No joke, Star Wars Outlaws was one of my favorite games from last year. Somehow the pitfalls that Ubisoft was known for in their big budget open world AAA games, seemed to fall perfectly into place with Massive Entertainment behind the wheel. So it wasn't that big a surprise to see it be announced as the first Ubisoft game making the jump to Nintendo Switch 2. While the first few showings of the game looked rough, I'm very pleased to report that Star Wars Outlaws is a great fit for Nintendo Switch 2 and I'm hopeful that a new group of players will discover their love for Kay Vess and her band of rogues.
Outlaws takes place between Episode 4 and Episode 5 of the mainline Star Wars films. The explosion of the first Death Star has dealt a massive blow to the Empire and it is a golden time for the crime syndicates to seize their chance at fortune and infamy. You play as Kay Vess, a down on her luck thief, who after multiple failed attempts to land a big score, gets recruited to put together a crew and plan the ultimate heist. With her alien pet Nix, a stolen spaceship, and the piloting droid ND-5, you set out across the Galaxy to score it big. As you traverse between planets you’ll get caught up in the battles between the crime syndicates, swipe credits off of anything that moves, play a ton of Sabacc, and infiltrate Imperial strongholds. The cast is really the glue that binds this world together. Kay is such a fun protagonist to play as. Her quick wit, but also a dash of overconfidence sets her apart from similar characters like Han Solo. Her interactions with ND-5 especially are a lot of fun. ND-5’s pragmatism and extensive knowledge of the Galaxy gives them both a great dynamic, especially once the plot kicks into gear and they grow more toward each other as partners rather than co-workers.
This is all set against the most lively feeling Star Wars universe I've had the pleasure of experiencing in a game. While Knights of the Old Republic might have a deeper story as an RPG, there is something so satisfying about walking around an accurate interpretation of Mos Eisley on Tattooine. While the marketing has presented Outlaws as the first “open world” Star Wars game, I do think that its ambition is scaled quite different to, let's say, an assassin's Creed. While you can traverse between several planets and galaxies, each map feels distinct and designed with intent. You don't need to worry about exploring an actual planet-sized map, but rather a pretty sizable area that gives off the feeling of an open world without feeling endlessly exhaustive. It's a careful tightrope to walk, but Massive Entertainment understands that a world designed with purpose makes it much easier and fun to navigate.
And the game is a lot of fun. While the original release I'd argue was more presented as an action game with dedicated stealth segments, after a few updates the game now leans more heavily into the action genre. While I personally love the stealthy approach, playing into my interpretation that Kay would avoid killing whenever she can, the game balances the action segments pretty well. You can pick up a blaster and start shooting, but this has consequences for your reputation. Every world has distinct sectors that have been claimed by one of the crime syndicates. Entering these areas freely can only be done if you're on good terms with that particular organization. Early on I managed to screw up immensely with the Pykes, meaning that for a quest where I had to steal a database from them, I wasn't able to simply walk through the front door without having to fight 30 guards. This push and pull system gives Outlaws its unique flow and flavor. After stealing the aforementioned datapad, I was contacted by the Hutts to sell the datapad for them at a premium. It would give me more credits, but lower my reputation with Crimson Dawn. These choices are a lot of fun, and while not all are equal, I did play into the fact that Pykes were Kay’s sworn enemies. Meaning they'd occasionally send death squads after me. Making certain infiltration jobs all the harder, but even more satisfying upon completion and screwing them over once more.
When the action does get going, the game offers a lot of approaches. From simply shooting with your blaster, with several modules that enhance certain shots for different types of enemies, to getting Nix to help out. At any point by holding the L-button you can send Nix out to fetch dropped items, like weapons or grenades, or sabotage alarm systems and even detonate explosive barrels. Even pinned down by multiple stormtroopers there's always a way that Nix can be helpful for distractions or simply attacking enemies on his own accord. Space combat also plays a large role here, as the Trailblazer allows you to take off and explore the space surrounding the different galaxies. Getting into dogfights feels pretty clunky, as you turn and maneuver tactically to get around enemy fighters and shoot them from behind or disable their engines with a well timed Ion cannon shot. If anything it doesn't resemble the galactic battles from episode 3 or 7 but rather the way in which Han and Luke operate the Millennium Falcon in Episode 4. Whenever I got into space combat I often let out a beleaguered sigh. Not because I wasn't interested in this type of combat, but because it feels like you need to put in work compared to shooting your blasters on the surface.
That ties back into this larger feeling that Outlaws is interested in exploring the larger world of Star Wars. The characters that have dirt under their nails, need to struggle through their daily lives and get by thanks to a lucky break. More often than not, Kay’s missions go horribly astray and siding with the lesser reward is the only way to prevent a bad scenario from spinning out of control. There are rarely “correct” choices in Outlaws and I love how this forces the characters to stand their ground. You're not a legacy character with force powers or plot armor, but Kay Vess, someone who's had to struggle most of her life. Abandoned even by her mother and her many father figures. The story here can be surprisingly rough and direct, but is always in service of making Kay and her crew feel like a relatable group of misfits, set up to try and do the impossible because the dice have landed wrong one too many times.
Getting into the technical weeds, I'm glad to report that Star Wars Outlaws runs great on switch 2. John already did a quick impressions video on the technical performance and the inclusion of ray-tracing really helps Outlaws to retain some of the shine it had on other platforms. I was especially happy to realize it was possible to send over my save file from a different platform to the Switch 2 version of the game. You simply cannot call this a lazy effort on Ubisoft’s part and I'd go so far as to wholeheartedly recommend Outlaws on Switch 2 if you haven't gotten around to playing it. Sure, it'll not look as pretty as the other versions, but even at a locked 30 fps and with the occasional pop-in, this is simply a wonderful experience on the system. All the story DLC is included too, which is a nice bonus and got me to play some of the additional content I had missed on my original playthrough.
I think Star Wars Outlaws manages to shake off the often attributed pitfalls of the “Ubisoft Open World Game”. Sure, there are still lengthy fetching quests and the core gameplay loop doesn't change too much between the beginning and end. But it's the trifecta of the reputation system, the Star Wars flavor, and especially its characters that set Outlaws apart from the pack. This isn't simply an assassin's creed in a Star Wars coating. Outlaws carves its own path. It can stand among the lineup of not just great Star Wars games, but third person action games in general. It may not be revolutionary but what it does, it does so incredibly well. Back when I played it last year, I was already entertaining that particular opinion but revisiting the game on Switch 2 has convinced me of this. It's a shame that Outlaws was overlooked last year, but perhaps now it is time for a reappraisal of what Star Wars Outlaws is, rather than what it could be. I am genuinely of the opinion that in ten years we'll look back at Star Wars games and go: “you know what, this Outlaws game is pretty fantastic”. Just know that you've heard it from me first.
When SEGA announced Sonic Racing Crossworlds I was a tad skeptical. The last iteration of Sonic Racing, Team Sonic Racing, really didn’t impress me all that much. As the karting/racing genre seems to be heating up this year, with Mario Kart World, Kirby Air Riders and yes even Garfield Kart 2, what will set Sonic Racing: Crossworlds apart? Turns out that the ‘’break glass in case of emergency’ trick this time is to invite literally every IP holder to send in a racer. But is that enough to keep up with the competition?
So yes, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds is another SEGA-branded kart racer. Sonic may have the starring role, and a lot of the playable racers are from the Sonic series, but characters like Steve and Alex from Minecraft, Spongebob Squarepants, Ichiban Kasuga (Like a Dragon), Pac-Man and even Hatsune Miku herself are playable racers, albeit some of them as DLC through a season pass. While the tracks themselves are still designed after a lot of different SEGA series and games, the real gimmick during the races are the crossworlds. At the end of the first lap, the lead driver can pick one of two rings, each one taking the race to a whole different racetrack. After a lap on that chosen track you’ll be returned on the original track to finish out the race. It sounds super gimmicky, but I actually found it to be quite refreshing. It could be that your machine, a kart or a hoverboard, might be better suited for that lap in-between and can be used to gain some distance between you and the competition. Especially as one of the two rings shows a determined preview of the track, while the other ring is random. If you’re in first place that gives you something to consider right as you enter the second lap. What ties into this is that at the beginning of a grand prix you are given a dedicated rival that you’re racing against through the different tracks. Silver had it out for Hatsune Miku this time around. The final track of a grand prix is actually a mix-up of the earlier three tracks, which is actually quite cool as you’ll already be familiar with these tracks for a final competition that gives more points if you finish first.
Aside from the tracks the gameplay itself is pretty decent. Perhaps it was this particular demo and the NPC’s were set to a higher level, but I did feel that the game was very aggressive compared to Mario Kart. Mario Kart can be pretty chaotic and challenging, but here I was bombarded with items, I’d easily drive into other racers or simply get out of bounds quickly. The vehicles feel a bit sluggish, not uncontrollable, but rather like they have some weight to them, which becomes noticeable especially when drifting around corners. When drifting, you can get up to a three-level boost, which is really required to gain speed on the track. Before starting the race you can select and customize certain capabilities of your machine. I preferred one that would make my vehicle spin during the drift, so that other racers would get knocked over if they drove into my kart. But there’s a lot of options available for those who want to collect rings, prefer to take specific flying shortcuts or feel the need to play more aggressively.
One of the new modes I got to play was Race Park, which took place on a map with different challenges. Race Park comes recommended in multiplayer as you’ll be facing off against a team during the race. The goal is to participate in multiple challenges and score high enough that you’ll beat the rival team. These challenges could be a regular race, or a race with very strong items, or one where you’d need to perform the most tricks, or gain the highest speed. The best comparison would be like a party mode where the rules are a little bit mixed up and I can see how this would work well for a multiplayer setting. Finally there’s also a time trial mode, where you can race against ghosts for the best time. Pretty standard, but glad to see it included. One final remark is that while the game was demoed on a PlayStation 5 Pro, I did see quite a number of visual bugs and slight performance hiccups in the menus. Nothing gamebreaking, but for a game that aims to have a consistent framerate, I am raising an eyebrow to see how this will perform on Nintendo Switch.
Sonic Racing Crossworlds is really trying its hardest to make it stand out among the crowd. Their approach for using crossovers with other brands and characters will probably do wonders for the marketing, but for me it also rings a bit hollow. Yes, it’s kind of funny that Hatsune Miku can get smacked by a boxing glove fired off by Dr. Eggman. But once that novelty wears off, it turns into a technically competent kart racer, stuck in a pool of other technically competent kart racers. I did really like that Crossworld mechanic during the races, which helps to combat the feeling of repetition. I also do hope that the multiplayer modes will offer a few more interesting ways to compete against friends. I need a lot more time to understand the finer details of how the karts and hoverboards perform, to really pinpoint what does and does not work in Sonic Racing: Crossworld. I’m cautiously optimistic, but also afraid that my attention may get shifted elsewhere in the karting space too quickly.
Last year I went hands on with the 7800+ at Atari, their continued line of hardware that embraces the past but also enables future games for Atari hardware. It’s really kind of baffling to be holding an Atari 2600 joystick in the year 2025, but their new collaboration with Bandai Namco is all focused on PAC-MAN. A fresh paint job, in PAC-MAN neon yellow adorns the system, with a neat little frontplate replacing the wooden finish you’d have seen on the original 2600+, though this time decorated with a lit-up panel showing PAC-MAN being chased by the ghosts. Functionally the hardware is the same as the 2600+, but it is definitely more of a visual statement draped in PAC-MAN.
First off, all the Atari 2600+ systems support original Atari and Atari 7800 cartridges with clean inputs and outputs. They can be connected through HDMI to modern TV's, but carry on the retro feel and look that Atari was known for at the beginning of the 1980's. The real interesting bit is that this particular edition of the console comes with a brand new version of PAC-MAN, this time for the Atari 7800. The cartridge is dubbed ‘PAC-MAN: Double Feature’ and comes with the original PAC-MAN for 2600 (a, let’s say interesting adaptation of the arcade version) as well as a brand new version of PAC-MAN for the 7800. This version was developed with the approval of Bandai Namco and is much more similar to the original arcade version of the game. The music is much better than the 2600 version and the game controls incredibly well. How excited one can be over the release of a new-ish version of PAC-MAN in 2025 remains to be seen, though thankfully the collaboration with Bandai Namco will also see the (re)release of the 2600 versions of Dig Dug, Xevious and especially Galaga. That last one is still a ton of fun to play thankfully.
As for the controls, their CX40+ Wireless Joystick comes with a dongle that can be plugged into an original Atari or these modern takes, in order to get the most authentic experience possible. The PAC-MAN versions of the joysticks come in five colors designed after PAC-MAN and his undead foes. They feel premium, yet also entirely accurate to the original experience with a bit of a stiff feel to the stick. For the Atari sickos, this will be just like coming home. Of course the CX78+ arcade pad can also be connected to the system, which was honestly my preferred way of playing these arcade games with a little more comfort.
