
Issue #196
February 4, 2026
#196: Your Nintendo Update
Your Nintendo digest for the week ending August 30.
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Dark crystal.
Hey , here’s issue #196 of your weekly Switch round-up. Not much commentary from me this week, as, well, I’m sending this a little later than usual. Anyway, this week I played through ‘A Short Hike’, and I’d recommend it if you were considering it — a real wholesome experience. Next up for me is Raji — looking forward to diving in, it looks very pretty. Finally, before I go I just wanted to mention that Community Patreon supporters will be playing Star Fox throughout September as part of the Switch Games Club — do consider joining us!
As ever, thanks for reading, and enjoy the issue,
▶ Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase — Yup, another mini direct with a focus on third party titles just dropped earlier this week. No huge surprises in this one. It seemed to have a strong musical focus to start with, featuring games such as Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory, Just Dance, Fuser and more. A later look at both Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 and the Collection of Saga Final Fantasy Legend proved to be highlights for many. It’s around 12-minutes long if you fancy catching up. Nintendo // YouTube A new Nintendo Switch model will launch next year, a new report claims — This week a few reports popped up suggesting a new Switch model is on the cards for early 2021. Of course, there has been plenty of chatter about a potential Pro model, and that possibility also resurfaced this week, with talks of a could-be 4K model ( this detail seems a tad dubious to me, upscaling maybe, but no way would Nintendo chase native 4K ). Either way, no matter what ends up being reality the timing makes sense here, with both Sony and Microsoft about to launch their next generation of systems. Andy Robinson // VGC Maybe just delay next-gen already — Ok, sure this editorial is talking about Sony and Microsoft here, but with the Switch Pro rumour circulating again, I feel it’s good to occasionally share stuff around the industry at large. Ethan Gach // Kotaku REVIEW Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition — This review opens up with a fairly damming assesment that this is a failed attempt at reviving a classic , a shame really as I enjoyed the GameCube version. ” Whereas the original rewarded players for bringing friends, this version is frustrating and downright inconvenient if you want to enjoy it with others “. This related Reddit rant echoes a similar sentiment. A shame. Dominick Ashtear // Nintendo Enthusiast REVIEW Windbound — ” a winning, endearing experience that makes Windbound a special game on the Switch, especially if you’re looking for a survival game with a little bit of Zelda. “. Neal Ronaghan // Nintendo World Report REVIEW Hypnospace Outlaw — As a late 90s internet user, this one is very much on my watch list now. ” really is like nothing else out there; […] meticulously crafted slice of early-internet nostalgia that you can spend hours absolutely lost in “. PJ O’Reilly // Nintendo Life REVIEW No Straight Roads – a musical journey riddled with potholes — This one came out last week, and the reviews seemed fairly mixed from what I can gather. Rick Lane writing for The Guardian said: ” With genre music battles and stylish design, this game should be great – but it can’t decide whether it’s a third-person fighter or a rhythm-action game “, adding that despite some ” impressive sights and sounds, in the end [it] has too many potholes to make its musical journey worth recommending “. Chris Scullion, writing for VGC , had a brighter outlook on it however, saying despite it being a bit short, it’s a ” beautifully made adventure with a fantastic soundtrack and some phenomenal art design “. Rick Lane // The Guardian Paper Mario dev unsure if the series will continue to move away from RPG roots — Nintendo Everything translated this interview from Eurogamer Germany . This line from Kensuke Tanabe stood out to me: I’m not opposed to the fans’ opinions. However, I view my game development philosophy as separate from that. — makes sense to me, by all means hear out what fans have to say, but chart your own path. People rarely know what they want. Nintendo Everything ▶ Crafting a tiny open world: A Short Hike postmortem — This lovely little game landed on the eShop last week. I’ve played through it , and found it to be very charming, and equally well realised. Thanks to J.Ober for sharing this GDC talk on how the fleeting game came to be. Adam Robinson-Yu // GDC (YouTube) The Last Campfire is a totally chill puzzle adventure Mike Fahey // Kotaku INTERVIEW Chasing the dream of four people in a room — ” Hello Games’ Sean Murray and Steven Burgess on The Last Campfire, No Man’s Sky, and coming full circle. “. Chris Tapsell // Eurogamer
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