The Switch 2 plays catch-up this week, gaining a handful of belated native conversions with performance boosts and other extras. There’s plenty of fresh stuff for both the Switch 2 and original Switch too, although more so the former.
Foremost, the sixty player zombie shooter sandbox DayZ is about to shuffle onto Switch 2 via a £62.99 ‘Cool Edition’ bundle. While that price tag does seem steep, the same edition on Steam isn’t far off at £57.99. We can at expect three maps – Chernarus, Livonia, and the snow covered Sakhal – along with touchscreen inventory management, gyro-aiming and mouse support.
The Switch 2 also gains the open-world physics sandbox Wobbly Life – with GameShare, GameChat, 1-4 local or online play, and cross saves – alongside a native version of the well-received sci-fi thriller 1000xRESIST, and an enhanced release of Gobliiins Collection with mouse support. If you own the Switch version of this retro point ‘n clicker package you can upgrade for free.
A week later than other formats, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition rolls out on Switch 2 across Europe. This is an enhanced version of a 2011 hack ‘n slash action adventure, now with character switching. It seems to be reviewing reasonably well. The original gained scores in the 6/10 ballpark, while this new edition is edging closer to 7/10.
On the newer side of things there’s the online country life sim Starsand Island, heavy metal action roguelite Grim Trials, Acclaim’s cartoony post-apocalyptic Survivors-alike Ground Zero Hero, and the rhythm action visual novel hybrid Puppergeist. In that last one, you play as a young girl who’s seeking her lost pup in the doggie underworld.
The first review for Starsand Island fails to inspire much confidence. CGM warned of bugs and performance issues that render it “virtually unplayable.” It might be an idea to opt for the PS5/Xbox Series or PC version instead, as it clearly needs a hefty patch.
Other releases for this week include the 16-bit style RPG sequel Dungeon Antiqua 2, physics based driving game Driving is Hard – in which you control a bathtub on wheels – the officially sanctioned fossil forager Smithsonian: Digging For Dinosaurs, ‘80s action flick influenced top down shooter Mega City Force, and an EGGCONSOLE release of Nihon Falcom’s The Legend of Heroes III. It’s actually the 1994 enhanced version thereof, which is neat.
This week’s Console Archives release is an RPG too – Nippon Ichi Software’s Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess from 1999, which remains untranslated. Namco’s early polygon racer Cyber Cycles is the latest Arcade Archives release meanwhile, generating a mild buzz.
New Switch and Switch 2 eShop releases
Wobbly Life – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition – £24.99
Wobbly Life is a vibrant open-world physics sandbox. Play with your friends online or in local co-op, with exciting jobs, mini games and wacky story missions. Earn cash to spend in the world on clothes, vehicles and houses. There is a whole Wobbly World out there to explore!
Grandma has kicked you out into the big wide Wobbly world demanding you go and GET A JOB! She would be so proud if you could earn some money and get your own house one day!
It’s time to start earning and living your best Wobbly Life!
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition – £17.59 (Switch 2)
A Shadow rises in the North. Step into a darker, grittier Middle-earth where war rages beyond the Fellowship’s path. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North™ – Legacy Edition expands Tolkien’s epic legendarium, delving into the brutal, untold story of Agandaûr, a Black Númenórean and servant of Sauron who has rallied an immense force in the ruins of Fornost. While Frodo and Samwise embark on their journey to Mount Doom, a new Fellowship must rise and defend the North. Let this be the hour when we draw swords together!
Starsand Island – £31.39 (Switch 2)
Welcome to Starsand Island, a peaceful coastal retreat known as the “Star of the Deep Sea.” Leave the pressures of city life behind and embrace a slower pace surrounded by sunshine, ocean breezes, and breathtaking natural scenery.
Build the island life you’ve always dreamed of. Farm, fish, raise adorable animals, and explore a vibrant world filled with hidden secrets. Whether you’re relaxing with capybaras, cats, and dogs, wandering through the enchanting Moonlit Forest, or watching the sunset by the sea, every day offers a new way to unwind.
DayZ: Cool Edition – £62.99 (Switch 2)
DayZ is a hardcore, survival-focused multiplayer sandbox. Thrown into post-apocalyptic wastelands, you have a singular goal: survive. There are no missions or quests. Your story will be written by facing the unpredictable challenges created by the environment, the infected, and your interactions with other survivors. Every decision is yours. This is your ultimate survival story.
