The Nintendo Switch 2 is almost spot on. That may sound like a wild proclamation, but it’s more a reference to simply how frustrating so many of the decisions made can be. This means the Switch 2 is a phenomenal upgrade on what must be considered one of the best consoles to have ever been released, but falls short of perfection due to some bizarre choices that hopefully, maybe, can still be rectified.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way, then: this is a massive upgrade on the original console. There’s no way games like Cyberpunk 2077 would run in a satisfactory way on the Switch, but the new console manages a decent (but not perfect) frame-rate in both handheld and docked mode, while not looking like it’s playing host to potato-graphics either. It may be an experience you feel has already been over-hyped, but after seeing and playing it, I can’t get over how well it runs on Switch 2.
And the list of games like this goes on. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are genuinely transformational upgrades on the original title. The argument that the game should never have been released in that manner before is valid, but they’re here now and it’s like playing a new game again. Likewise, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom leave you jealous of anyone who gets to experience them in this form for the first time.
Street Fighter 6, Kunitsu-Gami, Yakuza, Hitman, Sonic: the gang is all here, and the console finally has a launch worthy of celebration thanks to third parties. Mario Kart World and Survival Kids (thanks to Konami) are the Switch 2 exclusives, and both offer something new and exciting, yet also lean into the “sharing” ethos that I feel Switch 2 is going for. Mario Kart World wants you to play with friends, and Survival Kids makes use of the Game Share functionality that Nintendo is lauding, even allowing you to beam a copy of the game to an original Switch to play multiplayer.
Aside from missing a few extra launch titles, the games are there, then. I have reservations about the power of the Switch thanks to the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 and Hitman, but also hope for the future given just how immaculately Split Fiction (which is an intensive visual experience, rendering both players’ screens simultaneously) runs. We’ll need a day and date release of a third-party title to truly understand what the Switch 2’s power level is, I feel, but for now, it’s a huge upgrade.
Nintendo Switch 2 lineup reviews:
Mario Kart World | Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour | Survival Kids | Kunitsu Gami: Path of the Goddess | Street Fighter 6 Years 1-2 Fighters Edition | HITMAN World of Assassination – Signature Edition | Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time | Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S | Sonic X Shadow Generations | Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster
Even the audio is much better. The faux-surround is present in most games, and the handheld experience is loud and proud. On that note, a small but important quality of life upgrade has been made to the Bluetooth capabilities. Now, once paired with a device (up to two), you can quickly select them by holding the Home button, and they’re just there for your selection. It’s small, as I say, but it’s notable. I also think the latency for Bluetooth devices has been improved, though your mileage may vary depending on device. That said, you won’t be using your Apple Airpods for voice comms and audio, it’s one or the other, similar to the Steam Deck.
In terms of the physical nature of the hardware, it’s premium feeling. In the same way the Switch made the Wii U feel like a plastic toy, the Switch 2 is the bigger sibling, offering more power, larger size, and just “more”. The Joy-Cons feel better in my larger hands, and the magnetic snap to the console is somehow even more satisfying than the previous console’s method of connection.
The included Joy-Con grip doesn’t feel quite the right size for me, but the Pro Controller (sold separately) is one of the most comfortable controllers on the market. Despite having ghost inputs on the D-Pad (a problem the Wii U Pro Controller solved, and Nintendo reinvented for Switch) the analog sticks have a strangely smooth feel that I never want to play without.
There is, of course, a C-button now, which is another of the new features for Switch 2. Game Chat is, largely, the same functionality that users of other consoles have enjoyed for years, but with a Nintendo twist: both good and bad. The implementation during Mario Kart World is magic, and using the camera (also sold separately) you can get your face on screen, and see your friends spinning round as you hit them with a shell. They will rush past you, rictus grins gurning at you after they’ve taken revenge with a triple red-shell, and then, if they win it all, you’ll get a little window of them celebrating as the results are shown. The camera options turn you or your friends into a ready made Streamer, and it’s a lot of fun.
But as is often the case, Nintendo gives and it takes away. Having cameras on means no capture button functionality. So these moments will be memories, lost to time, because you wouldn’t want someone’s face on a screen, these days, would you. I’ve seen various excuses for this, about the family friendly nature of Nintendo, overall, but none of this washes. The entire Game Chat system requires you to input a phone number, so there’s no anonymity here. Furthermore, the system requires you to pre-authorise who you allow into chat with you, meaning nobody is magically appearing naked, and you’ve all friended each other. Moreover, in 2025, this is the sort of thing that is a ready-made content generator, yet it’s missing. It’s a maddening ideal, and it gets worse.
