Mario Kart World

The best Mario Kart in the series? Your mileage (pun fully intended) may vary, but it is by far the most feature-packed. Free Roam in an open world with P-Switch challenges and cosmetics to gather; new moves like hopping and wall-riding for a higher skill ceiling; brand new tracks that seamlessly link together; and new modes are just some of the things long-time fans can look forward to, and it all works well.

Kirby Air Riders

21 playable characters and 22 machines, each with unique abilities and stats respectively; brand new tracks and remasters from the first game; the return of Top Ride and City Trial, with the latter turned into a faux battle royale mode of sorts; boss fights; and a full-fledged story mode. But even if you want to hop on for a simple race or two, it’s pure unfiltered fun – just like the original.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A

While there’s plenty of criticism to be had for its visuals, Game Freak’s latest mainline Pokémon title manages to capture that same monster-collecting magic. Lumiose City is full of unique sights, sounds and Pokémon to collect, and new elements like the Z-A Royale and Rogue Mega-Evolved Pokémon, alongside simple delights like traversing the rooftops, make it stand out.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Catacomb-like levels, progressively unlocking new abilities and backtracking to uncover new areas, that expectation of something incredible around every corner – even after all these years, Retro Studios still knows how to capture that feeling. The new additions in Beyond, like Vi-O-La, also seamlessly slot in, and wouldn’t you know it, even the NPC companions, despite concerns pre-launch, aren’t terrible. More importantly, experiencing it with such fidelity, complete with mouse controls, elevates it to a new whole level.

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2

Technically not a native Switch 2 release, experiencing two of the greatest platformers of all time in 4K is hard to resist. The new Storybook Chapters offer a bit of new content, but really, it’s all about scouring the galaxies once more, reliving the wonder of each planet and the discoveries they hold.

Donkey Kong Bananza

It almost seemed impossible that Jumpman’s worst nightmare would get his own starring role once more, but Bananza delivers on that and then some. Excellent platforming and bombastic visuals were a given – this is from the Super Mario Odyssey team after all – but the destruction elements work so well in tandem, resulting in a 3D platformer that’s more than worthy to stand side by side with Mario’s greatest adventures.

Hades 2

Supergiant follows up one of the best rogue-likes in years with – surprise, surprise – an incredible sequel. Between the sheer amount of stuff to do, whether you’re venturing into the Underworld or ascending into Olympus, the challenging and unique boss fights, or the sheer depth that each new weapon offers, Hades 2 feels like a massive step forward in every single way.

Split Fiction

Hazelight’s latest is one of the best co-op experiences of the year (and many before it), and feels tailor-made for Switch 2. Even if it’s not the most fully-featured port, being able to GameShare with local players or engage in cross-play, alongside the Friend’s Pass (which means not having to buy an extra copy), is still great.

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road

You wouldn’t believe this took more than nine years and multiple delays to release, but that seems to be a theme for 2025. Regardless, Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road isn’t the most realistic adaptation of football so much as the best adaptation of the anime, complete with MAPPA’s cutscenes and over 5,400 recruitable characters. It’s truly unlike anything else out there and a blast once you get into it.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Team Cherry’s long-awaited sequel is infuriating, frustrating, and challenging, but it’s also mesmerizing, addictive, and oh-so-good to control. The gameplay loop remains as finely crafted as ever, enhanced all the more with Hornet’s movement abilities, and the sheer attention to detail in areas, from their art to their secrets, will keep you coming back long after. It’s a tough bug to love, but Silksong is a stellar game.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition

The prospect of Cyberpunk 2077 running on the original Switch was laughable years ago, and yet, here we are more than five years later, experiencing it on the Switch 2 in all its glory. From the excellent base game to the stellar Phantom Liberty, this is still one of the best RPG experiences, and the addition of touch screen gestures for the UI and gyro aiming makes it feel that much better on the Switch 2. Also, shipping the entire package on an actual cart instead of a Game-Key Card? Chef’s kiss.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

Truth be told, the new features – like the phone maps and QR codes for sharing Zonai machines – weren’t the most game-changing for Nintendo’s masterpiece. Nevertheless, it’s still a masterpiece, and being able to play it in 1440p/60 FPS with improved fidelity and faster loading is what we’ve always wanted. For that reason alone, it’s worth picking up.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land: Switch 2 Edition + Star Crossed World

For those who didn’t get their fill from Air Riders, the Switch 2 version of Kirby’s acclaimed 2022 adventure is well worth diving into. Star Crossed World offers a brand new storyline with new sections in old stages alongside new abilities, Mouthful modes and enemies to tussle with as you investigate a mysterious meteor. And of course, it’s a significant upgrade over the original’s already gorgeous visuals.

Cronos: The New Dawn

Bloober Team made a big impact with last year’s Silent Hill 2 remake, but its newest title channelled an altogether different survival horror vibe. A post-apocalyptic future with mutating monstrosities, time-traveling, a more enigmatic pace and protagonist, and more kept Cronos from feeling like a Dead Space rip-off. Even in handheld mode on the Switch 2, it’s a tense, terrifying ordeal.

Star Wars Outlaws

Ignored at launch, Massive Entertainment’s Star Wars scoundrel had a quiet but notable redemption this year, aided by its Switch 2 port. How the development team (in collaboration with Red Lynx) managed to deliver such great performance and ray tracing while retaining image quality, even with DLSS, is fascinating to behold. The fact that the game itself still looks so gorgeous while playing better than ever also doesn’t hurt.

And the Best Switch 2 title of 2025 goes to…

Donkey Kong Bananza

Did you really expect anything else, especially when a Donkey Kong game lets you rip chunks out of the environment to toss at enemies or surf on them with utter abandon? Bananza is more than just the Mario Odyssey formula, but with more destruction and a different protagonist. It’s a masterclass in pacing, deftly balancing the collect-a-thon aspects and real-time destruction with superb level design. Donkey Kong controls like a dream; the new Bananza Powers are as ridiculous as they are fun; and there isn’t an ounce of filler or unnecessary padding. For that reason, and many more that we could spend all day listing, it’s our pick for the best Switch 2 game of 2025.

Clair Obscur: Expedition

While traditional role-playing games never disappeared, they did become quite rare for a few years. The release of Clair Obscur: Expedition has managed to remind many people why that style of combat was so beloved. Along with an excellent setting that revolves around serious themes like loss and grief, Expedition also has a solid take on turn-based combat, with every single character in your party having their own bespoke mechanics, be it Maeve’s stance system, how Lune handles elements, or even Gustave’s Overcharge mechanics. Pair this with rewarding high-level gameplay with parries and dodging, and you get one of the best RPGs out there.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 finally managed to hit mainstream success, thanks in large part to its strong setting and ambitious design. Baldur’s Gate 3 adapts rules from the 5th edition of tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons, and features some of the most interesting and likeable characters that have been featured in games in quite some time. Along with this, it also has an expansive story that kicks things off with a great premise: figure out how to get rid of a parasite in your brain before you end up being turned into a mindflayer. What follows is an epic adventure that carries you through different cities and planes, where countless stories and challenges await.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition

What can we say about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that hasn’t been said already? An entire decade since its original release, the open-world RPG has continued to be awesome thanks to constant support from CD Projekt RED, not only through the release of excellent expansions—but also through updating the title to make use of more modern hardware with enhanced visuals. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt continues to have an excellent story, with plenty of wonderfully-written sidequests. All of this, paired with a great combat system leads to a generally fun way to spend hundreds of hours.

Elden Ring + Shadow of the Erdtree

In many ways, both Elden Ring as well as its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, represents the culmination of everything developer FromSoftware has learned in developing titles since 2009’s Demon’s Souls. Along with the slow-paced but heavy combat that the studio is known for, Elden Ring and its expansion also feature a great open world to explore, some of the best boss fights it has ever design, and some incredibly dense lore available for players who would care enough to pore through the dozens of item descriptions and conversations needed to uncover it all. Pair this with tools that provide plenty of options for players that might want an easier time through the game, and Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree simply prove themselves to be the best that FromSoftware has to offer.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Developer Rockstar has had many great games under its belt, essentially changing the entire concept of open-world games with the release of Grand Theft Auto 3 and its host of follow-ups, but none of them have been as jaw-dropping or awe-inspiring as 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Acting as a prequel to the original Red Dead Redemption, the title puts you into the shoes of Arthur Morgan as he experiences the age of the cowboy coming to an end as a member of the Van der Linde gang. Along with some excellent character-writing and fun missions, Red Dead Redemption 2 also offers dense gameplay, taking on a simulationist approach to even side activities like hunting or train robbing, giving players hundreds of hours worth of things to do in its massive and lush open world.

