Month: September 2020

Though most of the hype this holiday season surrounds a pair of next-generation consoles, Nintendo has had a huge year as well, largely due to the massive launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons during a global pandemic, which left many people scrambling to buy the console and grab a copy for themselves. Though the mad rush to buy a Switch has calmed down a bit in recent months, the console is still hard to find in stock at MSRP. Thankfully, restocks at major retailers are becoming more common than they were earlier this year. That’s fortunate, since we expect the Switch will still be at the top of many people’s wish lists this Christmas.

Whether you’re shopping for someone who wants their first Switch or someone who’s owned one since 2017, there are plenty of Nintendo gift ideas out there that’ll make this holiday season truly special. From this year’s biggest Switch games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Paper Mario: The Origami King to handy Switch accessories and eye-catching merch, there’s no shortage of options out there that would make any Nintendo fan’s face light up with joy. So to make your gift shopping a little easier this year, we’ve rounded up some of the best Nintendo gift ideas for 2020.

Plus, see our full Nintendo Switch buying guide for more info on the console if needed and our guides to the best Switch controllers, carrying cases, grips, and screen protectors for more Switch gift ideas.

$300

While not the most powerful console on the market, the Nintendo Switch is beloved for its portability and the wide range of titles available on it, from acclaimed first-party Nintendo games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to massive RPGs like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and hit indies like Undertale. There’s something for pretty much everyone on Switch, and it’s also relatively affordable at $300.

This year, it will likely be hard to find the Switch in stock for Christmas unless you start planning early, and the shipment may be delayed by a month or two, so don’t wait if you’re planning to buy the system for a loved one.

$200

While the main Nintendo Switch can be played docked on the TV, propped up on a table, or in handheld mode, the Switch Lite can only be played in handheld or tabletop mode and does not feature removable Joy-Cons. This smaller, lighter console comes with a lower price tag–$200–and is a great option for those who prefer to play handheld systems. Note that a small number of Switch games aren’t compatible with the Switch Lite (unless you buy Joy-Cons), such as Ring Fit Adventure and Super Mario Party.

Nintendo Switch games

At this point in the console’s life cycle, there are a ton of great Nintendo Switch games out there. Here are some of the best Switch games to gift this holiday season, from this year’s mega-hit Animal Crossing: New Horizons to the new physical edition of Untitled Goose Game and the popular fitness game Ring Fit Adventure. Note that some of the games listed below haven’t released yet, like Pikmin 3 Deluxe and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, so they haven’t been reviewed yet; however, they’ll launch in time for the holidays and are sure to be on many wish lists, so we’ve included them here. See our definitive list of the best Nintendo Switch games for more options!

Though all the games indicated above have physical editions, there are so many great games on Nintendo Switch you can only buy digitally, including some of our favorites from this year like Hades and Paradise Killer. An eShop gift card is another great option if you’re not sure what game your loved one might enjoy, as it’ll let them pick from any of the thousands of games on the Nintendo Switch eShop. You can buy eShop gift cards from Amazon at various price levels, from $5 up to $99. You’ll receive a digital code via email that you can then print off and put in a card or stocking, however you want to gift it.

$20 for individual, $35 for family membership

Nintendo Switch Online isn’t as robust an online service as competing subscriptions like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold, but it’s much more affordable, and what you do get is pretty solid: access to a great library of classic NES and SNES games (with added online functionality), cloud save backups for most games, and, of course, online multiplayer access for games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. See our Switch Online guide for more details on benefits.

Two annual membership plans are available: an individual membership for $20 a year and a family membership for $35. If you’re shopping for more than one person who plays Nintendo Switch or know someone else who’d be willing to split a membership, the family subscription is the way to go as it ends up being much cheaper. You can split the yearly membership cost between up to eight Nintendo Switch Online accounts. To set up a Switch Online family membership, log into your Nintendo account and click the Family Group tab on the left side of your account page to add additional people.

$100

A Pro Controller is probably one of the first things a new Switch owner will want as it offers a more comfortable and conventional grip, but Nintendo’s first-party controller goes for a steep price: $70. Just in time for the holidays, Walmart has an awesome bundle that gets you the Pro Controller and a digital copy of Super Mario Odyssey, one of the system’s best games, for $100. Considering Super Mario Odyssey costs $60 on its own, you’re saving a full 30 bucks on the pair.

$80

Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons are another accessory that’s been sold out regularly this year, but we’re starting to see stock return to online stores. You’ll still likely see shipping delays, so it’s best to get your order in as early as possible if you want to pick up a pair for this Christmas. Of course, the Switch comes with its own pair of Joy-Cons, but if your loved one wants to play multiplayer games like Super Mario Party or Overcooked with up to four people, having an extra pair will come in handy. And if they have a Switch Lite, they’ll need Joy-Cons to play the aforementioned games, since that console doesn’t have detachable controllers. Plus, Joy-Cons come in all kinds of fun color pairings beyond the standard gray or red/blue the Switch comes with.

