With just a month before the Mario Tennis Fever release on 12th February for Switch 2, Nintendo has shared a gameplay deep dive to reveal a bunch of the details to the latest Mario sports game.

Mario Tennis Fever is built, of course, around the core rules of Tennis with basic shots like Top Spin, Slice and Lobs, with slides and leaping shots to reach the ball… but this is a series that always brings something pretty extra. This time around it’s Fever Rackets, which can unleash all sorts of special shots and wild effects.

Having charged up your Fever gauge with a long enough rally, you can pull off a Fever Shot, with each of the game’s 30 rackets having a unique effect. These include:

• Ice Racket – Freeze a patch of the court
• Pokey Racket – Summon a Pokey
• Shadow Racket – Summon a shadow double to play alongside you
• Golden Dash Racket – Get a burst of speed to reach the ball

The tricky thing is that you can block a Fever Shot, so long as you reach and return the ball before it lands on your side of the court – Sneaky! The various Fever Shots that deal damage can also reduce your HP until you’re forced to take a time out. Oh, and in doubles, you can both unleash a Fever Shot at the same time.

There’s 38 characters in total, including all of the usuals and with a special shoutout for Baby Waluigi, Goomba and Nabbit. The full list is:

• Mario
• Luigi
• Peach
• Daisy
• Rosalina
• Pauline
• Wario
• Waluigi
• Toad
• Toadette
• Luma
• Yoshi
• Bowser
• Bowser Jr.
• Donkey Kong
• Boo
• Shy Guy
• Koop Trooper
• Kamek
• Spike
• Diddy Kong
• Bow-Wow
• Birdo
• Koopa Paratroopa
• Petey Piranha
• Piranha
• Boom Boom
• Blooper
• Dry Bowser
• Bry Bones
• Baby Mario
• Baby Luigi
• Baby Peach
• Wriggler
• Nabbit
• Goomba
• Baby Wario
• Baby Waluigi

Each has particular stats, but you can match them up with any racket.

There’s a bunch of modes to play in, from a standard tournament (now with commentary), to the tricky Trial Towers and Mix It Up mode, where you’ll have to play minigame modes like Ring Shot, Forest Court Match, Pinball Match, Racket Factory Match, Wonder Court Match (with Super Mario Wonder effects).

And then there’s the Adventure mode, which sees Mario, Luigi and chums all turned into babies. Now running around without your previous tennis abiliites, you’ll have to learn and train them all up again through the journey.

Of course, there’s a ton of multiplayer. Up to four players can play on a single system in split-screen, while there’s local wireless multiplayer, and support for GameShare (which also supports streaming to the original Nintendo Switch, even though this is a Switch 2 exclusive). Turning to the online, there will be both casual online rooms and ranked matches, while the more casual amongst you might like the motion controlled Swing Mode.

Mario Tennis Fever also has amiibo support, with various Mario amiibo changing the design of the ball used within play, but not actual gameplay effects.

Epic is kicking off 2026 with their first major Fortnite collab event of the year, as South Park has been smushed into the enduring battle royale. There’s some fun new twists here, from the 5-player Quints playlist, to the Cartmanland POI and a free Born in the Chaos battle pass.

Having dredged up the powerful Stick of Truth, Butters has forced Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny to play Fortnite with him. The stick is so powerful, it’s managed to bend the game code to allow all five of them to team up in the Quints playlist.

Here’s what else you’ll find in this event, running from today through 5th February:

• Gameplay Items: Players can restore health, heal allies, or damage enemies with Cheesy Poofs; reboot automatically after being eliminated with the one-time-use Kenny’s Respawn Token; and for the first time ever, control where the Storm goes by retrieving the one-time-use Stick of Truth from the sky.
• Cartmanland: Drop into a new POI: Cartman’s massive personal theme park! Cartmanland features rideable thrills such as CHAOS BLAST, Voyage to the Center of the Planet, and Pi Pi’s Splash Town.
• The Born in Chaos Pass: With no V-Bucks required, the Born in Chaos Pass features 13 South Park-themed items players can unlock – including a Cheesy Poofs Emote, Back Blings, Pickaxes, and more – by completing new South Park Quests.

Epic has always been pretty hot on the IP collabs, but it certainly feels as though they’re picking up the pace on some of these. In the last few months of 2025 along, they brought the K-Pop Demon Hunters into the game from the hit Netflix movie, and the there was the whole Simpsons crossover.