Days Gone Remastered

While Days Gone was originally a PS4 game that came out to a middling reception, its release on PC has been a glow-up for the open-world zombie title, with modern gaming PCs being more than capable of handling the hordes of zombies that get thrown at you. Sure, the main narrative may not be particularly noteworthy. However, the side-activities, as well as the general gameplay loop encouraged by the fact that upgrading your motorbike is important, make the overall idea of setting out to scavenge from long-abandoned medical facilities or even rival gang camps an enticing idea.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition

While its initial release may have been a bit of a mess, in the years since, Cyberpunk 2077 has proven itself to be an excellent open-world action RPG. Taking on the role of V in the year 2077, you set out to become a legend in Night City. However, one of the jobs you take alongside your best friend Jackie goes horribly wrong, and now you’re slowly dying and the ghost of Johnny Silverhand lives in your head. Cyberpunk 2077, along with its expansion Phantom Liberty, tells an excellent story that takes you across Night City’s various districts and social strata as you try and figure out the evil machinations of the megacorporation Arasaka that led to the development of the thing that has been slowly killing you. Along with an excellent main story, Cyberpunk 2077 also features several well-written and fun side-quests that can range from getting into a rivalry with a Japanese pop group to discussing the nature of sentience with an AI taxi service.

Disco Elysium – The Final Cut

Quite easily one of the most interesting takes on the RPG genre that has been attempted, Disco Elysium – The Final Cut puts you in the shoes of a detective. You explore the city of Revachol, which is seemingly in the midst of a cultural upheaval in some parts, alongside your partner Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi. Disco Elysium focuses more on conversation than it does action, and one of its most unique aspects is the fact that each aspect of the protagonist’s mind and body has a personality of its own. Through these conversations, you learn more about yourself, about Revachol, and about the world at large.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition

Mass Effect is one of those rare video game trilogies that deserves its “legendary” moniker. The three titles tell the story of a galaxy’s fight against a cosmic, existential threat, and puts players in the shoes of human Commander Shepard who must assemble a rag-tag crew of allies from the various species from across the galaxy as they try to figure out the mysteries behind the forces known only as the Reapers. Along the way, in true RPG fashion, there are also plenty of choices that players have to make, with many of these choices having far-reaching consequences for the galaxy as a whole. While the ending of Mass Effect 3 might be regrettable, the rest of the journey still holds up even today as one worth experiencing.

Prey (2017)

While it may not have anything to do with its 2006 namesake, Prey (2017) is an immersive sim that puts players in the shoes of Morgan Yu. Working for the TranStar Corporation on ethically-dubious experiments, you eventually start serving on the Talos I space station. However, these experiments eventually start going wrong, and the space station comes under attack by an alien threat known as the Typhon. The twist is that these aliens can shapeshift, which adds an extra layer of tension to the gameplay. Even when you’re just exploring an office room, one of the mugs might end up being a Mimic-type Typhon that can attack you at any time, after all. What makes Prey especially interesting is the freedom it gives the player in how they choose to tackle any situation, be it stealth, combat, or even something more creative, like building platforms out of nearby furniture and your Goo Gun to avoid any dangers.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition

Skyrim is still – at the time of publishing – the latest game in The Elder Scrolls franchise, and there’s a good reason that it has been the best-selling one so far. Taking place in the eponymous region of Skyrim, the game puts players in the shoes of whatever character they might like to be and, after a short opening quest, sets them free in the world. What makes Skyrim fun is that it has hundreds of hours worth of content, not only through its main story, but through several side quests as well. Along with this, the game also has an excellent modding community that has constantly worked on adding more content to the game, as well as improving what’s already there. Generally speaking, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is the closest thing we have to a game we can play forever.

Fallout 3

What Skyrim does for the fantasy genre, Fallout 3 does for players that might prefer a post-apocalyptic setting. Taking place in and around a post-nuclear fallout Washington DC – referred to in-game as the Capitol Wasteland – Fallout 3 sets you loose in an open world with a single goal: find your father. More interesting than the main story, however, is the sheer amount of side-content that is available right from the get-go. The first-person RPG will have you cover the entire length and breadth of the wasteland as you try and do as many side-quests as possible thanks to the excellent writing. While we’re at it, the gameplay isn’t bad either; it might be dated by modern standards, but the RPG systems in the game allow for plenty of player choice in terms of how you want to define your play style.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

After years of memes making the rounds on the Internet, Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally out. Putting players in the shoes of new protagonist Hornet, Hollow Knight: Silksong features an entirely new world to explore, and tons of challenging boss fights to tackle. Along the way, there are also plenty of new gameplay systems to explore, including the new healing mechanics, as well as the ability to change up Hornet’s entire moveset if you so desire. Much like the original Hollow Knight, Silksong has an easy claim to the crown at the top of the genre.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

While Marvel’s Spider-Man was already a fantastic return of the webslinger to the gaming medium, Insomniac Games has taken everything about the open-world action game and turned it up to eleven with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Not only does it feature an even more epic storyline featuring plenty of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, it also features two whole Spider-Men taking on the threats to New York City – Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Throw on top a fun plot about both of our heroes growing together, as well as the unique personal issues affecting both of them, as well as the threat of the Symbiote over the whole plot, and you get a great time.

Little Nightmares 2

Little Nightmares 2 is an interesting game since, while it might appear like a cutesy platformer from the outside, underneath its adorable exterior lies a dark game filled with a surprising amount of horror. The title revolves around a boy, Mono, who finds a girl, Six, trapped in the basement of a dark and terrible house, and the two must work together to make it out alive.Along the way, they will have to deal with many terrifying enemies and other dark secrets of the main setting of the game – the Pale City – and the title makes heavy use of some psychedelic visuals to hammer home the point that the city is not a welcoming place for wayward children.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

While most open-world RPGs tend to make use of fantasy settings, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 instantly sets itself apart from its contemporaries by instead making use of real-world place, complete with accurate depictions of historical events. Taking place in the lands of Bohemia, protagonist Henry finds himself and his friend, Sir Hans, the victims of a bandit attack on their way to deliver a message to Trosky. What follows is Henry’s attempts to complete his mission, and along the way, grow as a person. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 takes a simulationist approach to its gameplay, with armours and weapons feeling appropriately hard to find and maintain, and crafting systems that will have you reading instructions from books before you go about mixing potions or forging a sword. The title offers hundreds of hours worth of gameplay, along with some of the best sword-fighting mechanics ever executed in a first-person game.

Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake was a masterclass in horror, but its sequel takes things a step further. In Alan Wake 2, players control multiple characters as they explore genuinely creepy locations, face terrifying creatures, and experience it all with an amazing score and exceptional gameplay. This is what horror games should strive to be, and it leaves us eager to see what Remedy has in store for the inevitable Alan Wake 3.

Death Stranding Director’s Cut

Hideo Kojima’s first major project after his departure from Konami, Death Stranding is a game that is quite difficult to explain. Essentially, you are a courier in a world where a global catastrophe has made humanity spread out far and wide, with little to keep them connected to each other. The core gameplay revolves around you taking on delivery jobs and then figuring out how to cross the terrain to get to your objective. What makes this interesting is that Death Stranding is one of those rare games where terrain is quite important, and you can’t just climb any surface you see. This means that you will have to figure out the best route to take that doesn’t risk too much damage to the cargo you’re carrying. Throw on top a bonkers plot that revolves around the concepts of death, the soul and the body, as well as the general creepiness that the ghost-like BTs exhibit, and you have a fantastic time experience, while long, is well worth it.

The Witness

From the developer behind Braid, The Witness is a strange puzzle game that takes a single mechanic – being able to draw lines – and turns it into the entire game. While most of the title will have you finding screens to then solve logical puzzles with your line drawing powers, the whole game essentially blows open at a certain point when you start to discover that the entire world around you is also a puzzle that can then be manipulated and solved in different ways. Along the way, the game also features narration that explores the nature of the island you’re exploring, and what its true purpose might be. All of this is paired with some wonderful art direction and a vibrant colour palette that makes sure that nothing in The Witness ever looks boring.

Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world game where the protagonist – a samurai named Jin Kasai – survives an initial battle against an invading Mongol force, and must rally the citizens and soldiers of Tsushima island to mount a resistance against the invaders. Over the course of the fantastic open-world game, Sakai must also come to terms with meanings behind words like honour, and the caste system that Japan was living under at the time. Ghost of Tsushima features simple-but-excellent combat gameplay, as well as quite a few tools for the player should they decide to sneak around instead, as they go around Tsushima liberating settlements from the Mongols and ultimately figure out a way to get at the primary antagonist – Khotun Khan, cousin of Kubali Khan.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered

While the original The Last of Us was a great game with a fantastic story anchored by wonderfully-written characters, The Last of Us Part 2 goes a step further, giving us a darker tale that focuses on two distinct characters and their quest for vengeance and redemption. Along with the larger overall scale of gameplay, The Last of Us Part 2 also tells a grander story, and features some of the most fun boss fights to have been put into a title where the gameplay is otherwise quite realistic. On top of all of this, the Remastered release on PC also has a host of extra content in the form of the roguelike survival mode No Return, where you get to take on combat challenges as the character of your choice in a variety of different levels.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

FromSoftware might be largely known for its slow-paced action RPGs in the Souls series and Elden Ring, but with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the studio instead decided to take on a much faster style of gameplay where being on the defensive was punished. Rather than hiding behind a shield, in Sekiro, you are instead forced to learn the timings of various enemy attacks so that you can instead parry them, eventually breaking your foes’ posture to then finish them off with a glorious killing blow. The title still maintains much of the FromSoftware DNA, however, including how death works and the emphasis on smaller-scaled levels that are more dense and intertwining, encouraging plenty of exploration. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, despite its differences from the studio’s other games, can easily be considered one of its best outings yet.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection

A collection featuring two games – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: Lost Legacy – Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection tells two excellent stories. While one tries to wrap up the ongoing plot of Nathan Drake trying to forge a legacy for himself, the other instead features two supporting characters from preceding Uncharted games in the roles of dual protagonists as they set off on an adventure of their own. Where Uncharted 4 offers a polished take on everything the series has had to offer so far, Lost Legacy instead goes for more experimental game design. All in all, both titles are well worth playing, even if you haven’t been able to play the first three games in the series.

Frostpunk 2

The original Frostpunk was a fresh take on the city-builder genre with a unique setting where you have to build and manage a city around sources of heat, since the planet has essentially frozen over. Its sequel pulls the camera back a bit, and instead of having you put down individual buildings, you’re now laying out entire districts with a single click. Despite this more zoomed out take on the gameplay, however, Frostpunk 2 still makes the player choose between two horrifying choices for the survival of their city, much like its predecessor, and the general progression of the title has been taken in interesting directions, such as how trade routes are managed and how districts can boost or bring down one another, depending on proximity. All of this is paired with some wonderful visuals and excellent sound design that perfectly manage to bring your cities to life.

A Plague Tale: Requiem

A Plague Tale: Requiem is a direct sequel to A Plague Tale: Innocence, and revolves around the two siblings once more having to travel together again. This time around, Amicia and Hugo de Rune have to travel south in order to try and look for a cure for Hugo’s affliction. On the gameplay side of things, it offers more of a refinement over its predecessor rather than any radical changes. Players take on the role of Amicia while Hugo helps out from time to time. However, both characters also have plenty of new abilities to play around with in combat encounters. A Plague Tale: Requiem also acts as an absolute feast for the eyes considering its incredible level of visual fidelity and strong art direction.

The Rogue Prince of Persia

After having spent several months in Early Access, The Rogue Prince of Persia was finally out a few weeks ago, and the fact that developer Evil Empire took player feedback quite seriously is evident. The title features incredibly-polished side-scrolling and platforming with smooth animations and a great visual style that still manages to work well with the randomly-generated levels. Throw on top some fast-paced combat that rewards quick timing, as well as a large variety of weapons, and you’re going to have a great time as you figure out the time-bending story of the Prince who is trying to save his people after previously having been the unwitting instigator of this doom to begin with.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Middle-earth: Shadow of War builds on everything its predecessor did in expansive ways. It brings back the much-beloved Nemesis system, which allows protagonist Talion to face down various kinds of Orc enemies, each with their own unique personalities and fighting styles. On top of this, the Orcs winning the fight also means that they’ll get stronger, making the subsequent rematch even harder. The Nemesis system alone makes Shadow of War worth your time, but if that’s not enough, it also has a fun story exploring an alternate timeline of the Lord of the Rings books where a giant war was waged against the forces of Mordor well before the events of the books take place. The gameplay also serves as an excellent evolution of the classical style of open-world action gameplay we saw over the last couple of console generations.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara Croft embarks once again on a perilous hunt for a precious treasure. However, in her carelessness, Croft accidentally sets off a chain of events that threatens the world, and now she must find a way to stop the destruction. On the gameplay side of things, it offers fast and responsive gunplay as well as plenty of options for some stealth, including the ability for Croft to cover herself in mud to blend in with her surroundings better. The star of the game is undoubtedly the platforming, and with plenty of tombs for Croft to raid, Shadow of the Tomb Raider offers just about everything you could ask for.

Black Myth: Wukong

Black Myth: Wukong is an interesting take on a classic setting. The game features excellent boss fights, along with some gorgeous visuals. These aspects are further bolstered by the fact that the combat system is incredible and responsive. Even the encounter design deserves some praise, since Black Myth: Wukong has been designed around the idea of making the player use just about every tool they have at their disposal. There isn’t really much else to say that hasn’t already been said plenty of times already. It did, after all, manage to hold on to its concurrent player count records at launch when compared to any game out there on PC.

Mafia: The Definitive Edition

While the Mafia series has seen a newfound level of success thanks to the recent release of Mafia: The Old Country, the original Mafia is still worth revisiting, especially in its Definitive Edition form, since it now features modernised gameplay and combat systems, as well as a massive upgrade in visual quality. The story revolves around humble taxi driver Thomas Angelo in the city of Lost Haven, who finds himself embroiled with the local mob thanks to a recent car chase against a rival mob. Things slowly escalate as Angelo climbs up the ranks of the Salieri family. Interestingly, the story is told in the form of Angelo confessing to his crimes to a detective, with liberal use of flashbacks as the main storytelling device. The title also features a fun open world to drive through, especially since few games ever use the Great Depression as their setting.

Mad Max

Having come out at a time where many players and critics alike were suffering from open-world fatigue, Mad Max was quite overlooked. However, in the decade since, the title has been vindicated thanks to its excellent open world design and strong gameplay. Mad Max is a unique open world game where the player’s vehicle, the Magnum Opus, is an important form of progression. Much of the game will be spent with you, as Max, trying to find parts and blueprints to upgrade the car. Along with this, there is also an emphasis on vehicular combat, as well as good ol’ fisticuffs and some ranged weapons thrown in for good measure.

Hogwarts Legacy

Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world game that perfectly manages to tap into the world of the Harry Potter books. The title takes place a hundred years before the events of the books, and puts players in the shoes of a budding young wizard joining the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As they live out their student life, players will also eventually discover a bubbling goblin uprising, as well as criminal wizards. Hogwarts Legacy is one of those games that any fan of the Harry Potter series owes themselves to play because of just how well it captures the magical feelings of the books.

Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon

While Skyrim might offer a fun take on a fantasy open-world RPG, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon takes a darker turn. The game takes on the classic tales of Arthurian legend, albeit with its own unique interpretations. Along with its vast open world, Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon also features quite a bit of emphasis on first-person combat, be it with swords or at range with a bow and some arrows. There are also plenty of other things to do while you’re out and about, from gathering crafting materials to simply taking a break by sketching some scenery or fishing by a lake.