$100

The Nintendo Switch doesn’t allow headphones to connect to it wirelessly via Bluetooth, so one of the best gifts you can buy for a Switch owner is a headset that comes with everything they need for wireless listening. The SteelSeries Arctis 1 is one of the first headsets to meet this requirement and comes with a portable USB-C dongle that plugs into the Switch so the headset can connect. This is especially clutch if they like to take the Switch with them on long flights or commutes.

$50

The Hori Split Pad Pro is one of our favorite Switch controllers for its comfortable, ergonomic design, excellent D-pad, and bigger buttons. The Split Pad Pro replaces each Joy-Con to offer a larger controller your hand can better grip onto, making handheld play much more pleasant. It also features more accurate analog sticks, programmable back paddles, and the ability to slide into the Switch dock while still attached. Plus, Hori released new colors for the Split Pad Pro this year, including Midnight Blue and Volcanic Red.

$60

The Satisfye ZenGrip Pro is another one of our all-time favorite Switch grips. The console simply slides into the grip whenever you’re ready to switch to handheld mode, and silicone padding inside of the ZenGrip Pro prevents the Switch from being scratched or scuffed. This bundle comes with the grip and a carrying case that fits both the Switch and the grip, so it’s a fantastic gift for anyone who likes to take their Switch on the go.

$50

8Bitdo is one of the most well-known third-party controller makers out there, and its SN30 Pro+ is the best Switch Pro Controller alternative we’ve tested. The SN30 Pro+ is $20 cheaper than the first-party option and adds way more customization options, including extensive button mapping and personalized rumble functionality. It comes with a rechargeable battery but also allows for the use of two AA batteries. The SNES-inspired design also makes the SN30 Pro+ a fantastic gift for retro fans.

$25

Every Switch owner needs a good carrying case to protect their Switch when they travel, and this Animal Crossing: New Horizons-themed case from PowerA is downright adorable. It features a sturdy outer shell, and on the inside, there’s a zipper pocket for storing accessories and game card slots for taking games on the go.

$32

The Nintendo Switch only comes with 32GB of internal storage, so sooner or later, you’re probably going to run out of space for new digital games. SanDisk offers officially licensed memory cards, and its 128GB microSD is the best option for most people, instantly expanding your Switch’s storage to hold more games. A memory card would make a great gift or stocking stuffer for a new Switch owner.

$20

Nintendo released a limited-edition Animal Crossing Switch earlier this year that sold out quickly (though it was recently restocked at some stores). If you’re shopping for an Animal Crossing fan who’d still love to add a little flair to their console, Switch skins are a great way of doing so for much cheaper. Accessories brand Controller Gear offers over a dozen different designs that can easily be applied to the Switch dock and Joy-Cons, and the skins can be removed just as easily without leaving any residue behind.

$16 each

Nintendo is re-releasing the Champions Amiibo set to celebrate the release of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, an upcoming prequel game for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Each Amiibo (Rito, Daruk, Mipha, and Urbosa) is available to preorder for $16 each at Best Buy. Though no new Amiibo functionality has been added for Age of Calamity, the figures still unlock bonuses in Breath of the Wild and make great collectibles.

$50

These mini backpacks are perfect for traveling with a Nintendo Switch and accessories like a headset, and they’re available in three different Animal Crossing designs and a plaid Mario-inspired design. Water-resistant polyester and a zipper keep the contents of the backpack safe and secure, and the straps are adjustable to fit a child or an adult.

$30

Nintendo is celebrating the 35th anniversary of Super Mario this year by releasing a slew of new products, and a new edition of Monopoly is available to buy now. In Monopoly: Super Mario Celebration edition, Toad houses and Princess Peach’s castles replace houses and hotels, and the board game includes a Question Block that can affect a player’s luck and makes sounds when you press it.

$20

The popular tower-building game gets a Mario makeover this year. Jenga: Super Mario edition expands on the familiar gameplay by adding a spinner that determines how many blocks to stack, how many layers your Super Mario character must climb, whether you’ll collect coins, or whether the game will reverse directions. Naturally, Bowser is waiting for you at the top, and the player with the most coins at the end wins.

$60

The Lego x Super Mario collection featured some of the most exciting new products to come out of the Super Mario 35th anniversary celebration this year, including a Lego NES that’s currently sold out. The Lego Super Mario starter course is the base product in the collection, letting you build a Super Mario course in Lego form. The Lego Mario figure has LED screens in its eyes, mouth, and belly that react to different movements, and it makes sounds as well, giving this Lego set a fun layer of interactivity.

