The Nintendo Switch 2 feels like a victim of Nintendo’s own history, having set decades-long expectations that new hardware will always be, if not always revolutionary, at least deeply strange. The Wii, DS, 3DS, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch each relied on some central gimmick that was new and novel. Nintendo made a name for itself creating not just games but entirely new ways to play. The Switch 2, by comparison, is an iterative step–a more powerful successor to its wildly popular predecessor. While some may lament that this isn’t the system to change the game once again, it does feel like Nintendo has found a form factor that fits its design philosophy and development culture like a glove. And so, the Switch is likely the new normal.
It’s within that context that I feel the Switch 2 needs to be evaluated: as what it is rather than what it isn’t. By that metric, it gets high marks. It’s a well-made Switch successor with lots of little thoughtful touches and design improvements to make it feel like a more premium product. That means it’s less toy-like than the original Switch, which makes me that much more nervous about handing it off to my kids. But in many ways, it feels like the Switch has grown up.
Now you’re playing with power
Of course, the primary upgrade is pure hardware power. The Switch did not launch as a powerhouse system in 2017, and technology has since started to far outpace its capabilities. That made it increasingly unusual to receive third-party games with any kind of parity alongside PlayStation and Xbox, and even Nintendo’s own development needs were starting to get more ambitious than the hardware could handle. More on that later.
So the Nintendo Switch 2 is first and foremost a power upgrade. Nintendo promises a big increase in performance, and while I’m not equipped for deep technical hardware analysis, signs from the launch library feel somewhat promising. Nintendo’s own banner first-party game, Mario Kart World, looks far and away better than anything the old Switch could offer. The third-party Cyberpunk 2077 serves as another positive demonstration: While not perfect, it looks good and plays reasonably well, something that would not have been possible on Switch 1. But the results across the board do seem somewhat mixed, as the performance of Hitman: World of Assassination is disappointing, particularly in docked mode where you can’t benefit from support for variable refresh rate.
Nintendo hasn’t usually attempted to design hardware that is the absolute best in class, but the Switch 2 feels so far like it’s at least keeping pace with the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S–not quite a match for those competitors, but at least in the same ballpark. Time will tell how future-proofed it is as hardware demands grow even further in the coming years, but as a handheld system that seems roughly on par with the increasingly competitive handheld PC market, it succeeds. And in and of itself, the increased horsepower already makes the Switch ecosystem more pleasant to use. The eShop, in particular, seems to be benefitting, going from near-unusable to quite smooth.
In many ways this is a continuation of the Switch, which is evident in everything from its form factor to its user interface being almost an exact replica of the original–right down to its more frustrating foibles like a lack of folders and no real download management queue. So while the increased horsepower benefits software in some areas, in most other respects this is a continuation of the Switch ecosystem. Nintendo wants this to feel familiar and homey, and for better or worse, it does.
It just clicks
Then there’s the build of the system itself. In some ways, this is where the hardware has been most notably improved to have that more premium fit and finish appeal. But in other ways, the form factor feels limited by its own expectations.
The newly designed Joy-Cons are larger and have a matte finish that feels very nice against your hand. They’re also now magnetic, which I was skeptical about, but I’ve since turned into a magnetic Joy-Con believer and evangelist. The ability to quickly snap them into place and then hit the release button to snap them off just feels immediately better than gliding the controllers along the rail, and seems likely to avoid some of the unfortunate wiggle that would set in on the old Joy-Cons.
The new Joy-Cons also introduce mouse functionality, which works shockingly well. Like with the magnetic connectors, I had low expectations for the mouse function, and it easily surpassed them. Particularly if you take the moment to attach the new Joy-Con strap, it controls incredibly smoothly and just works with a minimum of fuss and setup. You can, honestly and for real, even use it on your pants, if the need arises. (I can’t recommend it too highly, though, since your leg naturally has a small surface area to work with.) I don’t know how many games will actually use the mouse functionality, but it’s nice to know it’s there if a developer wants to take advantage of it.
Unfortunately, while the Joy-Cons are larger, their fundamental shape hasn’t changed. They’re still relatively thin to match the profile of the system itself, which means holding it can feel awkward in long play sessions. Competing devices have started to introduce more rounded handles similar to a standard controller, and that would have been nice here. Like many people, I ultimately replaced my original Switch Joy-Cons with third-party controllers (or at least used a grip), but it would be nice if Nintendo had a first-party option that packs all of the Joy-Con features like the magnetic connectors, NFC reader, and HD rumble, with a more ergonomic shape. This may be mostly a problem for adults with larger hands, but I suspect that smaller kids may have the opposite problem–able to deal with the skinny, awkward shape better, but more prone to struggling with the new Joy-Cons’ larger size.