Star Wars Outlaws

Star Wars Outlaws stands as a redemption story of its own, overcoming early skepticism to win players over. While the game was a mess when it first came out, the developers have taken quite a bit of player feedback to then introduce a host of fixes to the game, from gameplay aspects like improving how stealth works, to the addition of plenty of story content through the release of two expansions. Star Wars Outlaws is a great way to experience the Star Wars universe without the baggage of having to play as a Jedi.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows represents something of a new leaf for the franchise. While many had found the last two releases—Valhalla and Odyssey—a bit too bloated, Shadows pulls its filler and padding back a bit, instead focusing on delivering a few core activities that are actually fun and make the world a joy to explore. It also finally takes the franchise to Japan, and introduces a pair of new protagonists: the stealthy Naoe and the fearsome Yasuke. The two have to work together to figure out the secrets behind Oda Nobunaga’s death, while also dealing with the machinations of an early form of the Templars.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered

While Skyrim might serve as a fantastic open-world RPG in its own right, its predecessor, Oblivion, was also a downright excellent game. And now, with the Remastered release, we can once more explore the lands of Cyrodiil as we take on the opening of the Oblivion Gates and a Daedric invasion. Along with this, there are also plenty of side-quests to take on, including a host of factions to join, from the fighter’s guild to the Dark Brotherhood. You can even simply become an arena fighter if that’s all you really want to do, it’s ultimately all up to you.

Atomfall

While Rebellion might be known for its excellent shooter series Sniper Elite, the studio decided to try something different with Atomfall. Rather than taking on Nazi soldiers on covert missions during World War 2, Atomfall instead has you scavenging for resources in a strange world where it is up to you to figure out the game’s story through your own skills of investigation and deduction. While there are plenty of fights you can still get into, you’ll want to be a lot more careful about the kinds of enemies you decide to take on, since you’re a lot more fragile and not as well-armed as you might be in a Sniper Elite game.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

While Rebellion has been experimenting with Atomfall, it still hasn’t left its Sniper Elite series behind. We also recently got the release of Sniper Elite: Resistance, where players take on the role of a brand new protagonist, SOE Agent Harry Hawker, who is taking on missions that run parallel to the events of Sniper Elite 5. Since it is ultimately a spin-off, Sniper Elite: Resistance features primarily the same gameplay as its predecessors, but with quite a bit more refinements in various things, from second-to-second gameplay all the way up to how its missions are structured.

Firewatch

Firewatch is a narrative adventure game where the goal is quite simple; on his first day at Firewatch tower Two Forks, protagonist Henry gets some interesting calls on his radio, which is otherwise only used to contact his supervisor who is based at the Thorofare tower. Things quickly start getting dark, and Henry must figure out who is calling him on the radio, and what exactly is up with his supervisor who he is yet to physically meet. Firewatch doesn’t really feature any combat. Rather, there is a focus on exploration and environmental storytelling, and it’s largely up to the player to figure out where to go and how to get there.

Dying Light

While there have been a couple of sequels out so far, the original Dying Light is still a game well worth playing thanks to its fantastic melee combat systems and parkour mechanics that make travelling through the streets and rooftops of the zombie-infected city of Haran. The story itself is also quite interesting, with protagonist Kyle Crane having been infected with the zombie virus and needing to find a way to curtail its symptoms before he ultimately turns. The title also features an interesting twist on the day-night cycle, with day time being safe for exploration but night time offering far greater rewards at the risk of the player having to deal with incredibly dangerous and more powerful zombies dubbed Volatiles. All of this combined with a fun crafting system that rewards creativity in your weapon choices make Dying Light often feel like it’s still the best game in the series so far.

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown

Until the release of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, the Ace Combat franchise felt like one of the worst-kept secrets in terms of how insane it can be both in terms of quality of gameplay and story. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown tells a brand new story in the world of Strangereal, with the plot primarily revolving around a massive war between the Kingdom of Erusea and the Osean Foundation. The title features excellent arcade-style dogfighting combat with a host of fighter jets from the real world, as well as quite a few fictional jets for some added fun.

Half-Life 2

Quite an easy contender for one of the greatest games ever made, Half-Life 2 has a sprawling campaign that holds up even to this day thanks to the sheer amount of variety it presents to players, both in the form of different weapons and enemies, as well as the mechanics of various levels. The title was also important in introducing the physics engine that is part of Valve’s own Source engine, and the feature was on incredible display thanks to a weapon like the gravity gun. Throw on top an impressive story that is told in an incredibly minimalistic way without ever cutting to a cutscene, and it’s easy to see why Half-Life 2 is so widely regarded as being such a great game, even in 2025.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

While PC as a platform is no stranger to first-person shooters, it is hard to argue that the Halo franchise isn’t one of the best that the genre has seen. Thankfully, thanks to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, players can experience almost the entirety of the Halo storyline, starting from the original Halo: Combat Evolved, its sequels Halo 2, Halo 3 and spin-offs ODST, Halo Reach, and even the start of 343 Industries’ (now Halo Studios) run with the franchise, Halo 4. The collection also offers a way to play all of the various games’ levels in remixed orders, following distinct themes like levels that focus on vehicles, for example, to focusing more on certain subplots. Halo: The Master Chief Collection is essentially the best way to experience a seminal shooter series, warts and all.

Monster Hunter Wilds

Quite possibly the most refined gameplay offered so far in the Monster Hunter franchise, Monster Hunter Wilds represents the pinnacle of the series, if not in its smaller roster of monsters when compared to its predecessors, then at least in its gameplay systems and massive, beautiful worlds. Monster Hunter Wilds features a short, fun story that takes you across the Forbidden Lands as you try to get young child Nata back to his family. Along the way you’ll get to take on several monsters, both new to the series as well as returning favourites, using the weapons of your choice out of 14 distinct options. Monster Hunter Wilds features plenty of gameplay refinements as well, including a mount system, as well as the ability to carry around two weapons that you can switch between mid-fight, which is great since each weapon feels like you’re playing a new game altogether.

Returnal

One of the rare instances of a AAA roguelite game, Returnal is an intense third-person shooter that puts players in the shoes of space pilot Selene Vassos who finds herself having crashed on an alien planet named Atropos. What follows is a psychedelic adventure as she tries to find the source of a mysterious signal called the White Shadow, but the twist is that Selene seems to be stuck in some kind of time loop where, every time she dies, she finds herself waking up at the moment of her ship’s crash. The title is filled with fast-paced and tense combat that has you dodging massive projectiles shot by strange creatures, and occasionally also getting your hands on upgrades for your weapons. The story itself is also quite interesting, pulling in plenty of allusions from myths as she tries to make it off Atropos alive.

Sleeping Dogs

Born from the ashes of the long-dead True Crime series of games, Sleeping Dogs is the closest we’ve ever gotten to having a Hong Kong action movie in video game form. The plot revolves around the adventures of undercover cop Wei Shen who must infiltrate a triad gang in order to take it down from the inside. When it comes to gameplay, Sleeping Dogs is an open-world game with several inter-mingling systems, from driving and vehicular combat, to melee combat with slick martial arts moves, and the occasional bouts of ranged combat when you can get your hands on a gun. The game wonderfully realises its setting of Hong Kong, often showing the stark contrasts between the cleaner commercial areas of the city and the but bright and colourful entertainment districts.

Metro Exodus

Whereas the first two games in the Metro series were more focused on offering linear experiences, Metro Exodus broadened its scope by a considerable amount by opting to set players free in more open environments. While far from an open-world game, Metro Exodus still provides quite a bit of freedom to players in terms of how they want to approach any situation. Along with this, the title also encourages plenty of exploration since, in keeping with series tradition, resources are scarce in Metro Exodus. Exploring is also a great way to get your hands on valuable upgrade materials to improve the arsenal of weapons you will ultimately end up using against not only human enemies, but mutated foes as well. The story is also quite interesting, since it revolves around Artyom, his wife Anna, and their friends the Rangers departing the Moscow Metro system in a train to explore the Russian wilderness.

Gears of War: Reloaded

When the original Gears of War first came out back in 2006, it was considered a mind-blowing experience for the time thanks to its visuals, as well as refinements over the turn-based shooter mechanics we had seen done much worse in plenty of other games. Gears of War: Reloaded, however, proves that the original title still holds up to this day thanks to its incredible campaign with plenty of set pieces, fun and varied weapons to play around with, and some downright fantastic visual upgrades that have been made to take better advantage of modern hardware.

