Games We Want On Switch 2, Hands-On With Assassin's Creed Shadows, And More Of The Week's Takes

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There was no shortage of things for us to have opinions on this week. First, we shared our picks for the games we most want to see make their way to the Nintendo Switch 2. We also shared our impressions of Assassin’s Creed Shadows after some recent hands-on time with the game, and look ahead to what seems to be a pretty promising year for Xbox Game Pass. Read on for these takes and more.

Lilith from Diablo is shown inside a Switch 2 screen.

The original Switch was a trailblazing device that proved you could take console-quality games on the go, but it was demonstrably less powerful than its PlayStation and Xbox competitors. In the years since the Switch was released, that gap has only grown with the release of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. We still don’t have official specs for the Switch 2, but it will likely be a decent leap forward for Nintendo’s line of handheld/console hybrids. As such, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see some older games make their way to the device that couldn’t feasibly run on the original, so we got to thinking about some big games that we’d like to see ported to the Switch 2. Here are a few of our ideas. - Kenneth Shepard Read More

The image of the Four Cyclists of the Apocalypse in the final issue of AMIGA POWER.

There is a reasonable chance you have not heard of Jonathan Nash. However, the games journalist and comedy writer has been such an inspiration for a generation of games critics, and the generation inspired by them, that his influence has almost certainly reached you. J Nash was extraordinary, and I’m very sorry to report he has died. I also can’t wait to tell you why you will want to read everything he ever wrote. - John Walker Read More

Earlier this month, I got to try out Assassin’s Creed Shadows via a livestreamed four-hour preview. Just a week before that preview, Ubisoft had announced that the next main entry in the open-world franchise about sneaky assassins and evil Templars had been delayed. Again. - Zack Zwiezen Read More

A mock-up of a Mario Kart RPG box cover.

Nintendo made an interesting decision with Mario Kart 8. They chose to make it so good, and so comprehensive, that it removed the need to make any more. It has now been over ten years since Mario Kart 8 first released, more than double the length that’s ever come between an entry in the series before. Honestly, they could re-re-release 8 for the Switch 2, and it’d still sell millions. Given this, here’s an idea: why not do something dramatically different with Mario Kart 9? - John Walker Read More

Here’s an interesting question: If the subject of a really good remaster is a bad game, does that mean the remaster is also bad, or just a good way to experience the original flawed product? That’s the question I’ve been pondering since playing Star Wars: Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles. - Zack Zwiezen Read More

As we’ve extensively covered, Pokémon TCG Pocket is a lovely mobile card game version of the 30-year-0ld trading card game, but also a wide-open doorway to gambling mechanics. It’s shocking to realize, early on in your time with the game, that it lets you pour as much as 720 Poké Gold a day into opening new packs, meaning it only cuts players off at roughly $105. Per day. Which is how much one Japanese player has been spending as he celebrates acquiring his 50,000th card. - John Walker Read More

Travelers look at a goddess in the heavens.

While Xbox Game Pass rarely goes a month without getting at least something new that’s worth checking out, it’s certainly had its dry spells in recent years. The back half of January, however, has quietly revealed a surprising number of cool new games hitting the Netflix-like subscription service, and with several more day-and-date releases announced during Thursday’s Xbox Developer Direct, 2025 is looking like it might be one of the service’s best years yet. - Ethan Gach Read More

One of the biggest developments in gaming isn’t just the growing number of games to play, with thousands more being released every year, but how sticky the biggest blockbusters are, monopolizing players’ money and attention long after they’ve come out. And not just live-service multiplayer games either. New sales data shows how over a third of 2024's best selling games, like Elden Ring, came out years ago. - Ethan Gach Read More

Phantom Blade Zero was first revealed back at Sony’s 2023 gaming showcase. At the time, the Chinese-made PlayStation 5 exclusive looked like another project heavily inspired by FromSoftware’s Soulsborne games. But playable demos last year revealed it’s much closer to a Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry-style action game. A new six-minute trailer shows exactly why, and gives the vibe that Phantom Blade 0 could be the next Black Myth: Wukong. - Ethan Gach Read More