We’re almost halfway through the year, and it feels like Switch 2 shifted up a gear in the games department.
While Nintendo has been cranking out its first-party offerings at the regular monthly cadence, third parties have been putting out brilliant games, too, including impressive ports and day-and-date cross-platform releases. Capcom, in particular, has had a hell of a 2026, and we’re only six months in.
Now that the year’s loading bar is (almost) at 50%, let’s round up Team NL and find out their standout games so far – and the games they’ve got lined up in their respective catch-up queues in the coming months…
Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube848k
Oh, Jimmy… (Alana Hagues, deputy editor)
By the time you’re reading this, my daughter will be here, (hopefully) fast asleep and dreaming of all things lovely. So when I think about 2026 so far, I think about her, and I think about Pokopia. Everyone loves Pokopia. I’ve kept coming back to it in the months since I reviewed it and I love it a little bit more every time, despite my gripes with the controls and the grind at the end. This will be the game at the top of my playtime this year, I think.
But, in reality, the best game I played in 2026 actually came out in 2018 elsewhere: Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass. A hard recommendation, but one of the most poignant RPGs I’ve ever played, where everything has a purpose. I’ve cried a lot this year, but nothing has made me blub quite like Jimmy’s adventures in his dream world.
Catch-up queue: Psst, ask me about The Adventures of Elliot and Mina the Hollower when I’m less sleep-deprived.
