Latest news with #TheLegendofZelda:TearsoftheKingdom
Engadget
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Engadget
Donkey Kong Bananza review: Nintendo's latest 3D platformer is an instant classic
The best Nintendo games do two things. The first is introducing a delightful gaming mechanic — take Ultrahand in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or Cappy in Super Mario Odyssey for some recent examples. The second is building a world around that mechanic for players to explore. Obviously games are more than one specific tool, and building a compelling game around a good mechanic is no small task. But when it all comes together, look out. You've got a game that people will remember for years, if not decades. It's a little early in the Switch 2's lifecycle to say definitively that Donkey Kong Bananza is a game of that caliber, but after playing it for the better part of a week I can say that the 'smash everything' mechanic that defines its gameplay is an absolute delight. And, just as importantly, Nintendo built a wonderful world around it, completely with varied levels and obstacles, charming characters, bizarre and delightful enemies, some catchy tunes and just enough challenge to keep it interesting. 3D platformers aren't even my favorite game style — I prefer Super Mario Wonder over Odyssey , and I love the various Donkey Kong platformers going back to the SNES days. But Bananza makes consistently good use of every dimension you can play in, and it's the kind of game that I'm going to keep exploring long after I roll credits. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. To back up quickly: Bonanza introduces us to Donkey Kong and his smashing skills in a somewhat lengthy tutorial where you bust through a mine looking for gold. This sequence involves mashing the Y button to bust up the rocks around you and collect all the treasures that are revealed. DK can jump, climb many surfaces, rip up pieces of the terrain to throw and pound the ground to quickly collect treasure, but the main thing you're doing here is smashing. Smashing as much as possible. You can smash above you, below you and in front of you, and you can smash almost any surface you encounter (the game helpfully makes it obvious when a surface is impervious to DK fists.) At first, I thought I was going to get tired of all the smashing — the tutorial made it feel like mindlessly mashing Y was going to be all I was going to do in the game. But then the expected villain appears, stealing the Banandium gems (just go with it) and DK is compelled to dive deeper and deeper into the crust of the planet to get his bananas back. Once that happens, the game truly reveals itself: each 'world' you need to clear is a layer of the planet, but this being a Nintendo game none of the rules apply. Lagoon Layer is up first, and there's clear blue skies, water everywhere and varied terrain to explore (and smash). Residents of each layer will direct you to help clean up the trouble wrought by the three Kong creatures who make up VoidCo, the dastardly antagonists who stole the bananas. Bananza is good about guiding you from goal to goal while also giving you tons of freedom to explore and navigate the layers in any way you see fit. My guess is that the first thing you'll do is smash everything in sight. The smash mechanic on its own in the tutorial level didn't feel all that exciting, but putting it into the context of beautifully crafted 3D worlds to explore makes it an absolute delight. You can basically go anywhere you can see, and you can smash nearly anything the game puts in front of you. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes smashing so satisfying, besides the obvious and undeniable fact that destruction is fun. But the combination of visual, haptic and audio cues combine to make it something that absolutely does not get old despite my initial reservations. The crunch of smashing through rocks and mountains just feels different than when you're pounding your way through dirt or splintering giant trees. And smashing also equals exploration — if you see a mountain you can just pound your way into it to find gold, fossils (that you can exchange for upgraded costumes), power-ups and, most crucially, Banandium gems. The Banandium gems are similar to the stars or moons or whatever else other 3D platformers have you collect as you explore. Some you'll get naturally as you progress through the game and defeat various bosses, but there are dozens hidden around each layer that you'll want to seek out, as getting five gives you an upgrade point. Those you can use to add more health, and upgrade DK's various skills (like being able to smash through tougher terrain). There are also little hidden challenge levels that throw some tough platforming or timed battles at you with multiple bananas as a reward. There are a ton of ways to find bananas, and tons of them scattered around the various levels. I'm not exactly rushing through the game (there's so much to smash, you see), and I don't think I've found more than half of the bananas in any of Bananza 's layers. Donkey Kong Bananza is more than just smashing, though! I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the game's secondary protagonist, Pauline. It's reasonable if you don't know her by name; she's the damsel in distress in the old '80s Donkey Kong games but more recently showed up in Super Mario Odyssey as the mayor of New Donk City who loves to belt out a tune. In Bananza, Pauline is a 13-year-old who was