It’s interesting to see Atari trying to fully embrace their past, trying to reach out to the Atari development community and rekindle their original partnerships. In particular it remains to be seen if other Atari collaborations for the 2600/7800 can come to fruition to see the library expand even further.
The gold standard for presenting and preserving games for years has been Digital Eclipse. Last year’s Tetris Forever was one of my favorite games of the year. Not just because it was Tetris, but because of the care and attention that the team put into presenting the story in a cohorent and informative manner. Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection is a bit of a different beast comparatively. When speaking with the folks from Digital Eclipse they emphasized that for this particular collection, they knew that it wouldn’t necessarily be the treasure trove of historical documents and interviews, but that the games would do the talking.
So let’s begin with that because Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection has a pretty clear focus. This collection is centered on Mortal Kombat’s arcade history. Mortal Kombat 1, 2 and 3 are all here in the many forms they were released on ranging from the arcade version, the Super Nintendo, the Mega Drive, the Game Boy, Game Gear, 32x and PlayStation versions (that last one specifically as Mortal Kombat Trilogy). Mortal Kombat 4 (arcade), Mortal Kombat Advance, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Mortal Kombat: Tournament edition (all Game Boy Advance), as well as the much maligned beat em ups Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and Mortal Kombat: Special Forces for PlayStation are here. I was in particular surprised to see a special version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for WaveNet Arcades, which was a version that enabled online play between arcade cabinets, but wasn’t widely available and includes Noob Saibot as a playable fighter.
Going beyond the sheer amount of games available, there’s a lot of quality of life features that I in particular found incredibly useful. Because to be honest I am very bad at fighting games and the original Mortal Kombat games in particular have never been that accessible to new players. Having the option to enable a training mode in the games sounds obvious, but it helps so much with learning the mechanics, moves and characters. There’s also the option to toggle visible movelists for every character to be visible while playing, making it much easier to remember special moves. Those who’ve struggled to learn the fatalities can finally check the positions and move combinations. Some smaller things, like being able to toggle specific unlocks like Reptile and the transformations for Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat Trilogy can be triggered easily now, because of the removal of the original loading times. I also really need to mention the incredible CRT-filters and bezels that the team added into the game. For the PlayStation titles there’s this gorgeous outer glow on the bezel of a classic CRT television. It just goes to show that extra little bit of effort that sets Digital Eclipse apart from other re-releases.
But for me the star of the show was always going to be the supplemental materials. There’ll be over three hours of interviews in the final release, including chats with Ed Boon, John Tobias and others on the original development team. I was particularly excited to see the original references for the Goro model and the original film footage of the actors that performed the fighters in the original game. Of course there are the flyers, arcade marquees, manuals and high resolution scans of images and other materials that have made Digital Eclipse’s collections the equivalent of a high-end digital coffee table book.
Even if you aren’t familiar with the history of Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection is shaping to be a great introduction to show people what made the series so iconic and influential for its time and beyond. For those longing to replay the Mortal Kombat classics, you can rip your friends' hearts out without worry. As for me, I can’t wait to dig into the full history of these games thanks to historical archives that Digital Eclipse is laying out here. But perhaps what the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection will show us is that the studio isn’t just raising the bar for others, but for themselves as well.
There was a little sparkle in the eye of Atari CEO Wade Rosen when I asked him why the company was so keen on reviving the Bubsy franchise. Indeed, the announcement last year when Atari managed to buy back the rights to this much maligned bobcat got quite a bit of traction in mainstream media even. Almost a month after those rights were obtained, developer Fabraz, known for Slime-San and Demon Turf, had an accepted pitch and started work on Bubsy 4D. I’ve played a lot of games at Gamescom this year. From AAA to indie and a lot in between. It was more than once that I was sitting behind a screen playing a demo for an upcoming game and thought to myself: “I’d be playing Busby 4D now”. What has this world come to?
For those unaware, during the platformer mascot wars of the 80’s and 90’s, Bubsy was already a bit of an odd duck out. Wanting to resemble more Sonic than Mario, with that classic 90’s edge, his 2D platformer games were pretty decent, but not something that really stood out among the crowd. Then Bubsy 3D released and pretty much killed the character with a game that was simply too ambitious for its time. Bubsy 4D is direct follow-up, in which his old enemies the Woolies are taken over by aliens. The game acknowledges not just the fraught history of the bobcat, but even puts its focus on the extended cast of characters that accompany Bubsy including Terry and Terri, Virgil Reality and Arnold Armadillo. The game is fully voiced and honestly, the actors are doing a really good job bringing the tongue-in-cheek nature of the series to the forefront. With the 3D cell-shaded style it really makes the game feel like a cartoon come to life.
What might be even harder to believe is that the game controls really really well. Bubsy’s moveset has been refined and expanded for the 3D levels you’ll travel through. The best comparison would be like a level from Super Mario 3D World, or Super Mario Galaxy. Levels are pretty well confined, but leave plenty of room for small exploration. There are multiple goals aside from getting to the end, like reaching the end of the stage in a set time limit and collecting all the balls of yarn (150) within the stage. Bubsy has a double jump, can wall jump, slightly claw up and down walls, float around for a bit and even transform himself into a large ball to roll down slopes and gain momentum. Within less than 5 minutes I was already combining all these techniques to make my way through the stage and having a blast. The key movement mechanic is a pounce, similar to what Cat Mario would do in Bowser’s Fury. You can launch yourself at a downward diagonal angle and use it to cross wide gaps or get yourself close enough to latch onto a ledge. It became second nature to my time with the game and it just felt great as this little tool to course correct myself if I’ve missed a jump. The game is pretty generous in that regard and it didn’t feel like there was a singular correct path I could’ve taken. Along the way you can collect small secrets and collectibles that unlock new outfits for Bubsy.
Bubsy 4D feels like a genuine revival of the 3D licensed platformer, but with a certain amount of polish that was often too much to ask for back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Fabraz seems to have boiled down Bubsy to his essentials, and just made it a really solid platformer. The idea that the game has a more limited scope and can probably be finished in under 10 hours excites me even more. Yes really, Bubsy 4D is possibly one of the best games I’ve played at Gamescom this year and I still don’t know how to feel about that. The game is set to arrive in the first half of 2026 and frankly I’m ready to mark my calendar for it. There’s nothing that could possibly go wrong with these expectations right?
Some games are incredibly difficult to talk about. Not because I’d rather not spoil anything (I do) but rather because giving a broad mechanical description of how a game is designed or played goes fundamentally against the intent behind a game. If anything about And Roger piques your interest based on its visual style, that should be enough of a safe bet for you to pick up this title. It’s emotional, haunting but also uses game mechanics in such a way that it elevates the entire experience in a way that is rarely seen in games.
As much as I want to say about the game and its characters, the briefest of overviews is this. In And Roger you’re playing as a woman, through several chapters of her life. The game uses buttons and sliders that you’re asked to move around in order to make the woman interact with her surroundings. It could be as simple as moving a slider back and forth in order to simulate the act of brushing teeth, or touching buttons in the correct order to perform simple tasks like washing your hands. The game finds plenty of creative ways to build on top of these mechanics, especially as the story progresses and you start making sense of why the game has chosen this particular control scheme.
It’s rare for me that a game makes such a strong impression from the first minute and keeps that momentum going up till the very end. Not just because of the subject the game tries to talk about, which can be particularly hard hitting if you’ve ever had to take care of a loved one, but also because of its clean and gorgeous art style. The best comparison is the game Florence, which used a similar method. But I do think that the team behind And Roger has learned from what does and does not work for such a particular game. Playing with your expectations, twisting the narrative and still making sure that heartwarming moments leave a lasting impact.
And Roger is a short game, but mostly because I was simply unable to put it down after playing through the opening chapter. Walking the tightrope between some of the darkest subject matter we can experience in life, toying with the expectations of the player and yet still showcasing the warmth and love of human connections during these dark times. It’s especially challenging to explain why And Roger is probably one of the most memorable experiences of the year. For a tale like this, to be told in this particular way just makes sense. It’s medium and message working hand in hand and building on one another. No fat needs to be trimmed, no minigames for the sake of expanding the time spent with it. And Roger might be another one of the perfect examples of why games aren’t just art, but elevate our conception of what art can be, and how it can explore our own humanity. Frankly, it’s a fantastic feeling to be reminded of every once in a while and I’d urge you to seek it out for yourself.
Willem received a Codec call to dive deep into the history of Metal Gear Solid and its remakes before the latest remake arrives this August with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.
I think what I tend to miss most about modern games is a sincere interest in simplicity. Even on the indie side, far too often games are attempting to maximize ideas, making an artistic statement or weaving a complex narrative with subtext and metaphors, often to the detriment of their own focus. While I don’t think that Dear Me, I Was… is actively rebelling against the games industry with its very basic gameplay and story, it’s a flashback of sorts to a time when games were content with just being. I was more than happy with its presence for the short time I spent with it.
Dear Me, I Was… is a narrative story that tells the tale of a woman growing up with a passion for art. Through short chapters, you capture fleeting moments of her life. Glimpses at those with whom she shared a bond and in particular the importance of creativity and her art. The game has few interactive elements, mostly at the beginning of chapters where you eat and drink and occasionally by dragging your cursor across the screen to draw in images of art and the people you meet.
My attention for the game was mostly grabbed through its visual style. It’s no surprise that it is immediately reminiscent of games like Another Code and Hotel Dusk, two of my personal favorite DS titles from the mid 2000’s. The art director is Taisuke Kanasaki who has perfected this particular style over the last twenty years. His watercolors and character designs are striking in their simplicity, but never cease to stun me when in motion. Here the art is on full display, using rotoscoping to feel more lifelike than ever before. It fits the tone of the story director Maho Taguchi is trying to tell through its vignettes.
And it is the art that makes the difference, for this tale is told without words. It can at times be a bit abstract. You may not know the characters by name, or what exactly transpires between them. But the moments captured are immediately recognizable. I do not know why a relationship falls apart, but much like art I can give it my own interpretation and the game allows for those moments to linger.
The hardest thing about Dear Me, I Was… is that most will likely consider it to be more of an animated movie than a videogame. I don’t think that the game is making a statement on this per se. This feeling is recognizable for a lot of triple A games nowadays as well. What is the act of interaction, if I’m mostly folding forward and moving from cutscene to cutscene that keeps on getting longer and longer? But here the game embraces its linearity. A clear ambition of telling a story and leaving little breadcrumbs of interactivity only to further your immersion into its protagonist. Reaching that conclusion was bittersweet, because it felt poignant. A day in the life of a life long lived, but perhaps even wasted through actions outside of the protagonists control. Outside of your control. It brings color into a life that would pass most of us by. Dear Me, I Was… is a reminder to celebrate art, life and love in ways that often pass us by unnoticed.
Take a moment to sit down, put on a headset, drink a cup of tea and get lost in this artwork. It’s something you’ll remember.
To tell you the truth, outside of a curious few hours with Power Wash Simulator, the ‘job-like simulator’ genre has never really captured my attention. Outside of the novelty of certain interactions and how you see progression over time when performing menial tasks, I think that these games tickle a part of my brain that makes me a bit too aware that I’m playing a video game. So when a campfire-building-simulator was announced during the last Nintendo partner showcase my response wasn’t “Oh my god, another simulator; this genre is getting dumber”, but rather “oh crap, that’s a new Oink game?”. Indeed, possibly one of the most socially focused boardgame companies out there decided to toss their hat into the ring of fire. And to tell you the truth, this stuff is lit.
Oink Games is probably best known as the publisher behind board games like Scout, A Fake Artist Goes to New York and Deep Sea Adventure. They’re a Japanese publisher and have made waves with their clean art and socially focused game design, spearheaded by their lead designer Jun Sasaki. Let’s Play: Oink Games came out on Switch and mobile a few years back and has been one of my go-to multiplayer online games. A simple, but streamlined experience that has given me plenty of laughter and fun evenings with friends both in digital and physical form. Chillin’ by the Fire translates this experience really well into a social activity that goes surprisingly deeper than you may expect.
Upon starting a level, you are placed in front of a campfire with a single igniter and some logs spread across the ground. You can grab these logs with your tongs, bring them over to the chopping block, cut them down into smaller pieces and proceed to lay them out in your fire pit. Ignite the starter and watch the flames slowly spread onto your tactically laid out logs. The game is simply to keep your fire growing and going for as long as possible. You can add larger logs, which are a great source for increasing your fire, but take a long time to start to burn, or cut logs down to little splinters, which can help you to spread the core of your bonfire to the outer edges. You can also rotate and twist the logs with the directional buttons, allowing you to fill up gaps. The strength of the fire is indicated with a meter that goes up and down depending on how big the fire gets and if logs start to burn up. Starting the fire is easy, but getting it to grow consistently is where the real challenge lies.
