Aside from the obvious issues with stick drift, the biggest issue with the original Nintendo Switch's Joy-Cons is that they had a tendency to be rather uncomfortable.
More so in some games than others, but in the early days of the console I found my hands getting sore very quickly — to the point where I'd have to stop and take a break.
The Nintendo Switch 2 has tweaked the design of the Joy-Cons ever so slightly, offering a smoother magnetic connection, a larger profile, mouse controls and more. Unfortunately, the same comfort problem still remains, and I actually think it might be worse this time around.
Mario Kart is the bane of my hands
Back in 2017 when I got the first Nintendo Switch, I spent a lot of time playing Mario Kart 8. It was one of the few games I had when I bought the console, and I put in a huge number of hours trying to 3-star all the Grands Prix in the different difficulties.
I still haven't managed to get very far on 200cc, if anyone is wondering.
The problem with playing Mario Kart on Joy-Cons, either in handheld or TV mode, was that my hands would get incredibly sore over extended periods of time. It may be something to do with the way I held my hand during the races, with my thumb pressed down on the acceleration button almost constantly. (You can enable auto acceleration, but that's cheating to me.)
Maybe it's my big hands compared to the compact nature of the Joy-Cons or maybe it's the general design of the mini controllers — possibly both. But it felt like no matter what games I played, I'd need to take breaks far earlier than I would have done if I'd been using a full-size controller.
Mario Kart was not the only offender. In those early days I had comfort problems with a variety of different Switch games, from Skyrim to Stardew Valley. But over the course of 8 years, I've slowly gotten used to the general shape of the Joy-Cons in my hands — to the point where discomfort is no longer an issue.
Now that Nintendo has changed the design, even if it should be for the better, those issues have come back with a vengeance. And, of course, Mario Kart has been the key offender.
Switch 2 Joy-Cons are way more uncomfortable for me
It doesn't matter whether I'm playing in handheld mode, with loose Joy-Cons or attaching them to the official grip. After a while my hands start to ache while playing the game. Mario Kart is the worst offender so far, though I will admit that is what I have spent most of my time playing.
Over an extended period I could almost feel what Chandler's hand on Friends must have been like when going for the Ms. Pac-Man record.
I took a break from writing this to make sure that my experiences couldn't be written off as general fatigue, and I found that my right hand was starting to ache before I finished a single race on Mario Kart World.
Feeling your hand slowly seizing up is not a fun thing, especially when you're in the middle of a race. Over an extended period I could almost feel what Chandler's hand must be like after an extended session of Ms. Pac-Man. Obviously I don't want to be stuck with my hand in a mis-shapen claw for however long it would take to relax, so I had to take a break.
Medical experts are always telling us we need to take regular breaks from screens, so maybe that isn't such a bad thing. But the last thing I want when I'm feebly trying to outrun a blue shell is to have to contend with cramps in my hand. Especially when I still have 3 more races to go.
The only reason I can think that it's suddenly so bad again is that the new Joy-con design is just subtly different enough that the muscle memory from the old Switch is now functionally useless. Which means I'm going to have to start over from scratch — hindered by the fact I'm now almost 8 years older and starting to fall apart.
Bottom Line
The comfort of Joy-Cons certainly isn't a dealbreaker for me, and I'm certainly not going to avoid playing my Switch 2 — especially once there are more exclusive games to play. But it does mean that I might have to bite the bullet and opt for a different kind of controller the majority of the time.
That's either going to have to be a brand new controller, or some kind of grip to make the Switch 2 Joy-Cons a lot more comfortable to hold for extended periods of time. Ideally something a little more affordable than the Switch 2 Pro Controller.
If I'm going to have to spend $80 on something for the Switch 2, I'd rather buy a game.
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