Ooo, Bananza (July 2025)
Donkey Kong Bananza arrived at the start of July; an ambitious destructathon from the Mario Odyssey team, and another strong exclusive. July also continued the trend of stupidly long Switch 2 Edition names, with Super Mario Party Jamboree – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV bookending the first-party offerings at the end of the month.
Elsewhere, we got Wild Hearts S (remember that?), WWE 2K25, and the system’s first real turkey in Tamagotchi Plaza – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, an NL 3/10-er. Ouch.
Despite indie dev talk that S2 devkits were like hen’s teeth for most, we started seeing some tiny games hitting the Switch 2 eShop – specifically, games which pushed system features Nintendo was keen to highlight, such as Handy Hockey (Mouse Mode) and Chillin’ by the Fire (GameChat).
Hot topics: Nintendo restricting dev-kit access, Odyssey vs. Bananza, Zelda movie casting
NL’s Highest-Rated Game(s) of the Month: Donkey Kong Bananza (9) / Super Mario Party Jamboree NS2E (9)
Drag, Drive, and cosy vibes (August 2025)
August brought the next Switch 2 exclusive, Drag x Drive, an intriguing multiplayer Mouse Mode experiment that lacked personality. Elsewhere, a titan of ball sports returned to a Nintendo platform in Madden 26, Story of Seasons Grand Bazaar brought cosy farm-sim vibes, and Bokura: Planet continued the trend of indie releases that showcased the system’s features getting waved through.
Also, Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World made former Nintendo Power podcast presenters thankful that the pod wrapped a few years back and they don’t have to repeat that ludicrous title in full. Every. Time. Good game, though.
Hot topics: Drag and Drive or Drag ecks Drive?
NL’s Highest-Rated Game of the Month: Apex Legends (9) / Kirby & The Forgotten Land NS2E (9)
All for a ‘song (September 2025)
A huge month for releases, although they were all overshadowed by one in particular.
Final Fantasy Tactics, Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion, Star Wars Outlaws, Cronos: The New Dawn, NBA 2K26, EA SPORTS FC 26, Hades 2, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, and some Bananza DLC all dropped in September, but Hollow Knight: Silksong stole the show.
Oh, and Galaxy 2 finally arrived on Switch alongside a new port of its predecessor.
Hot topics: Mario Galaxy Switch pricing, Are games too tough? Is Silksong too cheap? What year is it? Where are my pants?
NL’s Highest-Rated Game(s) of the Month: Hollow Knight: Silksong (10)
From Z to A, via Balls and Pits (October 2025)
Pokémon Legends: Z-A took up much of October, launching on Switch 1 and 2 simultaneously. Square Enix put out its next HD-2D title with Dragon Quest 1&2 HD-2D Remake, while Sega released the long-awaited Persona 3 Reload.
On the indie front, Playtonic’s Yooka-Replaylee remaster was generally well received (though the 30fps cap on Switch 2 caused a stir with players expecting a solid 60), and BALL x PIT massively reduced global productivity for a spell there.
Hot topics: Yooka-Replaylee 30fps on S2, Pokémon discourse
NL’s Highest-Rated Game(s) of the Month: The Touryst Deluxe (9) / Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake (9)
So that was the Imprisoning War (November 2025)
In November, Nintendo published two games within a fortnight: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment and Kirby Air Riders.
Elsewhere, Sega launched ports of Yakuza Kiwamis 1 and 2 ahead of the cross-platform debut of Kiwami 3 in three months’ time, and the first of Tomb Raider‘s Survivor trilogy finally arrived on a Nintendo system in Definitive Edition form.
Hot topics: Myles MacKenzie
NL’s Highest-Rated Game(s) of the Month: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (9) / Yakuza Kiwami 2 (9)
Beyond Redemption (December 2025)
2025 finished up with a very busy month, filled with games new and old, large and small.
On the new release front, we had Metroid Prime 4 Beyond, Octopath Traveler 0, and Rogue Prince of Persia. For games getting late-coming Switch 2 releases, Assassin’s Creed Shadows got an admirable port, ol’ faithful Skyrim less so, Red Dead Redemption got a Switch 2 Edition, and the upgraded version of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds polished things up nicely.
Looking at indies, Simogo Legacy Collection, Cast n Chill, and the excellent Skate Story stood out as we headed into the holidays, and Stardew Valley snuck out on Christmas Day in the States (although a troubled launch delayed its European release until March).
Hot topics: Generative AI in game dev, Bowser retires, Pritchard ascends, Skyrim returns…again,
NL’s Highest-Rated Game(s) of the Month: Metroid Prime 4 Beyond NS2E (9) / Red Dead Redemption NS2E (9) / Octopath Traveler 0 (9) / Simogo Legacy Collection NS2E (9) / The Rogue Prince of Persia (9) / Cast n Chill NS2E (9)
Old Horizons (January 2026)
Starting the new year, Nintendo took us back in time with Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, reminding us all what a half-finished state we’d left our islands in.
