THE FUSE

Astonishingly, we are already eight months into the life of Nintendo’s Switch 2 console. And three-quarters of a year in, it’s perhaps fair to say there’s not exactly been a rollercoaster of must-have games released. Given the disappointment of Metroid Prime 4, and the sheer paucity of other first-part originals, it’s becoming tricky not to think of it as a $400 Donkey Kong Bananza machine that has a side-hustle in ports. With a desperate need for the console to be given any sense of vitality in 2026, today’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase not only did very little to take away from the impression of stagnation, but if anything seemed to go out of its way to endorse it.