Issue #58: Apocalypse Wow! – March/April 2022

In a world that bombards us daily with fresh news of wars, diseases and disastrous climate change, you'd think that most people would seek a reprieve with the entertainment they consume -- you'd think they would want to take their minds off such ever-present problems. But no! More and more, the television shows, movies and video games we're offered take those same kinds of disasters and amplify them to an even greater intensity. They present worlds in which normal human life has been all but eradicated -- worlds afflicted by some kind of apocalypse. And the protagonists of those tales are almost always the ones left trying to pick up the pieces and get back to some kind of new "normal" for whoever's left.

We're looking into this topic further in this edition of Nintendo Force, as the "post-apocalyptic setting" trope is being placed front-and-center in a surprising series: Kirby! The happy-go-lucky hero will soon find himself exploring the abandoned civilization of the Forgotten Land. What happened there? Why did such a seemingly bustling society crumble into nothing, leaving their buildings behind to succumb to rust and the slow creep of overgrown vegetation? And will Kirby be able to help bring that Land back from the brink?

Our titular feature, Apocalypse Wow!, will present other end-of-the-world scenarios that have played out in past games, our Previews section will host a couple of other approaching apocalypses through games like Splatoon 3 and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, and in Reviews we'll lead off with Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which (small spoiler) also deals with world-ending doom! Here's hoping you're entertained by all this conversation about cataclysms!

Print subscribers, your issues are being produced and packaged as we speak and will be mailed to you before the end of this week. Most subscribers should see their copies arrive in the early days of March!

Digital subscribers, keep an eye on your email inbox tomorrow, Wednesday, February 23, as that's when I'll be sending the PDF edition download links.

As always, thank you all for your continued support! 2022 is shaping up to be a truly great year for the Switch, and we've got exciting plans in place for the months ahead. Please look forward to the future of NF!

~ Lucas M. Thomas