(Credit: René Ramos; Nintendo; Sora)The Best Games on Every Platform Animal Crossing: New Horizons Animal Crossing: New Horizons (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent No game may end up defining 2020 more than Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Nintendo’s adorable life simulator has always had its fans. However, with the real world under lockdown, countless players have flocked to their own virtual islands to find community. Paying a mortgage to a raccoon is a small price to pay for the freedom to relax in your own social life again. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp 4.0 Excellent Fire Emblem isn't Nintendo's only awesome strategy series. If you prefer soldiers and tanks over knights and horses, check out Advance Wars and its terrific turn-based tactics. This remake includes campaigns from the first two Game Boy Advance games, offering hours upon hours of brilliantly designed missions. You can also design your own maps and play against friends online. Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp review ARMS ARMS (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent ARMS is Nintendo's newest take on the fighting game genre. It combines cartoonish aesthetics, sci-fi weapons, and arm-stretching boxing into an accessible, offbeat fighter with a lot of variety. It's a polished, fun, competitive game that bears more than a passing visual similarity to Splatoon. Though time will tell if ARMS gains any momentum within the esports scene, the game offers plenty of opportunity to swing fists at your friends. Bayonetta 2 Bayonetta 2 (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Bayonetta 2 is another fantastic game that launched on the wrong system. Years later its initial release, Bayo 2 still stands as one of the best action games out there, and now that it's been ported from the Wii U to the Switch it can get the attention and devotion it deserves. Tight controls, robust challenge, and plenty of style make this stand out as a pinnacle of action games. Bayonetta 3 Bayonetta 3 (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Just when you thought Bayonetta couldn’t get any more bewitching, PlatinumGames delivers an absolute master class on video game action with Bayonetta 3. Besides Bayonetta’s familiar punches, kicks, and guns, you can further expand her combat options by summoning giant demons and directing their attacks. Meanwhile, the multiversal story is ridiculous, even by Bayonetta standards. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent If Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night's story of a demonic castle and a lone savior sounds incredibly familiar, it should: the game was spearheaded by Koji Igarashi, the big brain behind many revered Castlevania games. Bloodstained is an excellent Castlevania game in everything but name, hitting the same beats Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow, and Order of Ecclesia did. If you're thirsty for a new, enjoyable Castlevania-like game that calls back to before Lords of Shadow rebooted the series and Mirror of Fate completely failed to capture any of its luster, this is the game for you. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon 4.0 Excellent Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon isn’t a hard-hitting, nonstop action game like the main Bayonetta trilogy. Instead, this is a relatively relaxed adventure game full of puzzles and gorgeous storybook visuals. Young witch Cereza teams up with a young demon, Cheshire, to tackle challenges neither could complete alone. Although the combat isn’t quite as complex as in the mainline Bayo games, there’s still plenty of flair to the faerie fights. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon review Bravely Default II Bravely Default II (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Modern Final Fantasy games have become their own beasts, but games like Bravely Default II remind us why we fell in love with those classic Square Enix JRPGs. In battle, you can either perform multiple actions at once (Brave) or wait to save up for later turns (Default), which opens up many strategic possibilities. On Switch, the diorama world looks more beautiful and nostalgic than ever. Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Crypt of the NecroDancer was a surprise indie hit in 2015, catching gamers' eyes and ears with its combination of roguelike randomized dungeon exploration with rhythm game beat-keeping. It hit the Nintendo Switch in 2018, and now it's back in a new and much more Nintendo-specific form: Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer, a title that injects rhythm game mechanics into The Legend of Zelda. This Switch game seamlessly combines Zelda and Crypt of the NecroDancer, creating a surprisingly accessible and thoroughly enjoyable experience played to the beat of Zelda's classic and music. Cassette Beasts 4.0 Excellent Pokémon doesn't have a monopoly on monster catching. Cassette Beasts is a stylish, indie RPG that puts its own spin on collecting creatures and pitting them against each other in combat. The open world has many quests, the fighting mechanics have the extra depth that experienced players crave, and the story veers off in cool, surreal directions. Most importantly, there are some great monster designs, like ghostly sheep and living bullets. Cassette Beasts review Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Forget fancy new video games. Sometimes you just want to play chess, solitaire, or one of the other virtual vintage games that make up this classic compilation. Not only is this a convenient way to play some of history’s most enduring games with friends, but Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics does a great job educating you on that history, including the fascinating early Hanafuda history of Nintendo itself. Game Builder Garage Game Builder Garage (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent If you thought Super Mario Maker was a great way to learn about game development, give Game Builder Garage a spin. This incredibly powerful 3D game creation tool lets you make anything from platformers to racing games to puzzle mysteries. Thorough, friendly tutorials explain the robust “Nodon” coding language, so even novices can create hitboxes and manipulate the Z-axis like pros. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent The Switch has gotten a reputation as a machine for game ports, and there's nothing wrong with that. The Wii U wasn't the massive hit the Wii was, but it still had several excellent games that went underappreciated in their time. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is one of them, a sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns with even more challenge and variety. The Switch version of this game adds Funky Kong Mode, an easier setting and new playable character (Funky Kong himself) that makes the surprisingly brutal platforming feel a little less punishing. Hades Hades (for Nintendo Switch) Hades takes the punishing and divisive roguelike genre and masterfully twists it into one of the year's most addictive games. Fighting your way out of the Greek underworld with randomly changing skills and weapons feels incredible. The family drama at the game’s core gives you that extra narrative push to keep going. Plus, everyone is smoking hot. Indivisible Indivisible (for Nintendo Switch) While many role-playing games draw their influences from Western folklore, even RPGs made in Japan, Indivisible carves out a unique identity with a fresh Southeast Asian flavor. The 2D animation is exquisite, as we would expect from the developer of Skullgirls. Gameplay is a mix of nonlinear spaces to explore and enemies to defeat in tactical battles. Of the two types of play, the exploration sections impress us more. In these bits you find your way forward by using an axe to fling yourself up walls or by shooting arrows to blind sentries. That's just more satisfying than the frantic messes the fights, caught awkwardly between turn-based and real-time combat, can turn into.   Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Kirby’s Return to Dreamland is a traditional, side-scrolling adventure compared to Kirby’s more radical outings. Still, it’s an excellent showcase of what makes even a normal Kirby game irresistible. This Deluxe version enhances the Wii co-op classic with a sweet, new art style; extra powers; and an original epilogue. Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe (for Nintendo Switch) review Kirby and the Forgotten Land Kirby and the Forgotten Land (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Kirby and the Forgotten Land finally gives the pink puffball the epic 3D adventure that Mario, Link, and Samus got years ago. Float through the skies in creative levels bursting with secrets. Upgrade familiar powers, such as hammers and swords, into formidable new forms. Or just sit back and marvel at how Nintendo made the post-apocalypse look so cute. Kirby Star Allies Kirby Star Allies (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Kirby games are always fun. Whether they're the simple platformers like Kirby's Adventure or weirdly gimmicky experiences like Kirby's Dream Course, every first-party experience with Nintendo's pink puff ball has been enjoyable. Kirby Star Allies is no different, with a lighthearted campaign filled with colorful friends and abilities, surprisingly challenging extra modes to unlock, and support for up to four players at once. Get on the Friend Train! The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Hyrule is in danger again, and Link must save it. That's been the theme for nearly every Legend of Zelda game, and it's still the case in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The series' basic premise and Link/Zelda/Ganon dynamic are present, but nearly everything else is different. The classic Zelda dungeon-exploration structure is replaced by a huge open world that's filled with destructible weapons, monsters, puzzles, and quests. Breath of the Wild's scope is one previously unseen in the Zelda series, and Nintendo executes the adventure-filled world with aplomb. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, Nintendo Switch Lite 4.5 Excellent The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom turns Nintendo's epic franchise on its head in more ways than one. Instead of the swordsman, Link, you play as Princess Zelda. Likewise, you don't directly attack enemies; you summon useful items and foes to aid you on the mission. The game takes the creative, improv spirit of Breath of the Wild and applies it to a classic 2D top-down Zelda adventure with delightful results. Plus, it just looks adorable. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, Nintendo Switch Lite review The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD (for Nintendo Switch) 3.5 Good No Zelda games are terrible, but no game polarizes the fan base quite like Skyward Sword. Fortunately, this HD remaster speeds up the pacing, enhances the graphics, and offers a button-based control scheme if you don’t care for motion controls. The structure feels especially linear in a post-Breath of the Wild world, but Zelda’s origin story is still worth experiencing. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch (OLED Model), Nintendo Switch Lite 5.0 Outstanding At launch, it was tough to imagine the Switch ever getting another game as good as Breath of the Wild. But years later, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom delivers everything we could have possibly wanted and more in this direct sequel to one of the greatest games ever made. Exploring the skies and underground caves makes Hyrule more vast than ever. New powers let you break the world apart and rebuild it as you see fit. Tears of the Kingdom is an irresistible, hypnotic adventure, and an absolute must-play for all RPG fans. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch (OLED Model), Nintendo Switch Lite review Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Who knows what the future holds for Star Wars, but Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga provides a terrific toybox take on Episodes I-IX. The Lego recreations of all nine movies gives you plenty to experience as you blast baddies and solve Force puzzles. But what really makes this game so special is how it turns the entire Star Wars galaxy into an open world to explore, whether it’s on colorful planets or through the vastness of outer space in your trusty starfighter. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (for Nintendo Switch) review Luigi's Mansion 3 Luigi's Mansion 3 - Nintendo Switch Standard Edition What started as a weirdly specific parody of Ghostbusters and Resident Evil has become of one the finest Mario spin-off adventures. Luigi’s spooky journey throughout a haunted hotel is arguably the most visually stunning game on the Nintendo Switch. Along with sucking up ghosts, you can now slam them (back) to death and shoot plungers to pull apart the scenery. Your greatest, and grossest, tool has to be Gooigi. This slimy green doppelgänger expands your puzzle-solving powers and provides an easy option for younger co-op partners. Lumines Remastered Lumines Remastered (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Puyo Puyo Tetris is great for classic, competitive block-dropping, but it's a bit overly perky and anime-ish to really relax to. Lumines Remastered is the ultimate chill-out block-dropper, syncing the mesmerizing pattern matching to dozens of hypnotic electronic and trance tracks. Load it on your Switch, put on your favorite headphones, and space out while you build huge combos. Mario & Luigi: Brothership Mario & Luigi: Brothership - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, Nintendo Switch Lite 4.0 Excellent Mario & Luigi: Brothership revives a Mario RPG subseries as a grand nautical adventure. The plumbers sail the seas, reconnecting scattered islands and battling foes with familiar, frenetic turn-based combat. On Nintendo Switch, the visuals and animations turn Mario and Luigi into cartoon-like characters. Mario & Luigi: Brothership - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch – OLED Model, Nintendo Switch Lite review Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Before Minions, there were Rabbids, Ubisoft's manic, sublingual, noseless horde spawned from Rayman: Raving Rabbids. Then the weird, bug-eyed, rabbit-like creatures caused havoc in their own game series. Now, they're running around Mario's stomping grounds in Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. This strategy-RPG combines two cartoonish worlds with satisfyingly deep, XCOM-like gameplay for a very fun and strange experience. It's a combination of styles that work much, much better than you'd expect. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle proved that these two mascots could come together for excellent, approachable tactics gameplay. Sparks of Hope is more of the same, but even better. Equipping Sparks lets you further customize your squad’s strategic abilities. Wide open levels provide entertaining exploration between the skirmishes. Mario Golf: Super Rush Mario Golf: Super Rush (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Leave it to Mario to find a way to make golf games feel fresh again. Mario Golf: Super Rush’s standout gimmick has golfers teeing off all at once, and then physically running across the course to take their next shot. You still have to plan smart strokes, but you also need to keep an eye on the clock. The lengthy, single-player adventure teaches you the ropes before you head online to face real challengers on the green. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Mario Kart 8 stood out as the best-looking Mario Kart game yet when it came out on the Nintendo Wii U. Instead of making a new Mario Kart for the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo brought Mario Kart 8 to its new game system. In the process, Nintendo threw in both previously released DLC packs and made some few welcome changes to its multiplayer options, justifying the game's full retail price. