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Nintendo Announces the Switch Lite, a Portable-Only Home For Your Horror Gaming Needs
Ready to be scared out of your mind on a slightly smaller screen?
After months of rumors, fear, loathing, and speculation, Nintendo has officially announced the Nintendo Switch Lite. The scaled-down, handheld-only version of the popular console is inferior in (almost) every way, eschewing the Switch’s HD Rumble, IR Motion Camera and, most notably, the option of playing on the big screen. As a result, the few Switch games that don’t support handheld play will be incompatible with the redesign unless you have a couple of JoyCon’s going spare.
The plus-side is a major reduction in price. While the original Switch retails for $299.99, its baby brother will sell for $199.99 — the same price that a Nintendo 3DS XL currently goes for. The 3DS has been on the way out for a few years now, and the Switch Lite’s arrival on Sept. 20th — the same day as The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening — will likely be the final nail in the coffin for the long-lived handheld.
The Switch Lite is a fitting replacement: smaller (3.6” high, 8.2” long and .55” deep compared to the original’s 4” x 9.4” x .55”) and lighter (.61 pounds compared to .88) with a slightly diminished screen (5.5” vs. 6.2”). With built-in JoyCons, the Switch Lite, should be ostensibly more durable, which, when combined with the lower price point makes the console ideal for children.
Not ideal for children? The absolute shambling horde of horror games available on Switch. Resident Evil 0, REmake and 4 got decent ports earlier this year and Resident Evil 5 and 6 are coming this fall. Additionally, the Switch Lite will be the cheapest console that can run indie terrors like Little Nightmares, Observer, Layers of Fear, The Sinking City, Close to the Sun and Slender: The Arrival.
And, with the Switch Lite’s longer battery life (4-7 hours vs. the original’s 2.5-6.5 hours), horror-table gaming fans will need to worry more about the undead, less about dead batteries.
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Legendary Grimdark ‘Warhammer 40,000’ Artist John Blanche Has Passed Away at 78
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.

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