The Nintendo Switch 2 is getting one more launch game on June 5 in the form of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time. Players who currently own it on Nintendo Switch will be able to upgrade to a Switch 2 edition for a fee.
Released last week, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time is a new game by developer Level-5. It’s a sequel to Nintendo 3DS cult hit Fantasy Life, a “Slow RPG” in which players take on various jobs from woodcutter to chef. The game was a surprise hit when it released on May 21, surpassing 65,000 concurrent players on Steam at its peak. While it’s already available on Nintendo Switch, it will get a Switch 2 Edition in time for the console’s launch.
Fantasy Life i‘s pricing is a little unusual compared to other Switch 2 games. It will cost $62.58 to buy it new, while those who own it on Switch can upgrade for $2.59. Level-5 says that it won’t won’t give the game’s Digital Deluxe Edition a separate Nintendo Switch 2 edition, so players will need to buy the Switch version and then purchase the Switch 2 upgrade to get it.
The Switch 2 Edition will come with a few “significant” improvements over the current Switch version. Level-5 promises reduced loading times, improved visuals, and a more fluid frame rate (though an exact frame rate wasn’t revealed). Level-5 reminds players that the Switch 2 Edition’s upgrades will not be available when playing on the original Switch.
Fantasy Life i is a welcome addition to the Switch 2’s sizable launch line-up, which includes Mario Kart World and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. Last week, we praised the RPG for its laid back life sim gameplay and called it “a sweet little game for those who love doing little digital chores and feeling rewarded for every single one.”
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Switch 2 Edition launches on June 5. The base game is currently available on PC and Nintendo Switch.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.