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the most robust game in the series so far, and with the optional portability of the Switch, it ranks as a must-own title. Mario Strikers: Battle League Mario Strikers: Battle League (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Mario has played many sports throughout the years, but Mario Strikers: Battle League gives us the arcade soccer chaos fans have craved for more than a decade. It features fast-paced action, while allowing for depth and skill should you choose to push yourself. Customize your characters with stat-changing gear. Join online clubs to compete in ongoing seasons. And no one animates the Mario universe with as much style and attitude as the developers at Next Level Games. Mario Strikers: Battle League (for Nintendo Switch) review Mario Tennis Aces Mario Tennis Aces (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent You don't need to be a sports fan to enjoy Nintendo sports games. If a sport has "Mario" in front of it, it's probably going to be a fun, very unrealistic romp instead of a serious simulation. Mario Tennis Aces is an exciting tennis game not because of any realistic physics, but because of fast, responsive gameplay and strategic mechanics that make matches feel more like rounds in a fighting game than tennis sets. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics - Nintendo Switch 4.0 Excellent Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics lets you finally relive six legendary 2D fighters starring Marvel superheroes and Capcom icons. From the humble X-Men: Children of the Atom to the over-the-top Marvel vs. Capcom 2, this is vital fighting game history. An art gallery, modern control options, rollback netcode, and the underrated Punisher beat 'em up sweeten the deal. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics - Nintendo Switch review Metal Slug Tactics Metal Slug Tactics (for Nintendo Switch) Metal Slug Tactics trades the mainline series' fast-paced running and gunning for methodical, turn-based strategy gameplay. Still, it's just as action-packed as ever. Line up your units for devastating sync attacks. Enjoy the beautiful old-school sprite work. Plan your turns, hop into a giant tank, and obliterate foes. Metroid Dread Metroid Dread (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent After nearly 20 years, Metroid Dread brings Samus Aran back to her 2D, bounty hunting roots for the true Metroid 5. In it, you explore a dense, dangerous new planet full of powers to pick up and enemies to eliminate. From uncompromising boss battles to terrifying chases, Dread more than lives up to its subtitle. If there's anyone strong enough to take down the terror, it's Nintendo's leading lady. Metroid Prime Remastered 5.0 Outstanding Metroid Prime is one of the best games ever made. It takes Super Metroid’s brilliant exploratory action and perfectly translates it to 3D with immaculate level design and immersive first-person shooting. This remaster, which ventures into the remake territory, includes everything that worked in the original, and ups the presentation to modern, beautiful standards. Plus, you can now play with dual-stick controls. Bring on Metroid Prime 4. Metroid Prime Remastered review Miitopia Miitopia (for Nintendo Switch) 3.5 Good Miis can do more than just play Wii Sports. In Miitopia, you use Nintendo’s cartoon caricatures to cast yourself, friends, and family as heroes and villains in a fast-paced, whimsical role-playing game. Turn yourself into a brave knight, while your buddy supports you as a pop star. The joke can’t quite sustain the whole runtime, but Miitopia is wildly entertaining.   Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent If traditional Monster Hunter is just too intense for you, Monster Hunter Stories 2 lets you experience this cutthroat world as a turn-based JRPG. Befriend monsters and take them into battle. Hatch eggs to expand your menagerie. Strategic battles draw upon familiar Monster Hunter concepts. And, of course, Rathalos is here. New Pokemon Snap New Pokemon Snap (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent The beloved Nintendo 64 spin-off finally gets the update it deserves. Instead of capturing Pokemon and forcing them to battle, New Pokemon Snap asks you to take beautiful photos of Pikachu and friends in their natural surroundings. The on-rails gameplay feels like a nonviolent version of a light gun game. The gorgeous graphics will inspire you to share your best pics online for the world to see. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Imagine Super Smash Bros., but instead of playing as video game mascots, you control beloved cartoon characters beating each other senseless. That's Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. From SpongeBob SquarePants to Ren and Stimpy to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the roster covers all eras of Nicktoon nostalgia. Beyond the ironic meme potential, "Nick Smash" features genuinely fantastic gameplay made by a team clearly passionate about this particular form of "platform fighting" games. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (for Nintendo Switch) review Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01 Variety Kit Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 01 Variety Kit (for Nintendo Switch) 5.0 Outstanding Labo is a weirder concept than the Switch itself. It's based around building cardboard "Toy-Cons" in which you place the Switch's components to let you do new things with them. It's also surprisingly functional, entertaining, and educational. The Nintendo Labo Variety Kit has all of the parts you need to build several different Toy-Cons like a piano and motorcycle handlebars, and walks you through every step of the process. Just building the Toy-Cons is fascinating, but the Toy-Con Garage mode adds surprisingly robust programming options to let you create your own remote-controlled creations. Nintendo Labo: VR Kit 4.5 Excellent It took over 20 years, but Nintendo finally got over its fear of virtual reality after the disastrous Virtual Boy. The Labo VR Kit lets you build your own VR headset that uses the Nintendo Switch and a set of lenses to create a stereoscopic image, and then insert that headset into different Toy-Con controllers to play a variety of games. That's already a ton of fun for $79.99 (or $39.99 for a starter set that only includes one Toy-Con to build instead of five). Add a programming environment on top that lets you create your own 3D games, and you have an impressive package. No More Heroes III No More Heroes III (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent No More Heroes III, like the other games in Suda51’s hack-and-slash trilogy, is a punk art game. Sure, some parts may be “bad,” like the technical jank or empty open worlds. But it’s all in service of larger commentary on everything from schlocky movies to wrestling fandom to the video game industry itself. Plus, cutting aliens down to size feels legitimately fantastic, and really that’s what matters.  Penny's Big Breakaway 4.0 Excellent The creators of Sonic Mania deliver a new indie 3D platformer that feels like a forgotten Sega classic. Use your trusty yo-yo to swing and roll through colorful, tightly designed levels that test your momentum control. Bosses and other enemies are sometimes more annoying than fun, but the movement mechanics are a joy to master. Penny's Big Breakaway review Pikmin 3 Deluxe Pikmin 3 Deluxe (for Nintendo Switch) 3.5 Good Pikmin isn’t the most recognizable Nintendo franchise, but the approachable real-time strategy game carries as much magic as Mario and Zelda. This Wii U port offers more missions and ways to control your army of cute plant creatures. The campaign's local, co-op play opens all kinds of new strategies, too. Veterans of previous Pikmin wars may have seen most of this content before, but Pikmin newcomers should absolutely jump into this tiny, tactical, and tactile world. Pikmin 4 Pikmin 4 (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Pikmin has always been good, but the quirky real-time strategy game has never broken out of its cult status over the past 20 years. Hopefully, that all changes with Pikmin 4. The biggest and best Pikmin game yet, Pikmin 4 gives you new Pikmin to command, a cute and customizable dog companion, and many gorgeous areas to strategically explore whether above ground or in countless caves. The multiplayer could be better, but Pikmin 4 is a top-tier Nintendo game everyone should play. Pikmin 4 (for Nintendo Switch) review Pizza Tower Pizza Tower feels like a fever dream of 1990s cartoons, internet memes, and retro Wario Land games. Don’t let his pudgy exterior fool you. Protagonist Peppino Spaghetti has many incredibly fast and fluid platforming tools, including dashing and wall-running. You’ll need to master those tools to beat levels as fast as possible, without losing your mind. Pokemon Legends: Arceus Pokemon Legends: Arceus (for Nintendo Switch) 3.5 Good Pokemon Legends: Arceus finally gives the Pokemon franchise a long-awaited refresh. Taking place in the distant past of Diamond and Pearl’s Sinnoh region, Arceus lets you capture and study wild Pokemon in a world where humans still fear the creatures. Vast open fields, revamped battle mechanics, and an utterly addictive approach to exploration create the most immersive Pokemon experience yet. Pokemon Let's Go, Pikachu/Eevee! Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee! 4.0 Excellent If the traditional Pokemon RPGs are still just a bit too complex for you, consider the casual adventures Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee. This duo remakes the first-generation Pokemon Yellow, with bright, colorful, HD graphics, and a new capture mechanic based on Pokemon Go. In addition, there are trainer battles and turn-based combat for people who dig classic Pokemon. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Pokémon Scarlet - Nintendo Switch 4.0 Excellent Pokemon Sword and Shield and Pokemon Legends: Arceus experimented with expansive zones, but Pokémon Scarlet and Violet finally turns the monster-catching game into an open-world RPG. As we always suspected, the addictive Pokémon formula works brilliantly when you can go wherever you want, exploring towns and catching whatever monsters you encounter. Lingering technical issues keep it from reaching its full potential, but this is Pokémon's shining future. Pokemon Sword/Shield Pokemon Sword (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee were a nice warmup, but Pokemon Sword and Shield are the real home console Pokemon games we’ve been looking forward to playing. Travel across big, open landscapes to capture even bigger Pokemon. New expansions packs in 2020 give trainers even more regions to explore and more Pokemon to battle without having to buy a third version. The Pokedex will be complete before you know it.  Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown 4.5 Excellent Prince of Persia returns to its 2D roots with The Lost Crown, a standout entry in the crowded modern Metroidvania market. Everything just clicks. The massive map is a joy to explore. Clever puzzles make the most of inventive abilities. Deep combat systems allow satisfying expression. Challenging DLC further expands the adventure. And the presentation combines Persian flair with anime exuberance. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown review Pokemon Unite Pokemon Unite (for Nintendo Switch) 3.5 Good If you’re curious about the MOBA genre, but scared of esports heavy-hitters like Dota 2 and League of Legends, then Pokemon Unite is the perfect place to get started. Two teams of five Pokemon battle each other in real-time to score goals across the map. This free-to-play game is also coming soon to mobile, so you’ll find plenty of aspiring Pokemon masters to challenge. Puyo Puyo Tetris Puyo Puyo Tetris (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Practically everyone in North America has heard of Tetris. Far fewer have heard of Puyo Puyo. Both are block-dropping puzzle games, but while Tetris has been Tetris for decades, Puyo Puyo has had many different tweaks and name changes in attempts to appeal to the west. It came out first as Puyo Pop, then received different licensed incarnations, such as Puzzle Fighter and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. Now, Puyo Puyo is making its mark here, thanks to Sega and a double-billing with Tetris. The pairing results in a title that's plump with game modes, unlockables, and solo and multiplayer options. Red Dead Redemption Red Dead Redemption (for Nintendo Switch) Grand Theft Auto put Rockstar Games on the map, but for many the team's true masterpiece is the epic, open-world Western saga known as Red Dead Redemption. John Marston's cowboy odyssey has the scathing tone you'd expect from the developer, but it also has heart and a sense of tragedy. The Nintendo Switch version perfectly maintains the original gameplay experience, from stylish shootouts to riding your horse across the empty desert. It also includes the Undead Nightmare DLC. Finally, a version of Red Dead you can play in a tent under the stars. Rebel Galaxy Outlaw Rebel Galaxy Outlaw (for Nintendo Switch) Rebel Galaxy Outlaw has enough action-packed, visually dazzling spaceship dogfights to excite any Star Fox fan. The real joy, however, is in the quieter moments, when you act out your galactic trucker fantasies by carrying cargo from space stations named after Texas towns. Improving your ship is a bit of a grind, but it’s a rewarding one. If you get bored, you can always shoot down pirates—or become one yourself. Rocket League Rocket League (for Nintendo Switch) Rocket League is soccer, with remote controlled cars and funny hats. It's amazing how compelling a game can be when the entire point of it is to use a car to knock a ball into a goal, but Rocket League nails it. Wild physics, colorful visuals, and simple game types you can keep coming back to while challenging friends and strangers make this one of the best pseudo-sports games on the Switch. Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (for Nintendo Switch) Platforming excellence comes to the Nintendo Switch courtesy of Yacht Club Games' Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove. This downloadable package includes the original Shovel Knight, one of 2014's top titles, as well as all the previously released DLC including the Plague of Shadows and Specter of Torment campaigns. If you long for some retro, 2D action, Treasure Trove a a game that you should not miss. Splatoon 3 Splatoon 3 (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Splatoon 3 isn't much different than Splatoon 2 (which in turn wasn't much different from Splatoon 1). However, no other online team-based shooter delivers an experience quite like this. Inking the ground, splatting opponents, and transforming from squid to kid never felt this good. The wealth of solo, cooperative, and competitive modes will keep you busy. Keep the party going with the excellent, roguelike DLC Side Order. Splatoon 3 (for Nintendo Switch) review Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection (for Nintendo Switch) Street Fighter has been the biggest name in fighting games for decades, and Capcom is proud of that fact. While it really got going with Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection lets you play the original Street Fighter in all of its genre-building glory. And, after you realize how bad that first attempt was, you can play the much better sequels like Super Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Street Fighter III: Third Strike. You're looking at a dozen games in this collection, with loads of extra content like soundtracks and sprite data. Streets of Rage 4 Streets of Rage 4 (for Nintendo Switch) Streets of Rage 4 pounds life back into the dead sidescrolling beat ‘em up genre. The gameplay may not have progressed that much since Sega’s trilogy in the 1990s, but taking down hordes of goons with your fists has never looked better thanks to a thoroughly modern illustrated art style. A risky new mechanic that burns health to power special moves, unless you avoid getting hit, adds some fighting-game flair.  