Dead Cells

Dead Cells is one of those rare indie games that manages to get just about every single one of its aspects right. Even something as simple as movement and exploration feel great in the roguelite action game, and the level of variety on offer with the weapons, as well as the meta progression system that encourages not only mastery of the traversal systems, but also a willingness to explore, make just about every run of Dead Cells feel like a fun time. Throw on top some excellent pixel art that really makes its massive boss fights come to life, as well as the plethora of additional content – ends up making it very difficult to put the side-scroller down for good.

Detroit: Become Human

While games made by Quantic Dream might be quite divisive at times, Detroit: Become Human is outright the best title that the studio has put out so far. Featuring narrative-focused gameplay that largely involves having conversations and making choices at key moments, Detroit: Become Human tells three distinct stories in a world where humanity treats sentient androids that it has developed as slaves. All three stories have the player take on the role of a distinct android, where you have to figure out the complex moral quandaries that take place throughout the storylines.

Portal 2

When the first Portal came out, it was widely regarded as a radical new entry in a genre that was otherwise known to revolve around killing things. It ultimately ended up laying the foundations for what would become Portal 2 – a bigger, grander sequel in every way possible. Portal 2 takes place an unknown amount of time after the events of the first game, and has Chell once more pick up the portal gun to find her way out of the Aperture Science facility she’s trapped in. Along with GlaDOS returning once more as a major character, Portal 2 also features a new character in the form of Wheatley. We also get a lot of storytelling in the game, since quite a bit of it has you exploring ancient versions of the bathroom curtain company that would eventually become Aperture Science.

Outlast

There might be plenty of stealth-based horror games out there, but Outlast manages to be something quite special thanks to its use of some real-world history to build up its scare. Revolving primarily around the MK Ultra experiments that were conducted by the CIA, the game puts you into the shoes of independent journalist Miles Upshur who is trying to get the scoop on Mount Massive Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Unfortunately, owing to unethical experiments, most of its residents have essentially gone insane, and now Upshur must figure out how to survive and get out in one piece while also making sure he gets enough evidence along the way. Outlast also makes use of a handheld camera as its primary PoV device, since it offers a night vision mode. However, players will also have to keep a track of their battery consumption, since you don’t want to be trapped in the dark with murderous people around you.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Ostensibly the closest the Metal Gear franchise gets to having a “final” game since it takes place furthest into the future, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a major departure for the series. It trades in the tactical espionage action in favour of the more bombastic tagline of lightning bolt action, and puts you in the shoes of a fully cyborg-ised Raiden at the peak of his power. Developed by PlatinumGames, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance features a fantastic combat system that has an emphasis on not only long and vicious combos, but also parrying the enemy’s attacks to open them up for massive counter-attacks. This, along with the Zandatsu system that lets you cut just about everything, be it an enemy’s limbs or a bridge’s support, make Revengeance a treat to play. Throw on top an over-the-top but fun story about private military contractors and a cartoonishly evil US Senator and you have an explosive roller coaster.

Resident Evil

Before the remake of Resident Evil 2 back in 2019 was considered the high watermark for video game remakes, the series had already earned similar acclaim for its remake of the original Resident Evil. Originally released on the GameCube all the way back in 2002, the remake of the original Resident Evil eventually made its way to PC, complete with higher-resolution textures and all of the high-quality upgrades that it got over the original. Even after all these years, Resident Evil still manages to feel like a one-of-a-kind survival horror experience, thanks to its tight level design and generally excellent gameplay that melds environmental puzzle solving and tense action sequences, all while keeping you on the edge of your seat thanks to a constant scarcity of weapons and ammo.

Watch_Dogs 2

It’s no secret that the original Watch_Dogs was a bit of a disappointment, both in terms of its visuals, as well as its story and characters. The series’ second stab at the series in the form of Watch_Dogs 2, however, proved to be a much more interesting experience. Rather than focusing on the brooding Aiden Pearce, Watch_Dogs 2 instead stars a group of scrappy young adults as they venture into the real world to start their careers, but find themselves fighting against an authoritarian regime that is making use of high-tech surveillance technology to control the populace. Protagonist Marcus Holloway is a much more fun character than Pearce ever was, and the attempts of his rebel hacker crew, DedSec, to take down ctOS 2.0 are a wild, fun, and often emotional adventure.

Silent Hill f

After the Silent Hill franchise spent over a decade being missing from the overall gaming scene, the series made a bombastic return with last year’s remake of the seminal Silent Hill 2. A year later and now we even have a brand new entry in the stories franchise – Silent Hill f. The game takes place in the unique setting of a quaint Japanese finishing town in the 1960s, where school-going girl Hinako has a strained relationship with her parents and goes to meet her friends for some solace. However, a sinister fog starts covering the town of Ebisugaoka, and Hinako finds herself trapped and fighting for her life. While there is an emphasis on combat this time around, Silent Hill f is still able to effectively pull off the scares and tense atmosphere that the series is known for.

Dying Light: The Beast

The newest entry in the Dying Light franchise is seen as something of a return to form for the series. While Dying Light 2 Stay Human did well for developer Techland, the studio itself acknowledged that it had lost what made the original Dying Light great, and hence we get The Beast. Once more putting us into the shoes of Kyle Crane after the events of The Following, Dying Light: The Beast features improved parkour-based traversal over its predecessor, while also bringing in improvements to both melee and ranged combat, all of which is packaged into a fantastic new open world to explore with plenty of variety, both in terms of zombie types and the scenery.

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

A reimagining of an absolute classic, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a ground-up 3D remake of a seminal 2D sprite-based RPG. As its name implies, it is the first part of the expansive Trails franchise, and puts you in the shoes of Estelle Bright and her adopted brother Joshua as they set off as members of the peacekeeping guild, starting out as bracers and slowly working their way up. The Trails series, while long, absolutely features several stories well worth experiencing, and there is currently no better way to start your journey than with Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter.

Blue Prince

Puzzle games, especially in the indie space, tend to come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Very rarely, however, does one show up that ends up feeling like a revelation. This is precisely what developer Dogubomb achieved with Blue Prince. The premise is quite simple: you are stuck in a mysterious manor – Mt. Holly – where the rooms shift around for no apparent reason. The core of the game is exploring the mansion, but the twist is that the player decides what the next room will be every time they open a door. Blue Prince has a wide gamut of puzzles for players to figure out as they try to make their way to the rumoured Room 46. To throw another wrench in your plans, the house once again shifts its rooms around every dawn. Blue Prince is the kind of game where you can spend anywhere from between 15 minutes to several hours at a stretch as you try to comb through the mysterious rooms of Mt. Holly to find a way to their destination.

Commandos: Origins

While the real-time tactical stealth series Commandos doesn’t really need much of an introduction, the latest release, Commandos: Origins, proves that the genre and style of gameplay still has legs in the modern day. Taking us all the way back to the origin of the World War 2 crew of commandos you play in the original Commandos, Commandos: Origins offers entirely new challenges throughout its various maps, all with more modernised gameplay thanks to updated visuals, as well as a large variety of objective types that will have you make use of just about every ability you and your crew can muster.

Circana’s Mat Piscatella revealed the Switch 2 set a “new all-time launch week unit sales record for video game hardware in the US,” selling over 1.1 million units for the week ending June 7th. It’s beaten the PlayStation 4’s record, and this doesn’t even include My Nintendo Store sales. Unsurprisingly, the best-selling title for the week was Mario Kart World. Whether it’s a physical copy or the $499.99 limited-time Switch 2 bundle, 79 percent of consumers have taken to the karting life.

The next two best-selling physical Switch 2 titles for the week were Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. The latter is interesting since Switch 1 owners can upgrade to the Switch 2 version for $10 (or by subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack). It could mean a hefty number of new players, but we’ll have to wait for official numbers.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is available for $449.99. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition costs $69.99, while Mario Kart World and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition retails for $79.99.

So, what exactly is Cyberpunk 2077 for those who’ve somehow missed the ride? At its core, it’s a deeply narrative-driven RPG where your decisions, both big and small, ripple through the world in surprising, sometimes devastating ways. Whether you’re navigating major story beats or casual street-level interactions, your choices shape not only your own path but also the lives of those tangled up in Night City’s chaos.

The choice-and-consequence system is one of the game’s strongest aspects, delivering meaningful results that feel organic. That said, the base game never quite reaches the storytelling heights of The Witcher 3. There’s a certain inconsistency in tone and polish that makes some moments fall short of the brilliance you’d expect from CD Projekt RED.