South Park is hardly a stranger to the realms of video games, from one of the most popular and enduring episodes of the show having featured World of Warcraft at the peaks of its early popularity, to the menagerie of tie-in games from the tail end of the PS1 and N64 era, through to the popular RPG duology Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole – it’s obviously Stick of Truth that Fortnite is leaning on to get the boys into the game.

Source: press release

Publisher Wales Interactive and developer Trapped Predator have announced that the interactive psychological horror FMV game Heart of the Forest will be released on February 12th. The confirmed platforms are PC, PS5, PS4, Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android. It is a live action story that follows a group of students as they explore Germany’s Black Forest, which is home to an evil spirit.

In Heart of the Forest players will see the world through each character’s point of view, making choices on the information available to steer the story. Each character has their own fears and traumas that are exploited by the forest spirit to scare and hunt the students down. Your choices will determine who lives and who dies. Some of the footage definitely has The Blair Witch Project vibes, which is likely to have been an influence on Heart of the Forest.

In a statement Trapped Predator said, “Heart of the Forest is our modern take on German folklore set in the mysterious Black Forest. In our debut title, we invite you to join our four protagonists on a chilling journey into their darkest nightmares. See you inside the forest!”

A price for Heart of the Forest is yet to be confirmed.

Source: Press Release

Square Enix has a nice surprise for Dragon Quest fans, announcing a demo for Dragon Quest VII Reimagined that will be available from tomorrow, Wednesday 7th January.

The free demo will be released across all platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch, and PC via Steam.

Oh, and you’ll be able to carry over your progress into the full game when it releases on 5th February.

It’s great to see demos released for games, and especially for remakes where you kind of just want to see if it catches the right vibes and tone when reviving a classic.

Square Enix have taken an awful lot of contrasting approaches to their remakes and remasters. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is sitting somewhere between the HD-2D remakes of the original Dragon Quest trilogy and the wholesale reinvention of Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy.

One of the most striking things here is the art style, with Square Enix creating all of the characters as real-life dolls and then 3D scanning them into the game to capture the look that they want. However, there’s plenty of other modernising touches, from doing away with the tiresome random battles, to full embracing party automation and battle speed settings, and then there’s some parts of the story that are being reconsidered too.

We went hands on with the game last year, and I said in our preview, “Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is shaping up to be another fantastic remake from Square Enix. It’s a bit bewildering just how many different styles and approaches they’ve taken to revisiting their classics, but this takes a wonderful art direction and combines it with a great set of quality-of-life improvements while tweaking it to address the biggest criticisms. All in all, it should be the best way to revisit this adventure when it arrives [in 2026].”

Source: Square Enix

It appears Ubisoft have settled on a name for their heavily leaked remake of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag as a domain has been registered with the game’s name and “Resynced” added to the end.

The Black Flag Resynced domain was registered 25 days ago by a company Ubisoft has used previously, including for the registration of the latest Prince of Persia game.  Ubisoft have said they would be plundering their back catalogue for remakes and remasters but they have yet to officially announce this remake. That has not stopped lots of details leaking out.

It seems like the remake, which will use Anvil Pipeline engine, is going to feature some fairly big changes. The most notable change will be the removal of all the modern-day sequences so we will not see Rebbeca, Shaun and the others. The modern-day plot, which worked really well in the first few games with Desmond, has gradually been side-lined and only appears as text in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Replacing it will be “a few extra hours of content” including content that was cut from the original release, such as parts of Mary Read’s story.

Gameplay is said to be closer to the RPG style of the more recent games, with loot, stats for weapons, and a new inventory. The combat is is also said to lean more towards the style of the recent games. The map is the same size but will have more things to do, and modern systems mean there will be no loading screens when docking your ship and heading to land.

The report from the respected Jeux Vidéo Magazine suggests the game will now launch in early 2026, probably in March, which is a little later than previous reports. Ubisoft Singapore, Belgrade and Bordeaux are working on it, and some assets from Skull & Bones may be reused to save costs.

Source: XCancel

It is the start of a new year which means one thing! That thing is the annual ceremony of an NBA 2K servers being switched off. From now on, January 1st 2026, all online functionality for NBA 2K24 has been switched off. That means no more multiplayer, MyCareer or MyTeam but modes that don’t require an internet connection like MyNBA and Play Now are still playable. NBA 2K24 was released on September 8th, 2023 and was removed from sale in October 2025.