Super Bomberman R Super Bomberman R (for Nintendo Switch) 3.5 Good Bomberman's return to console gaming was one of the most surprising moments in the Nintendo's January 2017 Switch game showcase. Considering that the little guy's now the property of Konami, a company that's more known for killing P.T. and warring with Metal Gear maestro Hideo Kojima than making video games, it was shocking to see Super Bomberman R announced as a Nintendo Switch launch title. Thankfully, this newest entry in the beloved, bomb-tossing franchise keeps the series' simple and addicting core gameplay intact, and adds tons of modes, collectible items, and characters to keep things fresh. Super Mario 3D All-Stars Super Mario 3D All-Stars (for Nintendo Switch) 3.5 Good This classic Mario collection combines Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. They may not have received the radical visual overhaul of the original Super Mario All-Stars, but these are still three of the finest 3D platformers ever made—now playable in HD and on the go. Nintendo says this collection is a limited release, so get it while you can. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Super Mario 3D World seamlessly blends the free-roaming, open-ended platforming of Mario 3D’s adventures with the concentrated multiplayer mayhem of his latest 2D romps. It was great on Wii U, and now it's even better on Nintendo Switch. However, this package’s real star is Bowser’s Fury, an ambitious spin-off that reimagines what an open-world Mario game can be. Super Mario Bros. Wonder Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Nintendo Switch 4.5 Excellent In the beginning, all Super Mario games were wonderful 2D sidescrollers that dazzled us with their sheer imagination. But as Mario set his sights on 3D heights, the New Super Mario Bros. series turned 2D Mario into a safe and bland nostalgia franchise. No more! Super Mario Bros. Wonder fills 2D Mario to the brim with whimsy, creativity, and joyful confusion. Turn levels into psychedelic dreamscapes! Customize your abilities! Compete against friends online! Transform into an elephant! You can do all of this and more in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Super Mario Bros. Wonder - Nintendo Switch review Super Mario Maker 2 Super Mario Maker 2 (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Super Mario Maker 2 is a welcome update to the original Super Mario Maker. It adds a new skin, new themes, and plenty of new tools for making more creative and challenging Mario levels. You can create levels based on the graphics and mechanics of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros., just like in the previous Super Mario Maker. These levels can use one of 10 different themes: Ground, Sky, Underground, Forest, Underwater, Ghost House, Desert, Airship, Snow, and Castle. Sky, Forest, Desert, and Snow are new to Super Mario Maker 2. For more variety, you can toggle each theme to its nighttime variant, which adds unique twists to the gameplay. And, of course, you can share your creations online. Super Mario Odyssey Super Mario Odyssey (for Nintendo Switch) 5.0 Outstanding In Super Mario Odyssey, the heroic plumber returns to open-world game design for the first time since the incredible Super Mario 64. Though Odyssey isn't as technically groundbreaking as its predecessor, the action-platformer is packed to the brim with hat-tossing combat. Yes, hat tossing. This time around, Mario has a new friend, Cappy, who lets Mario dispatch enemies with the flick of the wrist. And, even better, Mario can assume the identity of an enemy, gaining its abilities, by plopping Cappy on the foe's head. Super Mario RPG Super Mario RPG - Nintendo Switch (OLED Model), Nintendo Switch Lite, Nintendo Switch 4.0 Excellent Forget Paper Mario or Mario and Luigi. The original Super Mario RPG, a collaboration between Nintendo and Square Enix, first showed us that Mario’s charms could translate to a Final Fantasy-style adventure. This faithful remake offers gorgeous new graphics and increased accessibility. At last, find out who Geno is. Super Mario RPG - Nintendo Switch (OLED Model), Nintendo Switch Lite, Nintendo Switch review Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent Only video games can capture the simple pleasures that come from racing monkeys inside balls. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania remasters hundreds of classic stages from Sega’s obstacle course series in a single, cool package. Don’t let the bright colors and friendly monkey faces fool you. Rolling your monkey to the goal demands an expert understanding of the game’s unforgiving physics. If you get too frustrated, take a break with Banana Mania's wacky, multiplayer mini-games. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (for Nintendo Switch) 4.5 Excellent Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has everything a fan of Nintendo’s crossover mascot fighting game could want. A faster pace better for competitive play. Every single character who has ever appeared in the series, including third-party icons such as Banjo-Kazooie, Cloud Strife, and Solid Snake. There's a new single-player mode chock-full of even more fan service. The theme song even has lyrics now.  Tactics Ogre: Reborn Tactics Ogre Reborn (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent The original Tactics Ogre enthralled fans in 1995 thanks to its deep strategy and strong narrative. If you missed out the first time, Tactics Ogre: Reborn gives you another chance to check out this lost classic, the prelude to Final Fantasy Tactics. Just don’t expect hugely revamped graphics. Telling Lies Telling Lies (for Nintendo Switch) Her Story was a test for the kind of interactive story game developer Sam Barlow could pull off with just FMV clips and a fake computer interface. Telling Lies is the Aliens to Her Story’s Alien. Instead of just investigating one woman’s interviews, you follow four different characters. Tracing a nonlinear mystery across so many different threads can get overwhelming. Fortunately, Hollywood actors Logan Marshall-Green, Alexandra Shipp, Kerry Bishé, and Angela Sarafyan make the clips compelling watches in their own right. Besides, we’re all pretty used at communicating through video chat these days.  Triangle Strategy Triangle Strategy (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent A tactical follow-up to the gorgeous Octopath Traveler, Triangle Strategy is a luxurious strategy role-playing game that rewards your patience. Soak in the atmosphere on the land. Become invested in the characters and political intrigue. Methodically think through every option during turn-based battles and feel like an absolute strategic genius.  Trombone Champ Trombone Champ (for Nintendo Switch) Rhythm games usually make you feel like an ultra-cool rock god. Not Trombone Champ. This zany title embraces the goofy charm of its titular instrument, delivering an experience that is both awesome and awkward. The purposefully bumbling controls make each song sound like a confused elephant putting on a concert, an effect that's multiplied in local multiplayer. A light progression system unlocks famous trombone players like baseball cards while trying to solve a sinister riddle. The game is also available on PC, but the Switch version deserves props for its hilarious motion controls that take the trombone simulation to the next level. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore (for Nintendo Switch) 3.5 Good While you wait for Persona 5 to come to the Nintendo Switch, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, a late Wii U port, is the next best thing. This bewildering crossover between Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei has players entering the entertainment industry of Japan’s stylish Shibuya and Harajuku districts. Of course, you also do battle against demons by summoning Fire Emblem characters through the power of song. A streamlined battle system and pop music tone should delight players who don’t even care about anime RPGs.  Unicorn Overlord 4.5 Excellent As a Vanillaware game, we’re not surprised that Unicorn Overlord has an unbelievably beautiful illustrated aesthetic. However, the game backs up its looks with deeply strategic role-playing gameplay that requires tactical thinking. Ogre Battle fans, this one’s for you. Unicorn Overlord review Void Bastards Roguelikes can be a polarizing genre as their repetitive nature, random elements, and punishing difficulty threaten to make the entire experience a waste of time. Void Bastards avoids this trap with a core gameplay loop that’s a joy to repeat and an addictive sense of progression stringing you along the whole time.Each new spaceship you raid is basically a tiny comic book-styled System Shock level with spooky enemies to shoot, machinery to hack, character traits to manage, and equipment to salvage. Use that equipment to construct permanent new weapons and perks that make you eager to start another raid. Our journey across the galaxy stretched on for hours because it’s so easy to say “just one more piece of loot.”Note that Void Bastards is published by Humble Bundle, which is owned by PCMag’s parent company, Ziff Davis. WarioWare: Get It Together WarioWare: Get It Together (for Nintendo Switch) 4.0 Excellent WarioWare is one of Nintendo’s best and most shockingly self-aware franchises. It’s about Mario’s gross, evil doppelganger starting a shady game company to get rich. Fortunately for you, these “microgames” remain a pure blast of weird and wonderful bite-sized entertainment. The new gimmick here lets you and a friend tackle challenges with different characters whose unique move sets make you rethink your approach on the fly. Hurry up! Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition 4.0 Excellent This late-period Wii U gem finally returns to close out the Nintendo Switch era. A standalone entry of the Xenoblade saga, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition takes place on a lush open-world planet teeming with friendly and hostile creatures. Explore on foot or, eventually, by flying a giant mech. The dynamic RPG combat rewards smart timing and synchronizing party members. Along with improved visuals, this definitive edition adds a new epilogue story. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition review

SVG animations take me back to the Hanna-Barbera cartoons I watched as a kid. Shows like Wacky Races, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, and, of course, Yogi Bear. They inspired me to lovingly recreate some classic Toon Titles using CSS, SVG, and SMIL animations. But getting animations to load quickly and work smoothly needs more than nostalgia. It takes clean design, lean code, and a process that makes complex SVGs easier to animate. Here’s how I do it. Start Clean And Design With Optimisation In Mind Keeping things simple is key to making SVGs that are optimised and ready to animate. Tools like Adobe Illustrator convert bitmap images to vectors, but the output often contains too many extraneous groups, layers, and masks. Instead, I start cleaning in Sketch, work from a reference image, and use the Pen tool to create paths. Tip: Affinity Designer (UK) and Sketch (Netherlands) are alternatives to Adobe Illustrator and Figma. Both are independent and based in Europe. Sketch has been my default design app since Adobe killed Fireworks. Beginning With Outlines For these Toon Titles illustrations, I first use the Pen tool to draw black outlines with as few anchor points as possible. The more points a shape has, the bigger a file becomes, so simplifying paths and reducing the number of points makes an SVG much smaller, often with no discernible visual difference. Bearing in mind that parts of this Yogi illustration will ultimately be animated, I keep outlines for this Bewitched Bear’s body, head, collar, and tie separate so that I can move them independently. The head might nod, the tie could flap, and, like in those classic cartoons, Yogi’s collar will hide the joins between them. Drawing Simple Background Shapes With the outlines in place, I use the Pen tool again to draw new shapes, which fill the areas with colour. These colours sit behind the outlines, so they don’t need to match them exactly. The fewer anchor points, the smaller the file size. Sadly, neither Affinity Designer nor Sketch has tools that can simplify paths, but if you have it, using Adobe Illustrator can shave a few extra kilobytes off these background shapes. Optimising The Code It’s not just metadata that makes SVG bulkier. The way you export from your design app also affects file size. Exporting just those simple background shapes from Adobe Illustrator includes unnecessary groups, masks, and bloated path data by default. Sketch’s code is barely any better, and there’s plenty of room for improvement, even in its SVGO Compressor code. I rely on Jake Archibald’s SVGOMG, which uses SVGO v3 and consistently delivers the best optimised SVGs. Layering SVG Elements My process for preparing SVGs for animation goes well beyond drawing vectors and optimising paths — it also includes how I structure the code itself. When every visual element is crammed into a single SVG file, even optimised code can be a nightmare to navigate. Locating a specific path or group often feels like searching for a needle in a haystack. That’s why I develop my SVGs in layers, exporting and optimising one set of elements at a time — always in the order they’ll appear in the final file. This lets me build the master SVG gradually by pasting it in each cleaned-up section. For example, I start with backgrounds like this gradient and title graphic. Instead of facing a wall of SVG code, I can now easily identify the background gradient’s path and its associated linearGradient, and see the group containing the title graphic. I take this opportunity to add a comment to the code, which will make editing and adding animations to it easier in the future: <svg ...> <defs> <!-- ... --> </defs> <path fill="url(#grad)" d="…"/> <!-- TITLE GRAPHIC --> <g> <path … /> <!-- ... --> </g> </svg> Next, I add the blurred trail from Yogi’s airborne broom. This includes defining a Gaussian Blur filter and placing its path between the background and title layers: <svg ...> <defs> <linearGradient id="grad" …>…</linearGradient> <filter id="trail" …>…</filter> </defs> <!-- GRADIENT --> <!-- TRAIL --> <path filter="url(#trail)" …/> <!-- TITLE GRAPHIC --> </svg> Then come the magical stars, added in the same sequential fashion: <svg ...> <!-- GRADIENT --> <!-- TRAIL --> <!-- STARS --> <!-- TITLE GRAPHIC --> </svg> To keep everything organised and animation-ready, I create an empty group that will hold all the parts of Yogi: <g id="yogi">...</g> Then I build Yogi from the ground up — starting with background props, like his broom: <g id="broom">...</g> Followed by grouped elements for his body, head, collar, and tie: <g id="yogi"> <g id="broom">…</g> <g id="body">…</g> <g id="head">…</g> <g id="collar">…</g> <g id="tie">…</g> </g> Since I export each layer from the same-sized artboard, I don’t need to worry about alignment or positioning issues later on — they’ll all slot into place automatically. I keep my code clean, readable, and ordered logically by layering elements this way. It also makes animating smoother, as each component is easier to identify. Reusing Elements With <use> When duplicate shapes get reused repeatedly, SVG files can get bulky fast. My recreation of the “Bewitched Bear” title card contains 80 stars in three sizes. Combining all those shapes into one optimised path would bring the file size down to 3KB. But I want to animate individual stars, which would almost double that to 5KB: <g id="stars"> <path class="star-small" fill="#eae3da" d="..."/> <path class="star-medium" fill="#eae3da" d="..."/> <path class="star-large" fill="#eae3da" d="..."