captured by the VoidCo crew but is rescued by DK early in the game. From there, she sits on your shoulder as you work together to achieve your ends: Pauline needs to get to the planet's core to eventually get back to the surface and DK needs to get the VoidCo Kongs to get his Banandium gems back. Pauline's love of singing becomes a crucial part of the game, as her voice guides to checkpoints, unlocks hidden areas and, most importantly, activates various special powers that DK gains throughout the game. Multiple layers have delightfully ridiculous Elder animals presiding over them, including a giant ape, ostrich and zebra. Most of them have peacefully retired in their layers and have taken up DJing as a hobby; if you repair whatever damage VoidCo has caused, they'll grant you a new Bananza power. The Kong power supercharges DK's punches, while the Ostrich power lets you temporarily fly and float. Naturally, these powers end up being crucial to advancing in the game. They're all activated by different songs that Pauline learns, and those cut scenes are some of my favorite parts of the game. As a 13-year-old, she's not exactly comfortable singing in front of the big crowds gathered by the Elders, but she gets over it, performs with gusto and starts a wild dance party. As with most Nintendo games in this style, Pauline doesn't get a ton of character development — but watching her bond with DK and become more confident throughout her side chatter during the game is extremely sweet. One of my favorite moments in the game happens when DK takes a nap at the various hideouts you find to recover your energy. As the screen darkens for your nap, Pauline starts chattering about the world you're in or the adventures you've had, and it all feels like a kid trying to talk to their parents to avoid falling asleep. She gets drowsy, starts making a little less sense and eventually nods off. It's an unexpected and totally unnecessary (and optional) part of the game, but it really gives Pauline a personality. I'm in the last stages of the game, and at this point I'm playing as much to see what happens with Pauline and DK as I am to keep smashing more things. That somewhat unexpected combo of heart and destruction has kept me engrossed in Donkey Kong Bananza for the last week, and there's a ton of replayability that'll likely have me starting a new run once I finish this one. There's so much to explore, so many Banandium gems to find, so much to smash. It might not be the system-seller that something like Mario Kart World is, but it's the first truly great game for the Switch 2.
Newsweek
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Nintendo Reveals Lead Casting for Live Action The Legend of Zelda Movie
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors Nintendo has officially revealed the two leading cast members in its upcoming live action The Legend of Zelda movie, both Link and Zelda finally having names attached to the roles. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Nintendo fellow and representative director Shigeru Miyamoto revealed the casting for Link and Zelda in the previously announced film. Zelda and Link in a teaser trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Zelda and Link in a teaser trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo Zelda has been announced to be portrayed by British actor Bo Bragason, best known for her roles in a number of BBC One series – such as Three Girls and The Jetty – as well as a main cast member in Disney's Renegade Nell, where she portrayed Roxy Trotter. She has also appeared in one video game, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, where she portrayed a young Luna. Link, on the other hand, will be portrayed by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, another British actor who's appeared in a number of films and TV projects. The biggest of these was Disney's live-action remake of Pinocchio, where Ainsworth starred in the leading role as the voice of the eponymous puppet. This is Miyamoto. I am pleased to announce that for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason-san, and Link by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth-san. I am very much looking forward to seeing both of them on the big screen. (1/2) — 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) July 16, 2025 Nintendo announced the production of a live-action film based on The Legend of Zelda back in 2023, where it was announced that the film would be produced alongside Sony Pictures. Maze Runner and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball was attached to direct the film, with Miyamoto, Spider-Man producer Avi Arad, and regular collaborator Joe Hartwick Jr. producing. The live action Zelda movie release date was announced to be March 26, 2027 earlier this year, with a post from Nintendo in the Nintendo Today app confirming the news, but it was subsequently delayed not long after. Last month, Nintendo announced that the release date for the Legend of Zelda live action movie would be May 7, 2027, which was confirmed once more by Miyamoto in today's X post. No plot details have been announced for the film as of yet, leaving fans to speculate which, if any, of the Zelda games the film could be based on. Many have floated the possibility of a film based on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the most successful game in the series' history and one of the best Nintendo Switch games of all time, while others have hoped for a wholly original story.