While building the fire is pretty relaxing, it becomes a great social activity when played with friends. The game supports both online and local gameshare and gamechat features, including the use of a camera for video-support. That’s right, you can play this with friends who don’t own a copy of the game themselves! For the first time it felt like a return of the glory days of DS Download Play. It was surprisingly fun to hang with a friend and slowly build the biggest fire we could muster. I started to use the campfire measuring tool to keep track of which logs needed to be stacked and replaced, while my friend kept searching for logs and chopping them down. What makes multiplayer in particular fun is that you’re also given prompts to chat about. Questions like: “what advice would you have given yourself ten years ago today?” make for interesting conversation pieces while slowly building out that fire. The game truly puts the chill in Chillin’ by the Fire, which I wasn’t expecting. There’s also achievements, depending on how fast and well you keep the bonfire going. For these, you get points that can be exchanged for different looking axes and fire blowers, but also some fun gag-items like fireworks, musical instruments and even a glow stick.
I don’t think the game is without flaws, however. Stacking and rotating firewood would’ve been a lot more precise and fun using motion controls. If you try to squeeze a log between other pieces of wood, most of the time it just gets warped to the top of the pyre. And while you can buy chairs and tents, they are really only decorative pieces. Outside of chatting with friends or trying to get your fire to reach enormous levels, there isn’t that much going on in this game. Which frankly is fine. It’s a laidback activity that felt very zen in its approach. It’s something you can put on in the background when hanging out with friends, or perhaps while watching a show on a different screen.
This campfire simulator is probably the most extra a game of this scope and type can be, and yet its focus on social elements makes it a delight to return to. Oink Games decided to try something very different here, but has remained true to their design philosophy. No, I did not think I’d recommend a fire-building simulator in 2025, but frankly this one ignited something in me that I wasn’t expecting. Now how long will it take for the true pyromaniacs to start speedrunning this game?
During Nintendo's Partner Showcase today it was announced that NBA BOUNCE will be coming to Nintendo Switch on September 26th. The game, developed by Unfinished Pixel and published by Outright Games is an arcade sports title that emphasizes casual and fun basketball matches. You can play the game locally with up to four players in 3v3 matches. Additional modes like a Party mode that enables special effects such as a basketball that occasionally stuns the player with electricity. The game doesn't use the likenesses of actual players, but leans into mascottes and its cartoony artstyle for a more family friendly approach.
The Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase today had some quirky titles, but Chillin' by the Fire is perhaps one of the strangest showcases for Nintendo's new hardware. Releasing today for Nintendo Switch 2, in Chillin' by the Fire, you can build a campfire to your heart's content. Guide and direct the flow of oxygen through the placement of logs and keep the fire properly lit. The Nintendo Switch 2 camera is supported, allowing you to sit around the campfire with up to four friends through online play. You can also play the game with Nintendo Switch owners through local and online GameShare. While sitting around the fire, short prompts will pop up, specifically for subjects to chat about. It's laidback cozy atmosphere seems to be the driving force. Oink Games is mostly known for their small card and board games, such as Scout and Nine Tiles Panic, but have slowly embraced publishing digital games as well such as Safo and the Moon Warriors and Tiger Trio's Tasty Travels.Chillin' by the Fire can be bought starting today on the Nintendo eShop for $14,99
During the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase today, several games were shown to be release on Nintendo Switch 2 before the end of the year. A set of these games are (nearly) day-in-date with their releases on other platforms. They are listed below in order of release date.
SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance Launching on August 29th, the 2D return of SHINOBI marks its victims on the Nintendo Switch. A free demo is available on Nintendo eShop starting today. Pre-orders are also now available through the Nintendo eShop. Additional content can be purchased as part of the Digital Deluxe Edition, which includes a special in-game amulet, a digital art book and a SEGA themed villains stage. A special discount is now available for launch, the game will sell for $29,99.
Star Wars: Outlaws Released last year on other systems, Star Wars Outlaws will be coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on September 4th. The Nintendo Switch 2 version is now confirmed to be the gold edition which includes the game as well as the season pass, consisting of two additional story expansions. The developers have also announced that the game will feature a couple of Switch 2 specific features and the game will support touch controls for minigames.
Cronos: The New Dawn Developed by Blooper Team, responsible for last year's Silent Hill 2 remake on other platforms, Cronos: The New Dawn is a survival horror game that will release on Nintendo Switch 2 on the same date as other systems, September 5th. The game has received some positive previews over the last year, so it should be promising for fans to the horror genre. The game combines a time travel mystery with science-fiction horror as you try to survive monsters that absorb defeated enemies to evolve and become stronger.
Borderlands 4 The Borderlands series has been on Switch for quite some time, but the newest chapter in the series will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 a few weeks after its debut on other platforms. Today the game was formally given its release date of October 4th. The announcement trailer does make note that gameplay shown could be from in-engine gameplay, so bear in mind it may not be representative to how the game looks and plays on Nintendo Switch 2.
I first spotted Time Flies during Day of the Devs last year, where it caught my attention with its 1-bit style and unique hook. A short game (in both the literal and figurative sense) as you take control of a mayfly. You only have limited time to complete your bucket list, as you will quite literally die based on the country you’re playing in. Time Flies is one of those comedic games that occasionally even makes you reflect on life itself, if only for a few seconds.
Time Flies starts out with perhaps the most poignant question for the player. Where are you based? Using data from the WHO, you can select your country from a list where it shows your expected lifespan. For example, I played from the Netherlands, where the average lifespan is 81 years (certainly less challenging than Mozambique with its average 57.7 years of expected lifespan), which translates to about 81 seconds of playtime. In these 81 seconds you have a short list of things to achieve. More often than not you’ll need to direct your mayfly to interact with objects in the level. Traveling the world? Well that means obviously to walk around on a spinning globe. Leaving your mark? Walking on top of a doormat will certainly do that. Are most of these objectives an excuse for puns? Yes and they’re good puns at that.
As a mayfly you really can’t do much more than flying in a direction. Whenever you approach an object, time stands still for a while and you can try to move it or make something happen. Occasionally you may get caught in a drop of water, a flickering flame or even a turned on lightbulb, which spells the end for your mayfly. Thankfully you can immediately start again and possibly learn from your mistakes. I loved the little touches that your previous mayfly is still shown in the world as a little dot. It makes the four levels feel that little bit more cohesive.
While there aren’t that many levels, the trick is in figuring out the optimal way to navigate the world. Especially when there’s little tricks and secrets to be found that I don’t want to spoil here. Occasionally Time Flies feels like a small speedrunning game. There’s no reward for finishing the game faster, but you’re nearly always on the clock. Once you figure out the individual objectives for your bucket list, the real goal is to tie them all together and finish them all in a single lifespan. It makes for a delightful little adventure that had me chuckling numerous times. It’s also a great game for someone else to watch alongside the player. It almost makes me wish that the game supported multiplayer as it touches on similar elements as something like Untitled Goose Game. Free in its flow, and malleable in its structure depending on who’s playing it.
The game also has a few replayable elements, such as secret puzzle pieces and a list of achievements. It feels like such a tightly woven package that there is very little to complain about aside from wanting there to be more levels. But frankly I think that with four stages the game doesn’t overstay its welcome. It doesn’t need an endless mode, much like a mayfly it just might be aware of when its time is up. And when that final task was scratched off my bucket list, it felt rewarding in its own right.
If you like short and comedic games then Time Flies comes highly recommended. You’ll have seen most of what the game has to offer in a few hours, but it has a high “Wait, I need you to play this game for five minutes”-factor that makes it a lot of fun to show to friends and family. It is rare that a game is so sharply tuned that I can be satisfied with having fewer levels to play through. Time Flies is such an easy recommendation to just about anyone who plays games. Your time with it may be short, but it is certainly well spent.
In case you’ve never come across it, do yourself a favor and search for the post about how someone decided to prank their bully by leaving pineapples for them in random places. It’s a genuinely fun read and probably one of the more (in)famous internet stories. I came across it years ago and every so often it makes the rounds again. So when I got a message that folks made a game out of this very story I got curious. Pineapple: A Bittersweet Revenge is a colorful minigame-filled retelling of this story. While it’s incredibly short, much like its source material it makes for a delightful time and showcases the creative talent on display.
You play as the nameless victim of a bully, dubbed The Witch. After she’s gone too far and dropped your new phone in the toilet, the protagonist decides to fully stalk their bully and leave pineapples wherever she goes. Every level sees you considering the meticulous notes taken, and using that information to hack into an account, break into her home, create a fake dating profile or find other ways to get back at the bully. These little minigames are fun and varied and often balance the playful nature of the original internet post with some simple tapping and swiping prompts.
The game works wonders on the Nintendo Switch touchscreen, but the controls failed me when I was playing the game on the TV. For the ‘storybook’ segments in between the minigames, my controller would be unable to select the prompt to continue to the minigame unless I first returned to the notebook. The same could be said for a few minigames where you need to draw a line or drag an object. It feels a little bit off with a controller.
What is great is the soundtrack and visual style. With its 2D handdrawn style, the game doesn't just look playful, but is very accessible. The animation might be minimal, but it never gets in the way of the minigames. I think that playing it with younger players is especially effective. I also like that the creators take a moment to consider the implications of the original story, reflecting on who the bully is, as sung with small interjections at the end of every stage.
You can see everything the game has to offer in about two hours and I think that works in this game’s favor. It makes for a short, but (bitter)sweet experience that is a fun pick-me-up if you’re looking to waste some time in between other titles.
I’m one of those people who is far more interested in seeing a games company take a swing on a new concept or idea rather than the endless barrage of sequels, spin-offs and remakes. Capcom has done really well for themselves over the last decade or so. But what excites me more about the company compared to others in the AAA space is their ambition to still take a swing with new ideas and smaller games. ExoPrimal, their take on the PvPvE genre was refreshing, albeit a bit repetitive, and if you looked past those crying out for a new Dino Crisis, it was a solid multiplayer experience. With Kunitsu-Gami: Path of Goddess, it almost feels as if Capcom is trying to channel some of that Clover Studio energy that made Viewteful Joe and Okami back in the early 2000’s. It’s a visually striking action game that blends Japanese mythology with tower defense and troop-management. While it may have fallen flat when it was released last year on other platforms, I sincerely hope that the Switch 2 version will breathe life into it once more, because I found it to be truly something special.
As the mountain Kafuku is engulfed by defilement, you guide a priestess named Yoshiro as her spirit guardian Soh. Armed with a katana you can take out the hordes of enemies, dubbed Seeth, as they come pouring out of the defiled Torii gates. It is your task to protect Yoshiro by night and collect as many crystals as possible, so that during the day you can carve a path for her to follow and purify the region. Along the way you are assisted by the local villagers who you can recruit as fighters to help protect Yoshiro. From simple woodcutters using their axe, to archers, banishers and even sumo wrestlers, at any point you can deploy these villagers or change their role on the battlefield. As you purify the regions, you can rebuild and restore the towns to their former glory and gain more trinkets and abilities to help you battle the defilement.
We can’t dance around this. Visually Kunitsu-Gami looks absolutely gorgeous. From the way the characters, villagers but especially the monsters coming out of the defilement are designed, to how Soh’s dancing blade becomes engulfed in what can only be described as tears in the world made by a kaleidoscope. It’s rare that a world that’s taken over by an evil otherworldly force feels so disturbed and twisted, but the defilement, with rotting appendages draped across the villages you encounter does such a great job at conveying this world needs purification. It all runs beautifully on the Nintendo Switch 2 in both docked and handheld mode. There’s a lot of spectacle in both the cutscenes and the fighters themselves. Especially as you improve the roles your requited army can perform and as you get to trips with the game’s inner mechanics.
Structurally this is where Kunitsu-Gami really sets itself apart. It’s a real-time strategy game with action-elements. Stages are divided into two types, villages and boss battles. When you arrive in a village everything is covered by the defilement. You’ll need to rescue villagers from their pods and assign them roles and position them along the path. The more defilement you clear out, the more crystals you obtain which can be used to carve out a spirit path for Yoshiro to follow. She will keep doing so until night falls, which means that you’ll probably never make it to the main torii gate that needs purging. This is when the monsters of the defilement will come pouting out. All you villagers will automatically engage the horde while you can freely run around and protect yoshiro or move the battle lines ahead. Interaction with the villagers is done via a command menu, where you can reposition each individual villager or reassign their roles.
It all makes for a super dynamic tactical combat system. Where you often are required to change your tactics and approach depending on where Yoshiro ended her purification ritual on the way to the torii. This gets even more hectic when new enemy types are introduced or there’s multiple points of entry for the defilement to approach Yoshiro. Nighttime never gets dull, but it can get overwhelming quickly. There’s equipment you can bring along and some special abilities that can aid you during the battle. As long as you can make it through the night there’s time to refortify your defenses, resurrect your fallen villagers and hope that Yoshiro has enough crystals to make it to the end. In later stages the fight takes multiple days, meaning that you’ll need to consider whether it is even smart to move Yoshiro at all, as she gets closer to the source of the enemies. While you’ll be repeating a lot of similar missions throughout the stages, I found the game throwing plenty of changes into the mix that would require me to change my tactics. For example, one enemy would make it impossible to use the command menu until it was defeated. Another stage sees you crossing a lake at night, while you’re being flanked by monstrous hordes from all sides. It’s these twists and layers to the formula that neatly balances Kunitsu-Gami’s ambition between an action game and strategy game that frankly I haven’t seen since 2009's Brütal Legend.
