Its been just over of 8 years since Nintendo released the Nintendo Switch, a hybrid handheld/home console system that managed to make Nintendo a serious contender in the console space again after the mess of the Wii U. Now they are trying to continue this success with the direct successor console the Nintendo Switch 2.

I have had a pretty hot/cold experience with the Switch 1, I really enjoyed a good chunk of the first party titles it had, such as Mario Kart 8, Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and Animal Crossing. However I can count the number of positive experiences I had with third party games on one hand, either having poor performance, unacceptable levels of visual downgrading, or both. Coupled with the utterly dire showing from Pokemon on this system, continuing their streak of straight gutter balls since the 3DS, my Switch spent a considerable amount of time docked in front of my TV unused. This dissatisfaction came to a head for me when I purchased Persona 5 Royal on the system and found the lack of fidelity so off putting that I impulse bought a Steam Deck and rarely found myself looking back. So it’s safe to say I was cautiously optimistic at best when I clicked Pre-Order.

But what kind of successor is it anyway?⌗

Nintendo is no stranger to making updated versions of their hardware, in fact over the years, it has been a consistent strategy. If a console is successful, iterate on it, GameBoy to GameBoy Color, DS to 3DS, Wii to Wii U, (arguably, GameCube to Wii to Wii U if we’re talking hardware architecture). They were also an early adopter of the “mid cycle refresh” with hardware like the DSi and New 3DS. So is the Switch 2 a true successor, or is it just a mid cycle refresh?

The Switch 2 is a very similar architecture to its predecessor, with an Nvidia Tegra SOC containing an ARM CPU and an Nvidia CUDA based GPU. Compared to the Switch 1 it sees a sizable increase in both RAM (going from 4GB of LPDDR4 to 12GB of much faster LPDDR5) and internal storage (going form 32/64Gb of EMMC to 256GB of UFS based storage). The screen has seen a upgrade in almost every factor, its larger and bumped up to 1080p from the initial 720p.

It certainly seems to be Nintendo’s view that this is a entirely new platform compared to the Switch 1, with clearly delineated software, even down to different coloured cartridges, new branding and overall identity. I would be inclined to agree with them, it feels like a jump comparable to the 3DS from the DS rather than DS to DSi.

Initial impressions⌗

Upon unboxing the Switch 2, I was impressed by the build quality of the device, it has a level of heft to it that I’ve not felt with a Nintendo console before. Sure, every Nintendo system has been built well, before the Switch 1 it often felt like it was solid by toy standards rather than a high tech gadget, and the Switch 1 felt comparatively flimsy, I know one person who has snapped the rails off of a Switch 1 in a fit of FIFA induced rage. The Switch 2 has managed to fix most of the structural complaints found in the original system, the Joy-Cons attach via strong magnets rather than a weak rail system and the stand is now a solid bar of metal compared to the originals plastic flap.

The other thing I noticed was that it was quite a bit larger than the original, these increased dimensions have allowed for several improvements, the aforementioned larger screen for one. But also larger buttons, not quite PSP sized, but much more comfortable than the original Switch, with its 3DS sized buttons.

The first boot process was pleasant and followed the same sort of dance that any new device does these days, connect to a network, download a firmware update, offer to transfer from an old device or sign in with a account, before being dumped into the home menu.

The OS⌗

One area that has seen little change between the Switches is the operating system and User Experience. Much like the Switch 1 you have a spartan home menu with the same layout of recently played games and a set of system tasks on the bottom row. This to me, is a massive disappointment. One of the biggest and most consistent complaints about the Switch 1 was the lack of any real form of customisability in the home screen. No custom themes or even proper folders are available at time of writing, both very popular features of the 3DS home screen.

I believe that the reason the Switch 1 and now 2’s system software is so sparse is because it provides as few entry points as possible to people trying to gain root access to the system. the DSi was hacked using an exploit in its photo viewer, the 3DS and Wii U via its web browser, so in Nintendo’s view, if it could be an entry point it doesn’t get included. (lets hope no one exploits the cartridge port or anything).

Another area of lacking is the lack of media features. Both the Xbox and Playstation platforms have plentiful streaming services available on their store, along with options for playing media files from various sources. This is simply not an option for the Switch 2 right now, save for Youtube, which was also available on the Switch 1.