Newsweek
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
The 10 Best Games on the Nintendo Switch
Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors The Nintendo Switch is nearing the end of its life, with its successor, the Nintendo Switch 2, finally upon us and performing very well. There are still a few games in the pipeline for Nintendo's original hybrid console, but most developers' biggest and best will be moving to the new console in no time at all. Thankfully, the Nintendo Switch already has plenty of incredible games to play, with thousands of games released on the console over its eight years on the market. If you're not ready to pull the trigger on the new console just yet, there's a lot to catch up on. That's why we've put together this list of the best Nintendo Switch games of all time, according to critics on Metacritic, a review score aggregator. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Score: 97/100 The 3D Legend of Zelda series started strong with Ocarina of Time, but everything that followed was more evolution than revolution. The games in the series that followed were good, to be sure, but none of them took particularly big swings — and then Breath of the Wild took the biggest swing imaginable. In a big shift from mostly linear, railroaded stories, Breath of the Wild dropped players into a big, open sandbox. With a few tools at their disposal and endless activities in front of them, players wrote their own story through the land of Hyrule, and the results speak for themselves. Not only is Breath of the Wild one of the best games on the Switch, it's simply one of the best games on any platform. Super Mario Odyssey Score: 97/100 If Breath of the Wild was a new start for 3D Zelda games, then Odyssey is a new start for 3D Mario games. 3D Mario games have always been good, but Odyssey takes it to the next level, with tight platforming and incredible level design that always has you coming back for more. There are 17 kingdoms to jump around in, literally hundreds of power moons to discover and collect, and plenty of creatures to possess and control, each with unique abilities. No matter your skill level, this is some of the most fun you can have with the Mario series. The House in Fata Morgana Score: 96/100 Visual novels usually fly under the radar, so it's impressive that The House in Fata Morgana ended up so high in the list. It's no surprise, though — it's a fantastic game with an astonishingly good story that absolutely has to be experienced firsthand. The House in Fata Morgana can be uncomfortable at times, filled with stunning tragedy and an even more stunning soundtrack that punctuates the game's themes perfectly. It's a little on the long side, but it's well worth investing your time into it. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Score: 96/100 Link overlooks the land of Hyrule from atop a sky island in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Link overlooks the land of Hyrule from atop a sky island in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a bold new direction for a series that's been around for a long time. It lets you go anywhere and do anything in whatever order you please, offering freedom that's rarely seen in big budget games of any generation. Its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, takes that design ethos and turns it up to 11. In Tears of the Kingdom you can pick up any object in the world with Ultrahand, fuse any object to your weapon, and build structures with just about anything you can get your hands on. There's a whole map of sky islands to explore, and an even bigger underground map too, making it effectively three times bigger than its predecessor. It's helped along by a fantastic, heartfelt story, wonderful characters, and dungeons that will both challenge you and make you feel incredibly clever. If you only play one Zelda game in your life, it should be Tears of the Kingdom. Portal: Companion Collection Score: 95/100 Valve's Portal games are mostly known for their PC releases — just about everyone with a Steam account has one of the two games and has probably booted it up at some point. Back in the Xbox 360 days, the first Portal game was ported to consoles as part of the Orange Box and the second got a standalone retail release, but that's about it when it came to console releases. Then, in 2022, Portal: Companion Collection was released on Switch, and it's pretty fantastic. The Portal games are excellent first-person puzzle games that are filled with mind-bending physics puzzles, and the Switch collection is just about the best way to play these all-timers on the go. If you somehow haven't played a Portal game before, you absolutely have to pick up this collection. Tetris Effect Connected Score: 94/100 Tetris has long been one of the greatest puzzle games, and Tetris Effect is the greatest the series has to offer. As much a religious experience as it is a puzzle game, Tetris Effect is an audiovisual treat that marries classic Tetris gameplay with psychedelic visuals, a bespoke soundtrack to match, and a few fresh new mechanics. The Zone mechanic in particular, which lets you pause time briefly so you can combo more than four lines at once, is a fantastic addition to the gameplay you know and love, and the Connected version of the game even adds multiplayer so you can experience it with others. If you're willing to lose a few days of your life falling back into the Tetris rabbithole, there's no better place to start. Metroid Prime Remastered Score: 94/100 Metroid is one of those series that reviews very well, but typically isn't a massive seller. The Prime series in particular – which takes the series into the 3D realm instead of 2D sidescrolling – is widely loved by just about anyone who plays it, and the Switch remaster of the game is absolutely phenomenal. It's a first-person shooter, a puzzle game, an action adventure exploration game, and so much more all in one. There's