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Digital Trends
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Don't sleep on the Nintendo Switch 2's most underrated launch game
The Nintendo Switch 2 has officially been out in the world for a full week. In that time, I've completed Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, beaten every cup in Mario Kart World, and even dipped into some upgraded games like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. If you're in the same boat, then the wait until Donkey Kong Bananza's July 17 release probably seems excruciating right now. What are you going to play until then? Maybe it's a good time to check out the Nintendo Switch 2's other launch game. Fast Fusion, the latest racing game by Shin'en, launched on June 5 alongside the Nintendo Switch 2. As you can imagine, the small release was a bit overshadowed by Mario Kart World on day one. I had skipped it myself until a few days ago when I realized that it only costs $15, making it one of the system's least expensive new games. I picked it up out of pure curiosity, and I'm very glad I did. If you squint your eyes, Fast Fusion is basically an F-Zero game — and a very good one at that. Recommended Videos Fast Fusion is the fourth game in what's been dubbed Shin'en's fast series, which started back on the Wii. It's a follow up to Fast RMX, which just so happened to be a launch title for the original Nintendo Switch. Fast Fusion follows that same trajectory, acting as an indie showpiece for what the new hardware is capable of. Like previous entries, Fast Fusion is all about speed and death-defying risks. It's an antigravity racing game that's very much cut from the same cloth as F-Zero GX (which, coincidentally, is also available on Nintendo Switch 2 now via its GameCube library). There are no items or tricks like drifting. Instead, races are straightforward tests of skill. Boosting is fundamental to victory, as players need to constantly manage an energy gauge that can be topped off by collecting orbs. There's a tremendous sense of speed here that's made possible by a stable performance mode that keeps things moving at 60 frames per second, though resolution takes a notable hit in that trade off. The other twist is that cars have two color-coded forms, which can be flipped on the fly with a button. Doing so is crucial for taking advantage of boost strips, which will only work if the car matches its color when gliding over it. It's a small feature, but one that means that players always need to be ready to react quickly to maximize their speed. Fast Fusion is all about being reactive while carefully mitigating risks. For instance, I can press a button to send my car flying into the air. It's a great trick that's especially useful when launching off of slopes, as it can allow me to reach hidden shortcuts and alternate routes on occasionally fractured tracks. Some boost orbs are suspended in the air too, tempting me to leap up and grab them. But jumping can be dangerous too, as hitting the ground wrong or overshooting my landing by triggering an overeager boost might leave my car totaled. A skilled racer will learn how to practice restraint, gauging exactly when and how far to jump on any given track. It's a game for people who love mastering tracks with consistent results and chopping down their best times. As you can likely guess by its $15 price tag, Fast Fusion is a relatively small game. It features a handful of cups, time trials, and a pro mode that ends the race when your car explodes. That's rounded out by a simple progression hook, as new cups, cars, and difficulties need to be unlocked with the cash earned from winning. It can get a little dull to grind the first few cups over and over to get more content early on, but the racing is exciting enough to make it worthwhile. The thing that makes it worth buying, though, is that it utilizes the Switch 2's new GameShare feature. That means that you can play it with a friend on another console even if they don't own it. You can even get on GameChat, share it through there, and instantly start playing with someone on the other side of the country. Considering that only a handful of Nintendo games currently use the feature, Fast Fusion is the best test case for it currently. I know that I won't get quite as much time out of Fast Fusion as I will Mario Kart World, but it's really scratching that F-Zero itch for me right now. I'm having a blast as I learn to master tracks, calculating exactly where I can jump from to grab a constant stream of boost orbs. I'm steadily working my way up to the pro mode as I hunt for the perfect car to suit my playstyle. Whether you're looking for a more technical racing game or simply don't want to spend $80 on Mario Kart, Fast Fusion is an excellent way to fill the gap until the Switch 2's next big game. Fast Fusion is out now on Nintendo Switch 2.
