp visuals and a steady frame rate. In particular, the title’s deep blacks and contrasting flares of Matrix-esque greens and noir mood lighting look great in handheld’s HDR mode (though don’t expect Observer’s stygian darkness to pop when playing in a park).

Controls also fare well, whether you’re using a Pro Controller or hopping into Mouse Mode. The latter in particular is a really satisfying way to explore this world, though occasionally I wish interactive elements were either larger or more obvious, as I frequently found myself flailing the Joy-Con in attempts to select the right option.

Observer: System Redux is an excellent sci-fi murder mystery that packs a lot of detail into a tight narrative package, bursting with reverence for the genre but adding a dark horror twist that offers a compelling exploration of well-trodden themes. Thankfully, the Switch 2 keeps the graphical fidelity intact, and Mouse Mode offers a great way to interact with such a rich cyberpunk world. If you don’t mind some minor graphical compromises, this might be the best way to play Observer yet.

Capcom has recently confirmed the launch of Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition for the Switch 2, bringing one of the finest entries in the action series to Nintendo’s console more than seven years after its initial launch.

You’d think that being on the market for that long would result in gradually diminishing sales, but according to the latest figures from Capcom (thanks, VGC), Devil May Cry 5 has enjoyed record sales during FY2026, shifting a total of 2.7 million copies.

When we say “record sales”, we really mean it. The 2.7 million figure is actually higher than DMC5’s launch year performance, during which it managed to sell 2.1 million. Annual sales then declined until FY2023 in which it matched the launch figure with another 2.1 million. Sales then began to decline again until FY2026 when it shifted record units.

Capcom tends to discount its games pretty heavily after a certain amount of time, and a quick glance at Deku Deals shows that Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition for the PS5 often drops as low as £8.74 on the PlayStation Store, while retail copies have previously dropped as low as £12.99.

This, along with the release of the Devil May Cry anime on Netflix – which recently added Season Two in its entirety – has likely contributed greatly to overall sales in recent months. Now that the game is heading for the Switch 2, we reckon Capcom can probably enjoy even more sales in the months and years ahead.

Resident Evil 4 also came close to matching its launch year sales in FY2026 by shifting another 3.6 million units, while Street Fighter 6 also saw year-on-year improvements by shifting a total of 2 million copies during FY2026.

Devil May Cry 5: Devil Hunter Edition will launch for the Switch 2 on 23rd June 2026.

Have you played DMC5 before, or are you waiting to experience it on the Switch 2? Let us know with a comment.