The other section of the combat are the boss battles. Horrendous monsters that are truly a spike in difficulty for you to overcome with a set number of villagers. While you are able to prepare before entering the boss’s arena, they use erratic patterns and ways of attacking. Meaning you’ll need to rely on your own skills to guard against incoming attacks, but also perhaps buff your specific villagers to have a chance against these creatures. From a gigantic centipede, for which you’ll need to spend valuable time and a villager to reignite the lights in a cave, so that your archers are able to shoot at it. To a floating scythe that can almost instantly cut down Soh and Yoshiro. At times these bosses felt a bit too unfair, with little time to practice and especially being limited by the amount of crystals at your disposal to convert all your villagers into the appropriate roles. Where the main stages feel like a true test of your tactical and problem solving skills, the boss fighters can be a tad too unpredictable and unfair at times.
When the fighting is over you have some downtime, during which you can rebuild the villages and areas you’ve just recovered from the defilement. Since the game is based on an in-game day and night cycle, you’ll need to put villagers to work to rebuild the shrines and buildings in the town. These give you rewards which you can then equip to improve or adjust Soh’s actions. It’s a system that flows pretty naturally. Stages aren’t simply for you to walk through and get out, it is your job to nurture them back to health and the game really nicely reinforces this idea of community. Especially when you can improve the roles of certain fighters. I immediately wanted to expand the arsenal for my archers, as they proved vital at taking out enemies from a distance. You’re also able to collect little notes on the defilement that are presented as little Ema’s (those wooden panels with wishes at Japanese shrines and temples), that have some fun writing and character to them. It just makes the world of Kunitsu-Gami feel whole as you explore and learn more about the Kafuku mountain and its residents.
I found Kunistu-Gami: Path of the Goddess to be a very big surprise. I was half-afraid that most of the time the systems would be overwhelming as I’m neither big on tower defence nor real-time strategy games. But the way in which Kunitsu-Gami eases you into its mechanics and world is incredibly enjoyable. I loved bringing this world back to life and tackling one or two stages every night for an hour or so. It’s a game best played in segments, rather than one long binge. While I did find the boss battles to be a bit too difficult and some of the core gameplay can be a tad repetitive, Kunitsu-Gami really manages to become a fresh combination of action and real-time strategy. It’s absolutely not for everyone, but if this combination or setting sounds like it may be something for you, you just may find a hidden treasure of a game here. It’s great to see Capcom taking a big swing with something that feels so original. Here’s to hoping that there’s more games from the studio that will follow this particular path.
Hitman: World of Asssassination may perhaps be one of the most ambitious games ever designed. Told across three games and more than fifteen locations, Hitman is an ever-expanding sandbox that rewards players for learning its elaborate stages in and out. The game makes paying attention to details matter as you will become bolder and more elaborate in your high-level executions. The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally graced with a proper port of the game, after the disappointing Cloud version of Hitman 3 on the original Switch. So it is time to once again adorn the suit and adopt your killing ways as Agent 47 in this Signature Edition.
For those unaware, Hitman: World of Assassination is the collective name for the games Hitman, Hitman 2 and Hitman 3 which were released over the span of seven years. We wrote an extensive ‘Worth Considering’ video about it before, so for all the details on what this collection contains, we recommend you check that one out. Every location in Hitman sees you carrying out a mission where you’ll need to take out one or multiple targets as efficiently as possible. Whether this is poisoning the drink of your victim, or arranging an elaborate setup where you don the guise of a bodyguard and stalk them until you find an opening to push them off a ledge, or shoot them from afar with your sniper rifle.
What makes Hitman so effective is that it combines stealth elements with an immersive sim as the world around you will react and respond to your actions. Not just when you’re seen dragging off an unconscious guard, but also by encouraging you to mingle among the targets. Whether it is replacing a golf-ball about to be hit with an explosive. Setting up an elaborate trap by rigging a vehicle about to be driven by your unsuspecting victim or disguising yourself as a member of the band and electrocuting the microphone of the lead singer (Jared Leto had it coming). In-between these moments the game becomes far too often unintentionally comedic. Whether it is NPC that is too diligent at doing their job and coming into the bathroom where you’re trying to drown someone, or you simply messing up your well-prepared kill and needing to find an impromptu method of killing the target and drop a broken toilet bowl on his head. Or through the dozens of outfits, costumes, unique weapons and other methods of interacting with the world that feel rewarding.
That reward is often reinforced as replaying levels is the ultimate form of appreciating Hitman. Learning the inner workings of Berlin leads to you not only being able to optimize your run, but also to tackling higher level escalation missions. These are separate from the main story and have an ever evolving list of requirements that you’ll need to fulfill besides simply firing the killing shot. What if you’re dressed as a clown the entire time and aren’t allowed to change your outfit? You did that well enough? Cool, how about you also pop 5 balloons without people noticing? As you embrace the elaborate levels you’ll see how brilliant the game design under the hood is and perfect your skills. Where first you’ll need to don a security guard costume to delete the surveillance footage of the server, you can also open the door and in a split second aim your gun and shoot that server instead. It’s never flawless, but saving and restarting are key to becoming the master assassin that Agent 47 is. Levels are varied, gorgeously detailed and convey a sense of mystery and exploration as you find secret rooms, interconnected buildings and NPC disguises that are somehow capable of walking into your target’s room without drawing any attention. This deeply layered system is something you simply cannot get anywhere else.
So I was ecstatic when Hitman was announced for Nintendo Switch 2. While the core experience is absolutely still enjoyable, it is disappointing that this version of the game is unable to keep pace with either the Steamdeck or other releases. Framerate drops are common, especially when entering areas with a high density of NPC’s. It never drops below the double digits, but shimmering between 20 and 40 happened far too often for my liking. We did want to compare the version of Hitman for the Nintendo Switch 2 with the PC version running at 1080p on slightly outdated hardware.
I wish it were possible to toggle to a performance mode, because while the game is designed for visual fidelity, I’d rather take that consistent framerate if possible. But the game lacks any graphical settings that might’ve made this a feature. For a title that was released fully in 2022 it is kind of a shame that it still seems too much of a struggle for Nintendo’s brand new device.
I’d also be remiss to mention the Hitman server issue. See, Hitman has been required to run via dedicated servers ever since its launch. This online connection is used to keep track of your agent level and unlocks rewards for missions and goals. Without an online connection the game shifts to offline mode, where progression is not tracked and rewards cannot be unlocked, even when you do reconnect to the servers at a later time. For a single player game that has been out for literal years this is still a big miss on IO Interactive and WB Games’ part. On the Nintendo Switch 2 this is a particular problem as every time you interrupt the game by suspending your system, or simply going to the home menu, or even losing your wi-fi connection because you’re taking the system with you on the go you will not get any XP or rewards for completing certain tasks. The offline mode removes any additional modes as well that aren’t part of the main story mode. Meaning that replaying levels is quite pointless as the rewards you get for these are absolutely necessary for completing the most difficult objectives. It would’ve been fine if progression for the Elusive Targets, Hitman’s live content mode that sees you having only one shot at completing a mission with a target that escapes forever otherwise, would be locked behind an online-only mode. But the Hitman server is seeped into every little bit of singleplayer mode as well and just makes an otherwise perfect game fall flat on its face.
Hitman: World of Asssassination reaffirms that it is the quintessential immersive sim from the last generation. There is something so satisfying about exploring and understanding these worlds, how the characters and targets fit together and the sheer sandbox that it becomes when every little aspect of the game can be used to complete your objectives. It is a shame then that the Nintendo Switch 2 version has to compromise on the performance aspect too often for my liking. A choice for fidelity or consistency would’ve been appreciated in the options of the Switch 2 version. For those with a spotty internet connection, or aspirations to play this on the go when you may be unable to get online, Hitman World of Assassination can be especially tedious for its required online features. The core game, its story and worlds are absolutely worth exploring, but the Nintendo Switch 2 version is heavily compromised. Perhaps it could be more effective to complete this game and mission while donning the guise of another games console.
Kaizen Game Works first dropped on my radar with Paradise Killer–A narrative game from 2020 that was almost as much fun to explore as to read its intoxicating prose while learning more about its world and vibrant characters. At first, it seems that their latest game, Promise Mascot Agency, shares little of its DNA with Paradise Killer. However, after spending almost twenty hours in its lovely world, it’s clear that Kaizen Game Works is a studio that shouldn’t be judged by its cover. While Promise Mascot Agency may reject any label applied to it, I would heartily recommend it to anyone looking for something wildly out of the ordinary and those who just love good games.
You play as Michi, better known by his yakuza title, The Janitor, who after failing a job miserably, is declared dead by his mobster family and sent away to a town that is said to have a curse that will kill any male yakuza visiting the place. This rural town in the Japanese province of Kyushu, Kaso-Machi, is home to a failing mascot agency that Michi is tasked with rejuvenating so that he can pay off his massive debt to the family. Now, you may wonder, what is a mascot agency? Well, you know how mascots are living breathing beings that come in all shapes and sizes? Yes, well they need employment too to promote events and bring attention to whatever the employer needs. It’s your job, alongside your assistant Pinky–a mascot resembling a cut-off pinky finger--to make the Promise Mascot Agency the greatest mascot agency in Japan. All the while you need to deal with the many secrets and stories of the citizens of Kaso-Machi.
Usually this is the part where I tend to draw comparisons between the game I’m reviewing and other notable titles that you may be aware of. But Promise Mascot Agency almost defies being compared to anything else. In a sense, it can be seen as a narrative adventure game, where you explore a compact open world and perform tasks for the community to recruit new mascots, upgrade the town of Kaso-Machi and assist the mascots in fulfilling their dreams. The predominant gameplay sees you driving around town in a beat-up truck to get to know the citizens of this little village. There’s no getting out of your vehicle, but you’ll never need to worry about fall damage or crashing into anything. Upgrading the truck helps you get around as you will be jumping, boosting and driving yourself off of hills or into the water. It is all part of the experience as you get to know Kaso-Machi better. The game doesn’t just lean into its absurdity but drenches itself in it, which ends up making the characters feel more relatable than I was expecting. From mascots like Trororo, who’s covered in yam and has a singular dream, namely promoting the enjoyment of Adult Videos (yes, really), or even the humans like the exchange teacher Miss. Wambui, who was assigned to this small rural town teaching English and can’t leave because of her love for the students and the countryside of Japan. The writing is excellent across the board and compliments the creative design of all the mascots, who become memorable in their own rights. It’s kind of ingenious that as progress with the agency, you’re asked to sell merchandise of your mascots to create additional revenue sources, because I now want nothing more than merchandise for To-Fu, Neko Roll and Koke-Maru.
Whenever you send out mascots on jobs, there is a chance that things will go wrong, which is where the game transitions into a minigame card-battler and you’ll need to use the citizens of Kaso-Machi as Support Heroes, who are able to deal with the problems. Problems range from badly placed boxes, to faulty vending machines and even obsessed fans that ruin the event that the mascot is promoting. You’ll get 60 seconds to decrease the health bar of the faulty object by strategically playing cards with specific stats and actions. You only get two action-points per battle, but as you chain together cards you can increase your actions to play more expensive cards or draw new cards in your hand. At first these problems can be quite a hassle, but you can upgrade your Support Heroes by helping them with their problems through town quests or chatting with them regularly. As you progress through the game, you start to understand how the systems interlink with one another. It’s not just your profits that begin to soar as you expand and upgrade the Promise Mascot Agency, but the town as well. Your connection to the town becomes central to the experience. The game may come off visually as dark and brooding, but I found the experience to turn incredibly wholesome. Exploration felt just great as I learned how to best navigate the town and understand its routes and locations.
It’s especially the small details that Promise Mascot Agency does right. While not the majority of the text is voice-acted, all the cutscenes are fully voiced, as well as the introductions to mascots, giving so much character to everyone you meet along the way. I especially love that whenever you get to make a choice as Michi, you’re not told the line that Michi will respond with, but rather the emotion or intent behind the dialogue. It is something I desperately want to see in other narrative driven games, as I’ve come across games so often where I wanted to respond positively, but the opposing character would react in unexpected ways. Here whatever Michi will say I know he’ll be either [supportive], [reassuring] or [direct]. It leaves the player with freedom of choice as well as giving the writers the freedom as to how to portray Michi and whomever he is talking to. As I was playing Promise Mascot Agency it started to give me the same feelings as Paradise Killer, which is probably the highest compliment I can give it. Kaizen Game Works has embraced its identity, and I think that Promise Mascot Agency is even better than their previous title. And my god, its soundtrack is especially fantastic. Utilizing the artist Alpha Crome Yayo who has this fantastic blend of lo-fi, Japanese City Pop and this ‘90s arcade feel that fits the atmosphere of Kaso-Machi perfectly at every turn. It’s the cherry on top of this extremely fun sundae.
