Nintendo Insider

If you’re looking for a new game to add to your party night rotation, you really can’t go wrong with Heave Ho 2. While the new versus mode isn’t all that great, the new assortment of worlds and stages in the main cooperative mode will keep you and your friends or family busy for at least a few evenings. If you’re dedicated to finding all the secrets and completing all the extra challenges, you’ll get even more legs (arms) out of it. The addition of online play allows you to play even if you’re partying by yourself, but the real genius of the game comes from having everyone elbow to elbow in the same room. Heave Ho 2, like the first game, is great multiplayer fun for players of all kinds.

Whether you revisit that more optimistic past via this Nintendo Switch 2 version of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster or not is up to you, but it’s assuredly worth returning to in whatever form you choose. All this new version really has to offer is a slightly crisper image and a handful of new cheats, so it’s probably a better choice for people who passed on the original Switch release than those who already own it. I really wonder how many people who would be interested in this Switch 2 release fall into that category, though. If that’s you, this is well-worth the asking price.

Splatoon Raiders is a brilliantly moreish extraction shooter, whose ink-based gameplay helps make a well-trodden genre feel fresh and interesting. A great time alone, assisting others or grouping up with three friends, Splatoon Raiders proves there’s far more to be done with this series, and I, for one, cannot wait for where we go next.

Even after a couple of big updates, R-Type Dimensions III is still a flawed remake of a game that was always closer to decent than great. Frankly speaking, Switch and Switch 2 owners are spoiled for choice when it comes to shoot ’em up games. If this remake was going to be for anyone, it would have been the diehard fans of R-Type III. Yet the many little inaccuracies and impractical interpretation of the original game’s look and feel mean that’s the crowd likely to be most disappointed with this effort. Perhaps it will eventually get where it needs to be, but in the here and now, R-Type Dimensions III remains somewhat difficult to recommend.

Digimon Story Time Stranger is a solid port to the Switch 2 that makes some sensible sacrifices without losing what made it shine elsewhere. It might not be the biggest or fanciest RPG on the platform, but its plucky approach to the subject matter is hard to dislike. As a creature collector, it has a lot to offer with its various systems and customizations. The turn-based battles give you plenty of opportunities to push all of that stuff to your advantage, and there’s enough to do outside of battles to get you poking around every nook and cranny. All of that is wrapped up in a plot that can sometimes be a little thin but never fails to keep things moving at a steady pace. Time Stranger is a good time all around, even if it doesn’t reinvent the proverbial wheel as far as RPGs go.

Cyberpunk 2077 has aged incredibly well thanks to a whole lot of improvements over the years and the addition of an excellent expansion. The Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game, Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition, makes a few graphical sacrifices to get things running, but not as many as you might expect. It’s a fine way to play this outstanding RPG if you haven’t before, and even those with prior experience might appreciate it as a handheld option with cross-save compatibility. It’s an incredible port of a terrific game, and a worthy showpiece for the console.

Rhythm Paradise Groove doesn’t miss a beat. Whether getting in the groove with friends and family or honing your skill to accumulate Medals playing solo, this game deserves its chance to shine in the spotlight and a place in your Nintendo Switch collection. Its kaleidoscopic colours, hypnotic soundscape and flawlessly addictive formula make for an uplifting experience that you won’t want to put down all summer.

I sincerely hope that Koei Tecmo Games patches the Switch 2 Edition of Atelier Yumia to sort out these hitches and stutters, because as it stands now, I really can’t recommend this version of the game to anyone. Atelier Yumia is a really great game, but if you really want to play the game on a Nintendo platform, you’re better off playing the original Switch version on your Switch 2 for the time being. Do not buy this “upgrade” unless Koei Tecmo fixes it.

Sonic Frontiers is an ambitious game with a lot of rough edges, but it’s one that I enjoy. Sonic Frontiers: Definitive Edition offers a graphical boost over the original Nintendo Switch version and includes much of the DLC from the get-go, and in that sense, it’s at least an improvement. Still, neither of its two graphical modes really get the job done as well as you might like. Either way, you’re making some kind of heavy compromise that affects the gameplay. Considering the lack of affordable upgrade options here, it’s really hard to recommend this to anyone but new buyers who are locked into the Switch 2 ecosystem.

Provided you played and enjoyed Tomb Raider (2013) on Nintendo Switch 2, you’ll definitely want to check out Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration. It’s both a better game and a better port, basically one-upping everything that game did in every possible way. The only thing to keep in mind here is that this is closer to the base PlayStation 4 version of the game performance-wise, rather than later versions, which was likely a necessary sacrifice to keep it looking as good as it does even in handheld mode. I’m not sure what Lara Croft’s future looks like, but I’m enjoying these revisits to her past.