$100

Releasing October 16, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit takes the popular racing game to your living room with a physical Mario Kart that you can maneuver along an AR track using the Nintendo Switch or Switch Lite. You’ll be able to follow the kart’s movement on your Switch screen with added elements like boost pads and items. If you’re shopping for someone who’s already a big fan of Mario Kart, surprising them with Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit this holiday season is a no-brainer. Unfortunately, both the Mario and Luigi sets are currently sold out, but we expect a restock when they release in mid-October.

$50

Another Nintendo product that’s sure to be in high demand and sell out fast this holiday season: the Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. edition. The collectible retro handheld system will have a limited release starting November 13 and comes loaded with the original Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, and classic Game & Watch title Ball. It also features a digital clock and working alarm for some practical use. For fans of Mario or retro gaming, this limited-edition Game & Watch would be a fantastic gift if you manage to get your hands on it.

When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared at the first day of DC FanDome, he brought with him some exciting news about the upcoming Black Adam movie. During the panel, the former WWE wrestler revealed that the film will introduce the Justice Society of America, which is a team of superheroes that preceded the Justice League. Among the JSA members slated to appear are Dr. Fate, Cyclone, and Hawkman. Until now, though, none of those roles had been cast.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Underground and The Invisible Man star Aldis Hodge is in final talks to take on the role of Hawkman. That would make him the third actor to sign on for Black Adam, after Johnson and Noah Centineo, who will play Atom Smasher.

At this point, we don’t know much about Black Adam, outside of what Johnson shared at FanDome, where he revealed that his take on the antihero has a strict sense of personal justice, which may not exactly align with the JSA. However, based on how the information was presented, it certainly sounds like he’ll be working with the Society, rather than against them.

Black Adam will be directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who previously worked with Johnson on the upcoming Disney movie Jungle Cruise. The current version of the script was written by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani (Informer). At this point, there is no public start date for production set and no announced release date.

As it stands, the next DC movie set for theaters is Wonder Woman 1984, which is currently set to arrive on December 25. This latest release date comes after numerous delays, the most recent of which have been due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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In Fortnite, players and their friends lead a group of Heroes to reclaim and rebuild a homeland that has been left empty by a mysterious darkness only known as “the Storm.”

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On this week’s episode of GameSpot After Dark, Jake, Lucy, and Kallie are joined by illustrious freelancer and king of Twitter comedy Funké Joseph. As always, the crew talks about what they’ve been playing (and doing), which includes watching video game documentary Console Wars, playing Mafia: Definitive Edition, and revisiting of one of 2019’s best games, Control.

After a brief interlude to talk about Ready Player One author Ernest Cline’s less well-known (and far less favorable) work of poetry, the crew moves on to the week’s biggest news: Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax media, parent company to Bethesda.

What does the acquisition mean for Microsoft, Xbox Series X, and Game Pass–and what does it mean for Bethesda’s games and creative freedom? Will we see Bethesda games on PS5? Listen to find out what we think as we answer your biggest questions about the news.

We also discuss Xbox Series X/S preorders, which went a little better than PS5 preorders… but still weren’t great. Lucy is the big winner with three successful console preorders, while Jake has two and Kallie has a very sad zero.

Below you’ll find all the necessary links to find the show on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Google Play. We’ve also included an RSS link so you can put that into your podcast app of choice.

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I have high hopes for Rogue Legacy 2. When developer Cellar Door Games announced its deserved, but unexpected sequel back in April, I didn’t realize how excited I’d be to play it. The 2013 original, with its then-unique progression, was my gateway to the roguelite and is still one of the best blends of an RPG and a run-based roguelite structure.

That’s high praise, and it begs the question: How do you top that? In the seven years since Rogue Legacy launched, the roguelite genre has expanded. Countless games have riffed on the blend of run-based Roguelike mechanics and RPG-style progression it helped popularize. What could Cellar Door Games possibly do to make its sequel feel as fresh and revelatory as the original? After spending more than six hours with the current Early Access version of Rogue Legacy 2, the answer isn’t clear. The game doesn’t try to meet those expectations.

Rogue Legacy 2 is building out, not up. The sequel expands on the ideas that made Rogue Legacy stand out years ago, like adding more ways to earn incremental progress between runs and creating flashier, visual-forward family traits. However, the overall experience hews very closely to the Rogue Legacy fans know. In each Rogue Legacy run, you control a new generation of a long-time adventurer’s bloodline, who all explore the same mysterious, dangerous castle and usually die in the process. Between each adventurer’s journey, you have the ability to spend the gold their predecessor amassed to upgrade the family castle, improving the prospects (and stats) of future generations.

Despite a visual overhaul, Rogue Legacy 2 feels more like a riff on the original so far. The opening area is a castle, just like the opening area of the first Rogue Legacy. Some of the room designs, despite being randomly generated, fall into the same categories–long halls of spikes, large open rooms full projectile-spewing opponents, and so on. Many of the original’s enemies, including floating wizards and menacing eyeballs, are back, too.

