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Hitman World of Assassination review

System: Switch 2
Release date: June 5, 2025
Developer: IO Interactive
Publisher: IO Interactive

The slick, noir-ish montage FMV that plays at the beginning of Hitman World of Assassination’s campaign is an incredibly confident thing. Like any decent introduction it sets out the tonal blueprint of the game you’re about to play – but in Hitman’s case, it does so much more besides. Originally released in 2016, the first entry in IO Interactive’s soft reboot of the franchise was a course correction of sorts, meant to put the developer back on track both creatively and financially. As the cinematic medley plays out, you’re taken on a whistle-stop tour of the past series’ most impactful missions and moments. It’s a definitive statement of intent from IO Interactive, and one that melts away past criticisms over the course of its 2 minute and 22 second runtime. As the artful collage builds to its apex, there’s a subtle – if slightly brazen – feeling that IO Interactive is in no small way hinting that the best is yet to come.

System: Switch 2
Release date: June 5, 2025
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom

When Nintendo revealed Switch 2 earlier this year, of all the games announced to be releasing alongside the system on launch day, it was Street Fighter 6 that had me the most excited. The original Nintendo Switch missed out on some major releases in the fighting game genre; outside of Smash Bros. Ultimate and some iffy Mortal Kombat ports, the pickings were slim for those seeking a flashy modern, 3D fighting game (although we did get what felt like roughly a thousand retro fighting game collections.) These titles have always felt like such a natural fit for handheld play to me, so when Street Fighter 6 released to near universal critical acclaim on other platforms a few years ago, I was eager to someday play it on a console where I could hone my skills at home or on the go. Fortunately, while Street Fighter 6 had to make a few compromises to make it onto Nintendo Switch 2, for the most part this is an excellent way to enjoy Capcom’s premier current-gen fighting game.

The big Nintendo Switch 2 presentation in April announced a ton of new games: Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Kirby Air Riders, plus new trailers for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Lost in all the hype was Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, which just about flew under the radar in comparison to the Direct’s big reveals. In a similar vein as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Age of Imprisonment is meant to serve as a direct prequel to Tears of the Kingdom. We don’t really know much about the game otherwise, but we figure it’s a good time to make some story and gameplay predictions before it releases later this year. We’ll be discussing spoilers for Tears of the Kingdom and Age of Calamity, so keep that in mind before you continue.

Nintendo Switch 2 review

When the original Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, it shook up the very notion of what a gaming console could be, offering unprecedented versatility by allowing players to experience true console-quality gaming both at-home and on the go. Eight years later, the experiment has proven a success. Switch is one of the best-selling gaming systems of all time, boasting a staggering library of both first and third-party games, so it makes sense that Nintendo would choose to iterate on the platform rather than reinvent the wheel for its next console. Enter the Nintendo Switch 2, which finally landed in the hands of players nearly eight years after the launch of its predecessor, boasting more power, a bigger screen, and a few quirky new features.

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System: Switch
Release date: June 15, 2025
Developer: Limited Run Games / Crystal Dynamics
Publisher: Limited Run Games

The Gex series is one that has been out of the limelight for a long time. While seen as unique and unconventional in his pomp, Gex has faded into obscurity. The gecko is best known these days as a bit of an internet meme, seen more in the ilk of Bubsy than of Sonic or Crash Bandicoot. Even still, the character had several big-time game releases and was the poster boy for Crystal Dynamics for quite a while, and that team has gone on to make some truly brilliant titles. Over time, the franchise has become increasingly less accessible, and so people who may want to try out Gex’s titles to see if maybe time has treated him too harshly. Thankfully, Limited Run Games has seen that cult desire for the wise-cracking TV addict to make a comeback, and have obliged with a trilogy collection of three adventures with the very first entry plus Gex: Enter the Gecko and Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko. In the past, I had only played Gex 2, and I was very young at the time, so when this collection was announced, I was very excited to play it again, as well as what came before and after. How do they hold up nearly three decades later?

Mario Kart World Free Roam improvements

Today, we’re going over some improvements Nintendo could implement to further improve Mario Kart World’s Free Roam mode.

During the marketing campaign that led up to its release, Free Roam was Mario Kart World’s big selling point. At the time, we didn’t know how many secrets it would hold – in fact, we didn’t know much about it at all other than the presence of numerous P-Switch missions. In the end, it turns out Mario Kart World’s Free Roam mode only has P-Switches, ? Block Panels, and Peach Medallions that offer exclusive stickers as rewards. Though I personally am a fan of Free Roam’s relaxed, slow-paced nature, it’s clear that it isn’t exactly what every Mario Kart fan was looking for. Uncovering the open world’s many hundreds of collectibles is fun and satisfying, but there are a number of improvements Nintendo could have made to make Free Roam feel more substantial.

Yakuza 0 Director's Cut review

System: Switch 2
Release date: June 5, 2025
Developer: RGG Studio
Publisher: SEGA

In the very recent past, it looked like there was no future for Yakuza/Like A Dragon games on Nintendo hardware. After the poor sales of the Japan-exclusive Yakuza 1&2 HD Edition collection on Wii U, then RGG Studio head and series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi decreed that the series had no market with Nintendo fans and weren’t going to release their games on those systems. This remained the case for a long time, until a massive staff reconstruction in 2021, when Nagoshi and other notable developers left the team. New studio leader Masayoshi Yokoyama decided to test Nintendo Switch waters October last year with a release of the Yakuza 1 remake title, Yakuza Kiwami. To RGG Studio’s and SEGA’s surprise, the game sold tremendously well and less than a year later one of the most acclaimed titles in the series has a new edition for Nintendo Switch 2’s launch: Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut.

Donkey Kong Bananza live stream

The next game-specific Nintendo Direct is almost here with the Donkey Kong Bananza presentation happening soon, and we’re sharing the official live stream. You’ll be able to tune in at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET / 2 PM in the UK / 3 PM in Europe.

If you have any sort of interest in the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 title, you may want to watch the event. Nintendo will be sharing more information during the 15-minute live stream. 

Nintendo Switch 2 launched last week with a bunch of games, but one of the system’s big selling points is its backwards compatibility. Almost every game released on the previous console is supported. Nintendo has even come out with a few free updates that offer bonuses like improved frame rate, enhanced resolution, and more. We’ve also seen Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom with new editions. But that’s not all, as many Nintendo Switch 1 titles automatically run better on Switch 2 – at least ones that had uncapped frame rates and dynamic resolution.

So while you’ve probably been playing a lot of Mario Kart World, have you tried out any specific Nintendo Switch games on Switch 2? Which titles have impressed you? Let us know in the comments.

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2025 is a great year for racing games! Everybody’s talking about Mario Kart World right now, but the new Kirby Air Riders is also coming out sometime in 2025. It’s directed by Masahiro Sakurai, and it’s actually the first Kirby game he’s directed since the original Kirby Air Ride on GameCube over 20 years ago. Though Kirby Air Ride was met with mixed reviews on launch, it’s since become something of a cult classic. It’s beloved for its addictive City Trial mode, and the crazy part is that the entire game was developed in three and a half months. According to Sakurai, Kirby Air Riders has been in active development since April 2022, which means it’s had over three years to cook. In other words, Kirby Air Riders might be a bigger game than we realize – which makes sense, given it’s had over ten times the development time of the original game!


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