a quiet beauty to it all, and a tense feeling when exploring an unknown planet, scanning anything that catches your eye or running into a room full of enemies. With stellar performance and some of the best visuals on the console, Metroid Prime Remastered is a must-play, especially ahead of the upcoming Metroid Prime 4. Persona 5 Royal Score: 94/100 Persona 5 is a fantastic turn-based RPG, and the enhanced Royal edition adds a ridiculous amount of new content, characters, and dungeons to explore. There's a reason Persona fans won't shut up about this game, and that's because it's almost the perfect turn-based RPG. You've got an incredible combat system, intriguing dungeons to explore, a calendar system that will keep you on your toes, and some great writing that'll keep you hooked from start to finish. Persona 5 Royal isn't a Switch exclusive – in fact it took a while to get to Switch at all – but Switch is probably the best way to play it. When you've got a game that pushes 200 hours in runtime, you'll want to be able to play it whenever, wherever, and that's exactly what the Switch is for. Hades Score: 93/100 What happens when you cross Greek mythology, some of the best action gameplay in the industry, and roguelike elements from a top-notch developer like Supergiant Games? You get Hades, one of the biggest indie success stories in recent years. Hades is a fast-paced roguelike action game that has you playing the role of Zagreus, son of Hades, as he attempts to escape the underworld and make it to Mount Olympus to take his place in the pantheon of the gods. It's got a lovely story and incredible gameplay, and while you probably won't get through the game on your first run, that's kind of the charm of roguelikes. Divinity: Original Sin 2 Score: 93/100 Before Larian Studios took the world by storm with Baldur's Gate 3, the studio was quietly working away to pump out bangers that were pretty similar ultimately. Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one such banger, and like BG3, it's a tactical turn-based RPG that offers a massive amount of freedom and lots of roleplaying opportunities. It's a very ambitious game that punches well above its weight, and it does a great job of showing off basically all the systems that would eventually make it into BG3. Larian really is the best in the business when it comes to translating tabletop RPGs into video games, and Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a fantastic foray into the genre to play on the go.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tears Of The Kingdom On Switch 2 Can Keep You Busy For A Long, Long Time
Whether you're a fan of the Legend of Zelda franchise or are simply looking for a thrilling open-world game to sink your teeth into on your fancy new Switch 2, you can rest assured that 2023's Tears of the Kingdom can provide a hell of a good time. This is a dense, lengthy title that can keep you busy for weeks or longer. But if you like to plan ahead or are just curious about just how long it takes to beat Link's massive second Nintendo Switch outing, let's take a look. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an enormous adventure that begs players to devote a lot of time to uncovering all of its incredible mysteries. But with a game so expansive, it's hard to say exactly how long it'll take you to do so. Due to the open-ended nature of the experience, each playthrough will be unique, after all. That being said, the average playthrough of just The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's campaign will take the average player around 50 hours. This would be ignoring a lot of optional content, however, therefore skipping some of the game's best moments. A playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom focused on completing all of the shrines, side-quests, and so forth can run upwards of 100 hours, especially if you're taking your time and checking out all the sights or spending countless hours creating all sorts of weird contraptions and vehicles with Link's Ultrahand ability. This is probably the best way for the general completionist to experience the game, as it allows you to see most of the important content without becoming exhausting. But true completionists who can stomach the process of tracking down all one thousand korok seeds, collecting every item and armor piece, and clearing every single spot on the map, can look to spend in the vicinity of 200-250 hours with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Wowzers. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now for Nintendo Switch. You can also upgrade the game to the Nintendo Switch 2 version at an additional cost, which will net you upgraded visuals and performance. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Tom's Guide
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Lies of P: Overture is a massive expansion for one of my favorite PS5 games — and it's absolutely brutal
2023 was considered a pretty phenomenal year for video games. The likes of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Resident Evil 4 remake, Baldur's Gate 3 and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 all duked it out for the majority of GOTY awards (Spidey ultimately won ours). While I thoroughly enjoyed all of those titles, my personal pick for the best game of the year was Lies of P. And after all this time, I stand by it. This action-Souls-like shamelessly cribs from the works of genre-originator FromSoftware, and feels a lot like the Bloodborne sequel we all want, but Sony frustratingly refuses to actually give us (Please, Sony, even a remaster will do). I loved almost every moment of my 60 hours spent with Lies of P across two playthroughs (one on PS5, the other on Steam Deck OLED), and that playtime just increased thanks to its meaty new DLC expansion. Called Lies of P: Overture, it offers you the chance to return to the gothic city of Krat and square off against a new range of