"Arguably the most impressive game available for Nintendo’s new hardware at launch, and boy—what an exceptional port this is."

But then Phantom Liberty arrives and everything changes. This is where Cyberpunk 2077 truly finds its soul. A taut, espionage-fueled thriller soaked in tension, deception, and moral ambiguity, the expansion keeps you on edge from start to finish. Every major character has conflicting agendas, and their arcs are rich with depth and surprise. The writing, pacing, and atmosphere feel dialed in finally living up to the game’s potential. And for those left cold by the base game’s original endings, Phantom Liberty introduces a new one that not only lands harder, but might just be the definitive conclusion to V’s story.

For a deeper breakdown of the gameplay mechanics, I’d highly recommend checking out our original review linked here. But to summarize: Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City is absolutely packed with things to do—from explosive combat encounters to a rich skills and customization system that rewards creative playstyles. The world is a visual and mechanical playground, and with the addition of Phantom Liberty and the many substantial patches CD Projekt RED has rolled out over the years, the game has evolved from mediocrity into something truly impressive. You’re easily looking at over 100 hours of content, with plenty of replay value thanks to the game’s multiple endings and branching paths.

What’s even more impressive is how the game encourages experimentation. Whether you’re hacking enemies mid-fight or engaging in stealth, it all feels quite rewarding. It’s a far cry from the game’s original state, and it finally feels worthy of its immense promise. Simply put, the gameplay still slaps—and when paired with the revamped systems and cybernetic upgrades, it delivers one of the most complete cyberpunk experiences available today.

But the million-dollar question: How does it perform on the Switch 2? Arguably the most impressive game available for Nintendo’s new hardware at launch, and boy—what an exceptional port this is. Visual compromises are, of course, expected, but what CD Projekt RED and the porting team have pulled off is nothing short of remarkable and stunning.

"The Switch 2 version of Cyberpunk 2077 is a shockingly good version of the game."

All of which is to say, to have this game with all its content, including content only running on PS5 and Xbox Series as far as consoles go, available on the Switch 2 at launch is an audacious move. It’s almost a challenge and a proclamation – this is what this machine is capable of already – running a game this technically demanding right out of the gate.

And the Switch 2 version of Cyberpunk 2077 is a shockingly good version of the game. It stands in stark contrast to the Witcher 3. CD Projekt RED’s previous game had been similarly ported to the original Switch, and while that port was impressive in getting that game to run on a device that was functionally equivalent to a mid range tablet from 2016, it was not a transition without losses. The Witcher 3 on the Switch looked noticeably worse – it flat out looked like a last gen version of the game compared to all the other ones.

Cyberpunk on the other hand, does not suffer this way on the Switch 2. While it is a worse looking version than high end PCs, the PS5, and Xbox Series, it is very much still a version of the game that is within the same ballpark of visual quality and performance. Rather than it feeling like a whole generation behind, when you play it in docked mode, it feels like it’s from the same generation, merely running at lower settings. Noticeably lower – no one will mistake Switch 2 footage for PS5 footage – but still very much part of the same conversation.

On the Switch 2’s handheld screen, it looks completely stunning, coming to life on the smaller screen where it targeting a 1080p resolution works much better than in docked mode (it also runs in 1080p in docked mode in both performance and quality modes; the resolution is fine, and DLSS is really pulling its weight here, but this is one of the primary giveaways that the game is running on a lower powered device).

"This game also makes good use of the HD Rumble haptics built into the Joycons, and the Pro controller."

On the Switch 2’s 1080p screen, the game running in native resolution looks sharp and crisp, and the visual cutbacks are a lot harder to notice. The performance mode bumps up the frame rate to 40fps (though uncapped), and nocks resolution down to 720p. Personally speaking, I don’t know if the performance Mode is worth it in this case – the frame rate seems choppier than the locked 30fps cap in Quality Mode, and the graphics also look worse (the sub-native resolution means the image is softer). In my experience, playing it in quality mode is the way to go on Switch 2.

Performance and graphics are also noticeably better on Switch 2 than they are on other portable devices such as Steam Deck. CD Projekt RED promised this would be the best portable version of the game, and it seems like they have delivered on that front. They’ve also leveraged other parts of the Switch 2 hardware, like the mouse controls on the Joycons. Players who want finer control over aiming during combat in particular are likely to find this option intriguing. This game also makes good use of the HD Rumble haptics built into the Joycons, and the Pro controller.

On the whole, this is a great version of a game that has by now become a truly fantastic and legendary experience. It’s good to see that Cyberpunk 2077 survived the transition to Nintendo as lot better than The Witcher 3 did. This is a version that can be recommended on its own merits, rather than being one that you should only play if you have access to none of the other ones. It’s a little worse looking and performing than the other console versions, but it holds its own well, outperforms most of its portable peers, and also leverages a bunch of the Nintendo Switch 2’s features.

This game was reviewed on the Nintendo Switch 2.

According to Tremblay, along with the ability to use Nvidia’s DLSS, the Switch 2 is also bolstered by its RAM and storage speeds. “We really thought it was going to be more of a challenge,” he said. “But in the end, [it was] not that much.” Tremplay did say, however, that quite a few changes had to be made to the engine powering Cyberpunk 2077 to bring it to the Switch 2, since the game was originally developed with the x86 architecture we see in modern consoles and gaming PCs today.

“Cyberpunk is built for x86 with old PC architecture,” Tremblay explained. “So this from the beginning was completely different. Lots of changes had to be done at the engine level, all the shaders [are in a] different language. We had to convert everything, some HLSL to GLSL. [The Switch 2 uses] a very, very different architecture.”

However, the necessary changes were made thanks to a team that started out small, and eventually, the Switch 2 version of Cyberpunk 2077 started taking form. Tremblay also spoke about how DLSS being available on Nintendo’s upcoming console makes the Switch 2 version of the game even better than the original PS4 and Xbox One versions, along with other modern hardware conveniences like faster storage and memory.

“It was very difficult for the previous generation of consoles,” Tremblay said. “I think I will say that the most difficult problem was the mechanical hard drive, which is one of the things that’s very important not to have.”

“The Switch 2 has more RAM [than the previous generation of consoles], which is also very important,” he added.

For context, the storage on the PS4 and Xbox One was handled by hard drives with disks spinning at around 5600 RPM, essentially putting them in line with older laptops when it came to read and write speeds. Both of the consoles also only featured 8 GB of RAM. More modern consoles have much faster storage as well as memory, with super fast SSDs handling the storage of game files that can then be loaded into high-speed RAM.

Tremblay also spoke about the performance goals that the studio had set for itself for the Switch 2 release of Cyberpunk 2077, insisting that the game dropping to less than 30 frames per second would be considered bad in any scenario. “So just to be clear, if it goes under 30fps, I don’t think that’s great,” he said. “There’s no such thing as ‘Oh, this is fine to get 25 [fps in this section.’] No it’s not, it should be 30fps everywhere.”

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition will be available on the Nintendo Switch 2 as one of its launch titles on June 5.

What’s Included?

Starting things off with the most obvious question, we have confirmation that Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition will not only include the base game but also the entirety of post-launch patches and Phantom Liberty in the box. As such, you can expect to spend a great deal of time exploring the many nooks and crannies of Night City and Dogtown without having to spend any extra money buying into these post-launch expansion packs.

Developer

As for the developer, Cyberpunk 2077’s Switch 2 port is being developed in-house by CD Projekt RED only. This can be a double-edged sword, with the advantage being that the developer has great knowledge about its engine and workings but the disadvantage is that it doesn’t have a lot of prior experience of porting its games over to a Nintendo console since The Witcher 3’s port was handled by Saber Interactive. But if we consider Cyberpunk 2077’s port on the Steam deck, we can have a lot more confidence than skepticism for this port.

Cross-Progression Support

One of the more interesting things about this port is that it comes with cross progression support across all platforms. CD Projekt RED recently confirmed that any save data from other platforms can be brought to the Switch 2 release. Those wondering how it would all work should know that this is achieved through exporting and importing your save through the developer’s cloud platform. It’s a great feature that makes jumping from other platforms pretty seamless, and makes buying into Cyberpunk 2077 on the Switch 2 a more lucrative option for anyone already owning the game on a previous platform.