Let’s say you start a game chat with three people. It’s all going well, and you’re all having fun. Then Steve turns up. You want to invite him to join the fun. No dice. To get another friend into the chat you have to completely leave the current one, and restart, re-inviting everyone plus Steve. Oh no, now Lyle has come online. Repeat. It’s an utterly bizarre omission solvable by starting an “open party”, meaning pre-authorised people can join whenever, or by simply adding an “add to Game Chat” option within the menus. The system is so clever, fun, and lovely, it’s beyond frustrating that these things aren’t implemented, making me wonder if it’s by choice, or somehow someone missed it.
While we’re on negatives, the Virtual Game Card system is utter nonsense. It works, but it’s needlessly oblique and confusing, changing a system that didn’t need changing in the first place. The HDR implementation also leaves something to be desired when compared to modern consoles, and a better setup is sorely needed. This is one I think Nintendo will improve, however, so while it’s frustrating for now, it’s something I’m confident will get some attention.
And there’s that word again: frustration. To say I’ve played a lot of Nintendo Switch 2 since launch is an understatement. I don’t like how negative I sound, either. I am, for the most part, in love with the Switch 2. For the frustrations I’ve listed, I absolutely do enjoy using Game Chat and the simplicity of getting online chat going on a Nintendo console cannot be understated, damning, as it is, with faint praise.
Back to positives: the stand works nicely, and the battery life seems very decent. Leaving it on automatic brightness, I’m getting over two hours of a multiplayer session in for Mario Kart World. All while using a Bluetooth headset for audio, using online to Game Chat (with screen sharing back and forth), and having used handheld devices all my life, it is impressive for the power it’s using to output games. The eShop has finally been fixed, too. It still has a host of shovelware, but it loads properly now, and you can navigate without issue.
Another big plus is the screen. It may not be an OLED, but it’s vibrant and very nice for extended play sessions. I’ve no doubt we’ll see new models down the line, but I haven’t missed the OLED screen nearly half as much as I thought I might. The LCD on Switch 2 is 7.9 inch in size, and supports HDR on the 1080p screen. HDR can do a lot of the heavy lifting when used right, and it does look lovely here.
If you’ve followed the marketing of the Switch 2 you’ll note the absence of mouse-control mentions up until now. I have used them, and you can (as advertised) use a mouse for the main UI of the console. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is a strange anomaly of an experience, and designed to be played by non-gamers (I think) before any games are actually played, and that’s, currently, mostly where you’ll use a mouse.
There are games that support the mouse controls. Kunitsu-Gami, for example, has had them added to the game. I tried them, and they worked. I just don’t know why anyone would play the game this way. Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster has some additional mini-games that let you use two mice at once like a conductor, and these are fun little side-games to play.
Civilisation 7 wasn’t made available to us for review, so I can’t comment on that, but I’d definitely imagine that’d be a better use of them. It is impressive that you can just be holding a Joy-Con and set it down and, boom, it’s a mouse. I’m intrigued to see what Nintendo does with this, but we will have to wait for Drag X Drive and Super Mario Jamboree + Jamboree TV to see how that all plays out.
Ultimately, people complaining that this is “Switch 1.5” are going to be hard to please. But accept it or not, the original console was aging out. Nintendo’s own software developers were starting to struggle, with the likes of Princess Peach: Showtime, and Mario & Luigi: Brothership showing the age of the device. While not all games have been patched up for Switch 2, the likes of Super Mario Odyssey can show just what this device can do with raw base grunt alone. Likewise, even older games like Bayonetta 3 are benefitting from the power the console hosts.
There are still things you’d like to see improved, hardware wise, as well. The Joy-Con throw distance feels like there are some games they just won’t be ideal for. And I wonder if in the future people will question the decision to add mouse controls, but not improve this, given how many more people play in that more traditional console-manner.
Everyone will find foibles that annoy them, and while part of me wishes Donkey Kong Bananza was a launch title, offering players a single player experience to go with the multiplayer madness of Mario Kart World, it’s hard to deny this has been a successful launch for Nintendo. And make no mistake, The Switch 2 is an improvement in every way which matters on a day to day basis, if you’ve been a Switch-user for years now.
This is a premium console, with masses of quality of life experiences, I can’t deny it’s all I’ve been playing, and it’s the only place I want to play games right now. Small updates can rectify all of my issues with the firmware, and time will truly tell on how powerful the hardware actually is, but right now I’m beyond happy with the Switch 2. Now bring on DK and Samus, Nintendo.