The Accessories⌗

Along with the Switch 2 Console, the box also contained several accessories. The first of these is the new dock, which now contains active cooling and allows the switch to turbo up without risking cooking the system. The dock also features Ethernet, which previously only the revised OLED Switch 1 dock had. It also contains new wrist straps that have mouse skates on them to aid the new Joy-Con mouse mode, and a new grip, which feels far worse than the switch 1’s mainly due to the increase in size of the Joy-Cons. Overall the accessories feel quite flimsy compared to the system, the dock especially, however given the choice I would prefer a solid console and slightly weaker accessories.

The Hardware⌗

As I said previously the system feels a lot more well built than the Switch 1. The new magnetic mounting system for the Joy-Cons is a big part of this, clipping on horizontally with a satisfying clunk that I can’t help doing again and again. The system is overall very similar in design though, with a USB-C connector on the bottom and a headphone jack on the top. Joining the headphone jack is a second USB-C port, allowing for charging in tabletop mode and for connecting one of the new Cameras that are being sold for the in-game chat feature, new on this system, and future games, such as the expansion to Mario Party Jamboree.

Another change to the system are the options for expandable storage, on the Switch 1 you could use any MicroSD card to expand the storage. However the Switch 2 requires a MicroSD Express card, a much newer standard that replaces the old SD Protocol for a much faster standard based on the one used in NVMe SSDs. This change is mainly down to standard SD cards being too slow for modern games to load assets in a timely manner and similar issues have had to be addressed in both the PS5 and the Xbox Series consoles. Much like those other systems, the trade off is that the storage in question is far more expensive per Gigabyte than other options.

One area that hasn’t changed, much to mine and it seems many others frustration, is the type of analogue sticks found in the Joy-Cons. This is surprising given how much of an issue drift has been for the Switch 1, even leading to a class action lawsuit against Nintendo in the USA. I hope that a third party creates a replacement stick box using a better technology that doesn’t lead to drift, but that only fixes the issue for people who have the skills to disassemble and replace the sticks in the controller, which I imagine is a very small percentage of users, another concern would be that the most common non drifting option, magnetic hall effect sensors wouldn’t be an option due to the magnets being used to attach joy-Cons to the system. It is worth noting that Nintendo have opened a free scheme to have your Switch 2 Joy-Cons fixed or replaced if affected by drift, however this likely won’t be a scheme that lasts forever.

An area that might be seen as a downgrade however is the screen. Whilst the screen is now 1080p, can support refresh rates of up to 120Hz and supports HDR. Nintendo has reverted back to LCD technology from the OLED technology found in the revised OLED Switch 1. OLED Screens have pixels that emit light directly rather than relying on a backlight behind the screen, leading to them having far better blacks and overall colour reproduction than LCDs. Nintendo seemingly reverted to LCDs due to cost and thermal issues as OLED panels that support High Refresh Rate and HDR often require heat sinking and are far more expensive than their LCD counterparts. Personally I haven’t been able to notice much of a difference between the new screen and the old OLED and would happily trade the benefits of it for the added features.

The Games⌗

I picked up the Bundle containing Mario Kart World, mainly because there was no way on earth I am paying nearly £80 for a Mario Kart game. I didn’t think it was a game that was going to demonstrate the true bump in performance that the Switch 2 offered so I also picked up Cyberpunk 2077, and because I was interested in the new Game Key format, I picked up the Bravely Default HD remaster too.

Mario Kart World is, well, Mario Kart. They basically perfected the formula with Mario Kart 8 and this game carries on a lot of the feeling of it. Karts handle well and races feel fast and messy, perfect for a party racing game. I’m not entirely sold on the ‘open world’ features of the game, Grand Prix feel odd having one ’normal race’ followed by driving to the next track and then doing 1 lap. though I feel that the Knockout Race mode makes that work a lot better. If Mario Kart 64 was the perfect Mario Kart of its time, that makes Mario Kart World the Double Dash of this era, an otherwise normal Mario Kart game with one gimmick that changes up how most of the game modes operate.

One thing I was a bit disappointed by is that the game is distributed as a code rather than a full Cartridge or even a Game Key, Given that Nintendo are pushing this new format you would think they’d be using it for their pack in games.

I haven’t spent much in the way of time with either Cyberpunk or Bravely Default yet. In terms of performance, Cyberpunk runs really well, without noticeable glitches or hitches. Impressive compared to both the last time I tried it on a PC and their last offering on the Nintendo Switch 1, a rather blurry port of The Witcher 3. CDPR have done an impressive amount of work optimising their engine.