/> <!-- ... --> </g> Moving the stars’ fill attribute values to their parent group reduces the overall weight a little: <g id="stars" fill="#eae3da"> <path class="star-small" d="…"/> <path class="star-medium" d="…"/> <path class="star-large" d="…"/> <!-- ... --> </g> But a more efficient and manageable option is to define each star size as a reusable template: <defs> <path id="star-large" fill="#eae3da" fill-rule="evenodd" d="…"/> <path id="star-medium" fill="#eae3da" fill-rule="evenodd" d="…"/> <path id="star-small" fill="#eae3da" fill-rule="evenodd" d="…"/> </defs> With this setup, changing a star’s design only means updating its template once, and every instance updates automatically. Then, I reference each one using <use> and position them with x and y attributes: <g id="stars"> <!-- Large stars --> <use href="#star-large" x="1575" y="495"/> <!-- ... --> <!-- Medium stars --> <use href="#star-medium" x="1453" y="696"/> <!-- ... --> <!-- Small stars --> <use href="#star-small" x="1287" y="741"/> <!-- ... --> </g> This approach makes the SVG easier to manage, lighter to load, and faster to iterate on, especially when working with dozens of repeating elements. Best of all, it keeps the markup clean without compromising on flexibility or performance. Adding Animations The stars trailing behind Yogi’s stolen broom bring so much personality to the animation. I wanted them to sparkle in a seemingly random pattern against the dark blue background, so I started by defining a keyframe animation that cycles through different opacity levels: @keyframes sparkle { 0%, 100% { opacity: .1; } 50% { opacity: 1; } } Next, I applied this looping animation to every use element inside my stars group: #stars use { animation: sparkle 10s ease-in-out infinite; } The secret to creating a convincing twinkle lies in variation. I staggered animation delays and durations across the stars using nth-child selectors, starting with the quickest and most frequent sparkle effects: /* Fast, frequent */ #stars use:nth-child(n + 1):nth-child(-n + 10) { animation-delay: .1s; animation-duration: 2s; } From there, I layered in additional timings to mix things up. Some stars sparkle slowly and dramatically, others more randomly, with a variety of rhythms and pauses: /* Medium */ #stars use:nth-child(n + 11):nth-child(-n + 20) { ... } /* Slow, dramatic */ #stars use:nth-child(n + 21):nth-child(-n + 30) { ... } /* Random */ #stars use:nth-child(3n + 2) { ... } /* Alternating */ #stars use:nth-child(4n + 1) { ... } /* Scattered */ #stars use:nth-child(n + 31) { ... } By thoughtfully structuring the SVG and reusing elements, I can build complex-looking animations without bloated code, making even a simple effect like changing opacity sparkle. Then, for added realism, I make Yogi’s head wobble: @keyframes headWobble { 0% { transform: rotate(-0.8deg) translateY(-0.5px); } 100% { transform: rotate(0.9deg) translateY(0.3px); } } #head { animation: headWobble 0.8s cubic-bezier(0.5, 0.15, 0.5, 0.85) infinite alternate; } His tie waves: @keyframes tieWave { 0%, 100% { transform: rotateZ(-4deg) rotateY(15deg) scaleX(0.96); } 33% { transform: rotateZ(5deg) rotateY(-10deg) scaleX(1.05); } 66% { transform: rotateZ(-2deg) rotateY(5deg) scaleX(0.98); } } #tie { transform-style: preserve-3d; animation: tieWave 10s cubic-bezier(0.68, -0.55, 0.27, 1.55) infinite; } His broom swings: @keyframes broomSwing { 0%, 20% { transform: rotate(-5deg); } 30% { transform: rotate(-4deg); } 50%, 70% { transform: rotate(5deg); } 80% { transform: rotate(4deg); } 100% { transform: rotate(-5deg); } } #broom { animation: broomSwing 4s cubic-bezier(0.5, 0.05, 0.5, 0.95) infinite; } And, finally, Yogi himself gently rotates as he flies on his magical broom: @keyframes yogiWobble { 0% { transform: rotate(-2.8deg) translateY(-0.8px) scale(0.998); } 30% { transform: rotate(1.5deg) translateY(0.3px); } 100% { transform: rotate(3.2deg) translateY(1.2px) scale(1.002); } } #yogi { animation: yogiWobble 3.5s cubic-bezier(.37, .14, .3, .86) infinite alternate; } All these subtle movements bring Yogi to life. By developing structured SVGs, I can create animations that feel full of character without writing a single line of JavaScript. Try this yourself: See the Pen Bewitched Bear CSS/SVG animation [forked] by Andy Clarke. Conclusion Whether you’re recreating a classic title card or animating icons for an interface, the principles are the same: Start clean, Optimise early, and Structure everything with animation in mind. SVGs offer incredible creative freedom, but only if kept lean and manageable. When you plan your process like a production cell — layer by layer, element by element — you’ll spend less time untangling code and more time bringing your work to life.

17 Cutest Kawaii Fonts That are So Adorable Zoe Santoro • May 30, 2025 In this article:See more ▼Post may contain affiliate links which give us commissions at no cost to you. Kawaii fonts are exactly what they sound like – typefaces that embody the Japanese concept of “kawaii” (meaning cute). These fonts typically feature rounded letterforms, playful details, and that unmistakable charm that makes you want to squeeze them like a plushie. Whether you’re designing anime merchandise, creating content for social media, or just want to add a dash of cuteness to your projects, kawaii fonts are your secret weapon for instant adorability. 👋 Psst... Did you know you can get unlimited downloads of 59,000+ fonts and millions of other creative assets for just $16.95/mo? Learn more »The Most Adorable Kawaii Fonts of 2025 Not all cute fonts are created equal, so I’ve curated a collection of the most genuinely kawaii typefaces that capture that authentic anime aesthetic. Here are my top picks: Bubble Bliss Bloom Bubble Bliss Bloom is a groovy font that exudes a cute and chunky aesthetic. Its playful design incorporates bubble-like elements, making it perfect for anime-inspired or youthful projects that require a fun and energetic typographic approach.Cute Lime Cute Lime is a charming bubble display font that brings a refreshing and lively feel to designs. Its rounded, inflated letterforms create a sweet and approachable look, ideal for projects targeting a younger audience or those aiming for a lighthearted vibe.Clefy Clefy is a delightful bubble font that combines cuteness with a touch of sophistication. Its inflated characters maintain a clean and legible appearance, making it versatile for both playful and moderately formal designs that require a friendly, approachable typeface.BLUM BLUM is a cute and lovely bubble font that blends script and handwritten styles with sans-serif elements. This decorative typeface is perfect for children’s products, as it captures a youthful spirit while maintaining readability and charm.Get 300+ Fonts for FREEEnter your email to download our 100% free "Font Lover's Bundle". For commercial & personal use. No royalties. No fees. No attribution. 100% free to use anywhere. Babel Gamee Babel Gamee is a playful and chunky bubble font that stands out with its bold, inflated characters. This decorative typeface is ideal for game designs, children’s products, or any project that requires a fun, chubby letterform with high visual impact.Fluffy Blitz Fluffy Blitz is a dynamic graffiti bubble font that brings street art flair to designs. With its playful and cartoon-like appearance, this font is perfect for urban-themed projects, youth-oriented designs, or any work that needs a bold, energetic typographic statement.Smothy Bubble Font Smothy Bubble Font combines retro charm with a modern bubble aesthetic. Its smooth, rounded forms create a nostalgic yet contemporary feel, making it suitable for vintage-inspired designs or projects that aim to blend old-school cool with current trends.Booba Candy Booba Candy is a bold and playful typeface that evokes the sweetness of confectionery. Its thick, rounded forms and lively character make it an excellent choice for candy packaging, children’s products, or any design that needs to convey a fun, indulgent feel.Dwangku Dwangku is a joyful display font that combines bubble-like qualities with a sans-serif structure. Its upbeat and fun design makes it perfect for headlines, logos, or any project that requires a cheerful and eye-catching typographic element.Baby Glaze Baby Glaze is a decorative font that captures the essence of cartoons and childhood. Its soft, rounded forms and playful design make it ideal for children’s books, nursery decor, or any project targeting a young audience or aiming for a whimsical touch.Wanbots Wanbots is a bubble font that combines pop culture appeal with retro aesthetics. This sans-serif typeface offers a unique blend of futuristic and vintage elements, making it suitable for tech-related designs, retro-futuristic themes, or modern projects with a nostalgic twist.Love You Love You is a funny and cute balloon font that includes both letters and symbols. This decorative sans-serif typeface is perfect for Valentine’s Day designs, love-themed projects, or any work that needs to convey affection with a lighthearted, playful approach.Daily Bubble Font Daily Bubble Font combines retro charm with modern bubble aesthetics. Its rounded, inflated characters offer a fresh take on vintage typography, making it suitable for nostalgic designs, casual branding, or projects that need a friendly, approachable typeface.Bloombang Bloombang is a bubble display font that offers a bold and eye-catching typographic solution. This decorative sans-serif typeface features inflated letterforms that create visual impact, making it ideal for headlines, logos, or any design that needs to make a strong statement.Love Bold Love Bold is a display font that combines cuteness with a strong visual presence. Its bold character and child-like charm make it perfect for children’s products, love-themed designs, or any project that needs to convey affection with a touch of playfulness and strength.Gumiec Urban Gumiec Urban is a graffiti bubble font that brings street art style to typography. Its punk and groovy aesthetic makes it perfect for urban-themed designs, music-related projects, or any work that needs to convey a rebellious, energetic vibe with a touch of street credibility.Bubblegum Bubblegum is a lively bubble font that captures the essence of its namesake. Its rounded, inflated characters suggest movement and fluidity, making it ideal for designs related to confectionery, children’s products, or any project that needs to convey a fun, bouncy aesthetic.What Makes Kawaii Fonts So Irresistibly Cute? The magic of kawaii fonts lies in several key design characteristics that trigger our natural “aww” response: Rounded, Soft Letterforms Just like how baby animals have rounded features that make us want to protect them, kawaii fonts feature soft, curved letterforms instead of sharp edges. These gentle curves create an immediate sense of friendliness and approachability. The rounded shapes mimic the aesthetic of anime character designs, where even tough characters often have softer, more appealing features than their realistic counterparts. Playful Character Details True kawaii fonts often incorporate delightful little details that give each letter personality. You might find hearts dotting the i’s, stars incorporated into letterforms, or tiny faces peeking out from within characters. These whimsical touches transform ordinary text into something that feels alive and full of character – just like the expressive details that make anime characters so memorable. Bouncy, Uneven Baselines Many kawaii fonts feature letters that don’t sit perfectly on the baseline. Instead, they bounce up and down slightly, creating a sense of movement and energy that feels spontaneous and joyful. This imperfection paradoxically makes the fonts more perfect for their intended purpose – conveying that carefree, happy energy that’s central to kawaii culture. Pastel-Friendly Proportions Kawaii fonts are designed to work beautifully with the soft, pastel color palettes that dominate anime and Japanese cute culture. Their proportions and spacing are optimized to look stunning in pinks, lavenders, mint greens, and other dreamy hues. Where Can You Use Kawaii Fonts? The adorable nature of kawaii fonts makes them perfect for specific design contexts where cuteness is not just welcome – it’s essential: Anime and Manga Projects Obviously, kawaii fonts are a natural fit for anything anime-related. Whether you’re designing covers for manga, creating promotional materials for anime conventions, or developing an anime-inspired app, these fonts help establish that authentic Japanese cute aesthetic. Gaming and Streaming Graphics The gaming community, especially fans of Japanese games and kawaii aesthetics, absolutely loves these fonts. They’re perfect for Twitch overlays, YouTube thumbnails, gaming logos, and streaming graphics where you want to convey a fun, approachable vibe. Social Media Content Instagram posts, TikTok graphics, and Pinterest pins often benefit from kawaii fonts, especially when targeting younger audiences or communities interested in anime, K-pop, or Japanese culture. These fonts help content stand out in crowded social feeds. Children’s Products and Brands The inherently friendly and non-threatening nature of kawaii fonts makes them excellent choices for children’s books, toy packaging, educational materials, and youth-oriented brands that want to feel welcoming and fun. Fashion and Lifestyle Brands Brands targeting the “kawaii fashion” market – think Harajuku street style, pastel goth, or fairy kei aesthetics – can use these fonts to immediately signal their alignment with cute culture and Japanese-inspired fashion trends. Pro Tip: When using kawaii fonts for branding, pair them with clean, simple layouts to let the font’s personality shine without overwhelming the design. Where to Avoid Kawaii Fonts While kawaii fonts are undeniably adorable, there are certain contexts where their cuteness works against your design goals: Professional Business Communications Unless you’re specifically in the kawaii/anime industry, using these fonts for business cards, corporate presentations, or formal communications can undermine your professional credibility. Save them for creative projects instead. Serious or Somber Content The cheerful nature of kawaii fonts makes them inappropriate for serious topics, news content, academic papers, or any context where gravity and respect are paramount. High-Information Density Designs While kawaii fonts excel at grabbing attention, they can become difficult to read in large blocks of text. Stick to using them for headlines, short phrases, or decorative elements rather than body text. Formal Design Contexts Museums, government websites, legal documents, and other formal institutions should generally avoid kawaii fonts unless they’re specifically creating content about Japanese culture or targeting younger audiences. How to Choose the Perfect Kawaii Font With so many adorable options available, here’s how to select the kawaii font that’s just right for your project: Consider Your Audience Are you designing for hardcore anime fans who will appreciate subtle references and authentic Japanese typography? Or are you targeting a broader audience that just enjoys cute aesthetics? More authentic kawaii fonts work better for anime enthusiasts, while more generally “cute” fonts appeal to wider audiences. Match the Energy Level Some kawaii fonts are quietly cute, while others are energetically adorable. Match your font choice to the energy level of your content. A gentle, soft kawaii font works for meditation apps or skincare brands, while a bouncy, energetic one suits gaming content or party invitations. Test Readability Always test your chosen kawaii font at the size it will be used. Some highly decorative kawaii fonts lose their charm (and legibility) when scaled down for mobile screens or small print applications. Consider Cultural Sensitivity Since kawaii culture originates from Japan, be mindful of using these fonts in ways that respectfully appreciate rather than appropriate the culture. Understanding the context and meaning behind