As I texted a mate on launch day, the Nintendo Switch 2 feels like a Switch designed for adults. It is an aesthetically striking unit, curtailing the bold colouring of the original 2017 console into a refined black matte finish embellished with subtle pops of colour under the control sticks. Paired with an accessories wide visual overhaul, including a rounded new dock and Pro Controller, It looks expensive, it looks considered, and it looks damn good. I’m not a minimalism is king when it comes to hardware formfactor; the general reaction to the PlayStation 5 choosing to look like something instead of nothing I still find embarrassing for the games industry, so deeply allergic to anything resembling a Choice. But the Switch 2 pulls off this refined new look by sheer, well, refinement.
After just over a month spent with Nintendo’s new handheld-hybrid console and its surprisingly lean launch lineup, we’re ready to talk about it. For a less formal write-up, be sure to check out the latest episode of the WellPlayed DLC podcast in which three different takes on “is the Switch 2 worth it?” emerge in our roundtable discussion. Otherwise, clap those Joy-Cons to your sides and let’s unpack the joy and the compromises of the Switch 2.
The entire form factor emulates the Switch, only amplified, juicing its proportions by half an inch and just under a full one in height and width, respectively. With this change, and the new innards, the Switch 2 comes out about 110g heavier than the first, though through some trick likely ascribed to Nintendo magic, the extra girth results in a system that feels more comfortable in hand. This is in no small part thanks to the redesigned Joy-Con controllers, now with an ungodly satisfying magnetic click on and off the system. The console also sports new USB-C ports now, top and bottom for easier access during tabletop mode, a play style made far nicer by the new, sturdier kickstand.
A larger base means larger Joy-Cons, with the expanded size allowing for a more ergonomic hand feel, bolstered by nice-enough new joysticks and an overall more rounded finish. The new designs also make impromptu two-player feel far better as your hands will no longer be cramping and clawing over far too small inputs. The HD rumble feature also returns, but in a post-DualSense market, the (for now) limited implementation is far starker.
The sideways step from OLED to LCD comes with the exact comparison issues you’d expect, though somewhat bulwarked by the Switch 2’s capabilities. You will miss the depths of blacks and vivid colours the handheld OLED allowed us, but in pushing out the screen to nearly 8 inches running a crisp 1080p and 120Hz refresh rate, alongside the new HDR implementation, this is still a beautiful LCD display relative to its handheld aspirations. The moment-to-moment use case of the Switch 2 is fairly pleasant.
Nintendo has refined the Switch 2 with a clean new aesthetic
The problem, then, is one of raw and advertised capabilities. The disparity begins with the screen’s refresh rate, as well documented by far more technically capable minds than my own over at Monitors Unboxed. In layman’s terms, the Switch 2 simply isn’t reacting fast enough, resulting in blurred images and ‘ghosting’ in certain scenarios, an issue some players won’t notice at all and others will be unable to unsee. Your subjective experience with the Switch 2 may be entirely unimpacted by this poor performance, but for a console pushing $700, the compromised screen running poorer than the base model Switch is somewhat problematic.
Likewise, the lauded HDR capabilities are significantly dimmed by the screen’s singular backlight and sub-1000 nits brightness, the unit not even clearing the minimum requirements for true HDR capabilities. If you’re largely playing the Switch 2 in docked mode you’ll have a better time with these issues; Nintendo games running in 4K with HDR on a nice TV still feels like such an alien experience but the test case of Tears of the Kingdom proves how well suited good art direction is to this new fidelity. Provided you’ve navigated the console’s poor HDR settings menu to correctly match it to your TV.
Part of the all-digital promised land was the ease of access to years’ worth of purchases and settings, and the Switch 2’s ability to easily pull everything over from your old Switch is about as close as Nintendo has ever gotten to seamless. Select a couple of options, put the Switches side by side, and let them chat. It only gets clumsy once the transfer is complete and the Switch 2 has to download whatever games you had installed on your old console, immediately exposing how lean the system’s data management options are. That you’re unable to easily queue downloads, let alone play anything with network requirements without stalling the installation process, is odd at best.
