Technologies

3 Switch Games That Would Benefit the Most From Switch 2 Upgrades

Nintendo’s best franchises pushed the Switch to its limits. Here are games that could use better graphics and frame rates on the Switch 2.

There are a lot of questions about what the Nintendo Switch 2’s game lineup is going to look like upon the console’s launch, and there aren’t many answers just yet. Odds are good that we’ll see several massive first-party titles coming out very quickly followed by a staggered game release schedule after that. This will probably include popular AAA games from publishers like Microsoft that are already confirmed to be coming to the Switch 2.

However, we do know is that the Switch 2 is going to be backward compatible with the original Switch’s game cartridges, letting you keep your library intact. Nintendo’s official webpage explained the new virtual game card sharing system for the Switch also confirmed that «Switch 2 editions» of existing games are in development.

We don’t know how many Switch 2 edition games are in development, how many of them are first-party developer games nor which games are receiving the upgraded versions. But we do know that there are many older games that pushed the original Switch’s hardware to the limit.

These are some of the first-party games that could benefit the most from versions fully utilizing the Switch 2’s more powerful hardware.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Game Freak has struggled to make mainline Pokemon games work on the Switch. Sword and Shield’s toxic «Dexit» controversy largely overshadowed the fact that the game had some of the most mediocre graphics on the console, and Pokemon and NPC models frequently suffered from sudden pop-ins as players explored the game’s Wild Area.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet caught even more flak for its performance issues. The pop-in issue returned, but this time around faraway models you could see frequently skipped frames in their animation cycles.

While the game was larger and more ambitious with a grander open world, the game’s performance suffered as a result. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have both had a hard time reaching 30 frames per second (FPS) outside of most towns, and certain areas like Kitakami and Tagtree Thicket absolutely tank the frame rate.

The Switch 2’s presumably stronger hardware would likely support Game Freak’s more ambitious open world designs, and grant the developer a chance to give Pokemon the 3D graphical fidelity the franchise deserves.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

There’s no doubt that Tears of the Kingdom is beautiful game, thanks in large part to its strong art direction and cel-shaded models that make the world feel vibrant and alive. Despite that, the game doesn’t do much to improve on Breath of the Wild’s visual fidelity, and it suffers from blurry, low-texture terrain that muddies up the experience.

ButTears of the Kingdom’s true sin lies with its performance. While thegame fairly consistently reaches its 30 FPS cap, there aresections of the game that drop the performance to 15 to 20 FPS, whichmakes Tears of the Kingdom feel choppy and outdated. Areas like TheGreat Sky Island and the Depths, rainy days and even the core Ultrahand abilityall push the Switch to its limit and the game is drastically slowerwhen you’re in these areas or just trying to glue two items together.

Tears of the Kingdom is an iconic Switch game in one of Nintendo’s flagship franchises. It’s a perfect candidate for a Switch 2 upgrade with beefed up graphics and performance optimization to help it consistently hit 60 FPS on the stronger console.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Plucked out of Dream Land and plopped down into an eerily real world, the titular pink power puff stands in stark contrast from his environment in this 3D Kirby game. Kirby and the Forgotten Landcreates a world that in many ways visually clashes with the protagonistand his enemies, which makes it more interesting to explore. The new Forgotten Land is an analog to the real world, and it’s modeled very differently from the usual cartoony landscapes and character designs that players have come to expect from the franchise.

The issue with this new, realistic world is that the game is graphically inconsistent. Stages like Everbay Coast’s Scale the Cement Summit stand out as winners benefiting from the new artstyle, combining fantastic water lighting events with impressive graphics for the level’s waterlogged buildings. However, other areas like the Natural Plains and Winter Horns end up looking disappointing in comparison, with grass and snow textures that don’t hold up to the rest of the game.

The environment is incredibly important to the story of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, so it makes sense that an upgraded version of this game would buff out some of the weaker textures and deliver even more strongly on developer HAL Laboratory’s intended vision.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, April 2

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 2.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword includes a trivia question from the Apple TV Plus show Severance. I’m even watching that show’s second season right now, and I didn’t know the answer. Fortunately, the other clues were fairly easy and filled in the answer (6-Down) for me. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Source of Monopoly money
Answer: BANK

5A clue: Pizzeria fixtures
Answer: OVENS

7A clue: With 8-Across, magical substance that enables flight in «Peter Pan»
Answer: PIXIE

8A clue: See 7-Across
Answer: DUST

9A clue: «Keep it down!»
Answer: SHH

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Whack on the head
Answer: BOP

2D clue: Fervent
Answer: AVID

3D clue: Connection point
Answer: NEXUS

4D clue: Potato-filled pastry
Answer: KNISH

6D clue: Mr. Milchick’s first name on «Severance»
Answer: SETH

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

McDonald’s Launches Minecraft Happy Meals, Plus a ‘Nether’ Hot Sauce for Nuggets

The promotion is tied into A Minecraft Movie and is now available.