kawaii aesthetics will help you use these fonts more thoughtfully. Remember: The best kawaii font is one that feels authentic to the kawaii aesthetic while serving your specific design needs. Don’t just pick the “cutest” one – pick the one that works best for your project. Kawaii Font Pairing and Color Tips To get the most out of your kawaii fonts, consider these design best practices: Color Palette Magic Kawaii fonts shine brightest when paired with the right colors. Think soft pastels, dreamy gradients, and colors inspired by Japanese aesthetics. Pink and lavender are classics, but don’t overlook mint green, peach, sky blue, and cream. For contrast, pair your kawaii fonts with pure white or very light backgrounds. This creates that clean, airy feel that’s essential to kawaii design. Smart Font Pairing When combining kawaii fonts with other typefaces, balance is key. Pair a highly decorative kawaii font with a clean, simple sans-serif for body text. This gives you the personality you want while maintaining readability. Never pair two competing kawaii fonts together – let one be the star while supporting fonts stay neutral and clean. Layout Considerations Kawaii fonts work best when they have room to breathe. Give them plenty of white space, use them for shorter text elements, and consider how they’ll look alongside images or illustrations in your kawaii aesthetic. The Psychology Behind Kawaii Typography Understanding why kawaii fonts are so effective can help you use them more strategically in your designs: The “Baby Schema” Effect Kawaii fonts trigger what scientists call the “baby schema” – our evolutionary response to infant-like features. The rounded shapes, soft edges, and playful proportions mimic characteristics that make us want to nurture and protect, creating an immediate positive emotional response. Cultural Comfort For audiences familiar with anime and Japanese culture, kawaii fonts provide cultural comfort and belonging. They signal that you understand and appreciate their interests, creating an instant connection. Stress Relief Through Design In our increasingly stressful world, kawaii aesthetics offer a form of visual stress relief. The gentle, non-threatening nature of kawaii fonts can actually help viewers feel more relaxed and positive. Expert Opinions: Designers on Kawaii Typography Trends I reached out to several typography experts and anime industry professionals to get their insights on kawaii font trends: Yuki Tanaka, Anime Production Designer: “Kawaii fonts have evolved beyond just being ‘cute.’ Today’s best kawaii typefaces understand the balance between authenticity and accessibility. They respect Japanese design principles while being readable for global audiences.” Maria Santos, Digital Brand Designer: “I’ve seen a huge increase in clients requesting kawaii-inspired fonts, even for non-anime brands. There’s something about that gentle, approachable aesthetic that resonates with people seeking comfort and positivity in design.” David Kim, Gaming Industry Designer: “The gaming community has fully embraced kawaii typography. We’re seeing these fonts used not just in obviously cute games, but in UI design for apps and platforms where user comfort and approachability are priorities.” Common Kawaii Font Questions Let’s address some frequently asked questions about kawaii fonts: What makes a font “kawaii” versus just “cute”? True kawaii fonts draw specifically from Japanese aesthetic principles and anime/manga typography traditions. While cute fonts might just be rounded or playful, kawaii fonts embody the specific cultural aesthetic of Japanese cuteness, often incorporating elements like asymmetry, soft imperfection, and emotionally expressive details. Can I use kawaii fonts for commercial projects? It depends on the specific font’s license. Many kawaii fonts are available for commercial use, but always check the licensing terms before using them in paid projects. Some require purchase of a commercial license, while others are free for all uses. Do kawaii fonts work in languages other than English? Most kawaii fonts are designed primarily for English and basic Latin characters. However, some include Japanese characters (hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji) or extended character sets for other languages. Check the font specifications to see what languages are supported. How do I make my own kawaii font? Creating a kawaii font requires understanding both typography basics and kawaii aesthetic principles. Start by studying authentic Japanese kawaii design, practice drawing rounded, expressive letterforms, and consider using font creation software like FontForge or Glyphs. Remember that cultural sensitivity is important when creating fonts inspired by Japanese aesthetics. The Future of Kawaii Typography As we look ahead to the rest of 2025 and beyond, kawaii fonts are evolving in exciting directions: Variable Font Technology New kawaii fonts are beginning to incorporate variable font technology, allowing designers to adjust cuteness levels, roundness, and playfulness on a sliding scale. This gives unprecedented control over the kawaii aesthetic. Cultural Fusion Styles We’re seeing kawaii fonts that blend Japanese cuteness with other cultural aesthetics – Korean-inspired kawaii fonts, Western cartoon influences, and even minimalist Scandinavian approaches to cute typography. Accessibility Improvements Newer kawaii fonts are being designed with better accessibility in mind, ensuring they remain cute while meeting readability standards for users with visual impairments or reading difficulties. Conclusion: Embracing the Kawaii Font Revolution Kawaii fonts represent more than just a design trend – they’re a bridge between cultures, a source of visual comfort, and a powerful tool for creating emotional connections with audiences. In a world that often feels harsh and overwhelming, these adorable typefaces offer a gentle reminder that design can be both beautiful and kind. Whether you’re a hardcore anime fan looking to create authentic Japanese-inspired designs, a brand seeking to connect with younger audiences, or simply someone who believes the world needs more cuteness, kawaii fonts have something special to offer. The key to using kawaii fonts successfully lies in understanding their cultural context, respecting their origins, and applying them thoughtfully to create designs that truly embody the spirit of kawaii – making the world a little brighter, a little softer, and a lot more adorable. So go ahead, embrace your cute side, and let these kawaii fonts add some much-needed sweetness to your next design project. After all, in a world that could always use more kindness, what could be more perfect than typography that makes people smile? Final Tip: Remember that the best kawaii font is one that feels authentic to both the aesthetic and your project’s needs. Choose with your heart, but design with your head, and you’ll create something truly magical. Zoe Santoro Zoe is an art student and graphic designer with a passion for creativity and adventure. Whether she’s sketching in a cozy café or capturing inspiration from vibrant cityscapes, she finds beauty in every corner of the world. With a love for bold colors, clean design, and storytelling through visuals, Zoe blends her artistic skills with her wanderlust to create stunning, travel-inspired designs. Follow her journey as she explores new places, discovers fresh inspiration, and shares her creative process along the way. 10 Warm Color Palettes That’ll Brighten Your DayThere’s nothing quite like the embracing quality of warm colors to make a design feel inviting and alive. As someone...How to Upscale Photos Without Blurriness or PixelationMaking a small picture larger without it turning blurry or blocky is called ‘image upscaling’. Suppose you make a small...The Influence of Font Size and Weight on Cognitive LoadAs designers, we obsess over kerning, color palettes and grids, but how often do we stop to consider how our...

Discover how Steamroller Animation achieved a 2D, 1980s-cartoon aesthetic in Unreal Engine for animated show Spice Frontier—and expanded the universe of the story with a Fortnite island made in UEFN.

OpinionMay 26, 20257 min readScientific Strategies to Help Kids Meet the Challenges of a Cruel WorldResearch has shown ways parents can help children cope with the stressors of modern lifeBy Clara Moskowitz Mary Long/Getty ImagesBetween climate change, economic anxiety and political turmoil, the world can feel like a scary place, especially for kids. Today’s young people have already been through a deadly global pandemic, they regularly drill to prepare for school shootings, and they must learn to navigate an age of misinformation and danger online. These stressors seem to be taking a toll; measurements show anxiety and sleep deprivation among adolescents are rising, and even teen suicide attempts are increasing.To parents, the situation can feel overwhelming. The good news is, there’s a lot parents can do to help their kids meet the challenges of the world we live in, writes parenting journalist (and frequent Scientific American contributor) Melinda Wenner Moyer. In her new book Hello, Cruel World! Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times (Penguin Random House, May 2025) Moyer surveys scientific research on kids’ mental health and ways to improve it.Moyer divides her book into three sections focused on evidence-backed tips for helping young people cope with challenges, connect to others, and cultivate strong characters. Scientific American spoke to her about how to shield kids from online misinformation, nurture self-compassion and get your children to open up with you.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]The concept of the book, this “cruel world,” resonates so much with me as a parent, and I'm sure with so many people. Tell me a bit more about how you started feeling like the world is becoming a really tough place for kids.I have had this growing anxiety and angst as a parent, just thinking about the world that my kids were coming into and that they were going to inherit from us. There are so many things looming, you know, climate change and disinformation. I was also getting so many comments from parents saying, “I'm just so scared on behalf of my kids, and I don't know what I can do to prepare them and help them get them ready for this world that we're going to hand them.” And I'm always trying to think of solutions and trying to figure out ways to reassure both myself and my readers. We do have some control here. And so I started researching, what are the key skills that we know can help kids get through all this? I was really trying to come up with concrete strategies that I could communicate to parents to help them feel a little less worried, a little more in control, and feel like they really could do something as parents, because I think parenting is a form of activism. We are raising the next generation of kids, and through our parenting, we can change the world.In what specific ways do you think there are challenges that kids are facing today that previous generations haven't really had to face before?We know from the research that there are a lot of tweens and teens who are struggling with mental health issues. Whether or not you think that the statistics are as bad as they seem, there seems to be a signal there that we should pay attention to. And so a big part of the book is about: How can we help kids cope? What are the things we can do to help them manage their emotions in healthy ways, rather than unhealthy ways?Another big one is technology. Every generation panics about technology, and so the question is, well, how much different is our situation today than it was when the TV came out, or the printing press—these were all big changes at the time. But I think this is certainly the first generation where kids have a handheld connection to technology, potentially at all times. That does feel momentous.One message in the book that really spoke to me was that helping our kids is also about helping ourselves—that we can’t teach kids things like self-compassion, or balancing work and leisure, or all these other lessons, until we can embody them ourselves.I do think a really overlooked aspect of child health and development is: How are the parents doing? What’s their mental health like? What are the skills that they have or don't have? Because we are teaching our kids so much through the choices we make. You know, are we beating ourselves up when we burn dinner? Are we constantly putting ourselves down? Our kids are learning from that and thinking, okay, I should be doing this too. I think we do overlook the role of our own well-being. This is really important because our kids are watching us.I want to be careful too: I’m not saying this to put more pressure on parents. We already have so many expectations of ourselves to ensure that our kids are succeeding at everything they do, that they're comfortable all the time, that they’re protected all the time, that they’re happy all the time. We have these expectations about what we should be doing as parents that are both unrealistic and unhelpful. When we overprotect, when we over-coddle, that actually undermines the development of key skills for them. Problem solving and resilience and emotional regulation, these are all skills that kids learn through practice. They need to be sad, they need to be disappointed and frustrated. They need to fail and experience what that is and understand that that’s part of the process of learning. So a lot of what I'm trying to do is give parents permission to step back a little bit and to relax.You write in the book a lot about connection—how a strong connection between parents and kids is important for their mental health and is protective against some of the things we worry about, such as bad influences from social media. How do you make sure your connection is strong?If you're worried you’re not connecting enough with your kids, then there are things you can do. I was really surprised at the power of listening to our kids—like really listening. I think we hear a lot about talking to your kids. And I think sometimes that can be misinterpreted as, lecture to your kids, you know, tell them not to do this and not to do that, and set rules and communicate the rules. But it’s also really listening to them in a respectful way, and being willing to consider their perspective, which you may not always agree with.And when they open up to you, drop everything. It’s impossible sometimes, but when they are opening up to you, even if it’s in a very inconvenient time, try to allow it and stop what you’re doing. Kids often like to connect right before bedtime, which is the most frustrating time ever, right? But we should really allow the connection to happen on their terms, because that’s a form of giving our kids some autonomy. If you’re getting from your kids some willingness to be vulnerable with you, I think that that is a really good sign.There’s a relationship between feeling listened to and being willing to be self-reflective and also intellectually humble, which I think is really interesting. So when we feel heard, when we feel safe and not threatened, we’re much more willing to consider what we don’t know, and to acknowledge uncertainty within ourselves.What can parents do if we’re worried about the information, the bad actors, the scary, negative stuff that our kids are coming across online? What can we do to help them tell the difference between misinformation, lies and reality online?There’s very little media literacy education happening in schools. It really helps if the parent has some of those skills already, because then they can model media literacy and information literacy a little better for kids. So I encourage parents to try to learn about media literacy.One thing that every media literacy expert said to me was to ask your kids open-ended questions about what they’re seeing and hearing in the media. It’s such a beautifully simple approach, but apparently it’s very, very powerful. So this could be anything, like