The Switch 2 is nearly here, which means the original Switch is entering its twilight years. It's been eight years since Nintendo released its revolutionary hybrid console, and while many fans have spent the last couple of those itching for the device to be replaced, now seems like an opportune time to look back at what its legacy may wind up being (while acknowledging that it still has some life ahead of it). Instead of bleating on myself, though, I turned to the rest of the Engadget staff to see what comes to mind when they think of the Switch, as just about everyone on the team has played with the console. We've collected our reflections below -- some take a bigger-picture view, some are more personal, some contradict others' experiences entirely. There's plenty more that went unsaid. But I think that's part of the Switch's beauty; it's a device that's resonated with so many, in so many different ways, in its near-decade on the market.

A year since Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) announced its debut EV concept, the Afeela, the company is back at CES 2024 to offer more details, more collaborations and a driving simulator. The name of the concept vehicle hasn't changed since last we saw it. What is new, however, is the car's ability to be driven around with a PlayStation controller. I didn't get to do that -- it was a stunt operated by one of the company's employees -- but there was a DualSense controller involved in my demo. So let's begin where SHM left off.

The worst thing about video games is also the best thing: their addictiveness. When you find the right one? The rest of the world can go to hell. That helped me as a child: I could use them to escape the more painful parts of growing up. You didn't have to worry about Stephen Gibson battering you on the way home from school in Chuckie Egg.

It's rare to find a sequel that manages to outshine its predecessor. To add new depth to its characters, flesh out more of the world, and raise the stakes in a way that feels grand and epic without being silly. A sequel that's more Empire Strikes Back and less Home Alone 2. This kind of achievement is rare enough in movies, rarer still in video games. But at least one game has pulled it off. The first game, Horizon Zero Dawn felt so perfectly self-contained. Or at least so I thought.

Sony Group Corp. released the highly anticipated new entry in its Horizon video game franchise on Friday, and reviews suggest it's primed to be another big PlayStation hit. Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn, earned an 89 on the review aggregation website Metacritic. Bloomberg called it "fantastic" and a worthy successor that's bigger, better and more beautiful than the original. The action-adventure game is set in a post-apocalyptic world full of warring tribes and robot dinosaurs. This new Horizon is the first big PlayStation launch of 2022 and reflects Sony's strategy of releasing blockbuster exclusives that can only be played on its consoles.

Aloy surveys a vista from'Horizon Forbidden West.' Sony Interactive Entertainment hide caption Aloy surveys a vista from'Horizon Forbidden West.' Horizon Forbidden West returns to a post-apocalypse brimming with wondrous scenery, bestial robots, and scrappy civilizations that arose a thousand years after ecological catastrophe. It's topped my most-anticipated games list for years -- and I know I'm not alone in saying that its predecessor, Horizon Zero Dawn, is one of my favorite games of all time. Yet, I had some trepidation when I finally got my hands on the game. I didn't have to worry; Horizon Forbidden West surpassed my incredibly lofty expectations. I adored getting to know this outcast who grew up shunned by her tribe. Her driving motivation in exploring the mysteries of the world around her was very internal -- sure, she wants to uncover the secrets of what happened to the Old Ones and their ancient technology, but this journey is much more personal for her.

Last year, we got two new consoles, and … some new games? Regardless, players on all platforms need new things to play--especially now. Luckily, there are plenty of fresh titles on the way. A new Overwatch, a new Halo, and League of Legends is finally coming to phones and consoles. OK, so maybe not everything we're hoping for will actually see the light of day in this calendar year, but we have hopes.

Sony and Guerrilla Games tentatively plan to release Horizon Forbidden West sometime next year. In a new video detailing the upcoming open-world title, game director Mathijs de Jonge, said the studio "aims" to release the game in 2021. That means Forbidden West won't make the PlayStation 5's 2020 holiday launch. Outside of a release date, the three-minute video is full of tantalizing details. According to de Jonge, the game's title refers to a "mysterious new frontier" extending from Utah to the Pacific Ocean.

Those are some of the adjectives being used to describe "Death Stranding," the much-anticipated video game from famed game designer Hideo Kojima ("Metal Gear Solid") out now for Sony's PlayStation 4. Since Kojima revealed the game was under development three years ago, with a trailer showing Norman Reedus ("The Walking Dead") as the main character in a sci-fi setting, expectations have been high – and speculation has spiked – about the prospects for "Death Stranding," which is currently only available on the PS4. A PC version is in the works for summer 2020. A measurement of demand for the game comes from Nielsen, which asked 10,000 gamers, ages 7 to 54, to rank their interest in games set to be released before and during the holiday season. Nintendo Switch:'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' is officially the best-selling game in the series While "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening" (Score: 99), "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" (98), "Luigi's Mansion 3" (96) and "Borderlands 3" (95) led the way, "Death Stranding" was close behind with a score of 94, ahead of well-known titles such as "Gears 5" (88), "FIFA 20" (87), and "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" (82). But "Death Stranding" is a different game and has arrived as sort of a Rorschach test for game critics.

Those are some of the adjectives being used to describe "Death Stranding," the much-anticipated video game from famed game designer Hideo Kojima ("Metal Gear Solid") available Friday (Nov. Since Kojima revealed the game was under development three years ago, with a trailer showing Norman Reedus ("The Walking Dead") as the main character in a sci-fi setting, expectations have been high – and speculation has spiked – about the prospects for "Death Stranding," which is currently only available on the PS4. A PC version is in the works for summer 2020. A measurement of demand for the game comes from Nielsen, which asked 10,000 gamers, aged 7 to 54, to rank their interest in games set to be released before and during the holiday season. Nintendo Switch:'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' is officially the best-selling game in the series While "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening" (Score: 99), "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" (98), "Luigi's Mansion 3" (96) and "Borderlands 3" (95) led the way, "Death Stranding" was close behind with a score of 94, ahead of well-known titles such as "Gears 5" (88), "FIFA 20" (87), and "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" (82).