13-second sprint round Koopa Troopa Beach, anyone?
Leave it to Nintendo to put a mechanic into a game that can be used in lots of ‘unintended’ ways. Then leave it to the typical Nintendo fan to figure out how to mess with it almost immediately.
Yes, just as we are routinely amazed by what players come up with in the likes of Tears of the Kingdom, it’s taken very little time for them to start doing things to Mario’s fancy new rewind feature in Mario Kart World – which, when playing offline, allows you to cycle back through a race by holding down on your D-pad, then resume from where you paused.
While running around in a match of Elden Ring Nightreign, it’s not exactly easy to stop and carefully think about numbers and details. In fact, the leveling system for the characters in Nightreign is streamlined compared to the more-freeform point-system of Elden Ring. So what do they all mean, and what numbers are worth chasing over others?
YouTuber Zullie the Witch recently dove into the behind-the-scenes numbers to figure that out. While Nightreign simplifies progression down to level-ups, these pre-assigned values can be looked at and charted, as Zullie has done in their video.
One fascinating detail they found was that the jump from level 1 to level 2 adds “far more” than any other level up, making that first Site of Grace a big one. On the other hand, levels 13 through 15 apparently add fewer attributes for most characters, imposing a “softcap” around level 12. You’ll get more stats, but they won’t be as drastic as those early levels.
They also note statistics seem to have different scales between the different properties. Duchess, for example, has a B in Dexterity and A in Intelligence, but her point values across the levels end up fairly even. Also, strangely, no one gains points in Arcane across their levels.
If you’re curious, the highest total level character if one were to build them in Elden Ring would be Recluse. Per Zullie, this is due to the Recluse having the same stat growth for both Intelligence and Faith; her points cap out at 51 on both values, at level 15.
There’s some actionable advice here for build-crafting. Zullie found that each point of Vigor always adds exactly 20 HP at any level. Additionally, it looks like Relics that raise attack statistics will seem stronger at lower levels, but get outpaced by “other damage bonuses” as the game goes on.
It’s some fascinating datamining that’s sure to help with build-crafting, as you put together your Relics and aim for different rewards in the field. If anything, just remember: that first level-up is big, so don’t delay it. And if you’re curious about other details, it’s worth looking into Zullie’s videos about what lies behind the mask of the Nightfarers and other videos, which you can find on their YouTube channel here.
If you’re desperate for some company of a non-Adoring Fan kind as you run around Cyrodiil in Oblivion Remastered, odds are the base game’ll leave you wanting. Enter a new mod, which adds in a beast master system that’ll let you tame a furry or scaly pet.
After all, one could argue you’ve not really experienced Tamriel unless you’re having to stop after every fight to give your precious wild boar Bobo some heal minor wounds-infused tummy tickles
Street Fighter 6 launched for the Switch 2 last week and if you’ve been wanting to throw your support behind this particular version of the game, but aren’t confident it will be supported on the same level as other platforms, we’ve got some good news.
As highlighted by EventHubs, the Nintendo version has been declared tournament legal, which means the Switch 2 version is now officially acceptable for online and offline tournaments according to Capcom’s Pro Tour website. This update originally came into effect on 9th June, just days after the release of the game on Nintendo’s hybrid platform.
These will be applied to all versions and include some fixes tied to improving the overall gameplay experience as well as some revisions to specific texts. Here’s the full rundown, courtesy of Nintendo’s official support page:
Earlier this week, Nintendo shared its first official sales data for the Switch 2 – confirming the new hybrid system had sold “over 3.5 million units worldwide” in just the first four days, making it the highest global sales level for any Nintendo hardware within this amount of time.
Now, in an update, the video game firm has revealed this new device is also the “fastest-selling Nintendo hardware in the US” in four days. This was reported by IGN – with the outlet also told “Switch 2 sales in all regions were approximately twice those of the Nintendo Switch 1 across both consoles’ first four days on the market”. Nintendo has not provided specific sales figures for this region.
The Switch 2 might pack much better hardware than the original, but a game I’m still surprised to see running at all (much less pretty well) on a Nintendo system is Cyberpunk 2077. I spent a few days with CD Projekt Red’s latest port to get a feel for how it runs, how it holds up, and how the Switch 2’s fancy new mouse controls work when applied to a high-octane FPS. The answer across the board is impressive, and if you haven’t had the pleasure of exploring Night City before, this seems like a solid way to do so.
But first, let’s look back at what I said in my review of Cyberpunk 2077 when it first launched in 2020.
Of course, that was just for the PC version, and the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions were such a notorious mess that we had to go back and do a separate review with a much lower score once we got our hands on it at launch. (And don’t forget we also reviewed its excellent Phantom Liberty DLC in 2023, which is included in the Switch 2 version.) Thankfully, the Switch 2 port is nowhere near the disaster it was on the old console generation – in fact, it’s pretty dang great.
Cyberpunk 2077 looks pretty great on Nintendo Switch 2
All it takes is a quick glance to see that Cyberpunk 2077 still looks very good on Nintendo’s new console. The distinct neon glows and dirty streets of Night City all come through alive and well here, even if they aren’t quite as crisp and clean as you’d find on PC, PS5, or Xbox Series X. This isn’t exactly the “definitive” way to play this game, but it’s more than good enough from a practical standpoint. This isn’t like the Switch 1 port of The Witcher 3, which felt like an “I guess we can make this function” sort of last resort way to play more than anything else.