with little kids, asking: What do you like about this show? Or why do you think that character just did what they did? It could also involve talking about how movies and cartoons are made. And when kids get older, you can ask even bigger questions, like: Who made this? Why was it made? Why is it being presented this way? What or who is missing from this? Who might benefit from this? Who might be harmed by it? Getting kids to think about these big-picture questions about the media can be super helpful in fostering this sort of curiosity and this questioning perspective in kids.These are some really wonderful tips, and I’m going to try to put them into practice. As a parent, I'm always reading and trying to learn how to be the best parent I can be. But sometimes I wonder how much it really matters what we do and how we parent. How much of who our kids are and who they’re going to turn out to be, is completely out of our control anyway?People still debate this. We know genetics, of course, really matter. We know that temperament and personality, these are not things that we’re probably going to be able to shift in our kids. But we also do know that a lot of what we’re passing on to our kids is through the relationships we build with them, through the conversations we’re having with them to help them understand how the world works, to help them understand what they can do to build stronger relationships, how they can interact with people. They really do learn a lot from our modeling, in terms of how to behave, how to manage conflict, how to think about different situations. We know that there are a lot of skills that kids learn through observing others, through the conversations they have with others, through the opportunities they’re given to develop skills.A big example is resilience. We know that kids who are overprotected, prevented from failing, from experiencing challenges, that those are kids who are going to grow up not knowing how to problem solve and not knowing how to deal with feelings of frustration. They haven’t been given opportunities to develop emotional regulation skills and they will really suffer for that when they get older. So I feel like we do have a lot of power in terms of the perspective that we help kids develop about the world, about why it looks the way it does. We can give them the opportunities at a young age to develop skills that will serve them the rest of their lives.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

For the past few years, Six One Indie has been delivering stellar showcases that highlight an often overlooked category of games: indies. Though these titles might be made by smaller teams working on a much smaller budget compared to their AAA counterparts, you'd be wrong to think they don't contain every bit the charm and artistry of those promoted all across your social media timelines--and the games below serve as irrefutable proof.Though the team at Six One Indie featured nearly 50 games in its May showcase--the entirety of which you can watch here--we decided to round up just a few dozen of our favorites. From cozy titles like Bobo Bay to the hilariously bizarre Dinoblade, these are some of the indie that we immediately added to our Steam wishlist. Shadows of Chroma TowerShadows of Chroma Tower combines stylish, high-contrast art direction with "the best features of dungeon crawlers and ARPGs" to create a frenetic experience you can play by yourself or with friends. You'll be able to join factions, choose from five classes and six professions, upgrade a robust skill tree, and truly tailor your experience as you make your way up the tower in search of the game's big bad. Mouse: P.I. For Hire"Steamboat Willie-meets-John Wick" is probably one of the strangest combination of words I've ever used to describe a game, but when it comes to Mouse: P.I. For Hire, it just makes sense. In it, players take on the role of Jack Pepper, a hyper-violent private investigator with a strong right-hook and an arsenal of weapons at his disposal, one of which is quite literally a ray gun that causes heads to explode. Its gritty, blood-splattering content is in stark contrast to game's visuals, which draw inspiration from 1930s cartoons, making the whole experience even more over-the-top. All that plus some neo-noir vibes and a jazzy soundtrack make this a game all you shooter fans should definitely keep an eye on. LeilaUbik Studio's Leila is one of the handful of games Six One Indie showed off that is available now--and for only $12, I might add. The hand-animated, story-driven puzzle game sees you relive a woman's "fragile memories" as she undergoes a deeply personal and transformative journey. It's worth noting that Leila features strong adult themes and some body horror, so don't go in expecting something "cozy." However, if you're looking for a dark, cerebral experience, this might be a great pick. Muffles' Life SentenceMuffles' Life Sentence is another game that is already available to play on Steam for the low price of $0, so there's really no reason to not give it a lil' whirl. The "darkly quirky" RPG take place in a prison where inmates are "remade" to match their crimes, and features gameplay stylings that are sure to delight fans of Paper Mario or Undertale. DinobladeSometimes, you can come up with an extremely cool idea for a game just by taking two really cool ideas and mashing 'em together. Such is the case with Dinoblade, a new action RPG that sees players take on the role of a young, blade-wielding Spinosaurus who must fight off other dinosaurs in order to prevent an extinction. It's ridiculous, yes, but what's not ridiculous is how much developer Team Spino commits to the bit--the game looks extremely cool and seems like it'll be a blast for fans of over-the-top action titles like Devil May Cry. Bobo BayHave you ever wished you could stay in Sonic the Hedgehog's chao gardens just a bit longer? Bobo Bay might be the game for you. The pet simulation title sees you care for, collect, breed, train, and accessorize adorable little creatures, all while readying them up for fun competitions such as races and wrestling matches. Though the game isn't scheduled to release until next year, those interested can play its alpha build now. Oscuro Blossom's GlowIf you're looking for a delightful-looking puzzle platformer accompanied by gorgeous, 2D, illustrative art, you should check out Oscuro Blossom's Glow. In it you play as Selene, a young girl with the ability to emit light; naturally, this power helps her traverse the lush woodlands she find herself in by creating life, dispelling creatures, and more. The game currently has a demo available to play over on its Steam page. Truth ScrapperInsertdisc5, the studio behind 2023's indie gem In Stars and Time, is back with a new game that looks every bit as lovely as its predecessor. In Truth Scrapper you play as Sosotte, a member of the Truth Scrapper guild who is sent to investigate a mysterious sinkhole that has destroyed the community's "sense of will." The only problem? The vast majority of your memories reset at the end of each day, and you're the one responsible for choosing which ones stay and which ones to abandon. 1000 Deaths1000 Deaths is a "gravity-bending 3D platformer" that features some truly fun visuals and an early 2000s, Adult Swim feel. However, to relegate it to just another platformer is a disservice, as 1000 Deaths also features a unique spin: the ability for players to make choices that completely alter the game's mechanics, story, and level design. This chaotic, hardcore, action game aims to set the stage for some fun speed-running opportunities--if its players can stay alive. Sound interesting? Fortunately, you can check out 1000 Deaths' demo now. Cast n ChillA massive departure from the previous entry on this list, Cast n Chill features a far more relaxing gameplay loop. The cozy idle game sees its players explore serene lakes, rivers, and ocean with their loyal pup, their only goal being to catch some fish. As they play, they'll get the chance to upgrade their gear, granting them the ability to reel in more impressive catches. It's a low stakes experience accompanied by some truly picturesque pixel-art, and best of all, you can play the game's demo right now. Future Vibe CheckEven if you've played automation games before, I can almost guarantee that you've never played one quite like this. In Future Vibe Check, players are tasked with slowly building a factory that doesn't just create products--it creates music, too. As they rebuild the given area, the structures they place create their own unique sounds whenever energy courses through them. Curious as to how that will play out? Fortunately, you can try Future Vibe Check's demo now. Scratch the CatFor all the Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Sly Cooper, Croc, and other 3D mascot platformer fans out there, here's a new game to keep on your radar. In Scratch the Cat, players take on the role of DJ Scratch, a sleek-looking cat who is on a journey to reclaim his stolen records. The adventure game features some remarkable visuals that are absolutely on par other games in the genre, and seems like it'll be ripe with collectibles, unique bosses, and plenty of ways to traverse and explore. Jump the TrackBilled as an "explosive comedy that blends visual novel with pachinko," Jump the Track looks like an incredibly charming game with plenty of style and humor. When not dishing out some pinball action, the game unfolds in an almost comic book-style way, as it tells the story of Sam, "a young dreamer struggling in the gig economy" whose fortune might just change tonight. Jump the Track currently has a demo available to play on Steam, as well as an extremely close release date: May 28, 2025. Rogue EclipseIn Rogue Eclipse, players get the chance to traverse stunning seas of stars and comets as they take down starfighters, armadas, and otherworldly behemoths. That said, it's not just a flight-based shooter, as Rogue Eclipse features an "epic roguelike campaign" as well. Developer Huskraft calls the game "easy to learn, tricky to master, and impossible to put down," and after this first-look, it's easy to see why. Guilty as Sock!One of the more bizarre games in the showcase, Guilty as Sock! looks incredible and I cannot wait to force my friends play it with me. The multiplayer, court simulator sees you and your pals jump into a chaotic trial where each person plays a sock puppet bound to a specific role--lawyer, judge, etc.--and must then present evidence cards that help support their agenda. While your friends testify, you can choose to throw paper balls and mock them in an attempt to shake them up and sway the verdict in your favor--it'll be up to the judge to call the behavior out, or encourage it. All in all, it's some real Among Us-style nonsense that I will absolutely be playing later this week, thanks to its new demo. Rue ValleyRue Valley is yet another title on this list with a demo I downloaded immediately. The gritty-looking narrative RPG follows a man trapped in a time loop and whose choices are bound by his mental state; if he is introverted, for example, even if you want him to go up and talk to a woman at a bar, he might not be able to muster up the courage. It will then be up to you to figure out how to deal with his various mental hurdles, form relationships with complex characters, and break out of the loop. Carimara: Beneath the Forlorn LimbsThere were a lot of game shown at Six One Indie's May showcase that featured some truly fantastic art direction, and Carimara: Beneath the Forlorn Limbs is absolutely one of them. The bleak, horror-adjacent title sees players take on the role of the Cariamara, a mysterious figure whose mission is to conjure up ghosts and answer their questions using a deck of cards. Described as a "short and creepy fairytale," this one might not be for the easily perturbed--but looks potentially delightful for those of us who love disturbing little creatures and moody, PS1-era visuals. A Week in the Life of Asocial GiraffeHave you ever just wanted to be left alone? That's precisely how this giraffe feels, and is the conceit behind A Week in the Life of Asocial Giraffe. In it, your goal is simple: avoid all social contact. However, the citizens of Friendly City do make things a bit harder thanks to their chatty nature. It is up to you to help our giraffe friend do all his chores and live his best life, all while avoiding people by solving point-and-click puzzles and utilizing stealth. If you're looking to give it a go, the game's demo is now live on Steam. InkshadeAnother visually remarkable entry on this list, Inkshade is turn-based tactics game that sees players take control of strange wooden miniatures that are "wrapped in a web of locked rooms and orchestrated by an otherworldly game master." The end goal of Inkshade is to guide these tokens to a mysterious realm known as the abyss, but they'll first need to conquer the continent, procure an airship, and sail through "cursed skies," and none of that will be easy. However, if you're interested in giving it a shot, you can play the game's demo now. One Way HomeBased on its trailer, One Way Home reminds me a lot of Limbo or Inside, albeit with realistic visuals, more horror, and some cool "choose-your-own" adventure elements. The game follows Jimmy Taylor, a 12-year-old boy who gets involved in a car accident on his walk home from school. When he comes to, Jimmy finds himself thrust into a mysterious version of his world that, while seemingly devoid of humans, is filled to the brim with monstrosities and disturbing visuals. What ensues is a tense-looking puzzle platformer in which player-choice dictates the skills, locations, enemies, and endings Jimmy stumbles upon--and thanks to its new demo, you can get a first glimpse at how this will all play out now. Kabuto ParkWith its playful visuals and adorable premise, Kabuto Park looks perfect for those seeking a game with a bit of whimsy and childlike wonder about it. At its core, the game revolves around bugs: finding them, catching them, training them, and ultimately winning the Summer Beetle Battle Championship with them. As players bug-catch and battle, they'll also gain the ability to upgrade their equipment, allowing them to find even "rarer, stronger, and shinier little friends" to use in the game's card-based competitions. Sounds cute, right? If you think so, I've got great news for you: the game comes out on May 28. Oh and if you're feeling really antsy, you can play the demo right now. Quite a RideIt's just you, your bicycle, a half-charged cellphone, and one very good boy against the world in the upcoming psychological horror game Quite a Ride. In it, you play as someone whose quick trip to their friend's house is derailed by the sudden presence of a dense, oppressive fog filled with eldritch horrors. As such, you have no choice but to keep pedaling--even as the beings following you grow so close you can hear them breathe and the world shifts around you. And though this and the game's beautiful, Pacific Northwest vibes are already enough to make me extremely interested in it, Quite a Ride also has another thing going for it: collective progress. This means that player's collective, global efforts will change the game over time by introducing new characters, locations, and secrets. We'll see if I am actually brave enough to play it, but wow am I eager to try. OddbatOddbat likens itself to Celeste in that it is an extremely challenging platformer filled with secrets and over 700 unique levels. That said, it is immediately obvious that its personality, humor, and style are all its own. In Oddbat, you play as a vampire on a mission to perform an elaborate ritual. However, you'll need to drain the blood of seven bosses and make your way through five unique dungeons to do so. Naturally, you'll need to rely on one of your most iconic vampiric powers--the ability to become a bat--to help you accomplish your goals. With its cheeky tone and monochromatic color scheme, Oddbat looks to be shaping up into a viciously fun and stylish platformer.

