Now Playing at SUPERJUMP, Issue 41

We're back with a brand-new Now Playing! We've got everything from AAA games to an actual physical trading card game in this issue; it might be our most diverse lineup yet! No matter what we're playing, we want to share with you and maybe send you down the path to try something new. Let us know in the comments what you're playing and what news has you excited for the future!

Jahanzeb Khan

Tiny Bookshop

Cat Webling gave this cosy little gem a shout in a previous issue, and I picked it up just on that recommendation, but only got to it recently. The delay was because cosy games tend to have an intimidating setup, with things and systems to learn, but Tiny Bookshop wasn't like that at all. I was blissfully immersed in this bookish creative world almost instantly.

The experience has some moving parts, but they never get in the way of the true objective: books. There are so many books here across the typical bookstore genres; there must be hundreds, and all of them are real books. It's honestly a great way to simply browse and discover your next reading obsession!

Bookshops are my haven, not gameshops with clerks nagging me to put down preorders or purchase disc-protection insurance. This haven is where I'm surrounded by tomes filled with so many worlds and possibilities. Tiny Bookshop captures that feeling, and hands you the reins.

From shelving ergonomics to starting a pot of coffee, there are so many ways to make your pop-up business feel like home. My favourite part is helping customers find their next read, based on their specific interests and reading habits. And it's a secondhand bookseller too, which means hunting down boxes of hidden gems.

If you think books are tight, then this game is for you. You heard it here from two writers!

Jake Lang

Pokémon Trading Card Game

The new Chaos Rising expansion was just released last week, and while the meta continues to be dominated by Dragapult, there are a few developments from this new set that have me excited.

The first and most exciting is the arrival of Beedrill ex. For just one Grass Energy, Beedrill ex deals 110 damage for every Pokémon in play with the name "Beedrill." When it lines up, that means you can one-hit Dragapult for 330—or go even bigger for 440 if you manage to get 4 Beedrills online, a feat more possible than you might think with Celebi, Forest of Vitality, Bug Catching Sets, and the Dudunsparce engine. This deck might not be a Dragapult killer—what is?!—but it's fun, and I think viable at real tables too. It's at the very least strong enough to bring to the ranked ladder.

One interesting thing to watch will be how this deck evolves as players outside of Japan get their hands on it. Many early lists included Arboliva ex, whereas newer ones don't. Cutting it may mean a faster setup of multiple Beedrills, but at the cost of the spread damage possibilities Arboliva brings, which are quite valuable.

The second development is the arrival of what I'm dubbing AvaSLUGG. Avalugg, the evolution of Bergmite, arrived and immediately reminded me of Mega Abomasnow ex. It's a Water-type Pokémon whose modus operandi is damage scaled through discard. For just one Water Energy, Avalugg discards the top 6 cards from your deck, with each Water Energy among them counting for 60 damage. This is essentially Mega Abomasnow, which does something similar for 2 Water Energy at 100 damage per card. I'm opting for the Avalugg build, though—60 damage per is quite strong and doesn't carry the 3-prize liability Mega Abomasnow does.

To be fair, while I'm dubbing it AvaSLUGG, neither the deck idea nor the list I've been running is mine. I found it on Limitless after searching to see if anyone around the world—namely Japan—had figured out a way to use this card. This is by no means a list I'd bring to a league challenge or beyond, but it's been a blast on TCGL, and I might take it to locals someday soon.

Ben Rowan

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

I really didn’t have a plan when I recently booted up The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX via Switch Online. I’ve been deep in Breath of the Wild lately, and I think my brain just went, “More Zelda. Any Zelda.” The next thing I knew, I was stranded on Koholint Island, tapping buttons like it was 1999 all over again.

This is probably because I’ve been binge-watching Gaming Historian’s documentaries on YouTube and came across his episode on the legendary development of Link’s Awakening, which reframed the whole thing for me. The game didn’t begin as some big, official tentpole Zelda project. It started as an after-hours experiment, a tiny passion project. One of Nintendo’s programmers wanted to see if a handheld Zelda could even work, and the team treated it like an “afterschool club.” That approach matters because you can feel it in the final game, which has a whimsical ‘anything goes’ vibe and isn’t afraid to get weird.