Koei Tecmo continued its solid S2 support with Dynasty Warriors: Origins, Dispatch came to both Switch 1 and 2 (although in a censored form, which caused consternation), and Square put out a well-received Switch 2 version of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
A solid start to 2026, although in terms of games nobody had played before elsewhere, January bowed to February’s superiority…
Hot topics: Dispatch censorship, a Year In Review that actually includes the entire year
NL’s Highest-Rated Game(s) of the Month: Stardew Valley NS2E (9) / Dynasty Warriors: Origins (9) / FFVII Remake Intergrade (9) / Dispatch NS2E (9)
Resident Knight Fever (February 2026)
The cross-platform release of Resident Evil Requiem dominated our thoughts for most of the month, although Nintendo did put out Switch 2 exclusive Mario Tennis Fever. Sega’s Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties was another S2 game that launched day and date across all consoles – a welcome novelty for those of us used to waiting months for a port, if one comes at all.
Reanimal and Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined continued that ‘day one, everywhere’ trend, although there was a steady stream of old games, too, including a Switch 2 Edition of Hollow Knight, Fallout 4, and Resident Evils 7 and 8.
The month belonged to Requiem, though.
Hot topics: FireRed & LeafGreen re-releases, Pokémon 30th anniversary, Virtual Boy
NL’s Highest-Rated Game(s) of the Month: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (9) / Reanimal (9) / Resident Evil 7 (9) / Resident Evil Requiem (9)
Un Poko’ loco (March 2026)
Coming hot on the heels of RE9, Monster Hunter Stories 3 didn’t make massive waves, but was the second in a trio of cross-platform Capcom titles to launch in less than two months.
Elsewhere, Koei Tecmo and Sega brought versions of Fatal Frame 2 Remake and Virtua Fighter 5, respectively, Switch 2 ports of Blue Prince, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, and Scott Pilgrim EX delivered the indie goods, and Nintendo itself had a Mario Wonder Nintendo Switch 2 Edition with some added content to tie into The Mario Galaxy Movie’s release.
The month belonged to one game, though: Pokémon Pokopia. Becoming Metacritic’s highest-rated Pokémon game of all time, Nintendo is bundling this system-exclusive with the console this summer. It’s a winner.
Also worth noting is Handheld Boost Mode dropping out of nowhere, giving Switch 1 games docked performance and resolution on Switch 2 in handheld. Lovely.
Hot topics: Nintendo digital vs. physical pricing difference in the US, Nvidia’s DLSS 5 yassification filter, Nintendo suing the US government, Fox in the Mario Galaxy Movie, Star Fox and Ocarina remake rumours, Yoshi popcorn buckets
NL’s Highest-Rated Game(s) of the Month: Scott Pilgrim EX (9) / Planet of Lana 2: NS2E (9) / Blue Prince (9) / Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (9) / Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. World Stage (9) / The Midnight Walk (9)
Cap-dom (April 2026)
Capping off Capcom’s trio, the excellent Pragmata held its own on Switch 2, cementing Capcom as one of the system’s most impressive and reliable devs, and surely putting them in the running for Publisher of the Year gongs come December.
Nintendo let up on the Switch 2 gas a little following Pokopia and Wonder in March, although Switch 1’s Tomodachi Life proved to be a huge hit. Elsewhere, quality games like OPUS: Prism Peak and Mouse: P.I. For Hire kept things ticking over in a quieter month.
Hot topics: 007 First Light delayed on Switch 2
NL’s Highest-Rated Game(s) of the Month: Pragmata (9) / Mouse P.I. For Hire (9)
Mina and the Mysterious Mixtape (May 2026)
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book brought another exclusive to the platform in May, and Machine Games’ port of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle showed once again how capable Switch 2 can be in the right hands.
It was a bumper month for smaller dev teams, too, with Mixtape, Sektori, and Mina The Hollower bringing yet more depth and quality to the S2 eShop.
Hot topics: Switch 2 price hikes, Bubsy in good-game shocker!
NL’s Highest-Rated Game(s) of the Month: Mixtape (9) / Sektori (9) / Mina the Hollower NS2E (9)
Rebirth (June 2026)
We’re only a few days in, but Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Konami’s surprisingly good Switch 2 exclusive eFootball Kick-Off snuck in before the first anniversary cut-off.
Just missing the deadline are some much-anticipated games from Nintendo and Square, too, but let’s look at those below…
Switch 2, Year Two – What’s In Store?
The Adventures of Elliot and Star Fox are both June games we’re looking forward to, with Nintendo folllowing that up in July with Splatoon Raiders and Rhythm Heaven Groove (although that’s Switch 1 – the last announced first-party Switch 1 game at the time of writing, in fact).
August sees Konami doing us a Solid with Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, FromSoft’s Elden Ring arriving after a delay, and Square has Final Fantasy XIV Online lined up, too.
September brings Lego Batman and DQ XI S Definitive Edition, while Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 gets October day-and-date parity with other platforms. Beyond that, there’s a significant pile of “TBA 2026” titles, including Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, The Duskbloods, Layton and the New World of Steam, Oblivion Remastered, DECAPOLICE, and Valheim.
And then there’s whatever Nintendo has up its sleeve for the holidays. Fire Emblem is excellent, but it’s also a little niche. Even if the Ocarina remake rumours for Zelda’s 40th anniversary year turn out to be hot air, we’re still expecting something sizeable from Nintendo’s in-house teams for the second half of 2026. – all the more if the firm wants to attract new players to Switch 2 while putting the price up.