NBA 2K’s support page states, “As of January 1, 2026, you’ll no longer be able to play multiplayer games or access any online game modes. MyCAREER and MyTEAM will no longer be available, and it will no longer be possible to earn Virtual Currency (VC). While you will still be able to enjoy Play Now, MyNBA, The W, and MyWNBA, any features that require a connection to 2K servers will be unavailable. This includes multiplayer, Online Leagues, and community sharing. We thank you for being a part of our community and hope you continue to enjoy NBA 2K!”

NBA 2K24 Review

In our NBA 2K24 review I wrote, “Regardless of what this review says, NBA 2K24 will sell millions of copies, and generate millions of dollars through VC. That is because basketball fans who want to play a basketball game have nowhere else to go. The on court action is really good, but without competition to keep them honest, 2K’s monetisation has got out of hand and made modes like MyCareer near unplayable without extra investment from players.”

Source: 2K Support

Reus 2 is a god game that’s all about building planets and seeing how civilizations react to the world you create for them. Instead of controlling people directly, you shape the land itself using giant beings, then sit back and watch how things play out. It’s a slower, more thoughtful kind of strategy game. You play as these giant god-like beings that shape the land instead of directly controlling people. You’re placing forests, mountains, oceans, animals, and resources, and then watching little civilizations try to make sense of it all. Sometimes they thrive. Sometimes they don’t. And most of the time when they don’t, it’s because of a choice you made without realizing how much it would affect their little world. What I like most about Reus 2 is that it doesn’t feel like it’s nagging at you to play it “correctly.” There’s a lot of experimentation, a lot of “oh, that didn’t work at all,” and then going back in with a better plan. It’s not stressful, it’s not fast, and it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to punish you for learning. That makes it really easy to relax with, especially if you’re burned out on games that want you locked in all the time. That said, this is definitely a thinking game. You’re not smashing buttons or reacting quickly to anything. You’re placing things, watching patterns form, and slowly understanding how all the systems connect. When it clicks, it feels great. When it doesn’t, it can feel a little confusing because the game doesn’t always explain why something went wrong. You kind of have to piece it together on your own. This was a little frustrating at first and I will admit I did have to look up a tutorial. But once you get the hang of things it’s actually kind of fun. Visually, I really like it. It’s clean, colorful, and easy to read at a glance, which matters when you’re staring at planets for long stretches of time. The music stays in the background and doesn’t get annoying, which I appreciate, because this is the kind of game where loud or dramatic music would completely kill the vibe. The controls in the Nintendo Switch version are where I have mixed feelings. The game clearly wasn’t built with a controller as the main focus, and you feel that. Menus can be a bit clunky, text can be smaller than it should be, and sometimes doing something simple takes more steps than it needs to. It’s not unplayable by any means, but there were moments where I thought, “This would be way smoother with a mouse.” I also wouldn’t recommend this to someone who wants action or instant gratification. If you need explosions, combat, or constant feedback, this probably isn’t going to hold your attention. Reus 2 is slow on purpose, and that’s either going to be exactly what you want or something you bounce off of pretty quickly. For me, though, it worked. I like games that let me think, mess up, and try again without acting like I failed some kind of skill test. Reus 2 feels more like tending to something than beating it, and that’s not something you see a lot of anymore. It’s not perfect on Switch, and I won’t pretend the controls didn’t annoy me at times. But if you’re into chill strategy games, god/sandbox-style games, or anything where watching systems interact and grow is half the fun, Reus 2 is worth your time. Just go into it knowing it’s more about patience and curiosity than excitement.

The post Review: Reus 2 (Nintendo Switch) appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

This week on the Pure Nintendo Podcast, Jemma, Kirk, and Trev count down our favorite games of 2025. It’s been a HUGE year, so let’s find out what we enjoyed playing the most!

On last week’s episode, we celebrated the holidays – and the associated sales. We also talked about Hollow Knight: Silksong and Cult of the Lamb’s upcoming DLC. This week is all about the best games of 2025. We each count down our top-ten titles, including the likes Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Hyrule Warirors, and Mario Kart World. Plus a few surprises like the excellent No Sleep for Kaname Date. But what made our number one game of the year? Tune in to find out!