Macworld I can’t believe I’m about to state this, but I’m considering switching from iOS to Android. Not right now, but what I once considered an absurd notion is rapidly becoming a realistic possibility. While Apple may have an insurmountable lead in hardware, iPhones and Android phones are no longer on par with each other when it comes to AI and assistants, and the gap is only growing wider. At its annual I/O conference on Tuesday, Google didn’t just preview some niche AI gimmicks that look good in a demo; it initiated a computing revolution that Apple simply won’t be able to replicate anytime soon, if ever. Actions speak louder than words The first thing I noticed during the main I/O keynote was how confident the speakers were. Unlike Apple’s canned Apple Intelligence demo at last year’s WWDC, Google opted for live demos and presentations that only reflect its strong belief that everything just works. Many of the announced features were made available on the same day, while some others will follow as soon as this summer. Google didn’t (primarily, at least) display nonexistent concepts and mockups or pre-record the event. It likely didn’t make promises it can’t keep, either. If you have high AI hopes for WWDC25, I’d like to remind you that the latest rumors suggest Apple will ignore the elephant in the room, possibly focusing on the revolutionary new UI and other non-AI goods instead. I understand Apple’s tough position—given how last year’s AI vision crumbled before its eyes—but I’d like to think a corporation of that size could’ve acquired its way into building a functional product over the past 12 months. For the first time in as long as I can remember, Google is selling confidence and accountability while Apple is hiding behind glitzy smoke and mirrors. Google’s demos at IO showed the true power of AI.Foundry Apple’s tight grip will only suffocate innovation A few months ago, Apple added ChatGPT to Siri’s toolbox, letting users rely on OpenAI’s models for complex queries. While a welcome addition, it’s unintuitive to use. In many cases, you need to explicitly ask Apple’s virtual assistant to use ChatGPT, and any accidental taps on the screen will dismiss the entire conversation. Without ChatGPT, Siri is just a bare-bones voice command receiver that can set timers and, at best, fetch basic information from the web. Conversely, Google has built an in-house AI system that integrates fully into newer versions of Android. Gemini is evolving from a basic chatbot into an integral part of Google’s ecosystem. It can research and generate proper reports, video chat with you, and pull personal information from your Gmail, Drive, and other Google apps. Gemini is already light-years ahead of Siri—and it’s only getting better.Foundry Google also previewed Project Astra, which will let Gemini fully control your Android phone, thanks to its agentic capabilities. It’s similar to the revamped Siri with on-screen context awareness (that Apple is reportedly rebuilding from scratch), but much more powerful. While, yes, it’s still just a prototype, Google has seemingly delivered on last year’s promises. Despite it infamously killing and rebranding projects all the time, I actually believe its AI plans will materialize because it has been constantly shipping finished products to users. Unlike Apple, Google is also bringing some of its AI features to other platforms. For example, the Gemini app for iPhone now supports the live video chat feature for free. There are rumors that Apple will open up some of its on-device AI models to third-party app developers, but those will likely be limited to Writing Tools and Image Playground. So even if Google is willing to develop more advanced functionalities for iOS, Apple’s system restrictions would throttle them. Third-party developers can’t control the OS, so Google will never be able to build the same comprehensive tools for iPhones. Beyond the basics Google’s AI plan doesn’t strictly revolve around its Gemini chatbot delivering information. It’s creating a new computing experience powered by artificial intelligence. Google’s AI is coming to Search and Chrome to assist with web browsing in real time.  For example, Gemini will help users shop for unique products based on their personal preferences and even virtually try clothes on. Similarly, other Google AI tools can code interfaces based on text prompts, generate video clips from scratch, create music, translate live Meet conferences, and so on. Now, I see how dystopian this all can be, but with fair use, it will be an invaluable resource to students and professionals.  Meanwhile, what can Apple Intelligence do? Generate cartoons and proofread articles? While I appreciate Apple’s private, primarily on-device approach, most users care about the results, not the underlying infrastructure. Google’s Try It On mode will use AI to show how something will look before you buy it.Foundry The wrong path During I/O, Google shared its long-term vision for AI, which adds robotics and mixed-reality headsets to the equation. Down the road, the company plans to power machines using the knowledge its AI is gaining each day. It also demoed its upcoming smart glasses, which can mirror Android phone alerts, send texts, translate conversations in real time, scan surrounding objects, and much, much more.  While Apple prioritized the Vision Pro headset no one asked for, Google has been focusing its efforts on creating the sleek, practical device users actually need—a more powerful Ray-Ban Meta rival. Before long, Android users will be rocking stylish eyewear and barely using their smartphones in public. Meanwhile, iPhone users will likely be locked out of this futuristic experience because third-party accessories can’t read iOS notifications and interact with the system in the same way. Apple is running out of time iOS and Android launched as two contrasting platforms. At first, Apple boasted its stability, security, and private approach, while Google’s vision revolved around customization, ease of modding, and openness. Throughout the years, Apple and Google have been learning from each other’s strengths and applying the needed changes to appease their respective user bases.  Apple Intelligence had priomise but Apple has failed to deliver its most ambitious features.Foundry Recently, it seemed like the two operating systems were finally intersecting: iOS had become more personalizable, while Android deployed stricter guardrails and privacy measures. However, the perceived overlap only lasted for a moment—until the AI boom changed everything. The smartphone as we know it today seems to be fading away. AI companies are actively building integrations with other services, and it’s changing how we interact with technology. Mobile apps could become less relevant in the near future, as a universal chatbot would perform the needed tasks based on users’ text and voice prompts.  Google is slowly setting this new standard with Android, and if Apple can’t keep up with the times, the iPhone’s relevancy will face the same fate as so many Nokia and BlackBerry phones. And if Apple doesn’t act fast, Siri will be a distant memory.

Back in 2010, when Cartoon Network first announced its plan to reboot the beloved 1985 animated TV series Thundercats, the first thought that went through my mind was, “That’s great! Do Blackstar next!” In 2014, when Boat Rocker Media announced its reboot of 1981’s Danger Mouse, same thing: “Huh, interesting, but do Blackstar next.” 2016’s Disney reveal about its reboot of 1987’s Duck Tales? “Rad. But… Blackstar?” And so it went, year after year, with the announcements about 2018’s Netflix reboot of She-Ra: Princess of Power, 2021’s He-Man reboot Masters of the Universe: Revelation, the CG version of Inspector Gadget, the American Voltron update Voltron: Legendary Defender, half a dozen new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers projects, a little-loved second Thundercats series, and every single Smurfs movie. I get it — the kids of the ’80s are producers and writers and showrunners now, with enough clout to get their childhood memories turned into new shows. But apparently none of them watched Blackstar, easily one of the coolest animated series of the 1980s, built around the coolest sword. There’s a direct genetic line between the success of 1977’s Star Wars and the wave of space-set, fantasy-themed Saturday morning cartoons that closely followed. Star Wars beget ABC’s popular Thundarr the Barbarian, a post-apocalyptic dystopian-future fantasy about a muscular hero who fought oppressive magical villains while wearing a fur skirt, hanging out with a leotard-clad sorceress, and more or less carrying a lightsaber and traveling with a Wookiee. Thundarr helped inspire Blackstar, CBS’ equivalent show, about a muscular hero who fought oppressive magical villains while wearing a fur skirt, hanging out with a leotard-clad sorceress, and carrying his own form of laser sword. (No Wookiee, though — instead, series hero Blackstar got to ride a dragon.) Both shows were on the leading edge of the post-Star Wars dark fantasy wave, leading to movies like Excalibur, Conan the Barbarian, and Dragonslayer. But unlike most of those ’80s fantasies — Flash Gordon aside — Thundarr and Blackstar kept a foot in Star Wars’ science fiction roots, hanging onto the idea of worlds where technology and mysticism met and clashed. Thundarr was more popular, but Blackstar was more compelling: a weirder, darker, richer world with a lot more going on, and a much more imaginative sword that wasn’t just a lightly reskinned lightsaber. Though the show only managed a single season and 13 episodes (compared with Thundarr’s two-year, 21-episode stint), Blackstar’s potential still sticks with me decades later. The story in brief: An astronaut from a future Earth, John Blackstar, enters a black hole in his experimental timeship, and winds up trapped on an ancient alien world, full of magic and monsters. (It’s essentially an isekai series, decades before isekai was the hottest trend in anime and manga.) The local Sauron equivalent, the Overlord, dominates the planet Sagar with an artifact called the Powerstar, a huge two-handed crystalline energy sword. Somehow, the Powerstar gets broken into identical halves, producing two badass weapons: the Power Sword, which the Overlord still holds, and the Star Sword, which falls into Blackstar’s hands. Blackstar winds up as the figurehead in a growing rebellion against the Overlord’s. Meanwhile, the Overlord wants not just to squash this budding rebellion, but to reclaim the Star Sword and take up the Powerstar again. In a series of interviews for Blackstar’s 2006 DVD release, the creators and writers cop to some of their influences in writing the show: The protagonist is a little bit John Carter of Mars (the original Edgar Rice Burroughs version, not the 2012 fantasy-movie version) and a little bit Flash Gordon, though he also closely resembles the protagonist of the 1979 live-action series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. The Trobbits — tiny comedy-relief people who find and rescue Blackstar after his timeship crashes — take a little inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkien’s hobbits, and a lot more from Disney’s seven dwarfs, complete with the “one personality trait apiece” dynamic, and a youngest member who never speaks. (There are also seven of them.)  The Overlord is somewhere between Darth Vader and Ming the Merciless, while Blackstar’s sorceress companion, Mara, is basically just a reskin of Thundarr’s Princess Ariel, with very similar powers, a similar elegant, educated personality and role as party historian, and similar obvious crush on the oblivious hero. Although these characters rarely feel unique, the mythology and setting of Blackstar’s world very much do, and the central plot device of the Powerstar is unique in fantasy animation. The symmetry of the central villain and hero each having half of the world’s most legendary weapon — which is to say, half of the power left in a world struggling to define itself — is a clever riff on the idea that heroes and villains should mirror each other for maximum thematic impact. Their connection through the sundered Powerstar gives the protagonist and antagonist an intimate personal connection, a reason to clash again and again. It also helps define their characters, and what they do with power. It’s no coincidence that in the Overlord’s hands, the Power Sword is all blunt force, used solely to blast or slash, while Blackstar uses the Star Sword as a finesse weapon with flexible magical abilities. (Too flexible, really: Its magic is ill-defined, and the show’s writers invented new Star Sword powers in nearly every episode.) The idea of these two swords as yin and yang, perfect halves that assemble into a greater whole, is unusually elegant for an ’80s cartoon — and one of the series’ many ideas that was never really explored to full advantage. For modern viewers Blackstar is fairly close to unwatchable. Its production company, Filmation, emerged from a series of commercial jobs in the 1960s, but by the 1980s, it specialized in budget-priced television animated entirely in America, rather than in cheaper overseas production houses. That necessitated a lot of cost-saving devices, like recycling the same hand-drawn sequences many times over, often within the same episode, and using a hilariously limited library of sound effects. Blackstar’s sound design is garish and repetitive, with vocal work that sounds like almost everyone is shouting. The scripts are clunky: Blackstar is conceived as a quippy hero who peppers his foes with snarky one-liners, but his jokes are cataclysmically stiff. About the best he can muster is a jaunty “Putting on a little weight, aren’t you, Rocko?” when hefting one rock elemental to toss it onto another during a battle. And the series is designed for the syndication of the era, meaning that episodes might re-air in any order. So there’s no story development, no character arcs, not even an opening episode to establish Blackstar’s origins. Continuity glitches, inconsistent design and storytelling, and budget-saving slow pans across paintings abound. But the world it’s set in is fascinating. There are hints here and there of ancient technologies and centuries-old civilizations buried under what’s become a verdant forest, centered on the magic of the gigantic central Sagar tree, a mystic font of power the Trobbits live in and tend to. Sagar is a world full of weird creatures that seem either like evolutions of familiar animals, or like magical constructs — shark-bats and frog-rabbits and monkey-birds, long before Avatar: The Last Airbender made these kinds of amalgams a running joke. Those slow-pan, cash-saving painting backgrounds are rich, elaborate, and colorful, suggesting a world with the darkness and detail of Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal.  While so much of 1980s animation was about the clear line between good and evil, there’s a sense throughout Blackstar that most of the world of Sagar isn’t aspected in such a black-and-white way. It’s just a chaotic ruin, where hungry monsters, prim but weary civilizations, and barbaric enclaves all exist side by side, divided by lethal geography. Every scattered outpost and wandering monster is equally dangerous to Blackstar and the Overlord, but ripe for either of them to exploit for an advantage in their ongoing war. There are even hints at a nuanced system for magic, where the mental power of sorcery and the elemental power of nature magic are different things that work in different ways. After Blackstar’s single season ended, Filmation immediately followed it with the Mattel-backed and far better funded He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, a series based on an existing toy line, but just as clearly based on elements borrowed from Blackstar. Once again, there’s a muscular hero in a fur skirt with a magic sword, battling a sorcerous villain in a chaotic technofantasy world packed with environmental hazards and weird, wildly diverse humanoids. Filmation regular Alan Oppenheimer voiced both Blackstar’s Overlord and He-Man’s Skeletor; similarly, Linda Gary voiced Blackstar’s leading lady Mara and He-Man’s Teela. Filmation staff writer Tom Ruegger developed the series bible for both shows, and it shows, in everything from the similar heroes’ and rogues’ galleries to the sprawling high-and-low-tech world where magic and robots co-exist. One He-Man episode, “The Remedy,” even reused several Blackstar sequences, reintroducing Blackstar’s dragon-horse Warlock as a beast He-Man saves from a giant spider, then rides around. While He-Man had many of the same budgetary and aesthetic limitations as Blackstar — frequently recycled animation, obnoxious sound design, goofy and often ineffectual comedy relief — He-Man was immediately more popular. So popular, in fact that toy maker Galoob tried to nab some of Mattel’s sales success by putting out a weirdly modeled toy line for Blackstar, two full years after the show was canceled. (Those toys did not do well.) Now, we’re in an era where He-Man gets reboot after reboot — an all-ages animated version, a CG version for kids, a new live-action movie scheduled for 2026 — while Blackstar is all but forgotten. And I find that so strange. The bid to reboot and update every hit cartoon of the 1980s seems like a natural enough progression for an era of media fueled by nostalgia, but I’ve never understood why there isn’t more of it for Blackstar, a series that was more imaginative and ambitious than either the predecessor it was trying to outdo or the follower that got all the glory. In the way of so many other ’80s cartoons, my interest in a reboot is much less about re-creating an often janky, limited, cheaply made TV series, and much more about realizing the potential these characters and this world couldn’t take advantage of in the 1980s. A modern version with up-to-date animation could give John Blackstar a proper backstory, and actually make some sense of the biggest hero/villain themes the ’80s version lightly touched on. It could take advantage of the retro-future magic setting and the sprawling original world of Sagar in ways Filmation never dreamed of.  And most importantly, a proper modern update could finally dig into the event that split the Powerstar and turned its two halves into thematic weapons. There are so many story possibilities for that particular cool sword, just waiting to be discovered by a new generation.