And the rogues feel similar, as well. There’s a larger emphasis on using the downward-slicing bounce attack as a tool for getting around and solving puzzles, but the line of knights you control in Rogue Legacy all feel the same. They’re light as air, jumping high with a weightless sword/bow/axe strike. Though there are nuanced changes to the classes added to the game so far, jumping into these new warriors’ shoes feels like coming home.

That isn’t to say that the game is identical, but even the changes feel like they expound on the idea behind Rogue Legacy, rather than creating a new identity. For example, in addition to planting a boss for you to beat in each area, every incarnation of the world features entrances to two mini-dungeons where you can earn heirlooms–permanent upgrades that impart skills like an air dash and the abilities to interact with spirits. You need at least one, but, realistically, both heirlooms to open the door to the first boss, so they become permanent checkpoints on the way to completing each zone (and the game). These sub-goals fall right in line with Rogue Legacy’s distinct flow–by earning gold, or accomplishing some small but permanent achievement, you take a step forward. This way, fewer runs feel like “wasted” effort.

That accommodation is Rogue Legacy’s signature: the idea emanated from all of its design choices in the original, which kept me coming back. While I’m happy to feel it in the sequel, I’ve been wrestling with the nagging feeling that I wanted more. While I’m having fun playing Rogue Legacy II because it’s the same, it is not the same kind of fun. It’s familiar and comfy but seems incapable of inspiring the same surprise and delight I felt in 2013.

Part of me thinks it’s a matter of expectations. Video game series have a tendency to come into their own in sequels; Zelda, Resident Evil, and Assassin’s Creed all come to mind as franchises that had a good idea the first time around, but for many, didn’t become the series they love until their later entries. That history has conditioned me to look for progress in each successive sequel: Is each new game innovating, making smart changes to enhance that “north star” idea that makes the series special?

Rogue Legacy II forgoes that convention, playing it safe. Its changes are small, made to preserve the ideas of the original, rather than improve it. That leads to the very distinct feeling that Rogue Legacy II will be “more of the same.” That’s generally not what I look for in a game, sequel or otherwise. I value innovation and hold these kinds of sequels in lower regard than those that create new, exciting experiences.

Despite all that, there aren’t many games that do what Rogue Legacy does, and personally, I like having more of it. In the last decade, both players and developers have strongly embraced the notion that more of a good thing can’t be bad–it’s why we get a new Call of Duty every year, and why one the most highly anticipated PS5 launch games is Demon’s Souls, a remake of a 2009 PS3 game.

Does a sequel have to break its mold and surpass the game(s) that came before it to win our adoration?

But the feeling you derive from a game experience you love is different from the one that surprises and delights you in an original way. The “safe” sequel is rooted in a nostalgia-adjacent comfort. Even when the levels are new, you have an idea of how you’re going to enjoy yourself. But I find that kind of experience delivers diminishing returns. Too often, games that are too precious about keeping what players loved before–ranging from major mechanics to small details–only lead to stale, samey sequels. Eventually, you have to move on.

Hence the question, which I don’t have an answer to, and I don’t expect to know until the game is finished: Does a sequel have to break its mold and surpass the game(s) that came before it to win our adoration? I want to say no–that’s the unpretentious answer, and the one that lets me celebrate what I’ve enjoyed so far. But I can’t shake the feeling that, at the very least, playing another Rogue Legacy game that trades on my love for the original will leave my love for it faded. The original left me wanting more. Who knows how I’ll feel by the end of the sequel?

Disney’s live-action adaptation machine is still chugging along despite low box-office numbers for their latest, Mulan. Peter Pan & Wendy, the upcoming live-action production of–you guessed it–Disney’s Peter Pan and has found its Tinkerbell in Grown-Ish star Yara Shahidi, Deadline reports.

Shahidi will be the first woman of color to star in the role in a blockbuster film, following in the footsteps of Julia Roberts who played the part in 1991’s Hook and Ludivine Sagnier in 2003’s Peter Pan. This is Disney’s second effort to diversify the casting of characters that have formerly been portrayed as white in their animated features, following the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel for the upcoming live-action Little Mermaid.

In addition to Shahidi as Tinkerbell, Peter Pan & Wendy is also set to feature Jude Law as Captain Hook, Alexander Molony (The Reluctant Landlord) as Peter, and Ever Anderson (Resident Evil: The Final Chapter) as Wendy.

The movie will be written and directed by David Lowery, who previously worked with Disney on Pete’s Dragon back in 2016. Lowery also wrote and directed the upcoming A24 film, The Green Knight, starring Dev Patel in a retelling of the medieval folktale about Sir Gawain, a knight of the round table.

Peter Pan & Wendy currently has no set release date but is expected to premiere in theaters, rather than the Disney+ streaming service, at some point in 2021.