Grim Trials – £17.99 (Switch 2)
Grim Trials is a heavy metal action roguelite where you craft and customize your own weapons and equipment to embrace Death your own way. Play as Avelin, a young woman who has met an untimely end, and found herself recruited as one of Death’s many Reapers. Tasked to hunt down impure souls, face her demons, and fight her way through an underworld of her own making, Avelin must endure these trials to become a full-fledged Reaper and see her still-living love once again.
Ground Zero Hero – £7.79 (Switch 2)
Forget surviving the apocalypse. You’re here to dominate it.
Ground Zero Hero drops you into a radioactive wasteland overrun with mutated creatures. Every enemy you destroy becomes fuel for your evolution. Absorb their remains, stack mutations, and build increasingly powerful and unpredictable combinations until you become an unstoppable force.
Each run is a new experiment. Each build is a new monster.
1000xRESIST – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition – £16.75
The Peabody Award-winning 1000xRESIST is a thrilling sci-fi adventure. 1000 years in the future, humanity is all but extinguished, and a disease spread by an alien occupation keeps the survivors underground. You are Watcher. You dutifully fulfil your purpose in service of the ALLMOTHER, until the day you learn a shocking secret that changes everything.
Gobliiins Collection – £22.49 (Switch 2)
Owners of the Nintendo Switch™ version of Gobliiins Collection can download the Nintendo Switch 2 version at no additional cost and import their Nintendo Switch save files
The Gobliiins Collection has arrived! Enjoy the Gobliiins Collection with Nintendo Switch 2 mouse controls! Use your Joy-Con™ as a mouse for a more intuitive point-and-click experience, whether you’re revisiting these classics or discovering them for the first time.
A wave of nostalgia is in the air! One of the most memorable and delightfully zany point-and-click adventures of its time is back.
Discover – or rediscover – the origins of this legendary saga, from the creative genius of Pierre Gilhodes, in this exceptional collection. From its pixelated beginnings in the 1990s to today, this compilation brings together the first five iconic titles that captivated a whole generation.
Play as Claire, a witch who journeys into the mysterious Doggie Underworld with one simple goal: Finding her lost Pup!
As you travel through Doggie Underworld, you’ll encounter countless souls, each with a story to tell. Share moments with them, play together, and listen to their heartfelt tales. Use your sense of rhythm to lift their spirits and ease their troubles, bringing you one beat closer to reuniting with your own lost Pup.
Peaceful Bug Catching Story – £10.75
Enjoy the slow life in a peaceful countryside village.
Hunt for bugs in forests, bamboo groves, rivers, and more.
Meet the villagers, make new friends, and create unforgettable summer memories.
Challenge yourself in Driving Is Hard! Drive a bathtub on wheels through steep, unforgiving terrain where every mistake costs you progress. Master tough physics-based gameplay, sharpen your patience, and uncover Jeff’s journey of self-doubt, family struggles, and emotional growth as he finds strength, self-acceptance, and hope for a brighter future.
Dungeon Antiqua 2 is a 2D dungeon hack-and-slash RPG featuring SNES-style pixel art and sound.
A retro-flavored adventure awaits you, blending strategic exploration with a highly flexible character building system.
Toy Tactics is a physics-based real time tactics game where you can draw unit formations and command units based on minifigs to victory. Under the guidance of legendary generals, master the ability to draw configurations into the battlefield and send miniature legions to war against hordes of undead foes. Charge up your army with artifacts and destructive spells to give you the upper hand in battle and smash your foes in real-time. Think fast, deploy your units strategically, and lead them to victory!
Train Plus Japan Drive Western Japan Trains! Rapid Service Edition – £38.59v
Take the controls of real JR-West trains in this authentic railway driving game, officially licensed by West Japan Railway Company (JR-West).
In this dark reimagining of the classic tale, high school student Yuhiru finds herself lost in Oz.
Unjustly sentenced to death she must now travel with four convicts and their supervisor.
At the mercy of her fellow travelers, Yuhiru will face many hard decisions along the way, but there’s one thing she must bear in mind: No one is lost forever, no matter how far they’ve strayed.