The SMIL specification was introduced by the W3C in 1998 for synchronizing multimedia. This was long before CSS animations or JavaScript-based animation libraries were available. It was built into SVG 1.1, which is why we can still use it there today. Now, you might’ve heard that SMIL is dead. However, it’s alive and well since Google reversed a decision to deprecate the technology almost a decade ago. It remains a terrific choice for designers and developers who want simple, semantic ways to add animations to their designs. Tip: There’s now a website where you can see all my Toon Titles. Mike loves ’90s animation — especially Disney’s) Duck Tales). Unsurprisingly, my taste in cartoons stretches back a little further to Hanna-Barbera shows like Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines, Scooby-Doo, The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Wacky Races, and, of course, The Yogi Bear Show. So, to explain how this era of animation relates to SVG, I’ll be adding SMIL animations in SVG to title cards from some classic Yogi Bear cartoons. Fundamentally, animation changes how an element looks and where it appears over time using a few basic techniques. That might be simply shifting an element up or down, left or right, to create the appearance of motion, like Yogi Bear moving across the screen. Rotating objects around a fixed point can create everything, from simple spinning effects to natural-looking movements of totally normal things, like a bear under a parachute falling from the sky. Scaling makes an element grow, shrink, or stretch, which can add drama, create perspective, or simulate depth. Changing colour and transitioning opacity can add atmosphere, create a mood, and enhance visual storytelling. Just these basic principles can create animations that attract attention and improve someone’s experience using a design. These results are all achievable using CSS animations, but some SVG properties can’t be animated using CSS. Luckily, we can do more — and have much more fun — using SMIL animations in SVG. We can combine complex animations, move objects along paths, and control when they start, stop, and everything in between. Animations can be embedded within any SVG element, including primitive shapes like circles, ellipses, and rectangles. They can also be encapsulated into groups, paths, and polygons: <circle ...> <animate>...</animate> </circle> Animations can also be defined outside an element, elsewhere in an SVG, and connected to it using an xlink attribute: <g id="yogi">...</g> ... <animate xlink:href="#yogi">…</animate> Building An Animation <animate> is just one of several animation elements in SVG. Together with an attributeName value, it enables animations based on one or more of an element’s attributes. Most animation explanations start by moving a primitive shape, like this exciting circle: <circle r="50" cx="50" cy="50" fill="#062326" opacity="1" /> Using this attributeName property, I can define which of this circle’s attributes I want to animate, which, in this example, is its cx (x-axis center point) position: <circle ... > <animate attributename="cx"></animate> </circle> On its own, this does precisely nothing until I define three more values. The from keyword specifies the circle’s initial position, to, its final position, and the dur-ation between those two positions: <circle ... > <animate attributename="cx" from="50" to="500" dur="1s"> </animate> </circle> If I want more precise control, I can replace from and to with a set of values separated by semicolons: <circle ... > <animate attributename="cx" values="50; 250; 500; 250;" dur="1s"> </animate> </circle> Finally, I can define how many times the animation repeats (repeatcount) and even after what period that repeating should stop (repeatdur): <circle ... > <animate attributename="cx" values="50; 250; 500; 250;" dur="1s" repeatcount="indefinite" repeatdur="180s"> </circle> Most SVG elements have attributes that can be animated. This title card from 1959’s “Brainy Bear” episode shows Yogi in a crazy scientist‘s brain experiment. Yogi’s head is under the dome, and energy radiates around him. To create the buzz around Yogi, my SVG includes three path elements, each with opacity, stroke, and stroke-width attributes, which can all be animated: <path opacity="1" stroke="#fff" stroke-width="5" ... /> I animated each path’s opacity, changing its value from 1 to .5 and back again: <path opacity="1" ... > <animate attributename="opacity" values="1; .25; 1;" dur="1s" repeatcount="indefinite"> </animate> </path> Then, to radiate energy from Yogi, I specified when each animation should begin, using a different value for each path: <path ... > <animate begin="0" … > </path> <path ... > <animate begin=".5s" … > </path> <path ... > <animate begin="1s" … > </path> I’ll explain more about the begin property and how to start animations after this short commercial break. Try this yourself: I needed two types of transform animations to generate the effect of Yogi drifting gently downwards: translate, and rotate. I first added an animatetransform element to the group, which contains Yogi and his chute. I defined his initial vertical position — 1200 off the top of the viewBox — then translated his descent to 1000 over a 15-second duration: <g transform="translate(1200, -1200)"> ... <animateTransform attributeName="transform" type="translate" values="500,-1200; 500,1000" dur="15s" repeatCount="1" /> </g> Yogi appears to fall from the sky, but the movement looks unrealistic. So, I added a second animatetransform element, this time with an indefinitely repeating +/- 5-degree rotation to swing Yogi from side to side during his descent: <animateTransform attributeName="transform" type="rotate" values="-5; 5; -5" dur="14s" repeatCount="indefinite" additive="sum" /> Try this yourself: By default, the arrow is set loose when the page loads. Blink, and you might miss it. To build some anticipation, I can begin the animation two seconds later: <animatetransform attributename="transform" type="translate" from="0 0" to="750 0" dur=".25s" begin="2s" fill="freeze" /> Or, I can let the viewer take the shot when they click the arrow: <animatetransform ... begin="click" /> And I can combine the click event and a delay, all with no JavaScript, just a smattering of SMIL: <animatetransform ... begin="click + .5s" /> Try this yourself by clicking the arrow: To bring this title card to life, I needed two groups of paths: one for Yogi and the other for the dog. I translated them both off the left edge of the viewBox: <g class="dog" transform="translate(-1000, 0)"> ... </g> <g class="yogi" transform="translate(-1000, 0)"> ... </g> Then, I applied an animatetransform element to both groups, which moves them back into view: <!-- yogi --> <animateTransform attributeName="transform" type="translate" from="-1000,0" to="0,0" dur="2s" fill="freeze" /> <!-- dog --> <animateTransform attributeName="transform" type="translate" from="-1000,0" to="0,0" dur=".5s" fill="freeze" /> This sets up the action, but the effect feels flat, so I added another pair of animations that bounce both characters: <!-- yogi --> <animateTransform attributeName="transform" type="rotate" values="-1,0,450; 1,0,450; -1,0,450" dur=".25s" repeatCount="indefinite" /> <!-- dog --> <animateTransform attributeName="transform" type="rotate" values="-1,0,450; 1,0,450; -1,0,450" dur="0.5s" repeatCount="indefinite" /> Animations can begin when a page loads, after a specified time, or when clicked. And by naming them, they can also synchronise with other animations. I wanted Yogi to enter the frame first to build anticipation, with a short pause before other animations begin, synchronising to the moment he’s arrived. First, I added an ID to Yogi’s translate animation: <animateTransform id="yogi" type="translate" ... /> Watch out: For a reason, I can’t, for the life of me, explain why Firefox won’t begin animations with an ID when the ID contains a hyphen. This isn’t smarter than the average browser, but replacing hyphens with underscores fixes the problem. Then, I applied a begin to his rotate animation, which starts playing a half-second after the #yogi animation ends: <animateTransform type="rotate" begin="yogi.end + .5s" ... /> I can build sophisticated sets of synchronised animations using the begin property and whether a named animation begins or ends. The bulldog chasing Yogi enters the frame two seconds after Yogi begins his entrance: <animateTransform id="dog" type="translate" begin="yogi.begin + 2s" fill="freeze" ... /> One second after the dog has caught up with Yogi, a rotate transformation makes him bounce, too: <animateTransform type="rotate" ... begin="dog.begin + 1s" repeatCount="indefinite" /> The background rectangles whizzing past are also synchronised, this time to one second before the bulldog ends his run: <rect ...> <animateTransform begin="dog.end + -1s" /> </rect> Try this yourself: In “The Runaway Bear” from 1959, Yogi must avoid a hunter turning his head into a trophy. I wanted Yogi to leap in and out of the screen by making him follow a path. I also wanted to vary the speed of his dash: speeding up as he enters and exits, and slowing down as he passes the title text. I first added a path property, using its coordinate data to give Yogi a route to follow, and specified a two-second duration for my animation: <g> <animateMotion dur="2s" path="..." > </animateMotion> </g> Alternatively, I could add a path element, leave it visible, or prevent it from being rendered by placing it inside a defs element: <defs> <path id="yogi" d="..." /> </defs> I can then reference that by using a mpath element inside my animateMotion: <animateMotion ... <mpath href="#yogi" /> </animateMotion> I experimented with several paths before settling on the one that delivered the movement shape I was looking for: One was too bouncy, one was too flat, but the third motion path was just right. Almost, as I also wanted to vary the speed of Yogi’s dash: speeding him up as he enters and exits and slowing him down as he passes the title text. The keyPoints property enabled me to specify points along the motion path and then adjust the duration Yogi spends between them. To keep things simple, I defined five points between 0 and 1: <animateMotion ... keyPoints="0; .35; .5; .65; 1;" > </animateMotion> Then I added the same number of keyTimes values, separated by semicolons, to control the pacing of this animation: <animateMotion ... keyTimes="0; .1; .5; .95; 1;" > </animateMotion> Now, Yogi rushes through the first three keyPoints, slows down as he passes the title text, then speeds up again as he exits the viewBox. Try this yourself: See the Pen Runaway Bear SVG animation [forked] by Andy Clarke. SMIL’s Not Dead, Baby. SMIL’s Not Dead With their ability to control transformations, animate complex motion paths, and synchronise multiple animations, SMIL animations in SVG are still powerful tools. They can bring design to life without needing a framework or relying on JavaScript. It’s compact, which makes it great for small SVG effects. SMIL includes the begin attribute, which makes chaining animations far more intuitive than with CSS. Plus, SMIL lives inside the SVG file, making it perfect for animations that travel with an asset. So, while SMIL is not modern by today’s standards and may be a little bit niche, it can still be magical. Don’t let the misconception that SMIL is “dead” stop you from using this fantastic tool. Google reversed its decision to deprecate SMIL almost a decade ago, so it remains a terrific choice for designers and developers who want simple, semantic ways to add animations to their designs.