The biggest downer here is that the Nintendo Switch version can be an absolute mess at times. An inconsistent framerate, a delay in rendering of either 2D or 3D assets, loading times and in particular pop-in when driving around the open world make it a rough sell for anyone who can only be playing this game on the Nintendo Switch. While I think it still suffices and doesn’t detract from the experience, if you happen to have another platform available to you, I’d recommend going with that. Just because the game feels like an homage to a different era of games doesn’t mean you should necessarily want the game to look like that. Two software crashes occurred for me while playing and the final act of the game in particular suffered a lot more from stuttering framerates and small bugs and glitches.
Finally, while I enjoy that the game lets you free to tackle the chapters and main quests whenever you want, I did find myself having so much fun driving around and completing all the side objectives early that I blazed through the last three chapters once the agency was running at maximum efficiency. Promise Mascot Agency doesn’t necessarily gate progression, but for anyone out there who is interested in playing this game, don’t leave the main quest hanging and aim to interact with your mascots whenever they have a ‘life satisfaction review’. I did all of these in a row (for all mascots) near the end of the game, and that’s something I wouldn’t necessarily recommend to the majority of players. Technically this is a little bit due to an abundance of systems that can be overwhelming to keep track of in the beginning. So take your time, talk to Pinky often when driving around the overworld and chat with persons of interest you come across on your adventure as soon as you can.
Promise Mascot Agency feels like a cult-game that was released in the PS2 and GameCube era. I say this with nothing but love, as you can tell that so much heart went into conveying a fun story, with lovable characters and a wonderfully designed explorable world. It’s rare to come across games these days that dare to be different: games that don’t default to comparing themselves to other games or studios. In an industry that is becoming more and more risk-averse, I was shocked by how refreshing Promise Mascot Agency feels. But above all that, Promise Mascot Agency is confident: confident in its ability to commit to its bizarre world and gameplay that defies norms with a story that is all about one fulfilling their own dreams. While playing I could feel the joy the creators had in making this world and shaping its characters. Promise Mascot Agency is unlike anything you’ve played before, but if you let it into your heart (and choose another platform if possible) it’s an experience that will stay with you for a while to come.
The Nintendo Switch 2 was thoroughly revealed in a Nintendo Direct presentation that aired on April 2nd, 2025. This presentation left quite a few details unclear and in the week since there’s been a rampant amount of assumptions, clarifications and a lot of misinformation spread online. With Nintendo leaving a lot of information unexplained or having details tucked away into a plethora of articles and shop-listings, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to create a substantial and sourced FAQ with verified information that is wherever possible based upon sources provided by Nintendo themselves or our own hands-on reporting with the Switch 2. This FAQ will be amended and improved as more information becomes available. If there are still questions after reading this FAQ, please let us know via comment on the site through Talkback or via a comment or message in our Discord server.
This FAQ was last updated on Sunday April 27th 2025.
The FAQ is divided into several pages. The contents are as follows:
You can traverse between pages using the page numbers at the bottom of the article, or by clicking on the above links. All articles are sourced whenever able, preferring Nintendo's official communication and our own reporting when possible. If you have additional questions for the FAQ, please post these in our discord group, via our socials or through Talkback.
PART FOUR: NINTENDO SWITCH ONLINE, GAMECHAT AND GAMESHARE
Is A Nintendo Switch Online Subscription Required for Nintendo Switch 2?
In order to play and purchase games you do not need to be a subscriber to Nintendo Switch Online. You can access the Nintendo eShop and download additional content without the need for a subscription. However, Nintendo is pushing Nintendo Switch Online as a dedicated service and is tying more additional features to Nintendo Switch 2 in particular such as GameChat, the ability to play first-party Nintendo games online and access the Nintendo Classic services. Nintendo Classics is the rebranding of their retro offerings through Nintendo Switch Online that allows Nintendo Switch Online users to play NES, SNES, SEGA Genesis and Game Boy titles.
What is GameChat?
GameChat is a service that is exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2. It is a feature that allows users to communicate via voice and video-chat in addition to sharing their gameplay on the screen with other users. Using the built-in microphone and by using the additional Nintendo Switch 2 Camera accessory, players can use the Nintendo Switch 2 as a hub to communicate with each other across systems even while playing different games. The developers have compared it to a ‘student lounge’ where people socialize and come and go as they please.[75]
To activate GameChat players can use the dedicated C-buttons on the Nintendo Switch 2 Controllers. Which opens a menu that allows users to share their screen, mute their microphone, view the screen of other players and broadcast themselves via the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera accessory. It’s been confirmed that you can use headsets to connect to Nintendo Switch 2, instead of relying on the speakers and microphone coming from the system or TV itself.
Is Nintendo Switch 2 GameChat free to use? There will be a limited time free trial called the ‘Open-Access Period’ for all Nintendo Switch 2 users for GameChat. Up until March 31st, 2026 you can use GameChat for free. After that time a paid subscription to Nintendo Switch Online is required to use GameChat.[76]
Do I need a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera to use GameChat?
No, the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera accessory is optional for using GameChat.[77] You will need to have an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription after the Free Trial period has ended.
What are the specs of the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera?
It’s a 1080p camera that comes outfitted with a stand and specifically a wide-angle lens that makes it easier for the camera to detect faces and bodies within a living room. The camera is also outfitted with a privacy lens that can cover the camera when it is not in use. It is optimized to recognize faces clearly and keep them in focus.[78]
Do I need a Nintendo Switch 2 Branded Camera to use Video chat in GameChat? No, other USB-C cameras are compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2.
With how Many Others Can I Use GameChat on Nintendo Switch 2? With Nintendo Switch 2 GameChat you can create a group session for up to twelve players.[79] Up to four players can share their screen via GameChat on the Nintendo Switch 2.[80]
Does the Nintendo Switch 2 Have An Ethernet Connection For Better Internet? Yes. The Nintendo Switch 2 Dock has an built-in Ethernet port for a wired internet connection. For Wi-Fi the Nintendo Switch 2 uses Wifi LAN 6 to connect to the internet, which is vastly superior to the Nintendo Switch.[81]
What is GameShare?
Only on Nintendo Switch 2 will certain supported games feature a new function called GameShare. GameShare can be used to, quite literally, share games with players that do not own a copy of the game themselves to play simultaneous multiplayer games. Only a Nintendo Switch 2 system can share the game, however, Nintendo Switch (1) systems can receive these shared games locally and play along.[82]
This does not mean that the receiving player has a copy or download of the game themselves. Rather, the Nintendo Switch 2 shares a video-feed with other players so that they can ‘play’ along on the dedicated system.[83]
GameShare can also be shared online with other players. For sharing games online, all participants will be required to use a Nintendo Switch 2 system and will need to be subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online to have access to GameChat. As GameChat is only available on Nintendo Switch 2. GameChat will have an Open-Access Period until March 31st 2026, during which time Nintendo Switch Online is not required to use the voice- and videochat service.[84]
Not all games will support GameShare to be shared online. For example, Super Mario Party Jamboree - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV can only be shared locally using GameShare. Nintendo has confirmed that the following titles can be shared using GameShare online:[96]
Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Super Mario Odyssey
Nintendo has also stated that: "Select Nintendo Switch games will become compatible with GameShare after free software updates."[97]
[83] This was confirmed via the Crossplay newsletter that clarifies that it is indeed a video-feed and not actual game data being sent via GameShare: https://substack.com/home/post/p-160470343
With the full reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2, it can be said that Nintendo has entered a new era. Last week Takashi Mochizuki wrote this wonderful article for Bloomberg that concluded with: ‘For many years, on the wall in the company’s headquarters hung a framed work of calligraphy depicting the brush strokes for “Ninten”, which roughly translates to leaving luck to the heavens. This embodiment of the company's founding philosophy has been consigned to the museum, an artifact from the company's 135-year history.That, perhaps, is the clearest sign yet that Nintendo is ready to move on.’.
And move on it has. The bells and whistles that the Nintendo Switch 2 (NS2) brings to the table are plentiful, but it is also the clearest sign that innovation in the games space wasn’t at the forefront of the creation of NS2. In fact, the head of development for Switch 2, Kouichi Kawamoto, confirms as much in their lengthy interview on the Nintendo Website: “After considering various new ideas, we decided it would be best to keep the Switch system's design and not make any “changes for changes' sake.”. In fact, the name Switch 2 was specifically chosen by the hardware team as to communicate clearly to customers that it is an improved Switch (they even forgoed the name ‘Super Switch’ as the Super Nintendo wasn’t backwards compatible with the NES, which was a design goal for Switch 2).
Getting these insights from those working on the system is important context, because in the end the Nintendo we’ve seen this week is a big departure from the Nintendo of old. The innovations developed for NS2 seem to all boil down to its improved processor and capabilities. It’s a ‘Switch Pro’ in everything but name, and the once so innovative Nintendo had to spend nearly ten minutes explaining that they’ve added voice chat and webcam support to their newest console. Games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza look stunning in motion, but are characteristically similar experiences to the Switch’s Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario Odyssey. There is some playful design to be found in titles like Drag x Drive, which sees users moving the Joy-Con 2 in mouse mode back and forth to move wheelchairs and score points via hoops (which I’ve personally dubbed as HANDS). But Nintendo Switch 2 Tour, an interactive guide through the hardware and specs of NS2, will be sold as a downloadable title at launch, something that rival Sony did through Astro’s Playroom in 2020 but as a free pack-in and extensive 3D platformer. Nintendo (Japan’s) strict rule on avoiding pack-in titles whenever possible still seems to hold true 40 years after releasing the Famicom.
But even alongside the flood of third-party support, with some varied looking games both in offerings and terms of quality, there is something here that feels at times like Nintendo being a bit lost with its own success. The four-part interview talks about accessories and the design goals for NS2 at length, but the excitement from the directorial team is interjected by their reaction to how the R&D responded to their ideas like the Mouse mode for Joy-Con 2 and GameChat as: “Ah yes, we’ve thought of that before”. Innovation isn’t something you can conjure up at a whim, but it needs to be inspiring for those in creative industries. The Wii didn’t just catch elderly homes by storm, but especially the internal design teams of Nintendo who went nuts with looking for creative uses for the Wiimote. From 1:1 swordplay to grabbing starbits and from playing the drums to shooting a crossbow. Switch mostly had its most inventive ideas paired with ‘exclusive’ peripherals like LABO, Ring Fit Adventure and even Mario Kart: Live. Tetsuya Sasaki even states it outright: “rather than equipping the new console with new hardware features, we thought we'd have the option to offer new gameplay experiences by packaging additional accessories together with games, just as we bundled the Ring-Con with Ring Fit Adventure.”.
This all flows back to this new era of Nintendo and it is one that cannot be separated from the biggest news that wasn’t in this direct. Let’s talk about price. Looking back at the Switch 1 presentation in January 2017, the price was revealed nearly up front for multiple regions. It framed the following hour of reveals and information about the original Switch quite differently. When you know a system will cost you a certain amount, viewing the following games and reveals places it all within a certain context. But the structure for the NS2 Direct left that answer ambiguous till after the presentation. A Nintendo gotcha, bringing the worst tendencies of the company to the forefront, upsetting expectations and not just that, but coming with a ton of asterisks for the releases, upgrades and requirements to access all features.
The system being such a high price isn’t that big a surprise to most. Inflation, world events and the increased price of resources made that inevitable. But the jump in price for both digital and physical software is Nintendo not just breaking the dam, but blowing it up with a grand display of fireworks. Digital prices for first-party games seem to now be standardized at about 10 USD higher than they were, with Mario Kart: World spanning the crown and jumping to 79,99 MSRP and in Europe the physical edition of Mario Kart: World will cost 89,99. I can say that rarely has my jaw dropped after seeing a price, but this shift is monumental. Where with most first-party Sony titles you can wait out a pricedrop, Nintendo will hold true to their mantra of retaining value for their games. It is Nintendo following in the footsteps of companies like Apple that will inevitably cause other companies to follow suit.
For those working in the games industry it’s not a surprise. Games cost millions to create, even for smaller companies and teams and it is simply not enough to offer these titles at a price of 59,99. It was always unsustainable, but few had the guts to rip that band-aid off. Sony tried this on PlayStation 5 with Spider-Man 2, but as players had grown accustomed to waiting out sales, it didn’t make that much of a difference. But here is Nintendo, the only company that has games at its core, using duct tape to rip this band-aid straight off the skin. And it will not just hurt for a little bit at launch, but it is safe to assume this will be the new base going forward. Possibly pricing out a lot of players that have been with Nintendo for decades. I’ve talked to so many die-hard Nintendo fans yesterday and a lot of them echo that the company is going down a path they cannot justify following. Let alone with the few offerings sprinkled throughout the presentation yesterday.