Ascent DX is a tiny metroidvania brought to life in glorious 64 x 64 pixel art and soothing chiptune music. Crashed on an unknown planet you have to explore lush jungles, lifeless deserts, and luminescent caves in search of anything that can help you understand what has happened to the planet and how to get off it.
When your best friend vanishes, you must enter the Dark Reflection—a hostile, warped copy of your own reality. Here, familiar places are dangerous, and friendly faces cannot be trusted.
Take on dangerous solo contracts across distant planets in this first-person survival horror experience. Explore abandoned bases, search dark corridors, and collect valuable scrap to meet your assigned quota. Each planet features different locations, hazards, and hostile creatures. Manage your limited inventory, avoid deadly traps, and decide when it is time to escape with your haul. Staying too long may cost you everything. Every expedition is a separate challenge. If you die, all collected scrap is lost and the mission begins again. Explore carefully, complete the quota, and survive the horrors waiting inside.
Aerialia: Wings of Delivery – £7.79
Become a cheerful delivery bird and explore a colorful archipelago filled with charming villages, friendly characters, and countless deliveries waiting to be completed.
Fly freely between beautiful islands, collect letters, parcels, and special cargo, then deliver them safely to homes across the world. Every successful delivery rewards you with coins that can be used to upgrade your equipment and unlock new possibilities.
How much of a scene can you really hold in your head?
You had a whole minute to look. Surely you noticed the tiny detail that matters… didn’t you?
The Final Scene is a visual memory quiz built around a simple but tense loop: study one illustration, watch part of it get covered, then answer from four choices using only what you remember.
You are locked inside a cinema. Your only way to escape is to follow the instructions of your task: Watch the same film clip repeatedly and search for flaws to break free. But this may sound easier than it is, every wrong decision or death will set you back. So be careful!
Smithsonian: Digging For Dinosaurs – £8.99
Welcome to Digging for Dinosaurs – a gorgeous interactive experience brought to you by The ©Smithsonian and PlayDate Digital! This is a must-have adventure for dino explorers of any age, where you can dig up fossils and open up a prehistoric world filled with facts, pterosaurs, giant sea reptiles and every kind of prehistoric dinosaur!
Emoji Killer – Casino Massacre – £4.99
You awake in a mysterious casino where evil poker emojis have awakened — and they’re not happy to see you.
This rogue-like first-person shooter throws you into a wild casino environments, fast-paced combat against gambling addicted emojis wearing funny hats and wielding powers.
Before each run, customize your experience with crazy modifiers: make enemies bounce, wear funny hats, or unleash maximum casino power for maximum challenge.
Japan Stigmatized Property2 – £6.69
You are an observer for the “Japan Stigmatized Property Association” (JSP).
Your duty is to monitor surveillance cameras installed in designated properties and check for any anomalies.
Upon discovering an anomaly, you must report it immediately.
Dying of frostbite, Gréta Egilsdóttir is left to wonder how she found herself in such a dire situation.
Perhaps it began with Steina’s baby, or with Kai agreeing to stay the night, or with that kiss she almost shared with Nataníel.
Perhaps it began when she journeyed from her home to work as a housemaid in the distant fishing village…
The crime is out of control, the streets are not clean. There are criminals and psychopaths everywhere, ready to cut anyone’s throat. A corrupt megacorporation squeezes the life out of the citizens, seeking to establish control all over the city.
Only the incorruptible agents of Mega City Task Force stand fast before the crime wave that consumed the city and threatens to overwhelm society.
Choose your agent and dive into a deadly battle against the criminals and brutal bosses to unleash the beast of justice in the darkest corners of the city.
EGGCONSOLE THE LEGEND OF HEROES III: “White Witch” Renewal PC-9801 – £5.49
This role-playing game was originally released by Nihon Falcom in 1994. Titled “Renewal,” this version is based on the original The Legend of Heroes III but features improved game mechanics and balance.
Next week: ELDEN RING Tarnished Edition, Metal Gear Master Collection Vol. 2, BRIGANDINE ABYSS, CAPTAIN TSUBASA 2: WORLD FIGHTERS, Apidya‘ Special, The Immortal John Triptych, Aggelos 2, Golftacular, Funguys Swarm, A Tower Full of Cats, Tearscape, Fractured Worlds, Research Story, Monst, Horripilant, Inside the Cube, Black Tower Enigma, Project City, Forest of Deceit, 1964 Operation Velvet Twins, and Zombie Arise.