(Also, in an apparent gift to parents and slobs everywhere, the Joy-Cons can now be pinged remotely to vibrate or emit a beep, in case you’ve lost them under a chair. It’s a small quality-of-life touch but the kind that exemplifies a thoughtful approach with lessons learned from the original Switch.)
Like the rest of the system itself, the optional Pro Controller feels like a nicely premium upgrade with the same matte finish. It now sports two mappable back buttons like many other premium controllers on other hardware, which makes it a nice upgrade, and those buttons have a satisfying clicky feeling without bulking up the profile of the controller itself. Still, the presence of these back buttons on the Pro Controller makes the less-ergonomic Joy-Cons feel that much more lacking. As someone who has always played his Switch mostly in handheld mode, it’s a shame that the difference between them is so stark.
The kickstand was a cute idea when introduced in the first Switch, but it always felt too flimsy to be truly useful. The Switch 2 kickstand by comparison is substantial and solid, and has been the unsung hero of the system. I’ve actually now used it almost exclusively while traveling, because it’s just a great way to prop up the system on a desk and play with detached Joy-Cons or a Pro Controller. I still expect to play mostly in handheld mode or docked, but playing with the kickstand feels like a viable option like it never did before.
Having used my Switch 2 heavily for more than a week now, I’ve been pleased with the battery life. Mario Kart World seems to be the most taxing game I played at launch, and I still got a few hours out of it before seeing a low-battery indicator. The most helpful aspect for maintaining battery life, though, is the presence of a USB-C port at the top of the system, in addition to the one at the bottom. This has made playing with the kickstand and the system plugged in a viable option for the first time, and just makes plugging it in more convenient in any event.
Finally, there’s the LCD screen, which is now noticeably larger than that of the original Switch. The bigger size looks very nice and feels more substantial, especially as noted, in kickstand mode. With the increased horsepower making lots of fine details in games like Mario Kart World, the larger screen looks crisp and beautiful and helps highlight the visual flair of its games.
That said, the original Switch OLED does have noticeably better contrast in a side-by-side comparison. The difference is less stark than I expected, but there is a difference, so the Switch 2 LED display is a slight downgrade from that higher-end Switch 1. The difference is negligible enough that the increased size may be an acceptable trade-off, depending on your priorities. Personally I prefer the larger screen size, which is also noticeably bigger than my first-gen Steam Deck. Also notable is that some at GameSpot have experienced ghosting issues in handheld mode, even complaining that it made them feel sick. That could vary by game.
Plus Nintendo has made some peculiar choices in its implementation of HDR. It applies HDR to everything by default, and hides the paper-white setting deep in the menus. Those can both be changed, but I suspect many casual Switch 2 owners won’t know where to look and just have a less than optimized experience. The lack of VRR support or 40hz mode in docked mode, similarly, is disappointing.
But what about the games?
When you buy a new video game system, naturally, you want to play some video games. At launch, the Switch 2 library is relatively thin, with a few absolute standouts. That means that early adopters will mostly be investing in the potential it holds for the future.
That is not to say that the game library is without its bright spots already, though. Mario Kart World is the banner launch game and the long-awaited follow-up to one of Nintendo’s most successful games to date. It’s a spectacular entry in the series with loads to do and lots of mechanical nuance, and it’s just a nice visual showpiece for what Nintendo’s expert art direction can do with increased horsepower.
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, the other big first-party offering at launch, is less a game than a detailed tech demo. And while I maintain that it should have been free, that is mostly because it’s a neat little oddity that more people should get a chance to play. It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with Switch 2 features and little quality-of-life tricks you may not have otherwise known about.
As for third-party offerings, there are some standouts there as well. Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remastered is a gorgeous-looking port of one of my favorite recent-ish RPGs, and decouples it from the DS, where it may have been difficult to find and play. Cyberpunk 2077 takes the lauded futuristic RPG and gives it a nicely tuned handheld home. Other ports are starting to trickle in and while I can’t vouch for all of them, it is a good sign that a Nintendo platform is starting to get relatively recent third-party games ported to it.
But the real treat for many Switch 1 owners is that the Switch 2 is backwards compatible, and with a similar hardware architecture and form factor, the vast majority of the games can run on Switch 2. Some of them offer paid “Switch 2 Edition” upgrades for extra features and a performance boost, while others have gotten free updates to just run a bit better on the new hardware. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are two particular standouts, as those massive open worlds sometimes strained against the limitations of the Switch hardware. They look incredibly detailed with the upgrades, creating a rich world that feels like the culmination of what Nintendo always intended them to be. Similarly, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were well-made Pokemon games, and they were done a disservice by trying to cram their world onto a Switch. They’re among the games to have received free Switch 2 updates, and the revised versions run smoothly and look much better, even if some of their art design feels like the simplicity was a concession to old hardware.