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Technology

Upcoming Nintendo Switch Games And Accessories For February And March 2021 – Guide

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We’re now one entire month into 2021 and it’s becoming clearer with each passing day that this year may turn out to be ‘2020: Part Deux’. The good gamers of the world are in need of diversion more than ever, and fortunately there are some rather fabulous-looking Switch games coming over the next month or two to lift your spirits (and lighten your wallets).

Below we’ve rounded up the biggest games and accessories making their way to retail in February and March 2021. Super Mario 3D World is Nintendo’s first big release of the year and we cannot wait to dive furry head-first into the new Bowser’s Fury content. At the tail end of the two-month period we’ve got Monster Hunter Rise bringing up the rear. Plenty of quality hours to be had from just those two, then, but there are more sizeable releases to choose from if cats and monsters aren’t your bag.

So, grab yourself a warm cup of something and settle down with a comfy blanket. Let’s take a look at the big retail releases coming to Switch over the next couple of months and beyond…

Remember: if you’re ordering from Play-Asia, use the discount code NLIFE at checkout to get 5% off your order.

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One of the Wii U ports we’ve all been waiting for, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury will offer a tweaked experience that expands on the original 2013 platformer with new content. There’s a dual pack of Cat Mario and Cat Peach amiibo incoming on the same day, so expect an overflow of cuteness and a chance to appreciate this excellent title all over again when it finally arrives on Switch.

Japanese Switch owners got their hands on this hack-and-slash Dynasty Warriors crossover in the form of Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers back in February 2020, and it’s now finally scheduled for a western release with a minor name change.

While it might not be the Persona 5 game fans are waiting for, we’ve seen some excellent Warriors crossovers in the form of Fire Emblem Warriors and most recently Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. This has the potential to be an equally tasty mash up, so while we’ll keep hoping for Atlus to bring P5 proper to Nintendo’s console, we’re intrigued to see what Omega Force has in store.

Bravely Default II slipped from its original release date into the beginning of 2021, but Square Enix’s sequel is one to watch for fans of the 3DS originals, or anyone with a taste for traditional-style JRPG gameplay and turn-based combat.

If you’re intrigued by what you see, there’s a demo available on the Switch eShop that should give you an idea if Bravely Default is your cup of tea or not. Check it out.

Marvelous’ next instalment in the Story of Seasons life/farm sim series will put you to work cultivating a farm just next to the titular port of Olive Town. The game promises more customisation options and more freedom than ever before to aid you in living your best life, plus plenty more marriage candidates of course, and you’ll have your work cut out for you clearing space in the forest for your new abode and cultivating all the bountiful natural wonders nearby.

A 3D action platforming game from Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima, perhaps best known as the creators of one Sonic the Hedgehog, Balan Wonderworld brings back warm memories of 3D SEGA games like Nights Into Dreams on the Saturn and Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg on GameCube. It’s a multiplatform release and we’re looking forward to exploring its colourful environments on Switch.

Described as “a brand new take on the Monster Hunter experience”, up to four players can team up and save Kamura village from the impending ‘Rampage’, harnessing the new Wirebug hunting tool and enlisting the help of Palicoes, and Palamutes, along the way. The ‘Rise’ in the title is apparently a reference to this entry’s verticality, with the ability to traverse and climb rock faces and other terrain which will make the hunt all the more interesting.

A free limited-time demo was available throughout January — check out our impressions in this Monster Hunter Rise demo video from the lovely Alex.

More Awesome Nintendo Switch Games

Aside from the highlighted games above, there are lots more Switch retail games which might take your fancy in February and beyond.

Awesome Accessories For Your Switch

And finally here are a selection of the finest Switch accessories coming up in February and beyond, for your consideration.

So that’s it for February and March – did we miss anything? Let us know with a comment and also tell us if you’ve pre-ordered any of these goodies!