Metro
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Fast Fusion review - 4K and 60fps on the Nintendo Switch 2
Fast Fusion – not F-Zero but it'll have to do (Shin'en) Nintendo might not want to make a new F-Zero game but the creators of Fast RMX do, with a sequel that has some of the best graphics on Switch 2. Much has been said about how Nintendo is in a slightly awkward position with the Switch 2, in that most of its major franchises were so expertly revamped and perfected on the Switch 1 that it's hard to know where to go with them from here. Do they try to reimagine Zelda once again? Or make Smash Bros. even bigger in scale? Or do they continue with more iterative and less ambitious sequels? Or maybe they should focus on other forgotten franchises… like F-Zero. Nintendo's explanation for why there hasn't been a new F-Zero in over two decades (except for online title F-Zero 99) is that there's no point unless they can come up with something new for it, especially as it's never been a big seller, that can get by on just its name. As the inspiration for WipEout, F-Zero is the quintessential future racer and its greatest entry is GameCube title F-Zero GX, which technically is a Switch 2 launch title, as it's now available as part of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. But if you crave something new there is an alternative, in the form of loving tribute Fast Fusion. German developer Shin'en has been making F-Zero clones since the Wii era, all with different names but always starting with word Fast. Fast RMX was a launch title for the original Switch and now we have Fast Fusion, which suffers from all the same pros and cons as the previous titles. As if to make Nintendo's point, there's precious little innovation here but what it does have is a blistering sense of speed and some of the best graphics on the Switch 2. Unlike F-Zero and WipEout, there's very little context given for Fast Fusion's races. Not only is there no attempt at a story, or even any characters, but there's no explanation for what's going on or where you are. The implication is that you're taking part in a futuristic racing championship but there's zero worldbuilding, beyond some vaguely sci-fi sounding names in the leaderboard. That doesn't really matter though and once in a race you can instantly see where all the effort has gone, with some really quite stunning visuals for a launch game. Mario Kart World's cartoon style has made it difficult to gauge exactly how powerful the Switch 2 is, but Fast Fusion frequently looks like a higher end PlayStation 4 game, and certainly much better than Fast RMX. Expert, exclusive gaming analysis Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. If you don't know what F-Zero, or WipEout, is then it doesn't matter, because it's not a complex concept: imagine Formula One but in the future, with anti-gravity cars and roller coaster style tracks, and that's pretty much it. WipEout had weapons and power-ups, but F-Zero and Fast Fusion do not. Instead, Fast Fusion has a boost that is, slightly counter-intuitively, activated by collecting enough coins to fill up a bar. But you can also get a boost from driving over differently coloured chevrons, while manually switching colours between red and blue, so as to match the colour on the ground – or otherwise you slow down instead of speeding up. There's also a very powerful jump and the ability to lean left and right, but those are more advanced techniques that are not necessary at first. You can knock into enemies, to send them spinning, but there isn't really an attack ability, which is something of a shame because if you or an opponent hit an obstacle you explode in a rather nice crash. Red sky at night, future racer's delight (Shin'en) Although the game has the worst rubber band AI we think we've ever experienced, and the vehicles feel a bit lightweight in terms of handling, races are a lot of fun. The track design can seem a little pedestrian (we've been spoilt by the overabundance of shortcuts in Mario Kart World) but the sheer spectacle of it all keeps your interest. If you're wondering about the name, there is a fusion process, similar to the Shin Megami Tensei series, where you can put two vehicles together, to fuse them together and get a blend of both their stats and their physical appearance. That's kind of neat but there's only three stats and there's not a lot of thought needed for which ones to splice together. This costs money to do, naturally, but while the standard game mode is similar to the Grand Prix system from Mario Kart you have to pay to unlock subsequent cups, which we wish we'd known the first time, before we spent all our money on new cars and fusions. Although it's a regular irritation when you have to repeat a whole cup, or waste time in Time Attack, just to earn a few more credits to play a new one. There's also Super Hero mode, where if you crash that's it (it's basically iron man mode, in other words). That's as frustrating as it sounds and so too, unfortunately, is the online multiplayer. There's up to four-player split screen, which is great, but there's no matchmaking for online so you either race with a friend via GameChat or… you don't race online at all. Again, it all comes back to the visuals, with 12 highly varied tracks that range from a redwood forest to deserts with sand whales jump out around you, to a race in an asteroid belt and around a futuristic city. There are four separate graphics options in TV mode, two of which are 4K, although this results in a slight blurriness that we assume is a result of upscaling rather than being a native resolution – so we stuck with the performance option, although only the Ultra Quality option is not 60fps. Fast Fusion is rough around the edges in almost every respect and, apart from its graphics, shows little real improvement over its eight-year-old predecessor. Its low price excuses a lot of its problems but at the same time it fails to address Nintendo's problem, of how to introduce new concepts to the formula. And yet between this and the GameCube games on Switch 2, this is a good as F-Zero fans have eaten in a long time. Fast Fusion