Rhythm Heaven Groove is having a moment. The game moved nearly 400,000 physical copies in Japan alone during its first week on shelves, which is the kind of number that makes publishers sit up straight. For a rhythm game in 2026, that's a statement. And judging by what the gaming community is loading up this weekend, that momentum is carrying well beyond Japan.
Star Fox on Switch 2 is the other big name dominating weekend plans right now. With 24 votes in community polls at the time of writing, it's sitting comfortably at the top of what people are actually playing, ahead of Rhythm Heaven Groove's 22. The expert medals are proving genuinely difficult, which is exactly what you want from a game with that kind of legacy behind it.
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A week of Nintendo news worth noting
Before getting into what everyone's playing, the week itself wasn't entirely quiet. Nintendo added four more games to the Game Boy and GBA catalogue on Switch Online, which is always welcome. Less welcome: Mario Kart Tour is officially getting the axe this September, and there's no offline version planned. The original Switch is also being phased out of European retail from February 2027, a direct result of new battery replacement regulations coming into effect.
None of that is stopping anyone from gaming, clearly.
What the community is actually loading up
The spread this weekend is genuinely wide. On the Switch 2 side, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book is pulling solid numbers, with players describing it as charming and relaxing after picking it up following a demo that apparently did its job. Mario Kart World, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, and the newly released Granblue Fantasy: Relink are also getting attention.
Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced is drawing players who loved the original back in 2013 and haven't touched it since. Given how that game holds up, that's a reasonable weekend investment. Persona 4 Golden continues to hold its audience on Switch eShop, which tells you everything about that game's staying power.
On the backlog-clearing front, people are deep in everything from Xenoblade Chronicles X to Tales of Berseria Remastered to a full Mega Man X series marathon. One player just finished both the original Final Fantasy VII and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond in the same week, which is an impressive double feature.
Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse is getting genuine love from players who enjoyed the first game, with multiple people picking up the sequel immediately after finishing it. If you're into branching narrative games with real decision weight, that series is worth your attention.
For those who enjoy keeping their Fallout 76 weekly progress ticking over, the Fallout 76 weekly challenges guide covers exact locations if you want to knock those out efficiently alongside your main weekend picks.
The rhythm game renaissance continues
What's interesting about this particular weekend is how much rhythm and music games are featuring. Rhythm Heaven Groove is obviously the headline act, but Tetris 99 is running a new Maximus Cup theme (Star Fox-themed, naturally), Theatrhythm got a mention from someone clearing out their backlog, and BIT.TRIP BEAT is showing up in community lists.
People of Note, the musical JRPG from Iridium Studios, is another one worth flagging for anyone who wants something that blends rhythm combat with a 20-hour story. The People of Note difficulty options guide breaks down what to expect before you commit.
For players who picked up Mixtape recently and want to make sure they're catching everything, the Mixtape full soundtrack guide lists all 28 tracks with artist credits and Rockford's commentary, which is worth having open while you play.
The backlog is never going away. But this weekend, at least, the games worth playing are easy to find.
