It’s been a long road to the Nintendo Switch 2. After literally years of desperate longing for a more powerful Switch console (remember when we all thought we’d get a Switch Pro to tide us over?), Nintendo has finally released the follow-up to its uber-successful hybrid console.
Nintendo Switch 2 launched yesterday (June 5), and my body has never been more ready. As the fortunate gamer chosen to review the Switch 2 for Tom’s Guide, since obtaining my console on release day, I’ve spent the subsequent 24 hours putting the Switch 2 through its paces. With a clutch of launch games at the ready, I’ve been exploring everything it has to offer out of the box.
I’m still getting to grips with the system and haven’t had the chance to test key features like GameChat, so I’m not ready to render a final verdict just yet (look out for my full Switch 2 review next week). However, after a day with the console, here are the things that have stood out the most, for both good and bad reasons.
5 things I love about Nintendo Switch 2
Joy-Con 2 controllers are a smart upgrade
Naturally, the first thing most people will do after unboxing their Nintendo Switch 2 is snap the Joy-Con 2 controllers onto the sides of the main console unit. And snap is the appropriate word. Gone is the railing system of the first Nintendo Switch, replaced by a magnetized connection that just feels right.
The plastic rails on the Switch 1’s controllers always felt flimsy to me, and the connection points where the Joy-Cons met the console had an unpleasant amount of bend. But not with the Switch 2, the magnetic connection between the console and Joy-Cons feels rock-solid and very sturdy.
Plus, the increase in overall controller size is also a very appreciated upgrade. I don’t have huge paws, but even I found the Switch 1’s Joy-Cons uncomfortable to grip for extended periods. Joy-Con 2s are a vast improvement here.
The larger display is flippin' gorgeous
Ahead of the Switch 2’s launch, there was a great deal of consternation about the larger 7.9-inch display reverting back to LCD following the release of the Nintendo Switch OLED in 2021. A former colleague even described the lack of OLED on Switch 2 as a killer blow to their motivation to pre-order.
Well, Nintendo appears to have worked some witchcraft because the Switch 2’s display is seriously stunning. Not often do you boot up a console and then spend a solid five minutes just staring at the UI because everything looks so clean, shiny and crisp that you can’t tear your eyes away.
Loading into Mario Kart World, the vibrancy of the game’s collage was basically a full-frontal assault on my retinas, and I was loving every single moment. Today, I’ve spotted a few in-depth reports suggesting the display is “below-average,” but I just can’t get on board with this sentiment.
To my eyes, the Switch 2’s LCD screen is quite remarkable, and has convinced me that the decision to revert from OLED was far from a costly mistake (even if it did cost Nintendo at least one pre-order!).
Switch 2 appears to be seriously powerful
During my first play session with Switch 2, I began by sampling a bit of Mario Kart World, before hopping over to check out Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, and it was going well, but I can’t say I was really blown away by the performance levels, or seeing too many signs of the Switch 2’s beeifer specs.
It was when I jumped into Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition that I really had that “Oh, wow” moment. This is a sizable, visually impressive game that couldn’t even dream of running on the original Switch. Even an attempt would probably see the system literally melt down.
Yet Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2 doesn’t just look marvellous, and run at a solid 40 fps, it outclasses even the game on the Steam Deck. Granted, the Steam Deck isn’t at the cutting-edge anymore, but after years of Nintendo’s hardware feeling pretty underpowered, it’s certainly a novel change for the best on-the-go port of a blockbuster RPG to be on Nintendo’s platform.
The software library is shaping up nicely
I’m a huge believer in the old adage “a console is only as good as its games,” so while the Switch 2 is pretty slick from the design perspective, the display is gorgeous, and the internal components offer a clear performance upgrade, without compelling software, all of this is immaterial.
Fortunately, in this department, the Switch 2 is already looking very solid, if not totally spectacular. The launch library contains some truly incredible third-party experiences from the aforementioned Cyberpunk 2077 to the brilliant (and highly replayable) Hitman: World of Assassination - Signature Edition.
Nintendo itself is offering better versions of the Switch’s two flagship Zelda games, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, and the surprisingly controversial Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour.
This collection of mini-games and tech demos set within an oversized Switch 2 looked like the perfect pack-in title, so the fact that it’s a $10 paid download was met with online outrage. However, I’ve got to say, after about an hour, it’s a very pleasant surprise, and I'm pretty darn eager to play more.
Of course, the console’s key launch game is Mario Kart World, but we’ll get to that shortly…
Upgraded Pro controller is a must-have
For review purposes, I spent my initial first hour with the Nintendo Switch 2 using the Joy-Con 2 controllers and the included grip accessory, and after those 60 minutes, I just couldn’t do it any longer and had to switch (pun intended) over to the new Pro controller.
The mantra of the Switch 2 seems to be taking a thing you love and making it just that little bit better, and that approach extends beyond the console itself and into its official accessories.
The freshly upgraded Switch Pro Controller is fundamentally the same great pad that you could buy for Switch 1, but with a few subtle, yet impactful, tweaks.
I love the two-tone color scheme with the grey shoulder buttons and triggers contrasting nicely with the otherwise black finish. However, the real noteworthy addition is the inclusion of customisable two back-buttons, which have already been highly useful in Mario Kart World, allowing me to assign acceleration to a button more comfortably reached.
2 things I don't love about Nintendo Switch 2
Mario Kart World hasn’t wowed me
Okay, don’t flame me here, but Mario Kart World just has not impressed me so far. I mean, it’s visually stupendous, don’t get me wrong, and the karting fundamentals are as polished as they’ve ever been in the franchise. Plus, the suite of new animations are a pure joy to behold.
However, I’m pretty disappointed with the highly-marketed open-world feature, which essentially drops you in a very barren stretch of land that feels hauntingly empty. Aside from a few mundane micro-missions, there’s seemingly almost nothing to do in this open space other than aimlessly drive around. Finding the fun in the free drive mode was surprisingly tough.
The changes to the classic Grand Prix are baffling — you no longer do a set of four three-lap races, but instead drive between tracks in the open world, arriving at your destination to complete just a single lap. And even the new Knockout Tour mode, which some of my colleagues seem to love, has left me mostly cold as the race quickly descends into pure chaos with 24 racers.
Granted, I’ve had only a limited time with Mario Kart World at present, but so far, it’s not quite the essential launch game I was hoping it would be, and I say that as somebody who ranks Mario Kart DS as one of their favorite games of all time, so I’m far from a franchise skeptic.
Download speeds are painful
One common theme this week among the Tom Guide staff who picked up a Switch 2 at launch has been constant grumbling about the painfully slow download speeds on the console.
My PS5 Pro can download a 100+ GB game in less than an hour, my Switch 2 hooked up to the same Wi-Fi connection, took almost two and a half hours to download Mario Kart World, a title that is comparatively tiny at just 22 GBs.
Downloading all my selected launch games required my Switch 2 to be left in its dock overnight, as each install was taking a good couple of hours apiece.
I suspect this could be more of an issue on Nintendo’s end, with millions of people picking up a Switch 2 at once, the company’s servers must be getting slammed pretty hard. Or at least, I’m hoping this is the case, because so far, download speeds have felt near dial-up levels of slowness.
Fingers crossed, this is one issue that will be resolved in just a few days.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