review summary In Short: The best F-Zero clone since Fast RMX, with some extremely impressive visuals for a Switch 2 launch game, although the structure and track design lack Nintendo's finesse. Pros: Fantastic graphics, with a ton of options in both TV and portable mode. Solid racing action and dizzying sense of speed, especially in the higher championship levels. Four-player split screen and surprisingly cheap. Cons: The track design lacks flair and the championship structure is very irritating. Outrageously cheating rubber band AI. Vehicle fusion adds very little and online multiplayer is extremely limited. Score: 7/10 Formats: Nintendo Switch 2 Price: £13.49 Publisher: Shin'en Developer: Shin'en Release Date: 5th June 2025 Age Rating: 3 The graphics are really great (Shin'en) Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. Arrow MORE: The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Nintendo Switch 2 Edition – the GOAT gets an upgrade Arrow MORE: Resident Evil Requiem preview – first and third person horror Arrow MORE: MindsEye still has no reviews but plenty of bugs in 'disastrous' launch
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
10 Nintendo Switch 2 launch titles I can't wait to play (besides 'Mario Kart World')
All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. It's no secret that Mario Kart World is the main reason to get a Nintendo Switch 2 at launch. I even got to play it myself at the Nintendo launch event — and again a couple of days ago. But what else will you be able to play if/when you get bored of that $80 game? Luckily, Nintendo has an extensive list of Switch 2 launch titles available to play on June 5. As is usually the case with new consoles, many of them are ports of older games. However, in this instance, that's not such a bad thing; there are plenty of people out there who only had a Nintendo Switch, meaning they still haven't played big games like Cyberpunk 2077. Assuming you've got your Switch 2 preorder on deck, here are 10 of the best Nintendo Switch 2 launch titles to order ahead of June 5 — besides Mario Kart World (which, for the record, I highly recommend). Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Mario Kart World $79.99 at Target Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here Looks fast. Credit: Shin'en/Nintendo One of the best latter-day Wii U games was a little futuristic racer called Fast Racing Neo. This, in turn, became one of the best Switch 1 launch titles, in an upgraded form called Fast RMX. Now, developer Shin'en is back with a long-awaited sequel that promises new ideas with the same technical excellence as its predecessors. Shin'en hasn't said much about Fast Fusion yet, other than that it will be out at launch and will only cost $14.99, making it the anti-Mario Kart in one way. But it looks the part of a futuristic arcade-style racing game with a sharp sense of speed, gorgeous visuals, split-screen and online multiplayer, and a unique car fusion system that should set it apart from the competition. And again, it's just $15. Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Fast Fusion (digital) $14.99 at Nintendo Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here Expect a lot of this. Credit: Sega/Nintendo The first port of an old game on this list can be traced all the way back to the PlayStation 3. Yakuza 0 has been around the block a few times, just never on a Nintendo platform before. Let me tell you, if you're a person who sticks close to Nintendo and hasn't played this one yet: Make it a priority. The Switch 2 version adds some bonuses, like new English voice acting and a weird-looking multiplayer fighting mode, but Yakuza 0 could've been ported as-is, and that would've been fine. It's an oddball action-adventure game set in a highly period-accurate version of urban, red-light district Japan in the late 1980s. Aside from the very fun and very violent combat, it's also got interactive karaoke, mahjong, and all kinds of other cultural delights for you to take part in on the side. Yakuza 0 also has a terrific story with two excellent protagonists. If you've ever been curious about the long-running Yakuza series, this is the best place to start. Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Yakuza 0 Director's Cut $49.94 at Amazon Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here All the Keanu your Switch 2 can handle. Credit: CD Projekt Red/Nintendo The Switch 2 port of Cyberpunk 2077 might be a good litmus test for what the Switch 2 is capable of on a technical level, and that alone makes it compelling, at least to me. This game famously had to be pulled from the PlayStation store after launch in 2020 because the PS4 version was so terrible, and the Switch 2 is about as powerful as a PS4. Developer CD Projekt Red has had years to sort Cyberpunk out, though, and the game is genuinely in an excellent state these days. Between that and the highly impressive Switch 1 port of The Witcher 3, it's easy to see a world where a lot of people experience Cyberpunk for the first time on Switch 2 and have a perfectly decent time doing so. Opens in a new window Credit: CD Projekt Red Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition $69.99 at Amazon Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here 'Deltarune' sorta defies explanation. Credit: 8-4/Nintendo In 2015, indie developer Toby Fox broke the internet with a humble little pixel-based RPG called Undertale. Since then, Fox has been following up on Undertale with Deltarune, an expanded successor with different combat and an episodic release format, but the same off-beat sense of humor and catchy musical direction. The first two chapters of Deltarune have been out for a while, but chapters 3 and 4 (in a package that includes all of them) are shipping at launch with Switch 2. If you've already been committed to the Deltarune train, why not continue on Switch 2? If not, maybe this is a good place to start, too. These are games that need to be experienced to be understood. Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Deltarune $24.99 at Nintendo Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here One of 2024's most underrated games comes to Switch 2. Credit: Capcom/Nintendo Our last game is another port, though the original only came out in 2024 and sorta fell under the radar on other consoles. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a bit of a weird one. It's kind of a third-person hack-and-slash action game, but also kind of a strategic tower defense game. In totality, it's very unique, cool to look at, and fun to play. Capcom has a bit of an under-discussed banger here, so maybe the Switch 2 launch can be a good way for people who missed Kunitsu-Gami the first time around to catch it now. Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess $39.99 at Nintendo Release Date: June 5, 2025 Pre-order Here Who doesn't love 'Street Fighter'? Credit: Capcom Street Fighter rules. It always has and it always will. I'm not much of a fighting game enthusiast, but I have it on good authority that Street Fighter 6 is excellent, and it's coming to Switch 2 as a launch title. This game brings a few new things to the series. It's got a neat urban graffiti vibe permeating the whole thing, to go along with a single-player campaign where you create a character and run around a big 3D city challenging people to fights. The Switch 2 version has some unique features like Joy-Con support and motion controls, though honestly, I'm not sure how well either of those things are going to work. Still, it's Street Fighter, and it's hard to complain about that. Opens in a new window Credit: Capcom Street Fighter 6 $59.99 at Nintendo Pre-order Here Note: This is a screenshot of the PC version. Credit: IO Interactive/Steam If you've never played a Hitman game before, the Switch 2 launch might be the perfect opportunity. World of Assassination contains three entire Hitman games in one package, meaning there's a huge treasure trove of giant, intricate clockwork levels for you to explore and learn. You can easily get dozens of hours of enjoyment out of it, in other words. For the uninitiated, Hitman is about a fairly boring guy named Agent 47 whose job is to, well, you know. But the good news is that all the people you're tasked with killing are among the most despicable humans on Earth. Hitman looks dry and boring on the surface, but that couldn't be further from what it actually is in practice. Agent 47 is basically a murderous version of Bugs Bunny, and the game is about doing hilarious slapstick kills on war criminals and CEOs while wearing stupid disguises. It's the best. Opens in a new window Credit: IO Interactive/Amazon Hitman: World of Assassination $59.99 at Nintendo Get Deal The first of two "cozy games" on this list. Credit: Marvelous/Steam Remember in 2020 when we were all playing Animal Crossing because there was nothing else to do? Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is not Animal Crossing, to be clear. It doesn't operate on a real-time clock, and it's more about farming than town management. It also has action combat and dungeon crawling. Still, it fits under the "cozy game" umbrella that has become so popular in the past several years, especially on Switch. If you want a game where you can do a bunch of organizing and farming while occasionally fighting monsters with a sword, this might be your best bet. Opens in a new window Credit: Marvelous/Amazon Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma $69.99 at Nintendo Get Deal I feel like this screenshot alone will be enough to sell some of you on this game. Credit: Level 5/Steam Speaking of cozy games, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time can be described using a lot of the same language as Rune Factory. It's a game about building a town, farming, cooking, fishing, and all that other fun stuff while occasionally venturing out to fight monsters. However, Fantasy Life has a more cutesy look to it, a unique job system with 14 different roles for players to inhabit, and four-player cooperative multiplayer. I know like seven people who have had their lives ruined by this game in the past couple of weeks, in the best way possible. Just know going in that you may not want to play any other games for a while if this one hooks you. Opens in a new window Credit: Marvelous/Nintendo Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time $59.99 at Nintendo Get Deal That's a turn-based RPG, alright. Credit: Square Enix Bravely Default is a game with a very silly title, but also a devoted fanbase that swears up and down about it being one of the great modern turn-based RPGs. Originally a Nintendo 3DS title, this HD remaster brings the game to consoles with sharper visuals, quality-of-life changes, and even mouse support. If you dig classic Final Fantasy, don't sleep on this one. Opens in a new window Credit: Square Enix/Nintendo Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster $39.99 at Nintendo Get Deal If none of these games are enough to whet your appetite, Donkey Kong Bananza is a non-launch Switch 2 title to look out for. DK's first starring role in a 3D platformer in 25 years comes alongside a brand new character design for one of Nintendo's oldest heroes, as well as a funky terrain destruction system that lets players destroy the entire level to get where they're trying to go. You'll have to wait a bit for it, but not long, as Bananza is out July 17. Opens in a new window Credit: Nintendo Donkey Kong Bananza $69.99 at Target Release Date: July 17, 2025 Pre-order Here Most retailers are offering Nintendo Switch 2 games for preorder, so your first stop for picking up a new title is one of these retailers. Below, find links to each online storefront where you can shop a repository of Switch 2 games available right now. Amazon Target Walmart GameStop Best Buy Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star Crossed World The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch 2 Edition) Street Fighter 6 Years 1-2 Fighters Edition Sonic X Shadow Generations Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Super Mario Party Jamboree Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army No Sleep For Kaname Date - From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES Aiba Edition