Unfortunately gaming is becoming a more and more expensive hobby. We’re taking this first hit now, but you can set your clocks that when Grand Theft Auto VI will announce their inevitable 89,99 or even 99,99 price tag, this will become a new normal for other publishers to follow suit. It may even become a necessity, given the massive layoffs and impacts from the financial crisis within the games industry. That is, if we consider this from the perspective of the major publisher. Indies may now be, more than ever, vital in keeping players engaged and entertained. It’s not a surprise to me that Hollow Knight: Silksong, Deltarune and (to a certain extent) Hades II were essential to showcase in this presentation. Not just exemplifying the massive success indies can have on the system, but immediately marketing them to Nintendo’s core fanbase. It’s incredibly difficult for indie developers to have their games catch the attention of buyers on the eShop and while there have been changes announced for the eShop on Nintendo Switch 2, I still think that indies will wait out the Switch 2 wave to see if their audiences are able to move on from Switch 1. Given the comments of ‘manually checking over 10.000 games’, simply ‘porting your game’ from Switch 1 to Switch 2 is definitely not a given. Paired with the rumors of very limited availability of developer kits, I am skeptical to see how eager this 3rd party support remains after their ‘older titles’ have moved over to NS2.
Nintendo is not about to radically change its approach, which stands in contrast with what we’ve seen during the direct. Three younger heads of development, that new generation that Nintendo’s been training for the last decade, were given the chance to make the next Nintendo system at the height of the company’s success. Their results come across as awfully safe and perhaps restricted by the many asterisks their work had to adhere to. It’s a Nintendo that has passed the crossroads and perhaps is seeking to build a canal from their blue ocean to a red ocean, filled with PC handhelds and third-party riches. What it will bring to this red ocean is clear, higher prices, more profits and a wider supported gaming ecosystem. But as I’m getting flushed downstream, I’m left wondering if I’d rather not get onto one of those other ships that’s sailing over there. Can we, as players, as media, as critics, leave the comfort of what used to be a Nintendo that was carefree of what others would think? It remains to be seen as June 5th approaches.
Disclaimer:Please note, The Chromatic by ModRetro has ties to controversial figure Palmer Luckey. NINWR LLC feels it is important to cover this software, but we do not condone the actions or opinions of any individuals involved in its production.
One of the more interesting tidbits when the Chromatic was announced was the ambition by ModRetro to do re-releases of obscure and hard to find retro Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. As part of their ModRetro Classics Collection, two new re-releases can now be bought and experienced for the first time by Game Boy fans. Since these games are technically re-releases we felt it appropriate to cover these titles as mini reviews.
Project S-11 is a pretty traditional shoot ‘em up for the Game Boy Color. You control a powerful flying Hmachine that needs to reach headquarters in order to transmit vital battle information that can help withstand the alien invasion. Across eight worlds you can shoot, blast and bomb anything that moves.
For a Game Boy Color title the gameplay is incredibly smooth. While I’m not the biggest fan of needing to repeatedly tap the button to increase your firing speed, instead of holding down the button, the battles are fluid. I will say that the backgrounds can be a bit too chaotic to spot incoming bullets. Most shmups are defined by their power ups and I think that Project S-11 does an admirable job with the variety of weapons that can change up your approach depending on the boss you might be facing. What I especially found helpful was the fact that you don’t just die from a single hit. Instead your ship has a shield that slowly regenerates, but allows you to take some damage before losing a unit. It makes Project S-11 feel retro, but definitely more accessible for newcomers.
The standout here is the soundtrack, which manages to perfectly capture the atmosphere of the different worlds you’ll travel across. In particular Planet Cephei and Bern Jungle are certified bangers. It can be a bit difficult to make out while you’re tapping the shoot-button like a maniac, but the soundtrack helps to make Project S-11 feel like a complete package. Don’t expect any major mechanical surprises, what you see is what you get here. But for that, you’ll get a pretty great shmup on Game Boy Color that’ll keep fans of the genre pretty entertained!
Disclaimer:Please note, The Chromatic by ModRetro has ties to controversial figure Palmer Luckey. NINWR LLC feels it is important to cover this software, but we do not condone the actions or opinions of any individuals involved in its production.
One of the more interesting tidbits when the Chromatic was announced was the ambition by ModRetro to do re-releases of obscure and hard to find retro Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. As part of their ModRetro Classics Collection, two new re-releases can now be bought and experienced for the first time by Game Boy fans. Since these games are technically re-releases we felt it appropriate to cover these titles as mini reviews.
Released in the US as a tie-in to the Disney film “We’re Back”, and later remade for the SNES as ‘Radical Rex”, Baby T-Rex is mostly considered as an overlooked and exploited title for the original Game Boy. As it was released in different regions with different licensing deals to appease a regional market.
The titular T-Rex is, mostly according to the manual, steeped in the nineties with his attitude and skateboard to get around. As an excuse to make a surprisingly fast scrolling 2D platformer, I’ve heard of worse settings. While you jump around, you can collect coconuts and other objects to toss at obstacles and opponents. Every world is capped off with a short boss fight against a dinosaur as you make your way to the wizard Sethron to save your girlfriend.
Jumping feels tight enough and getting to know the layout of the levels is key to making it to the end of the game. In a way it reminded me of a simplified version of Sonic, where keeping speed and momentum going is key to make it to the goal. Unfortunately the level design isn’t really that interesting or diverse to keep your attention for too long. There is also a two-player ‘mode’ which requires you to pass the handheld back and forth with another player to get the highest score. Riveting.
It’s almost refreshing to see such a simple game, one of the many many that filled out the Game Boy’s library, return in a premium package and more accessible form. But in truth, it’s hard to fully recommend Baby T-Rex at both this price point and the value of the game. There simply isn’t anything here that feels either replayable enough for the format of Game Boy, nor unique enough that warrants an extensive playthrough. I don’t think his radical attitude had much to do with why this particular dinosaur went extinct.
Last year Yu-Gi-Oh! celebrated its 25th anniversary, prompting players and old-school fans everywhere to age in an instant. Konami announced a continued celebration with this ‘Quarter Century’ of the famous card game. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Early Days Collection is the sole videogame that marks this specific occasion. A collection with 14-ish games from the early history of the card game series with entries from both the Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. As a, still, avid player of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game I was morbidly curious about this collection. While I hadn’t played all of them before this review, my hazy memory recalled them being stiff and more into enticing those who’d seen the anime rather than those who played the card game. Turns out that hunch was correct, but the shock wasn’t as bad as I expected. This revisit to the world of classic Yu-Gi-Oh! will for most be a morbid curiosity, but for the true aficionados of the franchise there is definitely some charm to this package. You will need to dig deep to find it however.
So let’s get the big thing out of the way. Yes, this collection contains 14 full Yu-Gi-Oh! games that were released between 1998 and 2005. From the very first Yu-Gi-Oh! games on the DMG Game Boy, only released in Japan, based on the manga and now for the first time fully localized in English, to the Game Boy Advance world championship series that proposed to be an accurate battle simulator and even some wild experiments in between. From the outset that seems like a massive amount of games, but there are some caveats. For starters, the early Game Boy games are very much incremental updates to the card game and the rules that were still developing at that time. Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark duel Stories for example, only adds in new rules and cards to balance out decks. And, the western, Dark Duel Stories (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4 in Japan) only added in a single zone for trap cards. While this is a fun historical look back at how quickly the game evolved based on both the limits of the hardware and the growth of the card game (in Japan), playing them back to back will be interchangeable to most players. The progression in seeing how the game design evolves over time, especially in the UI and UX elements, is fascinating to me, but in truth after playing the game for a single match I quickly bounced to find the more accessible games in the collection.
The real surprise to me was Duel Monsters 3. This title, previously only available in Japan, follows the Monster World arc in which Yugi’s friends have been transformed into monsters and are stuck in a tabletop roleplaying game, with the antagonists serving as the game’s Dungeon Masters. This means that the game contains no trading cards whatsoever. You place monsters on a grid that resembles a very simplified version of a turn-based strategy title like Fire Emblem. Every monster has its own attack pattern and gets a buff based on the field it is standing on and if it is in range of friendlies. This means that every battle in this game turns into a miniature puzzle. In order to determine whether your attacks hit, two D10’s are rolled and the outcome determines if you miss or strike successfully. It’s a neat little system and the dice roll is even used to determine the encounter rate of random enemies during the boss segments. It is so unlike the other games in the collection that it immediately stands out.The same cannot be said for Dungeon Dice Monsters and Destiny Board Traveler. These two spin-offs focus on a more boardgame-like approach to Yu-Gi-Oh!. Dungeon Dice Monster is an attempt to digitize the oft forgotten spin-off game of the same name. Two players face off on an isometric grid on which they place cubes that can unfold in certain directions. The goal is to build a road to the other side of the field to attack your opponent’s dice master. In theory this sounds pretty great, but the game has no tutorials for the player whatsoever. All you’re left with is a very unappealing and overly complicated manual that you will need to pull up every time until you get the hang of the game. This is where I started to run into quite a few complications with this particular collection. The quality of life features of this collection aren’t bad per se, but there are some notable omissions. For starters, while you can open every game’s manual, each time you reopen the menu, the manual resets to the first page making it especially hard for the games where the rules are pretty hard to grasp (looking at you, Dungeon Dice Monsters). This goes double for the specific type chart that is deployed in the early games and the RPG titles, where monsters can be instantly defeated if they are facing an opposing monster type. This chart isn’t as straightforward as other systems, in particular since it contains types that do not exist in the actual card game, like the ‘dreams’ and ‘shadow’ type. While you can rewind up to one minute at any time during the game, there is no fast-forward. This would be particularly helpful in the duel simulator titles on the GBA, where the CPU needs quite a bit of time to think through moves.
Finally, there is the online support, or rather the lack thereof. There is only one game that supports dueling against opponents and trading cards, and that’s Duel Monsters 4. An interesting choice to say the least, as this is one of the titles that was only available in Japan. Even stranger is that all these games have cheat menus that help you to unlock both cards and avoid duelist point limits. Now this wouldn’t be an issue if Duel Monsters 4 wasn’t split up into three versions (one for Yugi, Kaiba and Joey’s decks). Meaning that while dueling between versions is possible, there really is no incentive to do so. It would’ve been far more interesting if the online support existed for games like Stairway to the Destined Duel or even World Tournament 2004, as this format is still pretty beloved by old school Yu-Gi-Oh! Players. It might be added at a later time, but for now the online feels like a limited afterthought that really doesn’t change the experience or make it a particularly compelling offer for those wanting to pick up the collection.
These half measures to Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days is also felt by the strange inclusion of Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2. Now according to the marketing, this GBA title was one of the most popular games in the series at the height of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s popularity in Japan. So it would make sense to include it. But while every other game in this collection is translated, Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2 is here and it is in full Japanese. Now an argument can be made that this game was later adapted into the western release in Stairway to the Destined Duel with a modified ruleset to adapt to the English version of the trading card game. But it being here just feels like a weird inclusion as a separate game. While other Japanese versions are included with the other games, being able to select any language version in the main menu of the collection, this one has a category all its own. All the other previously Japanese exclusive games have been translated, so leaving this one here just feels really confusing.
And I think that shows the two halves of Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection. On the one hand, it is really cool to dive back into the strange history of Yu-Gi-Oh! Before it became an established card game, with all modern games following either the many animated series, or being a straight up duel simulator. But while the amount of games is impressive, there isn’t that much care and attention to detail put into the collection as there could be. It feels like a half baked anniversary collection at times. With quality of life features just not going far enough in their helpfulness, certain games being very hard to grasp without consistently grabbing the manual, one title being left in Japanese and only online play for a single set of games. There aren’t even additional artworks, concepts or design documents, which could’ve really added some value to this package for the true Yu-Gi-Oh! fans. Among the games, there are standouts, like The Sacred Cards, Duel Monsters 3, The Eternal Duelist Soul and 7 Trials to Glory. But the majority feels like incremental improvements to the series or completely throwing out any similarities to the actual card game out the window. It’s a historical document, but with surprisingly little care and love for the history on display here.
Who is Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days for? Well those looking to relive the glory days of Yu-Gi-Oh! will probably find some enjoyment here. The amount of games looks impressive on paper, but in practice it is hard to say that these titles will keep your attention. I did find myself returning to a few as pick up and play experiences. Rebuilding decks and reinventing strategies for the tweaked, but ultimately same card games wasn’t really keeping my attention by the time I arrived at the later GBA titles. It could’ve been fun to explore this with a friend, but as only one game would support online play I’d find it hard to recommend to even the most dedicated of Yu-Gi-Oh! players. But lowering your expectations and going in blind, especially for some of the more unusual titles in the collection, could still be fun. Just know that there is a high likelihood that by the end you’ll be happy that you’ve moved past those early days.