Physical Release

On the topic of nice-to-haves, CD Projekt RED also confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 will come on a 64 GB card, and it will have the whole game on the disc itself. Given the storage requirements on other platforms, it is curious to see the game fitting on such a small cartridge – but that’s only because language packs will have to be downloaded separately and textures are going to be compressed as per the output resolution of the console. In most regions, the English pack will be the default, while in Japan the Japanese one will be included on disk. It’s great to see such a seamless plug-and-play experience at a time when most developers are content in just including the download license on the disk.

DLSS Support

The Switch 2’s newer GPU architecture is compatible with DLSS, and it has already proven to be a game-changer when it comes to porting graphically demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 over to a handheld device such as this one. The developer will be making heavy use of DLSS to achieve smooth results on the machine, and given the recent advancements in this technology, it has proven to be a reliable method to render at high resolution without exposing many visible artifacts.

Dock Mode Parameters

Let’s also talk about what CD Projekt RED is promising when it comes to performance on docked mode. The Dock mode will give flexibility in choosing between a quality and a performance mode. For the former, you reportedly get a 30fps experience with an output resolution of 1080p, while for the latter the frame-rate is bumped to 40fps with the same output resolution likely more aggressive upscaling to compensate for the frame-rate.

Handheld Mode Parameters

Coming over to the handheld mode on the Switch 2, CD Projekt RED reportedly offers a quality and a performance mode that almost rivals that of the docked mode. The quality mode targets 30fps at 1080p, and the performance mode bumps that up to 40fps but reduces the resolution to 820p. It might seem like a curious case at first, but it highlights just how important features like DLSS and VRR are, and how impressively the Switch 2 manages to retain much of its graphical power even in portable mode.

Performance Insights

According to early reports on the game, the performance varies from place to place, and players can expect a better playing experience during indoor sections than outdoor sections. That’s a rather obvious statement since the game’s computationally taxing world streaming system wouldn’t ask for much during indoor scenes but it’s also curious at the same point since the Switch 2 is also rocking an SSD along with adequate RAM. How much discrepancy remains between the two scenarios remains to be seen, but it is worth noting nevertheless.

Visual Comparison Against Console

When comparing Cyberpunk 2077’s Switch version to the console release, it’s obvious that the game pales in comparison to the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions on account of its lower texture quality and display resolution. It’s more in line with how the game looks on the last-gen machines the PS4 and Xbox One, minus the litany of performance issues those platforms faced well after its launch.

Visual Comparison Against Steam Deck

Another point of comparison for Cyberpunk 2077’s Switch edition has to be the Steam Deck, mostly because both machines are portable and have comparable power budgets. According to reports, the Switch 2 version of the game looks and performs better than what we have on the Steam Deck. In terms of performance, the game was able to hold its own in 40fps performance mode, albeit with some aggressive resolution scaling but thanks to DLSS – most of these grievances don’t mean much now given that upscaling works without any issues.

Joy-Con Features

Cyberpunk 2077 on the Switch is not just going to be a tasteless transition to a new platform, but it will be taking advantage of the platform-specific features, including the ingenious Joy-Con of the console. Players will be able to use motion controls for aiming, and using one of the joycon’s should be enough to cover major functionalities like using melee weapons.

Support For Gyro Aiming, Touch Screen Commands and Mouse

On the same note, we also have information about support for gyro aiming, touch screen commands and the mouse. The developer has confirmed that these features will also be available at launch, so if you are one of those players who are accustomed to gyro controls, transitioning to the Switch version of the game shouldn’t really be a challenge.

Price

One of the biggest questions that many fans would understandably have about the game is its price. While many developers choose to retail ports of their hits at a lower price, CD Projekt RED has confirmed that it will be selling the game at a full fat retail cost of $69.99. It does seem like a lot if you compare the prices across other platforms, but that seems to be the norm when it comes to these upcoming Switch 2 ports.

How Long To Beat?

When talking about price, it’s also important to discuss the value proposition that price brings with it. And thankfully in the case of Cyberpunk 2077, you are getting a lot of bang for your buck. Just rolling the main credits will require 30 hours, but if you do indulge in side-questing and complete the entirety of Phantom Liberty – this will stretch your playtime in the ballpark of 80 to 100 hours. And if you really want to dig deep into its choice and consequence systems along with tracking down collectibles, you could end up spending well over 200 hours exploring the criminal underbelly of Night City.

Release Date

When talking about the release date, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is scheduled to come out on June 5, 2025. This is supposed to be a launch title for the Switch 2, and it’s just one of the many last-gen ports that are being brought over to Nintendo’s newest platform. Many fans are also hoping to receive a Switch 2 upgrade for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and it’s possible that we may get that in the near future. The strong backing Switch 2 is getting from third-party developers is great to see, but not surprising. With the original Switch boasting an install base of over 150 million, it’s only natural that many studios are eager to support Nintendo’s next-gen hybrid console ahead of its launch.

Its last milestone was last November, where it sold over eight million units. The base game sold 30 million copies by the same period, but it’s likely higher now when factoring in the Ultimate Edition. Of course, there may be a significant jump in sales for both when Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition launches on June 5th for Nintendo Switch 2.

Check out our re-review for Cyberpunk 2077 here, which discusses our impressions of the massive 2.0 update. You can also read our review of Phantom Liberty here.

A sequel, Project Orion, is in development, with series creator Mike Pondsmith confirming a new city described as “Chicago gone wrong.” Night City is still present, but it’s unknown if players will explore it.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

A new Kojima Productions title is like an event unto itself, and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is no exception. Bigger, weirder, brimming with new concepts and gameplay mechanics, it takes Sam Porter Bridges to a new continent to attempt to reconnect it. A heavier focus on action, new traits and proficiency levels, new BTs, a day/night cycle, deeper stealth mechanics, changing weather, new characters, Magellan Man – all of this is only scratching the surface. One thing is for sure, though – it’s distinctly Hideo Kojima. Death Stranding 2 arrives on June 26th for PS5.

Mario Kart World

Everyone expected Grand Theft Auto 6 to roll in with an $80 price tag, but as it turns out, it was-a Mario all along. Based on the tens of millions that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold, Mario Kart World is unquestionably the killer app. And to be fair, Nintendo hasn’t been slouching in terms of evolving the mechanics. Tracks are now part of a large open world, teeming with optional activities, collectables, and challenges. Tons of new racers and karts await alongside cosmetics to unlock. The core gameplay is rife with new power-ups, moves, and even things like Rewind. There’s a lot here, but is it enough? We’ll find out when Mario Kart World launches on June 5th alongside the Switch 2.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

Is Welcome Tour going to be a surprisingly fun experience like Astro’s Playroom? Most likely not, but as a playable exhibit gamifying all the mechanics of the Switch 2, Nintendo could do worse. With mini-games and quizzes, it promises a learning experience into everything that makes up Nintendo’s console. “Free” would have been the best price point, but as it stands, $10 isn’t too much to ask. Let’s hope it offers some bang for our buck when it launches alongside the Switch 2.

Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut

Like a Dragon has evolved beyond the confines of Yakuza into brand new locations and gameplay mechanics, but Yakuza 0 remains timeless. It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 as the Director’s Cut, packing new cutscenes (some of which provide a sense of closure, per the voice cast) and English voiceovers. You can also team up with other players in online PvE battles, selecting from 60 characters. Don’t let the fact that it was originally launched in 2015 distract you from playing arguably the best Yakuza game in the franchise.

MindsEye

How can a game generate hype despite the lack of extensive gameplay and details, especially about two weeks from launch? Your guess is as good as mine, but Build A Rocket Boy’s MindsEye has inexplicably figured it out. The idea of a single-player action adventure in a futuristic city from Leslie Benzies of Grand Theft Auto fame is certainly appealing, make no mistake. But MindsEye could end up sublimely brilliant or precisely what the short teasers have revealed. Either way, we’re keen to see the result when it launches on June 10th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition

As if upcoming updates for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, like the free Horde-like Siege Mode, weren’t enough, Sega, Relic Entertainment, and SneakyBox are bringing back the original Space Marine. Launching on June 10th for Xbox Series X/S and PC for $40, the Master Crafted Edition features improved visuals, including 4K resolution support, remastered audio, and modernized controls. It also packs in all the DLC, like armor sets, Golden weapons, Map Packs, and Chapter Packs, and promises cross-play for its 8v8 PvP matches. While it’s a shame that PS5 players will miss out, Space Marine 1 is a must-play for any fan of 40K.