This is no April Fool’s trick — as of April 1, Minecraft players can pick up a Minecraft-themed Happy Meal, an adult-aimed A Minecraft Movie Meal or a McNugget sauce called the Nether Flame Sauce, the restaurant chain announced Thursday. It’s meant to tie in with the April 4 theater release of A Minecraft Movie, which stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa.

Read more: ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Trailer: Jason Momoa and Jack Black Go on a Magical Mystery Tour

There are 12 film-inspired figurines or Block World toys given out with the Happy Meals. Every Happy Meal comes with a scannable code to unlock an exclusive digital game.

The Minecraft Movie Meal — the adult version — features either a Big Mac or 10-piece McNuggets, plus medium fries, a drink and one of six different collectible Minecraft items, each of which come with a matching card and a code that fans can redeem to unlock the corresponding skin in the game. Toys include the Big Mac Crystal, Birdie Wings, Fry Helmet, Grimace Egg, Soda Potion and Zombie Hamburglar.

Buyers also receive a one-time redeemable code to unlock the McDonald’s Add-On pack in Minecraft, which adds McDonaldland characters, builds and tools to the game.

Read more: The 15 Best PC Games Right Now

There’s also a new limited-edition McNugget sauce, a hot sauce called Nether Flame Sauce, which features crushed red pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper. It’s named for The Nether, Minecraft’s hell-like dimension — hence the heat — and can be ordered with any food item.

Technologies

What’s the Deal With Schedule I, the Drug-Dealing Game at the Top of Steam Charts?

This surprisingly deep game is far more than just spliffs and giggles.

Picture this: You’ve just rolled into a dusty desert town and you’re living at your uncle’s ranch. After he’s busted by the cops for selling, shall we say, illicit substances, you’re forced to flee. You hit the road in your RV, heading to a town called Hyland Point to lay low and start over, but the local cartel has other plans. After your RV is blown up in a hit, you end up stuck in a sleazy motel room, broke and on the run. Welcome to Schedule I. It might become your new favorite video game.

According to SteamDB, the game pulled in 116,408 concurrent players within 24 hours of its release on March 24. The next day? 142,000. By March 30, it hit a peak of 414,166. That puts Schedule I in the top five most-played games on Steam, right up there with the usual heavyweights like Dota 2. It even hit number one on the global top-sellers list. Not bad for a debut title.

What is Schedule I about?

Schedule I is a new indie game about building a drug empire from the ground up, and it’s exploded in popularity since hitting Steam’s Early Access on March 24. It throws players into the seedy underbelly of the drug trade as seen through a wacky cartoon lens. It’s easy to write it off as just another zany «meme» game, but play it for a bit and you’ll see Schedule I offers something truly special beneath the grime of the illegal drug trade.

You start small, dealing out of that dingy motel room in Hyland Point. Over time, you scale up-more drugs, more customers, more heat. You can grow cannabis, cook meth and manage your entire operation from production to street sales. You’ll need to hide your stash, watch out for cops and eventually build a full-blown empire.

But it’s not just about making a drop behind a building or meeting your client after a series of shady texts. You can mix your wares, too. What do you get when you mix a can of «Cuke» and marijuana? Well, it might get your customers into trouble, but it’ll carry a cool name or one that you decide to give it. And some crazy traits that can get people hooked and coming back.

The cartoony visuals go a long way toward making the game feel seedy and shady and more like a lark. Characters look like they came out of an adult animated series — big eyes, weird proportions, goofy expressions. That aesthetic softens the edge of what’s otherwise a pretty dark theme. Still, there’s plenty of details: setting up lighting rigs for plant growth, tweaking formulas in makeshift drug labs and even laundering your profits.

Schedule I really shines in co-op mode. Up to four players can jump in together, each handling a part of the business — maybe one’s cooking while another sells and a third keeps lookout. It’s chaotic, messy and hilarious, especially when a deal goes south or the cops show up midbatch. You never quite know what’s going to happen next, and that’s part of the charm.

What makes Schedule I stand out?

Schedule I has lots of little absurd touches, too. You can knock out a rival dealer and stuff them in a recycling bin for pocket change, or get chased five blocks for carrying an extra gram. These interactions give the world personality and make it fun to explore, not just optimize. From Peggy, who wants to score something to take the edge off, to Peter, who’s hankering for something «toxic,» you’ll grow to love serving your weird customer base and risking arrest by not returning home ahead of police curfew.

Streamers have latched on quickly to Schedule I. The co-op chaos and unpredictable street encounters make it perfect for Twitch and YouTube, and once the first few big creators went live, word spread fast. Steam reviews from customers hit 99% «Overwhelmingly Positive» on launch day.

The developer, TVGS (short for Tyler’s Video Game Studio), is a solo dev based in Sydney. This is its first major release, but despite all the long hours and late nights, the developers have been active with players, promising monthly updates and tweaks based on community feedback. The game roadmap even includes new drug types, expanded systems and more tools for empire-building.

For a game with no publisher, no real marketing push, and a questionable premise for some gamers, Schedule I has pulled off one of the most impressive indie launches in years. It’s fun, it’s different, and if the updates keep rolling (get it?), it’s probably just getting started.