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Technology

Red Dead Online Leak Potentially Reveals Big Upcoming Update

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A new Red Dead Online leak is making the rounds that possibly reveals what is coming to the popular video game later this year. Since it released Red Dead Online in Beta a month after Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games has been relatively slow to support it, especially compared to GTA Online, which clearly has priority due to its larger number of players. However, it looks like Rockstar may be cooking up some big things for the online western such as bank robberies and more

Over on YouTube, Silentc0re relays word of some new files added to the game with the recent update. Of course, this by itself isn’t notable nor exciting, but the content of these files have players talking. For one, brand new files for various driveable boats have been found in the files. Meanwhile, there are files that range from new to newly updated that point to bank robberies coming to the game, including files with assets for money bonds, jewelry bags, safes, strong boxes. Of course, bank robberies are something players have been begging for since launch, and it’s something you’d assume Rockstar Games will eventually add, especially considering how popular heists are in GTA Online.

Lastly, there are files that seem to indicate that Rockstar Games has been doing work involving Guarma, the island from the game’s campaign. Right now, the speculation is that a legendary bounty could take players back to the island, much like the Cayo Perico update takes players to an island that is locked to just the mission.

That said, right now, there’s some contention over the leak, with some suggesting these files have been in the game since before launch, which in turn suggests they are nothing more than cut content. However, this wouldn’t explain why Rockstar Games is updating them.

For now, take everything here with a grain of salt. While datamining leaks are typically quite reliable, they can routinely spawn false conclusions and misconceptions.

At the moment of publishing, Rockstar Games has not commented on this leak in any capacity nor has it revealed what it has in store for the game for this year. If either of these things change, we will be sure to update the story. In the meantime, for more coverage on all things Red Dead Redemption 2, click here.

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Science

Astronauts prepare for 2 upcoming spacewalks

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It will be the first spacewalk experience for Glover, who is a few months into his first spaceflight on the station.

This will be the third spacewalk for Hopkins, who previously completed two spacewalks during his first six-month venture to the space station from September 25, 2013, to March 10, 2014.

Hopkins, Glover, NASA astronaut Shannon Walker and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi flew to the station in November aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft. They joined NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who were already on the station after launching in October.

Both spacewalks will be broadcast live on the NASA website, with coverage beginning each day at 5:30 a.m. ET. The spacewalks are scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. ET and are expected to last for six and a half hours. They will be the 233rd and 234th spacewalks in support of the space station.

For both spacewalks, Hopkins will wear the spacesuit bearing red stripes as crew member 1 and Hopkins will wear the spacesuit with no stripes as crew member 2.

The astronauts will focus on completing the installation of Bartolomeo, the newest payload hosting station outside the European Space Agency’s Columbus module, on January 27. They will complete antenna and cable rigging to hook up power and data connections.

The Bartolomeo platform, named after the younger brother of Christopher Columbus, is the first instance of a European commercial partnership that offers a place to conduct science and technology demonstrations outside of the space station, according to the European Space Agency.

The Columbus module will also be upgraded with a terminal that provides an independent high-bandwidth communication link for European ground stations.

The astronauts will install the final lithium-ion battery adapter plate on February 1. This installation wraps up work to complete the replacement of aging batteries outside the station that began in January 2017.

During both spacewalks, Rubins will operate the robotic arm from inside the space station to assist the astronauts as they work outside.

They will focus on other upgrades, like replacing an external standard camera with a new high-definition camera on the Destiny laboratory, and will replace camera and light assembly components needed for the Japanese robotic arm’s camera system, located outside of the Kibo module.

“We’ve been talking about these two EVAs (extra-vehicular activities) for the better part of a year, so we’re excited to see them executed,” said Kenny Todd, deputy manager for the International Space Station Program at NASA during a press conference Friday.

There are more spacewalks planned for the crew near the end of February and beginning of March.

Glover and Rubins will pair up for the third spacewalk to prepare the station’s power system for installing new solar arrays, which will increase the station’s power supply.

During these long spacewalks, the astronauts go through alternating cycles of day and night every 45 minutes, operating against the hot, bright light of the sun as well as the cold darkness of space. This happens because the space station is orbiting the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour.

While the astronauts don’t feel the direct impacts of extreme cold and heat, there is the potential for a chill, so there are heaters installed in the astronauts’ gloves to keep their hands warm, said Vincent Lacourt, spacewalk flight director at NASA for the February 1 spacewalk.

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