The island is packed with cameos and off-brand oddities like Chain Chomps, Goombas, a Yoshi doll, and characters that look suspiciously like Mario in disguise. And there’s the offbeat storytelling too, which feels refreshing in a world of RPGs that take themselves far too seriously. The devs have cited the early ’90s TV series Twin Peaks as an influence, and that tracks in a way I never would’ve expected from a Game Boy title. Koholint Island feels like a small town where everyone has a routine and a secret. The denizens here aren’t just a checklist of NPCs waiting to hand you a key; It’s cozy, but something is slightly off.

As a game, Link’s Awakening still rules. It has that Nintendo magic where every screen has a purpose, every dungeon teaches you a new trick, and every new item cracks open the map in satisfying little chunks. It’s open in the way a good Metroidvania is open. You can roam, double back, and poke at the edges, but progression has a clean cadence as each dungeon clicks nicely into place. I’m actually really excited to play the 2019 remake now.

I never got around to playing DX back when I had a Game Boy Colour in the early 2000s, which feels like a personal failure. But I just don’t recall ever seeing it on a store shelf, and I was too busy with Metal Gear Solid and Mario Tennis anyway. On the Switch in 2026, though, it’s a perfect palate cleanser for me between Breath of the Wild sessions: compact, clever, funny, and shockingly deep for the hardware. With all the current hype around games like Mina the Hollower chasing that 8-bit adventure feel, it’s nice to remember this style just never gets old. Link’s Awakening did it first, did it well, and did it strangely.

Nathaniel Kelly

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

I played many games in the last month. The one that ended up sticking the most was the 3DS re-release of the Shin Megami Tensei throwback RPG aptly titled Strange Journey. It’s very similar to mainline Shin Megami Tensei in theme, but stands on its own by not taking place in the actual apocalypse, but rather just before. The plot is really reminiscent of the film Annihilation, despite having been released well before that movie.

It’s my first Shin Megami Tensei game, and despite being a long-time Persona fan, there’s a lot to learn here. The dungeon crawling is more tense and strategic, with a focus on not dying rather than Persona’s focus on progress before deadlines.

Creature-collecting games are typically not my jam, but these games are much faster and have more frequent team changes, which really keeps me engaged. Constantly fusing has me always considering who is in my party and what skills they have. Being able to dump extra skills onto them during fusion also makes every fusion feel really impactful.

I just got past the first boss, and I’m in the optional dungeon making my new team at the moment. The new optional stuff is okay, but since it’s not critical to progression, it doesn’t have the same feel as the main quest dungeons. I’ll still do it, though; you get more out of the end of the game for doing it if the community is to be believed. I’m really enjoying my time with this one, and everything from the setting to the combat has gripped me. Looking up other games in the series has also made me look forward to all of the future adventures just waiting to be had.

Bryan Finck

Resident Evil Village

I never thought there would be a Resident Evil game to equal my love for RE4, but Village has done it. Leon's Spanish adventure is still the best 3rd-person entry, but the end of the Ethan Winters saga takes the cake for Capcom's foray into the FPS side of things. RE7 walked so Village could run.

Everything about the 8th mainline entry in Capcom's colossus sets a new standard in quality for the long-running series. The graphics and environments are stunning, the roster of enemies (especially the Lycans) is terrifying and tough, and there's a perfect balance of gunplay and survival horror. The bosses were a huge improvement from RE7, too; they gave a nice bit of variance to the standard formula, especially the last mini-boss (no spoilers, just go play it).

I've now played all the mainline games except the bookends; I doubt I'll ever play the original, but I'll certainly play Requiem once it goes on sale, and I am beyond excited for Veronica!

Mina the Hollower

I was lucky enough to receive a code the day before Mina released, and reviewed it over at Seasoned Gaming. Mina is a really tough but incredible throwback to the days of the Game Boy Color, with all the tough stuff that went along with that era. Knockback, touch damage from enemies, pitch-dark rooms to navigate, snow and ice levels where you’re sliding all over; they all make an appearance and can be as frustrating as you remember. But the feeling of playing the game is sublime, as is the attention to detail in the environments and characters.

If trophies and replayability are your thing, then Mina is right up your alley. Secret rooms, secret bosses and NPCs, modifiers to make the game easier or harder; you name it, and it's all here. Yacht Club Games has created the perfect follow-up to Shovel Knight, so if you're a fan of retro games, you won't want to miss this one.

A big thank you to our writers for dropping by and to all our loyal fans for being here to check it out! Be sure to tell us what you're playing in the comments, and check back next month for more of what our team is getting into.