Thank you to all our listeners for joining us this year, we really appreciate it! We’re taking a short break – just one week off! – but we’ll be back with all-new episodes in our next season on January 12. Until then, game on everyone.

Support us on the Pure Nintendo Podcast

And don’t forget to follow us on Blue Sky to keep up to date with our news and reviews, and support us over at Patreon.com/PureNintendo! Our next issue of the Pure Nintendo Magazine has just been shipped, so keep your eyes on your mailbox for your copy!

Until next time, game on everyone!

 

The post We count down the best games of 2025! Pure Nintendo Podcast E144 appeared first on Pure Nintendo.

With just a month before the Mario Tennis Fever release on 12th February for Switch 2, Nintendo has shared a gameplay deep dive to reveal a bunch of the details to the latest Mario sports game.

Mario Tennis Fever is built, of course, around the core rules of Tennis with basic shots like Top Spin, Slice and Lobs, with slides and leaping shots to reach the ball… but this is a series that always brings something pretty extra. This time around it’s Fever Rackets, which can unleash all sorts of special shots and wild effects.

Having charged up your Fever gauge with a long enough rally, you can pull off a Fever Shot, with each of the game’s 30 rackets having a unique effect. These include:

• Ice Racket – Freeze a patch of the court
• Pokey Racket – Summon a Pokey
• Shadow Racket – Summon a shadow double to play alongside you
• Golden Dash Racket – Get a burst of speed to reach the ball

The tricky thing is that you can block a Fever Shot, so long as you reach and return the ball before it lands on your side of the court – Sneaky! The various Fever Shots that deal damage can also reduce your HP until you’re forced to take a time out. Oh, and in doubles, you can both unleash a Fever Shot at the same time.

There’s 38 characters in total, including all of the usuals and with a special shoutout for Baby Waluigi, Goomba and Nabbit. The full list is:

• Mario
• Luigi
• Peach
• Daisy
• Rosalina
• Pauline
• Wario
• Waluigi
• Toad
• Toadette
• Luma
• Yoshi
• Bowser
• Bowser Jr.
• Donkey Kong
• Boo
• Shy Guy
• Koop Trooper
• Kamek
• Spike
• Diddy Kong
• Bow-Wow
• Birdo
• Koopa Paratroopa
• Petey Piranha
• Piranha
• Boom Boom
• Blooper
• Dry Bowser
• Bry Bones
• Baby Mario
• Baby Luigi
• Baby Peach
• Wriggler
• Nabbit
• Goomba
• Baby Wario
• Baby Waluigi

Each has particular stats, but you can match them up with any racket.

There’s a bunch of modes to play in, from a standard tournament (now with commentary), to the tricky Trial Towers and Mix It Up mode, where you’ll have to play minigame modes like Ring Shot, Forest Court Match, Pinball Match, Racket Factory Match, Wonder Court Match (with Super Mario Wonder effects).

And then there’s the Adventure mode, which sees Mario, Luigi and chums all turned into babies. Now running around without your previous tennis abiliites, you’ll have to learn and train them all up again through the journey.

Of course, there’s a ton of multiplayer. Up to four players can play on a single system in split-screen, while there’s local wireless multiplayer, and support for GameShare (which also supports streaming to the original Nintendo Switch, even though this is a Switch 2 exclusive). Turning to the online, there will be both casual online rooms and ranked matches, while the more casual amongst you might like the motion controlled Swing Mode.

Mario Tennis Fever also has amiibo support, with various Mario amiibo changing the design of the ball used within play, but not actual gameplay effects.

Epic is kicking off 2026 with their first major Fortnite collab event of the year, as South Park has been smushed into the enduring battle royale. There’s some fun new twists here, from the 5-player Quints playlist, to the Cartmanland POI and a free Born in the Chaos battle pass.

Having dredged up the powerful Stick of Truth, Butters has forced Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny to play Fortnite with him. The stick is so powerful, it’s managed to bend the game code to allow all five of them to team up in the Quints playlist.