Disclaimer: Please note, this company has ties to controversial figure Palmer Luckey. NINWR LLC feels it is important to cover this device and its games as pieces of hardware and software, but we do not condone the actions or opinions of any individuals involved in its production.
Last year I talked at length about the Chromatic, a new Game Boy device developed by ModRetro. Back in September, in my extensive preview, I talked about several of the games that ModRetro is officially publishing alongside the launch of the device. Now, it is important to note that these titles are compatible with original Game Boy systems, including the original GBC, GBA and some even are playable on your favorite old brick, the original DMG Game Boy. As such, in this article I’ll be reviewing six of the launch titles that have been released and in particular considering them from the perspective of original hardware, since that is what the majority of players will be able to play these games on.
Each title is developed by a different studio, but all are published under the ModRetro label. The games come with a nice little manual with illustrations and tips for the game, as well as a bangle charm that you can attach to your system. There’s a lot of variety in these first releases, and the company is releasing at least four more games in 2025, so Game Boy fans definitely have some new things to look forward to this year.
Dragonyhm - Spacebot Interactive. Works on all Game Boy systems.
Dragonyhm is without a doubt the most ambitious out of these six games. It is a large-scale fantasy RPG set in a magical world where the protagonist’s father, Kurtis, is the protector of the Dragon’s Seal. As his son, Kris, awakes one day to find his father has disappeared, it is up to him to take up the sword and protect the citizens of Archend from monsters, fiends and the return of the dragons.
The game takes clear inspiration and cues from traditional turn-based RPGs. If you like Dragon Quest you’ll pretty much feel right at home. In its writing and world-design Dragonyhm better resembles something like Link’s Awakening, with a lot of optional side-quests that can get you additional upgrades and weapons. At its core, you’ll need to find a way to enter several dungeons, defeat powerful bosses and solve puzzles to follow the story. The visual design is especially striking, with clear sprites and proper color usages if you’re playing on a Game Boy Color or Advance. I also really liked the music, with quite a bit of variety through the regions and battle scenarios you will come across.
I think my biggest gripe is the way in which you perform combat in the game. In particular early on, you’ll often struggle against enemies that are at the same level as you are and will be non-stop chugging health potions to stay in the fight. Grinding is the name of the game here and while there is an elemental system at play here, it tended to boil down for me to hitting with my strongest move and hoping I would not run out of mana or special attacks. I did like the way in which the game encourages variety in your approach for building your stats. If you defeat an enemy with a normal attack and gain a level up, your strength will increase. But if you do the same with a magical attack, your mana will improve (think Final Fantasy II). It is something I only found while browsing the manual, but I do like that player growth isn’t limited to a set scale, but rather based upon your preferred moves and actions. It can build tension and release within a single fight if you tend to favor magic over strength and need to face an opponent stronger against those stats.
But I think Dragonyhm really nails the tone and style of ambitious Game Boy titles like Final Fantasy Adventure/Mystic Quest, where you can see that years of development experience allow it to fit as much content as possible into this cartridge. Almost like a lost Game Boy game, that you hear about from cult followings. A few puzzles even require translating a cipher that you can solve using the manual, but if you’re really dedicated (or stuck on a train without the manual) you can keep notes of important events, clues and secrets spread throughout the world. That balance between puzzle design and turn-based adventure gives it a fun flair all its own. I will say that this game currently lacks any guides or tips, so it can be a bit tricky at times to navigate the world and find out where you should go next. But for those willing to get lost in a simple, but engaging RPG, Dragonyhm is highly worth seeking out!
8/10
In The Dark 2, Pearacidic Games and Grumpy Function. Works on all Game Boy systems.
This is one for the die-hard puzzleheads. In The Dark 2 is a direct continuation of a standalone game, called In The Dark (released in 2022) which is a combination of a narrative adventure and a straightforward puzzle game. What sets it immediately apart from other puzzle games or high-score chasers is that the game is surprisingly story heavy. After the events of the first game, which saw a virus spreading throughout the galaxy only to be prevented by the brave sacrifice of one of Captain Penn’s friends, Captain Penn is sent out to find the designer of the virus. Told through vivid and gorgeous tableaus and with especially well written text, the game sees you traveling to several planets and systems in search of the creator of the virus.
With this as a backdrop it does feel out of place that the game is really nothing more than a collection of light-fipping puzzles. Each puzzle you are presented with a grid of 3x3, 4x4 or 5x5 lights. Each light can be turned off by selecting the light, but doing so will turn on all the surrounding lights. The objective is the same every time, turn off all the lights to solve the puzzle. There are additional challenges such as finding out what the fastest solution is, mostly designated as ‘par’. But beyond that, don’t expect many surprises when it comes to the gameplay.
Now on its face, that is a really hard sell. Even puzzle fans will tell you that variety and building upon your knowledge is what sets a good puzzle game apart. With In The Dark 2, it does take a bit of digging on the player’s part to get to this point. As you complete more and more grids, you start to get a sense for how to achieve the solution, but getting to that point involves quite a bit of trial and error. There are no hints, except the indication of what the fastest move can be, but the ramping up of difficulty feels surprisingly natural. I was truly in the dark (pun intended) at first, just flicking random lights on or off. But in time I got much more grip and sense with how the puzzles were designed and used my experience to solve puzzles in fewer moves.
I think the story bits are a brilliant way to keep the player engaged. In between puzzles you can walk around, talk to your crewmates and learn more about the planet you’re visiting. There is a surprising amount of world building and character to what could’ve been a simple menu puzzle game. I don’t think it will turn into a mainstay for me personally, but I’ve picked it up every now and then over the past few weeks and solved a few boards while commuting to work. The additional modes—like a free play mode that presents you with randomized puzzles and the challenge mode in which you have to clear multiple boards in a row—are good time wasters. Though I will say that with those modes I did feel the distinct lack of the story and world that tie In The Dark 2 together. A proper puzzler that has a flavor all its own, it might be worth the pickup if you want some crunchy brain teasers.
7/10
Patchy Matchy Puzzle Surfing, Tom Sutton. Works on all Game Boy systems.
I’ve raved at length about how much I enjoyed Patchy Matchy in both my Chromatic review and my preview last year. Suffice it to say that Patchy Matchy sits in that beautiful middle ground of understanding exactly what the Game Boy was all about. Short and simple, but highly engrossing gameplay sessions that keep the action going as you get better at the game.
Patchy Matchy is a tile-matching game where you need to connect objects in lines of four to remove them from the board. Think bejeweled or candy crush, but in a much more compact form. Without power-ups, you are simply relying on your ability to move the cursor as quickly as possible to swap around the shells, stars and totems on the field. Bubbles can get in your way as obstacles that block other objects, but clearing a line besides them removes them from the board as well.
The speed ramps up over time, but if you can score 999 points you clear the game. Clearing the game, however, isn’t just limited to getting to the end. The true replayability is in unlocking the seventeen achievements, which require you to extend enormous combos and keep your score rising as much as possible.
As a score chaser game it is really dangerous, because I kept getting sucked back into playing some more of Patchy Matchy. It feels like a quintessential Game Boy game at times. In all honesty, as much as I love the version of Tetris that is packed in with the Chromatic, I’d have chosen Patchy Matchy as the pack-in (Patch-in?) title. It just works so well for these devices if you sit down and play it for just a minute.
The biggest sleight against Patchy Matchy is that it is truly designed for an original Game Boy. I secretly wish that the game had support for Game Boy Color with a bit more style and flair to its visuals. It is perfectly functional and doesn’t have any distracting visuals, but it can become a bit boring to look at for a prolonged play session.
Still, the core of the design is what counts here and the game is just a ton of fun to play. I put this cartridge back in my Game Boy again and again and I don’t think I can give it much higher praise than that!
8.5/10
Tales of Monsterland DX, Joel J. Games. Works only on Game Boy Color or newer devices.
If you’re talking Game Boy, you’ve got to have a platformer, and while the upcoming Baby T-Rex and Hermano look amazing, Tales of Monsterland DX is the only platformer in the launch lineup. The game takes inspiration from games like Monster Boy and immediately stood out to me with its lovely aesthetic. The story sees a boy wake up in a mysterious town. He doesn’t know how he got there but goes on a quest to find a way back home. The town is threatened by an onslaught of monsters and an evil wizard. As you explore, you find mysterious potions that transform you into several forms, including a wolf that can move boulders and a mermaid that makes it possible to swim.
Insofar as platformers go, Tales of Monsterland DX feels pretty good to control. The jump is pretty tight, with platforms and coins guiding the way you want to explore the land. There is also an action button that you can assign to either your sword or the actions of your transformations. It doesn’t try anything that can be considered too challenging, although I will say that some bosses could get a tad frustrating at times. But too often the game is lacking challenge and the difficulty stems from navigating your way through its world. Some guideposts can be a bit obtuse; in particular, finding the first potion was a bit of a hassle since I didn’t realise that you can walk through certain pieces of terrain. Aside from that I got stuck once, where I had saved only with one heart and no continues before the final boss, meaning I had to backtrack all the way to the town to regain my hearts and collect an additional power-up to beat the game. At certain times it feels like there are too many quirks in the design of the world and pacing of the game that hinder it from becoming truly great. Small visual glitches and longer than average wait times between menus. As well as a game over booting you straight back into the main menu instead of giving you an option to immediately restart from your last save.
That being said the music is definitely a highlight, with some great tunes that immediately capture the vibe and feel of the locations you visit. Whether it is the upbeat music when setting out on your adventure, or the dark tones of the wizard’s tower, the accompanying tunes always hit the nail on the head. The game isn’t that long, only a little over two hours to see everything, but it doesn’t overstate its welcome. With a nice hot cup of tea and a blanket on the couch I played through the game in one sitting, and while I don’t think it’ll have that much of a lasting impact, it was a nice time. I am hopeful that Joel J Games learns from this experience and gets to build another game that can deliver on its ambition. Tales from Monsterland DX is a step in the right direction, but a few stumbles make it fall just short for my tastes.
7/10
Toki Tori: Ultimate Edition, Two Tribes. Works only on Game Boy Color Compatible Devices.
Disclaimer: For my day job I have worked with the team from Two Tribes on archiving their games at the Netherlands Institute of Sound & Vision. I have no direct connection to the development or release of this version of the game on Chromatic, but keep this in mind with this particular review.
Let’s be frank, you’ve probably played Toki Tori in some way or another before. Though its original release was cut short by a late release on the Game Boy Color as the Game Boy Advance took the world by storm, Toki Tori lived on in its many re-releases on pretty much any device you can imagine. Even specialized limited re-releases of the original game for the Game Boy Color are available for those looking for the original experience.
So why go back? Why release yet another version of Toki Tori? Well, to hear the folks from Two Tribes talk about it: ‘How often do you get the chance to re-create your original work but in the way you’ve intended it for original hardware?’. It’s a fair point and by all means Two Tribes has definitely succeeded in putting the ‘ultimate’ in Toki Tori: Ultimate Edition. As stated through the disclaimer, I am intimately familiar with the original Toki Tori, so seeing a revved up version of the original was kind of exciting. You can notice the improvements almost immediately as Toki Tori runs faster, automatically climbs over ledges and the game’s presentation just feels that little bit more polished.
All that helps to re-establish and confirm why Toki Tori has remained such a staple for many lovers of the Game Boy Color. I think that few puzzle games do as good a job of teaching the player how to play as Toki Tori does. The levels are designed in such a way that you immediately get a sense of how to navigate its tricks and obstacles. I’ve played through Toki Tori so many times and there is this level in the first world that still tricks me up after all these years. The goal is simple, collect all the eggs that are spread out across the stage. Toki Tori can’t jump over enemies or gaps and only uses special power-ups a set number of times per stage. That one level in the first world always tricks me, with the layout guiding me a specific way to the eggs, but following that laid out route gets you stuck with a single egg missing. It teaches the player magnificently how to play the game and first plan out a route themselves rather than simply jumping every gap or climbing every ladder.
In that sense Toki Tori: Ultimate Edition is the final embodiment of Toki Tori’s original design. Playing the game like this felt like I could finally see all the intent and design that Two Tribes had in mind almost 25 years ago. Later stages in particular just flow so much better without the timer counting down and the large amount of backtracking you’re doing with this increased speed. It doesn’t get the honorific of being an ultimate edition as a way of marketing, but it earns this version. It makes one of the best puzzle-platformers even better and frankly, if you do not already own a version of Toki Tori for another device, this is without a doubt the best way of experiencing the game. The one caveat for returning players is to not expect any surprises, new levels or gameplay changes. This is still Toki Tori at heart.
9/10
Traumatarium Penitent, Eligos Games. Works on all Game Boy systems.
As popular as the Game Boy was, it was surprisingly lacking in a couple of genres. Aside from the Wizardry series, there weren’t that many dungeon crawlers on the original handheld. Traumatarium Penitent (try saying that five times fast), seeks to remedy this with its striking visuals and world design. You play as a knight making your way to a major castle while purifying the lands of evil monsters and other foul creatures. The game takes place in first person, with each screen showing your surroundings, the directions you can walk to and possible interactions such as townsfolk, boxes and carriages.