The Alters

Numerous teases of conflicts and gruesome outcomes later, 11 bit studios’ oft-delayed sci-fi survival/base-building title The Alters is finally launching on June 13th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. As Jan Dolski, players arrive on a hostile planet and discover the rest of their crew dead. With no other recourse to managing the giant moving base and needing to outrun a deadly sun, he creates Alters – each a living, breathing Jan with unique skills, occupations, wants, needs, and mood swings. Harvest materials meet their demands, survive various hazards, and maybe you make it back home with all limbs intact.

FBC: Firebreak

Years after Control, the Hiss still occupies the Oldest House. With resources depleting and no other options, the Bureau turns to Firebreak, which ventures into different locations to tackle paranatural threats. As a three-player co-op shooter, players choose a Crisis Kit, Perks, and weapon before diving into a Job, from destroying hundreds of thousands of sticky notes to stopping a powerful Furnace. It’s a new initiative for Remedy, better known for its single-player titles, but with no FOMO, a $40 price, and free content updates, FBC: Firebreak may be worth checking out when it launches on June 17th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die

Zoink’s underappreciated Lost in Random is getting a rogue-like sequel courtesy of Thunderful, and this time, the focus is on the former Queen. Now going by Aleksandra, she’s trapped inside the Black Die. Together with Fortune, she must escape its four regions, facing various enemies and bosses to escape. With more than 100 relics to custom, fast-paced real-time action and the same gorgeous art style, Lost in Random: The Eternal Die launches on June 17th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition

Who could have thought that Night City, in all its glitz and gore, would ever become playable on a Nintendo console? Probably not PS4 and Xbox One players who can’t experience Phantom Liberty. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition brings the base game to Switch 2 players with every update and the acclaimed expansion, with relatively decent performance. Best of all? The physical version contains the entire package on a cartridge. No Game-Key shenanigans. Like every other Switch 2 title, it’s out on June 5th.

Rematch

Sifu developer Sloclap’s newest title is something…unexpected. Launching on June 19th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, Rematch is a soccer (or football for the rest of the world) title where players compete in 5v5 matches. Promising an accessible experience with deep mechanics and a focus on player skill, its open beta saw a positive response on Steam last April, with almost 134,000 peak concurrent players. Here’s hoping the game can capture that magic and keep the momentum going, especially at $30.

System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster

Almost six years after its announcement, System Shock 2’s enhanced edition will launch on June 26th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC. Now known as the 25th Anniversary Remaster, it includes mod support on PC, new Trophies and Achievements, Ultra-widescreen support, and 4K resolution support. PC players can select 144 FPS, while Xbox Series X and PS5 can opt for 120 FPS. If it’s as compelling as System Shock remake, expect System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster to be another winner.

Tron: Catalyst

After the visual novel mystery of Tron: Identity, Bithell Games is back with Tron: Catalyst, an action-adventure take. This time, players control Exo, who gains the Glitch, a mysterious power that could upend the Arq Grid. With beat ’em up mechanics, light cycles and the ability to rewind time with glitches, Catalyst could be another solid addition to the franchise when it launches on June 17th for Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC.

Street Fighter 6 Years 1-2 Fighters Edition

With Mortal Kombat 1 support ending and Tekken 8 recovering from Season 2’s changes, Street Fighter 6 remains the premiere mainstream fighter. It’s coming to Switch 2 on launch day, and along with all DLC fighters from Years 1 and 2, it includes cross-play and two exclusive modes. Gyro Battle has players fighting with gyro controls and Calorie Contest, which is pretty much the same but with a calorie mechanic. Regardless, you still get an excellent fighting game with a stellar roster (including the upcoming Elena) and some great online features.

Zombie Army VR

For those still gaming in VR, be it on Steam, Quest 2 or PlayStation VR2, Rebellion’s Zombie Army series should help fill the increasing void. Out on June 12th, the campaign is new but offers the same World War 2 weaponry and over-the-top action of the franchise, complete with gruesome X-ray Kill Cams. There’s only two-player co-op, but it’s better than nothing.

However, this also has the benefit of giving us a look at how the Switch 2 is able to handle different kinds of gameplay that Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition features, from regular first-person exploration to third-person driving sections with various vehicles, and even conversation scenes offering close-ups of various characters like Panam. Check out the video below.

Generally speaking, the performance of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition seems quite fine, with the visuals largely holding up on Nintendo’s upcoming consoles. There are, however, a few scenes where the visuals do take a noticeable hit; the holographic fish near Arasaka Tower, for example, has a noticeable dip in quality when it comes to reflections on the road. Aside from that, however, the game has managed to strike a fine balance between looking good while still maintaining a stable frame rate.

A trailer released by CD Projekt RED for Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition back in April included game director Adam Badowski and VP of technology Charles Tremblay talking about the upcoming Switch 2 release. In the video, Tremblay spoke about a number of new features that will be available when the game comes out on June 5, and went as far as calling it the best way to experience Cyberpunk 2077 on a handheld system.

“It’s still the same amazing experience, and I think the returning players will feel right at home,” Tremblay said. “That being said, we do have a lot of ways to experience the game using the controllers. We have the new amazing LCD screens with the VRR support, and I do think it’s the best way to experience the game on the go.”

The studio had also previously confirmed that, in order to achieve the quality of visuals that we see in the video while still maintaining a decent frame rate, Nvidia’s DLSS technology is being used in all of the different modes that the game will be playable in.

“We’re using a version of DLSS available for Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, powered by Nvidia’s Tensor cores,” said the studio in a statement back in April. “The game utilises DLSS in all four modes: in handheld and docked, and the performance and quality variations of each.”

CD Projekt RED had also described its work in bringing Cyberpunk 2077 to the Switch 2 as taking priority for now when asked about whether we’d also see The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt making a similar jump to the new console. In its statement, the studio said that it was “all in” on Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition for now.

In the meantime, Cyberpunk 2077 is currently available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

In the trailer, game director Adam Badowski spoke about the studio’s mission of creating great RPGs, and how immersion is a core part of the game’s experience. VP of technology Charles Tremblay is also in the trailer, talking about the agency players can experience in their time with Night City. Tremblay has also described the Switch 2 version of Cyberpunk 2077 as the best handheld version of the game.

“It’s still the same amazing experience, and I think the returning players will feel right at home,” Tremblay said. “That being said, we do have a lot of ways to experience the game using the controllers. We have the new amazing LCD screens with the VRR support, and I do think it’s the best way to experience the game on the go.”

The trailer also showed off one of the more unique features of the Switch 2 release of the game – the Joy-Con 2 controllers. As showcased in the trailer, players can make use of motion controls with one Joy-Con 2 to use melee weapons like katanas.

Earlier this week, quest director Paweł Sasko also spoke about the challenges in bringing Cyberpunk 2077 to the Switch 2. On social media platform X, he described it as taking a “f*** ton of effort” with the best teams in CD Projekt RED working on the port. “If you want to experience what Nintendo Switch 2 can do, Cyberpunk 2077 is a hell of a benchmark,” he wrote.

When it comes to some of the more technical aspects, a video from earlier this month indicated that Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition looked better on the Switch 2 than it did on the Steam Deck. The video showcased smooth gameplay running at 40 FPS, and also gave us a look at some of the various options that players will be able to tinker with.

The studio has also confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition will be making use of a specific version of DLSS that was specially created by Nvidia for use on the Switch 2. This version of DLSS will be enabled in all modes of the console – handheld, docked, and performance and quality modes in each.

“We’re using a version of DLSS available for Nintendo Switch 2 hardware, powered by Nvidia’s Tensor cores,” said the studio in a statement. “The game utilises DLSS in all four modes: in handheld and docked, and the performance and quality variations of each.”

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition will be coming to Switch 2 as a launch title on June 5. Players that have already spent time with the game on other platforms won’t have to worry, since the title will support cross-platform progression. For more details about Cyberpunk 2077, check out our review for the base game, as well as its Phantom Liberty expansion.