Here’s what else you’ll find in this event, running from today through 5th February:

• Gameplay Items: Players can restore health, heal allies, or damage enemies with Cheesy Poofs; reboot automatically after being eliminated with the one-time-use Kenny’s Respawn Token; and for the first time ever, control where the Storm goes by retrieving the one-time-use Stick of Truth from the sky.
• Cartmanland: Drop into a new POI: Cartman’s massive personal theme park! Cartmanland features rideable thrills such as CHAOS BLAST, Voyage to the Center of the Planet, and Pi Pi’s Splash Town.
• The Born in Chaos Pass: With no V-Bucks required, the Born in Chaos Pass features 13 South Park-themed items players can unlock – including a Cheesy Poofs Emote, Back Blings, Pickaxes, and more – by completing new South Park Quests.

Epic has always been pretty hot on the IP collabs, but it certainly feels as though they’re picking up the pace on some of these. In the last few months of 2025 along, they brought the K-Pop Demon Hunters into the game from the hit Netflix movie, and the there was the whole Simpsons crossover.

South Park is hardly a stranger to the realms of video games, from one of the most popular and enduring episodes of the show having featured World of Warcraft at the peaks of its early popularity, to the menagerie of tie-in games from the tail end of the PS1 and N64 era, through to the popular RPG duology Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole – it’s obviously Stick of Truth that Fortnite is leaning on to get the boys into the game.

Source: press release

Publisher Wales Interactive and developer Trapped Predator have announced that the interactive psychological horror FMV game Heart of the Forest will be released on February 12th. The confirmed platforms are PC, PS5, PS4, Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android. It is a live action story that follows a group of students as they explore Germany’s Black Forest, which is home to an evil spirit.

In Heart of the Forest players will see the world through each character’s point of view, making choices on the information available to steer the story. Each character has their own fears and traumas that are exploited by the forest spirit to scare and hunt the students down. Your choices will determine who lives and who dies. Some of the footage definitely has The Blair Witch Project vibes, which is likely to have been an influence on Heart of the Forest.

In a statement Trapped Predator said, “Heart of the Forest is our modern take on German folklore set in the mysterious Black Forest. In our debut title, we invite you to join our four protagonists on a chilling journey into their darkest nightmares. See you inside the forest!”

A price for Heart of the Forest is yet to be confirmed.

Source: Press Release

Sometimes the strangest heroes make the most memorable adventures, and Jelly & Toast is here to prove it.

The post Jelly & Toast Launches On Console – A Deliciously Chaotic Platforming Adventure appeared first on TheXboxHub.

Hero Seekers launches, delivering a classic fantasy JRPG built around loss, memory, and the power of forgotten legends.

The post The World Forgot Its Heroes – This New JRPG Is Bringing Them Back appeared first on TheXboxHub.

I Am Future has officially arrived on consoles, inviting players to unwind at the end of the world as tinyBuild and Mandragora’s cozy post-apocalyptic survival sim launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

The post I Am Future Takes Cozy Survival To The End Of The World appeared first on TheXboxHub.

Moto Rush Reborn has been officially unveiled, and it looks set to push arcade racing into darker, faster territory.

The post Moto Rush Reborn Revealed – A Demon-Fuelled Arcade Racer Tears Through Neo-Tokyo appeared first on TheXboxHub.

The worlds of two arcade legends collide today as Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds expands with the arrival of the PAC-MAN Pack.

The post Chomp Your Way To Victory – Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Welcomes The PAC-MAN Pack appeared first on TheXboxHub.

NBA 2K26 is keeping the momentum rolling into the new year, with Season 4 bringing a serious dose of All-Star energy across MyCAREER, MyTEAM and The W.

The post NBA 2K26 Season 4 Tips Off With All-Star Swagger And Hollywood Flair appeared first on TheXboxHub.

Dungeons and Ducklings takes the familiar maze structure and injects it with fast-paced action and the high stakes of a roguelite.

The post Mama Duck Needs You – Dungeons and Ducklings is a New Roguelite Adventure appeared first on TheXboxHub.

Winterlight - Where silence says it all, a contemplative visual novel, has launched.

The post Ready to Face Grief and Find Peace in Winterlight – Where silence says it all? appeared first on TheXboxHub.

The consistent hot streak of one of gaming’s best sim franchises continues today, as a massive new DLC pack has launched in Two Point Museum to transform your facility into a bizarre wildlife sanctuary - Zooseum.

The post From Exhibit Management to Wildlife Sanctuary – Two Point Museum: Zooseum is the Ultimate DLC appeared first on TheXboxHub.