2025 off to a predictably sleepy start.
The latest UK charts are in and, with only one new release to speak of, the list is much as you might expect.
Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana was the only new entry to the chart this week, just sneaking into the top 40 to land in 38th in its debut week (with a 53%/47% console split for PS5 and Switch, respectively).
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Please sir, can I have some Mordor?
The year is 2025 and Lord of the Rings feels very much like it’s “a thing” again. We’re not sure that it ever really went away, to be honest, but we’ve got The Rings of Power on TV (and it’s actually rather good now), the War of the Rohirrim hit cinemas, a ‘Hunt for Gollum‘ movie is planned, and, perhaps most importantly for us, more Middle Earth games are on the horizon.
Gollum launched on multiple consoles in 2023 — though the Switch version is still in limbo (something we’re sure you were all devastated about) after Daedalic shut down its internal development team. But Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game — surely a shoo-in for 2025’s Clunkiest Title Award — is right around the corner, bringing a slice of Hobbit life to Switch in March. And, with Embracer Group now legally behind the IP’s wheel, we’d be surprised if things are stopping there.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Long live the Empire.
Welcome to another edition of Box Art Brawl, folks!
Last week, we took a look at Crash Nitro Kart for the GameCube, a sequel to Crash Team Racing that never quite managed to step out of its predecessor’s shadow. North America sealed the deal this time with 53% of the vote, while EU managed 30% and Japan just 17% (bit awkward – we like the Japanese variant). Well done, North America!
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Instead we got Switch Online’s retro subscription tiers.
Before Nintendo’s subscription service took off, fans were able to individually buy and download first-party retro titles and play them whenever they wanted thanks to the Virtual Console service.
Although this was eventually replaced with Switch Online’s tier-based retro library, Nintendo apparently had plans to carry over the existing Virtual Console service and add online functionality. This information comes from “a new leak of iQue emails not too long ago” according to Yakumono’s Blog, run by dataminer (and Nintendo Life user) LuigiBlood.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
An era’s end.
A lot has changed in video gaming since Switch launched in 2017. Beyond all Nintendo’s handheld hybrid switching, we now live in a world where a Nintendo game on mobile is a fairly normal occurrence and both Microsoft and Sony publish games on Nintendo’s console. Crazy.
As we await official word on the next generation of Nintendo hardware, it’s got us thinking back on the current cycle and the games that defined the era for Switch owners.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
“2005… I’ll never forget it”.
It seems funny to think back on it now, but during the early days of Resident Evil – when decomposing zombies were the top dog and Raccoon City was everybody’s favourite apocalyptic holiday destination – the idea that the franchise would find itself in the rural outskirts of Europe in which you fight a child-like evil castellan seemed utterly absurd.
That’s exactly what Resident Evil 4 was, however – absurd. Although the series has always enjoyed its own endearing sense of lunacy amongst the gritty, survival horror tropes, RE4 went above and beyond with its utterly ridiculous storyline and gameplay.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Fingers crossed.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has been nominated for another award. This time it’s up for ‘Adventure game of the year’ at the 28th annual DICE Awards.
The other nominees include 1000xRESIST, Animal Well, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. That’s some tough competition, but there’s always a chance it could take out the top spot.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Some fans placed an order in 2017.
If you pre-ordered Metroid Prime 4 on Amazon multiple years ago, you might want to check the status of your order.
Amazon customers have been receiving emails recently, confirming the cancellation of this item “due to a lack of availability” and providing refunds. A user on the Metroid subreddit, who ordered the title in 2017 (alongside the original announcement), shared the message they received:
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Does it come in black..?
Leaks and rumours regarding the upcoming ‘Switch 2’ have seemingly exploded since the beginning of 2025, with accessory maker Genki in particular causing a stir with its recent exhibit at CES 2025. Not only that, but photos shared via Reddit seem to showcase a genuine Joy-Con from the Switch successor, hinting at a new feature in the form of an optical sensor.
Naturally, fans are going wild with speculation, and many have taken it upon themselves to produce renders of the Switch 2 that they claim may be accurate representations of the final machine based on the miriad of leaks.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Every game we scored 9/10 or higher.
The eShop Holiday sale ends this Sunday in Europe, so here’s your last reminder to get spending! Until the next sale, anyway…
Nintendo has officially kicked off its Switch eShop Holiday Sale in Europe, bringing beefy discounts to thousands of games until 12th January 2024.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