tough bosses that will do their very best to cut you down. In a nutshell, Overture is more of the brilliant Lies of P experience I love, but with the difficulty ramped up to 11. Lies of P: Overture: $29 @ PlayStation StoreLies of: Overture is the new DLC expansion for 2023's critically acclaimed action-Soulslike Lies of P. Adding around 15 hours of new content, you explore a past version of the city of Krat, and take on very challenging bosses. To help you fight back against the numerous tricky foes, you get access to a suite of new weapons and powerful abilities. Additional platforms: $29 @ Steam | $29 @ Xbox Store In Lies of P: Overture, you once again play as Geppetto's deadly puppet and are tasked with exploring the nightmare city of Krat. The wrinkle is that this time, you've stepped into the past to experience the striking location before the events of the base game. But it's certainly no more welcoming in this period. The Puppet Frenzy massacre, the aftermath of which you encounter in the base game, is currently ongoing, dropping you into the thick of a city in complete turmoil with chaotic scenes of violence and blue blood all around. So, where do you go first? The Zoo, of course. Overture's opening takes you to Krat Zoo, and it might just be my favorite level in all of Lies of P. Fighting back against deformed animals from aggressive ages, to a truly twisted type of kangaroo, sees the body-horror, which was already a strong theme in Lies of P, ramped up to new grotesque levels. And the first major boss fight, an oversized crocodile, is an absolutely doozy. Later DLC locations like an underground facility and a cavernous mine are less visually dynamic, but the final two of Overture's five chapters do occur in more visually distinctive settings (which I won't spoil here). So, the DLC starts and ends strong, with a slightly mundane middle. The core game's fast-paced combat is maintained, which is a very good thing, because outside of the works of FromSoftware, Lies of P offers the best Soulslike gameplay I've ever played. Though, for the record, I still suck at parrying, so the dodge button remains my best friend. Perhaps the DLC's biggest addition is its numerous lore implications and revelations. I'm far from a Lies of P scholar, but I was constantly finding hidden notes that had me rethinking what I thought I knew about the Lies of P universe and the characters within it. If you enjoyed the well-told story of the base game, you're going to love what you learn here. Alongside the new levels to explore, there's also a bunch of useful new weapons to pick up, new gear to wear and powerful legion arms, including my personal favorite, which lets you shoot spinning sawblades from your wrist. Adding around 10-15 hours of new content, Lies of P: Overture is solid value for money at its $29 price. But fair warning, prepare for a tough time. If I have one substantial criticism of Lies of P: Overture, it's that developer Neowiz has gone a little too far in its efforts to make this DLC the hardest content in the game to date. As part of the Soulslike subgenre, Lies of P was always a tough game by design. And that's part of the reason I loved it so much. Few feelings are better in gaming than slaying a testing boss after dozens of attempts. And some of the base game bosses rank as my favorite ever in the genre. In fact, it's not Overture's bosses where the overtuned difficulty can be felt. Aside from one late-game dud, these named DLC combatants are mostly brilliant. The last boss in particular gives Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree a run for its money. Finally bringing them down had me leaping from my chair in satisfaction after they had torn my face off for almost an hour. The problem arises in the various open spaces, corridors and choke points between bosses. Regular enemy mobs have had their health pools and damage-dealing abilities seriously beefed up, and even my max-level weapons often felt like merely smacking a raging puppet with a pool noodle. Overture also appears to have taken cues from the divisive Dark Souls 2, as not only are standard enemies extremely overpowered, they're also thrown at you in sometimes ludicrous quantities. I'm taking crammed rooms that contain an enemy count in the double digits. This leads to numerous sections that are a complete slog to play as you regularly find yourself swarmed by enemies that can send you to an early grave in just a few hits, and that take a practically silly amount of damage to be defeated. These moments see Lies of P: Overture fall on the wrong side of the fine line between frustration and fun. To somewhat counteract this issue, Lies of P: Overture's launch has coincided with a major free upgrade that adds two new difficulty options to the game. One is marked as essentially easy, the other very easy. Of course, for dedicated Souls players, dropping the difficulty is antithetical to why the genre appeals; the struggle is supposed to be part of the experience. I should warn any new players hoping these new difficulty settings might allow them to breeze through the game, and enjoy the excellent world-building and rich lore, even on the simplest setting, Lies of P: Overture still puts up a real fight. You will need some skill, whatever level you play on. Overall, Lies of P: Overture has given me the perfect excuse to return to one of my favorite games of this current gaming generation. It's a largely well-crafted expansion with some intriguing new locations to explore, and some tough but tantalizing new bosses to overcome. I just wish the supposedly "regular" enemies didn't always hit with the force of a turbocharged monster truck. However, after rolling credits on Overture, my itch for more Lies of P remains burning, which is perhaps its biggest accomplishment. I was already desperate for the already-confirmed full sequel, and after experiencing Lies of P: Overture, that wait is going to feel just a little bit longer.