A sizeable screen upgrade results in a comfortable, if compromised, unit
Alongside limited friend list functionality (friend codes are back), these issues are largely byproducts of the Switch 2’s direct continuation of the UI from its predecessor. The dual crossbar home page is back, with a few extra icons allowing quick access to GameChat, News, GameShare, and the Virtual Game Card system. This all remains a decently put together bit of UI, but the ongoing lack of customisation and hub pages as seen on other modern systems makes this approach er closer to bare than minimalist. Though the Switch 2 does at least continue the trend of having even minor functions produce a cute little chirp of their own, a drop of character for an otherwise buttoned-up system.
The restrictive social systems collide with Nintendo’s charming first push into the social gaming space with its new GameChat function. Parked on every Switch 2 controller is a dedicated online chat button (this can be remapped thankfully, especially given that free access to GameChat will be rescinded in the next 12 months), a quick press whisking you away to a submenu where you can create a dedicated chat room for you and selected friends. In this shared space, you’ll be able to share and watch gameplay, cycle through a surprisingly robust set of camera options using a USB webcam and make use of the Switch 2’s excellent built-in microphone.
Effectively a Discord call? Yes. Essentially far easier to access? Also, yes. Having everything required for basic communication and game sharing handled by the system itself is a wonderful little trick. The official Nintendo camera, a fine enough bit of hardware with a shockingly wide lens and a clanging frame rate, does heighten the experience of GameChat of course, though you’re free to plug in almost any USB webcam instead. But even without the camera, GameChat’s use of the Switch 2 microphone to isolate your voice in loud environments is remarkably effective, entirely sidestepping Discord’s need for a decent microphone and allowing players easy access to a pretty common social feature. There are kinks though. You can’t join a room once it’s formed if you weren’t initially invited, and Nintendo’s take on social systems isn’t as persistent as what you’ll find on comparable systems, but the tech itself is impressive.
I wasn’t able to take a nice photo of my Switch 2 so please enjoy this official one
Elsewhere, the new Joy-Con mouse functionality and an updated Pro Controller form factor prove winners for the Switch 2. The Joy-Con mouse is such a Nintendo-coded move to make for the handheld market, flipping expectations and opening its system up to a whole host of PC ports. Useability is clean, from jeans to fabrics to hard surfaces, the mouse tracks smoothly in both UI and games. Holding a Joy-Con on its side does take some getting used to, and the elongated raised grip will never feel as correct as a traditional mouse, but it’s a joyous little invention in its own right. Likewise, a redesigned Pro Controller (now sporting customisable back buttons and a refined textured finish) completes the Switch 2’s transition into more considered hardware options.
Holistically speaking, the Switch 2 operates in a space of (mostly reasonable) compromises. Battery life, for instance, has been somewhat difficult to nail down between games with different power draws and the system launching with a bugged battery level indicator. Still, all told, you’ll be looking at anywhere between 2-6 hours of use out of the console, my playtests skewing on the lower end of that spectrum across titles like Pokémon Violet, Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster, and the newly implemented GameCube classics. This is partly frustrating if you’re accustomed to the Switch OLED battery, for example, but given the sizeable leap in performance offered by the Switch 2, the shorter battery life tracks.
Final Thoughts
With its joys and cons keepings pace, the value proposition of the Nintendo Switch 2 is wildly subjective at launch. It’s the Switch, again, and the Switch rules. But whether it’s a faster battery burn, dimmed screen potential, or clumsy internet UI, the Switch 2 consistently brought some joy back to daily gaming for me. It is a compromised system in many ways, but those issues keep pace with improved software capabilities, a substantial portable screen and form factor, and charming social elements, respectively. It’s a system that makes me want to buy games again just to have the option of roaming with them; it’s the little thrill of a new Nintendo that prompts you to remember that simplicity is a treasure in and of itself. But it’ll cost you.
Review unit supplied by manufacturer
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