Cyberpunk is the first game to make use of Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling on the system and I am taken aback by how much the technology has improved since it was first shown off, I am very interested to see how it performs with games that require low latency as that is the main trade off.

DLSS does raise some concerns when it comes to porting 3rd party games however. If launch titles are requiring this technology already to maintain performance, I worry what will need to be done with games that come out towards the end of its life cycle which if the Switch 1 is anything to go off of, could be another 7-8 years from now. That is of course if games continue to become more visually demanding, which people have been doubting will continue since the start of the last console generation.

My other concern is to do with the Game Key cartridges that are being released for the Switch 2. While they are a vast improvement on the codes in a box that plagued the Switch 1’s generation, it still has the same issue with being rendered worthless when the servers are shut down. It does have the improvement in that game keys are able to be resold at a later date. This plays into more general issues with game preservation which Nintendo has been historically resistant to.

Virtual Console I mean Nintendo Classics⌗

For those who are subscribers to the Nintendo Switch Online service and the Expansion Pack, Nintendo have added a Gamecube emulator in the same vein as their other emulators found on the Switch 1. Initial testing of both The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker and F Zero GX show that it is a perfectly serviceable emulator, but lacking some of the niceties of Open Source projects that shall remain nameless. Particularly given Nintendo’s attitude to borrowing features and code from those open source projects.

Backwards Compatibility⌗

Nintendo has historically been fantastic at backward compatibility, almost every handheld Nintendo has made has been able to play its predecessors games. Thankfully the Switch 2 has continued this tradition, with almost every Switch 1 game being compatible. In addition to this, a good chunk of first party games are getting dedicated Switch 2 upgrades, some free, some paid. Two of the ’launch titles’ for the Switch 2 are upgraded versions of the two open world Zelda games, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

One of the most noticeable improvements seen has been with the last main series pokemon games, Scarlet and Violet, which on the Switch 1 were glitchy low framerate messes. On the Switch 2 they actually run! And run well at that! No more slideshow animations from anything more than a meter away, No more pop in and randomly despawning NPCs. It almost looks like a finished game now.

Where backwards compatibility has been weaker at least in the launch window has been with third party software. Games that performed poorly or used lower resolution to maintain frame rate still don’t look right on the Switch 2. the two games I tried are Persona 5 Royal and Ni No Kuni, both looked fuzzy and ran poorly. It seems without a patch the vastly increased power of the Switch 2 isn’t able to be properly utilized by games, unless they had an uncapped framerate and had the scope to run at multiple resolutions.

We will have to wait and see what developers do when it comes to updating their third party offerings, but if the PS4-PS5 transition is anything to go by, most devs aren’t going to provide patches. With that said most people buy Nintendo systems for the exclusives and have a different system for anything multiplatform, and I don’t think that will change with this generation.

This might be read as a damning indictment on the Switch 2’s launch window but the most fun I’ve had on this system so far has been playing Detlarune which was kinda-sorta-not really launch title for the system.

Final Thoughts⌗

Overall the Switch 2 is a clear upgrade to the Switch 1, fixing most of the complaints that users had with the original hardware. With that said, the price increase of the console compared to its predecessor, £279 to £395, has meant that it is now in the leagues of systems such as the Steam Deck and other handheld PCs. The jury is still very much out on if it can compete with those in terms of games and performance.

I think right now its probably too early to say if it iss worth buying or not, the current crop of Switch 2 games is pretty limited and upgrades to Switch 1 games will trickle out slowly over the next couple of years.

Personally it has felt less and less necessary to pick up consoles at launch in the last decade. I ended up getting a PS5 shortly after launch and it spent the first year of its life just being a way to play my PS4 games with a nicer controller. I guess thats the downside of console makers strategy of a consistent platform rather than having clearly delineated releases, if the PS4 is going to stick around for half of its successors lifespan what reason is there to make games that target the less popular of the two instead of both?

Bonus Round : Things I wanna see happen this generation⌗

No real order to these, just things I wanna see happen on the Switch 2 this generation

• A New, non open world, Zelda game (BoTW and TotK were great but some normal zelda would be nice )
• A New Pilotwings game, or even just a remaster of Pilotwings Resort
• Nintendo fixes their Eshop criteria and removes all the AI Slop and Porn
• Custom themes (please, let me make my home menu pink or orange, or just something other than monochrome)
• Wii Nintendo Classics (its basically just a Gamecube with more RAM, right?)
• Patches to make the Xenoblade series run properly, at a decent resolution.
• Pokemon Classics collection 👉👈