The framerate is decent but not jaw-dropping
You can check out the technical specs in our story about how CD Projekt managed to get Cyberpunk 2077 running on the Switch 2 – in short, it’s running at 1080p when docked, and 1080p or 720p in handheld, depending on if you’re playing in Quality or Performance mode, and it maxes out at 40fps. Your mileage may vary here, because despite my PC gaming background, I am not a huge performance snob and I have no issue playing at less than 60fps. So to my eye, Cyberpunk 2077 runs fairly well in docked mode, even if far from perfect. It has some dropped frames in parts and doesn’t run as buttery smooth as the Switch 2 Editions of Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild, but nothing is so distracting that it actively harmed my time with it in this context. If you can’t stand anything below a solid 60fps, this might be one you need to skip – anyone who is used to playing games entirely on the original Switch, however, should be comfortable enough here.
Switch 2 mouse controls work surprisingly well
One of the biggest draws of the Switch 2 for me was its ability to mimic mouse control with a sideways Joy-Con, potentially giving you greater accuracy in a first-person game like this. I am happy to say that’s exactly the case, as it was super easy for me to jump from my PC to this control option and get far more headshots than I would have with a regular gamepad. It’s not at the same level as a high-DPS gaming mouse or anything, but it’s absolutely my preferred way to play this game whenever I sat down to do so, and that’s a huge win. That said…
The Joy-Con mouse isn’t great for long sessions
You see, the problem with the Switch 2’s mouse mode isn’t actually the quality of the mouse control itself, but the physical feel of using it. The Joy-Con is tiny compared to a normal mouse, and my hand was cramping up trying to get a good grip on it after long play sessions – even when I used a 3D-printed shell to make it feel better. That’s because there’s nowhere to comfortably put your thumb while still being able to press the right stick, Y button, and A button, all of which are required for various actions as you jump between combat, conversations, and menu management. So while the mouse is better than I expected, I’m worried this awkward grip is going to stop me from consistently using it in the future.
Cyberpunk 2077’s motion assist options aren’t great
That said, the mouse controls are at least better than using motions to shortcut certain actions. The usual method of aiming with the right stick primarily and then fine-tuning that aim with motion controls is available and works just as well here as it does in stuff like Zelda, but the motion assist options are pretty useless beyond that. You can swing your Joy-Con to use your melee weapon in a way that gave me unflattering flashbacks to early Wii games, or twist and flail it to do actions like reload or heal, but doing so almost always made my camera wobble about at the same time. It may hurt my hand, but I’ll take mouse controls over this any day.
This is still an awesome RPG worth playing
Finally, revisiting Night City reminded me just how great this game is, especially after all the improvements after launch. The world is moody and dangerous, and it does a great job of dropping you in and immediately making you feel like a part of the culture. I also maintain it stages its quest conversations better than any RPG I’ve ever seen, giving simple chats a cinematic quality without ever taking you out of the driver seat. If you’ve never played Cyberpunk 2077, I can absolutely recommend you check it out here.
Okay, now, I know you’ve probably read that headline and thought to yourself “why on earth would outdated UI in Silent Hill f be a good thing?” Allow me to explain! To be a contrarian for a moment, I think that a large amount of triple-A games have incredibly boring UI. It’s very much because of that late 2010s trend of simple, emboss-free graphic design you see in logo design everywhere these days, and I hate it.
Among Us developer Innersloth has found a reference to its game in the new chapters of Deltarune, sparking a little bit of friendly back-and-forth between Innersloth and Deltarune developer Toby Fox on social media.
Warning! No major plot spoilers will be discussed in this article, but if you don’t want to know anything about anything that happens in Deltarune Chapter 4, maybe this article isn’t for you!
The reference can be found at the start of Chapter 4, when Kris, Susie, and Noelle are exploring Noelle’s house. Kris can lead the gang into a closet full of empty gift boxes, and if Kris chooses to examine several of the boxes, Noelle will ask Kris what they’re doing.
To this, Susie reponds, “I mean… gotta admit this room is kinda sus… especially that vent.” Noelle then replies, “Haha, nice reference, Susie!” …though Susie doesn’t seem to know what Noelle is talking about (“Huh? …reference?”)
Susie was, of course, accidentally calling to mind Among Us, both by using the word “sus” and referencing vents, which Among Us players frequently hide in. This has seemingly thrilled the Innersloth social media person, who took to X / Twitter to say, “AHHHHH AMONG US REFERENCE IN DELTARUNE SKDJDSLSLX;LSKDK IMMA CRASH OUT” followed by “thanks king @tobyfox”
He posted a fake screenshot of Deltarune patch notes, which read:
We are releasing a hotfix for PC & Mac to remedy some issues occurring in the game. You can confirm the version number on the bottom right of the file select screen.
Changelist
Ch4 v.0.0.088 8
Removed among us
Innersloth replied with “RESPECT.” If it’s not apparent, Fox didn’t actually remove the reference; he’s just goofing around. Funnily enough, this gag is also a silly way to note that Fox has been playing around with version numbers: the 2021 release of chapters 1 and 2 was marked as version 1.0, but instead of chapters 3 and 4 being 2.0, the new release was v.0.0.087.
Deltarune chapters 3 and 4 launched last week to immediate skyrocketing popularity on Steam, and our own reviewer gave the full game a 9/10, saying that even though the story’s only halfway done, “Deltarune’s incredible story is already bursting with hilarious charm, unforgettable characters, and an iconic soundtrack that make it worth investing your time in.”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
I feel like every time I write about shooters, I always have to add a caveat along the lines of, “I don’t really like shooters… but!” There often is a but, because occasionally one of ’em rolls around that feels like it just gets me, you know? This week, it’s a shooter that feels like it was born to be a Flash game on Newgrounds in the mid-2000s that you’ll sometimes bring up to your friends saying “man, remember that one game?” It’s called Shooty Shooty Robot Invasion, and as simple as its title is, there’s a lot going for it.
