Issue #498

September 6, 2026

A Double Nintendo Direct Looms

So, next week should prove interesting! We’re getting a double helping of Nintendo Direct fun, along with a Nintendo Treehouse presentation too. Yep, Nintendo announced this week that a special (and long expected) Zelda-themed Direct would air, followed by a regular Direct showcase the following day. Details on when to watch are below. The Zelda Direct should give us a closer look at the Ocarina remake (is Monolith Soft the dev behind it?), the Zelda movie, and that leaked hardware no doubt. As for the ‘normal’ Direct — who knows, but good to keep those non-Zelda fans up to speed on what’s in the pipeline. I’m looking forward to it! As ever, Club members will be playing some Direct Bingo, so if you want to take part on the Discord – be sure to join us!

Alright, moving on. This week I’ve started playing Orbitals, and so far, so delightful. It’s beautifully animated, and is super well polished. Only played the first hour or so, but it’s a great bit of co-op action that deserves the love it’s getting (currently sitting at the #1 spot on the eShop charts).

Ok, now on to what games are on slate for the week ahead. We’ve got around 15 coming over the next seven days, including Mewgenics and that new Hot Wheels game. Full list below for you.

Now, before I go you may recall several issues back I asked for any feedback or comments about the newsletter. Well, I’m now very close to hitting issue 500 and would love to pull together any thoughts you may have about the newsletter as I reach this milestone. If you’ve got anything nice to say (or critique!) please do hit reply and let me know. Good or bad, it means a lot.

Ok, I best stop writing and let you get into the issue. Catch you next time for a post-Direct debrief.

Cheers,
Chris ✌️

🎮 Currently Playing: Orbitals

Nintendo confirms two Nintendo Directs, including Zelda 40th anniversary — The Zelda presentation is on Tuesday, September 8 at 7am PT | 10am ET | 3pm BST | 4PM CEST. The regular Direct is the next day on Wednesday, at the same time. It will be followed by a Treehouse showcase.

Andy Robinson // VGC

New Super Smash Bros. and Nintendogs games leaked for Switch 2, insider claims — Some grains of salt for your pre-Direct consideration. There’s also some suggestion that Mario Kart World DLC will be on the way.

Brent Koepp // VICE

REVIEW Orbitals — “a standout exclusive on the Nintendo Switch 2, one more indicative of a first-party release than a debut title from a new studio, making it an absolute must-play for owners of Nintendo’s latest hybrid console.”

Zubi Khan // CGMagazine

▶ Pikmin 3 Deluxe’s free Switch 2 upgrade is brilliant

GVG // YouTube

▶ Mario Kart 8’s Switch 2 update is amazing — As above, another Switch game got some unexpected love this week. Despite World, folks just can’t quit 8 Deluxe. The new local 8-player multiplayer looks crazy.

GVG // YouTube

As defense in ownership lawsuit, Sony states that ‘reasonable consumers’ understand they don’t own digital games — Are you reasonable?

Peter Glagowski // Nintendo Wire

REVIEW Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Shaun Musgrave // Nintendo Insider

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is another RE Engine triumph on Switch 2

Alan Wen // Creative Bloq

REVIEW Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Complete Edition: A promising soulslike but a compromised port

Ollie Reynolds // Nintendo Life

▶ Orbitals Director Marcos Ramos on anime inspirations and his creative process

Kepler Interactive and Shapefarm // YouTube

CD Projekt Red talks Cyberpunk 2077 on Nintendo Switch 2, “very happy” with sales numbers — They’re supporting the system in a way which is clearly paying dividends.

Brian // Nintendo Everything

Sonic Mania 2 ‘not off the books yet,’ says Sonic Team head — I’m not a big Sonic guy, but Mania was a blast and it always struck me as odd they didn’t make a second a priority.

Reece Heather // Nintendo Wire

PREVIEW Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse doesn’t seem to raise the stakes, but should still be worth sinking your teeth into

Chris Scullion // VGC

PREVIEW Stellar Blade on Switch 2 is a notionally impressive technical feat, but it comes with a big cost — “it’s novel and nominally impressive, but the act of playing it is compromised to the point that the whole endeavour seems ill-advised.”

Lexi Luddy // Shacknews

INTERVIEW Stellar Blade dev on bringing the game to Switch 2, adoration for Zelda: Breath of the Wild, more

Brian // Nintendo Everything

PREVIEW Rollercoaster Tycoon: Wonderworks — “I can see this truly being the next generation of theme park management sims“.

Willem Hilhorst // Nintendo World Report

Inside the Nintendo Museum: The DNA of a toy maker

Shun Takata // SUPERJUMP

How 40 years of Metroid have impacted the biggest Metroidvania developers

Michael Leri // GameSpot

Big Walk is already my GOTY because it brings faraway friends closer like nothing else

Nile Bowie // Nintendo Life

Hollywood actor Tim Curry and the mystery of the Game Boy he was “furious” to lose

Jack Yarwood // Time Extension

Upcoming Releases

⭐️ = One to Watch

📦 = Physical Release

🔑 = Game Key Card

🎮 = Demo Available

Tue

8

Culdcept the First Saturn Tribute — This 1997 turn-based board game / card game strategy gets its first Western release.
2️⃣ Sprawl Zero — A tactical ‘Y2K-style’ cyberpunk FPS. M for mature.
⭐️2️⃣ Mewgenics — A cat breeding tactical role-playing roguelike life sim from Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel. Sold over a million in its first week on PC! M for mature.

Wed

9

Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster — Use the ‘heart-devouring sword’ in this hand-drawn 2D Metroidvania. M for mature.
One-inch Tactics — Tabletop strategy.
2️⃣ Valheim — A collaborative exploration/survival game for up to 10 players inspired by Norse mythology.

Thu

10

Circuit Flow — A wire-routing puzzle game set on a compact circuit board.
Hazard Pay — Destroy evidence in this pixel-art block-pushing puzzler.
Kubo 3 — 2D platform adventure.
⭐️ The Royal Writ — A medieval roguelike deckbuilder. M for mature.
Cats Around Us: Black Cat — Find cats in comic books.
⭐️2️⃣ The Legend of Heroes: Trails From Zero — This is the 2010 fourth entry, now on Switch 2.
⭐️2️⃣ The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure — The 2011 fifth entry in this RPG gets a Switch 2 release.
⭐️2️⃣📦🔑 Hot Wheels Infinite Rush — A racer set across four islands. Physical release

Release dates are for Europe & U.S. markets unless otherwise stated.
Data sourced in collaboration with Switch Scores.

Quick Links

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will be coming to Switch 2 on April 8, 2027.
Mario Kart Wii is now running natively on iPhone and iPad.
Shark romp Maneater 2 is coming to Switch 2 next year.
A Rain World Anthology has been announced for Switch 2.
This is a cool little project – someone is building a speaker that plays the music of whatever Game Boy cartridge you plug in.

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Thanks to: Seany!, Perfect Flyer, FrozenTrout, GeeDuhb, MindFad, Paul Pace, Evelynn, CapnGoat, m12y, Geen, Sylverstone Khandr, zioibi …and others.

Upcoming Releases

Quick Links

Leak reveals a Zelda-themed Switch 2 and Pro Controller

A Switch 2 OLED sounds nice, but the economics (and timeline) say otherwise

Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler II get Switch 2 versions today in Japan, later elsewhere