At its core, you’ll be handling your stats throughout the game as you explore. Your vitality meter decreases with each screen you explore, meaning you’re always on the lookout for food or inns where you can rest up. All the while you run into monsters and creatures blocking your way. Battling these takes the form of a static turn-based combat scene where you can defend, attack, consume an item or flee. Battles often boil down to figuring out the patterns to the attacks, as certain enemies may have a third attack that deals the highest damage which you might want to block. Dying resets the game, so be sure to keep a note nearby to track your passwords that record your progress.
Let’s get that out of the way first. Yes, this game uses a good ol’ password system. While these cartridges support FRAM saves, Traumatrium has chosen to rely upon passwords consisting of ten characters. I am still baffled by this decision. On the one hand, there is a certain charm and tension to seeing your vitality stat drop with no food and realizing your last password sets you back about fifteen minutes. But on the other hand, passwords were done away with for a very good reason as they take time, effort and above all are pretty inconsistent in keeping track of your progression. As a wink and nod to the struggle many players have had with the original Game Boy, it is cute, but in actuality it makes an already challenging game feel even more stacked against the player.
And challenging it certainly is. The only way to stay alive in this world is to resort to consuming your potions and food whenever you have them available to you. The game communicates these stats in a very obtuse manner. It took me quite some time to notice that when your vitality drops, your health points start to decrease after. Meaning at times I could easily explore another five screens, but other times I dropped dead after the second one. It all boils down to managing stats, pushing as far as your meters are letting you go and then rushing back to your inn to get a password and repeat the process.
The visual style is what truly sets the game apart. It genuinely has some of the most gorgeous backgrounds I’ve ever seen on a Game Boy screen. The game uses the original green and black palette to its fullest extent. Characters may lack animations but their designs are striking against the locations they inhabit. I also like how you are relying on the map to plan out your route through the world and avoid getting stuck on dead ends. At its heart it is a pretty simple game of exploration and inventory management. That is usually a plus when it comes to Game Boy titles, but the theming is pretty dour. Characters have little to say to the protagonist and following the story is quite difficult as it establishes its own world of orders and rulers that requires reading the accompanying manual to make sense about.
I don’t think that Traumatarium is a bad game per se. Its visual style and gameplay is very inventive. But it makes some baffling choices in both its save system and battle mechanics that make it difficult to recommend. For those who are persistent and stick through the game's quirks, you’ll find a true throwback to the old days of the Game Boy. Before save batteries and online guides. Relying on getting by in battles and exploration by the skin of your teeth. Personally I find the games’ flaws to be too much to bear alongside its dark setting. But there is an argument to be made that there is really nothing like this game on Game Boy. For better or worse…
5/10
And that wraps up these reviews, I hope you enjoyed them and might’ve learned a thing or two about new games on Game Boy. Are you considering picking up any of these titles? And which one looks the most appealing to you? Let us know in the comments!
Disclaimer: Please note, this device has ties to controversial figure Palmer Luckey. NINWR LLC feels it is important to cover this device as a piece of hardware but we do not condone the actions or opinions of any individuals involved in its production.
A few months ago, I was given the opportunity to go fully hands-on with the Chromatic, a newly designed Game Boy device, created by ModRetro. My extensive preview delved into what the device was promising as well as the way in which it wanted to set itself apart from the flood of new emulated Game Boy handhelds you can purchase online. ModRetro is making a big play here, with the ambition to publish multiple classic and new Game Boy games as well. The Chromatic is their flagship product, so how does one deliver a new Game Boy in 2024? Well, I am happy to report that the Chromatic is one of the most pleasing retro devices I’ve played in a very long time. For returning or new players, this is a device that embraces the original design philosophy of the Game Boy but polishes its modern tweaks to perfection. The Chromatic will allow anyone to (re)discover the amazing library of those systems, in the highest quality you can find.
Let’s talk about that design first. The Chromatic is available in several colors, each resembling color palettes from the Game Boy Color era. The device combines several design aspects from the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color. The overall shape is more reminiscent of the Color, but the power button is located at the top of the device while the link cable port is on the left hand side. It makes for an ergonomic design, complimented by its luxurious finish with a magnesium alloy shell. It adds a bit of weight to the overall device and is cool to touch–which I particularly like–since it is a metal, without getting hot or slippery during long play sessions. The speaker is located on the bottom alongside an LED-indicator for the power level and a USB-C port. The one new button you’ll find on the side is a menu button that enables you to change settings such as the brightness of the screen, view controls and change visual features for certain titles. Finally, there is a sapphire screen lens on top of the pixel-accurate 160x144 screen, making it resistant to surface scratches. When you are holding the device it immediately feels like a premium gadget. I was skeptical about the slightly smaller A/B buttons and a D-pad without its ridges and pivot center, but honestly it feels great to play and control games. The travel when pushing in buttons is just right and gives that little bit of forced feedback you are used to with more analogue gadgets.
As the Chromatic is dedicated to reviving the Game Boy experience, you will find no additional buttons on the device to play other types of games. There is no compatibility for Game Boy Advance or any other systems. This does not mean that the Chromatic does not use emulation, however; there is an FPGA core at the heart of the system that can be updated and adjusted over time via firmware updates. This might be a turn-off for some, especially in comparison to a device like the Analogue Pocket, another premium gadget aimed at making it possible to replay original cartridges in an accurate form. The Analogue Pocket is a great device, but in my experience it felt a little bit like it wanted to please everyone. The approach of selling expensive adapters to play a wide range of systems and the additional buttons on the device makes it a bit cramped for my taste. I think the tradeoff with the Chromatic, being just focused on playing Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, might be a difficult choice for some. For me, the premium finishes and this design being chosen for a singular purpose makes the Chromatic stand out from the Analogue Pocket. The Chromatic feels more durable with extended use. The choice to pick AA-batteries as its primary power source, though a lithium rechargeable battery will be released at a later time, makes it safe to say that in twenty years the Chromatic will be just as functional as it is today. But for the average consumer, the fear of losing power or progress through dying batteries is a valid concern; a powerbank and a USB-C cable do help you bridge that gap if you need it.
And then there’s that screen. I’ve gushed about it in my preview plenty, but the color grading, viewing angles and accuracy to the original Game Boy Color is unlike anything you’ve seen before. I wish I could accurately compare these two devices in this video, but this is incredibly challenging without holding the device in your hands. The Analogue Pocket is an admirable screen, but with its slightly larger dimension and warmer palette it does not hold a candle to the vivid and accurate representation of the original colors on the Chromatic. Even if you’re into modding retro handhelds, like myself, there is no aftermarket screen that comes close to capturing what Game Boy Color actually looked like. Comparing these devices side by side, I found the Chromatic to be the most authentic in its screen colors. The Analogue Pocket comes close, but its tint is a bit more over-saturated, even when adjusting the settings. The Chromatic in particular shines when it comes to the viewing angles, especially with a game like Kirby’s Tilt ‘N’ Tumble. Through the firmware, several palettes are available if you do want to go for a specific look with original Game Boy titles, such as the green shade on the original Game Boy or other color palettes. They aren’t for me, but the option is there for those who like to experiment with different looks for their games. The brightness of the screen is another matter entirely. At maximum brightness you can pretty much use it as a flashlight, but the lowest brightness is absolutely perfect for a short gaming session in a darkened room or in bed before going to sleep.
I did find that the current firmware is still a bit lacking for certain quality of life features. Accessing the color palettes is hidden via a shortcut at boot of a game, and there is no indication in the menu which palette is selected. Certain options aren’t explained very well, such as the frame blending and color correction, which is only active when connecting the Chromatic via USB-C to a PC for capturing gameplay. When it comes to that brightness, the system doesn’t remember which brightness you used last, so you may end up blinding yourself with the screen in a darkened room. Finally, there is no way to create save states or allow the system to go into a sleep mode. Turning the power off means closing your game and saving it beforehand. This was of course true of the original Game Boy as well, but for certain games this means bringing out the password-booklet, getting to in-game save points and yes, keeping track of your original Pokémon battery to make sure it won’t die on you over time. Firmware can be updated, and it seems that ModRetro does want to actively support and update the device over time, but it does require the end user to shift their expectations back to the early ‘90s when it comes to these features.
Each Chromatic being sold at launch will come with a new version of Tetris. It proves once again that Tetris is still best suited for a smaller handheld device and this version adds some welcome changes. T-spin, bag holding, seeing what piece comes next, ghost piece, soft drop and lock down are all here and make for probably the best version of Tetris available on Game Boy Color. I’d take this version over any other on Game Boy if it were up to me, but don’t expect any fun side-modes like in Tetris 2 or Bombliss.
Additional ModRetro published titles are also compatible with Game Boy Color. I was sent Tales from Monsterland DX, Patchy Matchy and Toki Tori: Ultimate Edition. Tales of Monsterland DX is a cute, albeit a bit unpolished, action platformer, with a banger of a soundtrack. Toki Tori: Ultimate edition is probably the best version of the original Toki Tori. Small design tweaks, like making jumping over ledges happening automatically as well a drastic increase in speed and removal of the timer, make it a joy to play through its many challenging puzzles. But my personal favorite was Patchy Matchy. This is a game that I just loved to pluck away at. It’s a simple tile-matching puzzle game, where connecting a row of four makes the row disappear, but just feels great to pick up and play. The real goal isn’t to get the highest number of points but to complete a set of over 20 achievements. This one got the most replayability for me and is even compatible with an original Game Boy.
And then there is of course the massive Game Boy and Game Boy Color library. Every title is compatible with the Chromatic, including some wild ones like Pokémon Pinball, Kirby’s Tilt ‘n’ Tumble and yes, the Game Boy Camera. I went out of my way to pick up the Game Boy Camera as the USB-C port makes it possible to directly capture gameplay from the Chromatic. So, yes. I can now use Game Boy Camera as a livestreaming webcam or as a way to get my photos easily transferred to my computer. While I think it will not be the preferred method of choice for the die-hard macro photographers, it does make for a very comfortable shooting experience. As of writing, audio passthrough isn’t available yet via OBS and the Chromatic, but it is a feature that is planned as an update at a later time. For now, you’ll need to connect a line-in to your computer to fully capture the audio. It is a great way to play Game Boy games directly while also using the footage for videos or livestreams.
The real question that hangs over this review is not the quality of the device, nor the compatibility with certain games, but rather ‘who is the Chromatic for’? It is a valid question, as there are nowadays plenty of ways to play Game Boy titles on a plethora of devices. From modern android-based emulation devices produced by companies like Anbernic, to the aforementioned premium Analogue Pocket and then also those who have dedicated themselves to building and improving original Game Boy devices through modding. There’s pros and cons to each of these methods/devices. I feel that the Chromatic defines itself not through addition, but subtraction and refinement. In every aspect of the design, interaction and compatibility it all comes back to a singular design inspiration, that original Game Boy experience. Where one would sit down with a single game for a long time, or in short bursts. The overwhelming amount of options and choice that Anbernic devices or even the Analogue Pocket offer is welcome for those who just want a one-in-all device. But I’ve always found that this hasn’t been able to grab my attention for a prolonged period. Games played on these systems become short distractions before something else comes along and it disappears in a drawer again. There is a point to be made that the Chromatic understands the appeal of these original games, and that much of it rests on the device itself as well. The simplified controls, limited color palettes and capability to just run two types of games didn’t feel like cheap compromises, but allowed the games themselves to take center stage.
In my extended time with the Chromatic I found that the device itself almost became invisible to the experience, because I just started focusing on the game and not the bells and whistles surrounding it. It is hard to describe but it just clicks. It understands where luxurious finishes were needed like in the screen and the shell, but also where the classic feel could be maximized by returning to a minimalistic approach. The buttons feel like magic, mashing and clicking away, never needing to worry about hitting the wrong button. Everything about the Chromatic is tactile and polished that I simply did not want to put it down.
Is that worth the premium price for most consumers? I’m not entirely sure. But for those who do not wish to mod their original hardware, but are looking for a method to play their original games in the most accurate way possible, the Chromatic is the best answer to experiencing the Game Boy library in the way it was originally designed.
ModRetro is aiming to use the Chromatic as a jumping off point to (re)introduce the general public to the magic of the Game Boy. A library of new titles is being released over the coming months and due to partnerships with stores like GameStop it might break through with a wider audience. The Chromatic hits, and it hits hard. Constraint is really difficult in an age where more features, additions and software updates are always expected. The Chromatic makes it clear that this is what the Game Boy always was and resets those expectations. Each time I go back to boot up another game, I get this jolt of excitement when picking up the Chromatic, feeling its weight, admiring its screen and knowing that this is the best some of my favorite games have ever looked. That to me, is worth the premium price, and for those wanting to experience Game Boy again, or passing those memories on to a new generation that did not grow up with these titles, the Chromatic is the closest thing to perfection as you can get.
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