Nintendo Switch 2 Review

It’s here. It’s finally here. The Nintendo Switch 2 has been released to the world. There’s been lots of hype and discussion during the weeks leading up to the release, but does it actually meet the expectations? After all, it’s just a better Switch, right?

Well that pretty much sums up every console. The PS5 was a better version of the PS4 and the XBox One was a better version of the XBox 360 with extra bells and whistles. The Switch 2 has many improvements and it’s definitely something you should pick up, but whether you get it now or wait a bit is entirely based on how badly you want to play the new exclusive games. 

Without going into the more detailed specifics, what are the main draws of the Switch 2? The obvious answer is that it’s a beefier console. Performance is better and visuals are better. This means it can run games that you normally wouldn’t expect to play on the original Switch, but it also means that original Switch games can run better as well.

The joycons, dock, and kickstand are also significantly improved, and both Game Chat and mouse controls add a lot to both gameplay and the overall experience.

When I first got my console, I immediately wanted to test how well the performance was. I didn’t want to try it on a game like Mario Kart World because thats a game that Nintendo developed specifically for the console. No, I wanted to see how well the console ran some of the beefiest games.

That’s why I went with Hitman: World of Assassination. It’s a game that would have never played on the original Switch and was perfect for testing. I’ll have a full review later on, but for now I’ll just tell you that it ran great. There were some FPS issues in cutscenes, but it really felt like I was playing Hitman 3 on a PS4 or even PS5.

In handheld mode, the joycons worked very well with the game and when I connected my old Switch Pro Controller, the game played just as well. 

Speaking of joy cons, they’re just a joy to hold and use. They feel more smooth and fluid than the original Switch joy cons and attaching and detaching is so satisfying. The bigger screen also helps visually when you’re in handheld mode but is a step down if you’re going from an OLED Switch model because the brightness and contrast reverts back to LCD.

Aside for the beefiness of the console, backwards compatibility is the next big aspect. If you’re a big switch 1 gamer and you have hundreds of games, nearly all of them will play on the Switch 2. If you have a physical cartridge, just pop it in. Downloads work too but managing space will be hard. Since the Switch 2 only uses MicroSD Express cards, you’re very limited into how much you can download until you spend a lot for a card. 

I have a 1 TB MicroSD card in my Switch 1 and it’s been full for a year because of how many games I have. Only a fraction of my Switch 1 games would fit on the 2 if I tried to redownload all of them. Downloading Hitman: World of Assassination wasn’t cheap either. It was more than 50 GB, filling up twenty percent of the Switch 2 internal storage on just one game.

Thankfully most Switch 1 games are under 10 GB so if there’s a few games you love, you can load them into the switch 2 with no problem. It’ll be even easier if your collection is mostly physical and all you need to worry about is save data.

Speaking of save data, transferring everything from your switch to your switch 2 is easy but does have two huge flaws. When you first boot up the Switch 2 it will ask you if you want to transfer stuff from the Switch 1. This will be your only opportunity to do so because if you skip this step, you won’t be able to later on.

It also transfers EVERYTHING. All your profiles, all your save data, all your digital games, and all your home screen icons will be transferred. If you have a lot of games downloaded on your Switch 1, the transfer will automatically replicate your Switch 1 home screen. All the Switch 1 game icons will be there and every digital game on your Switch 1 will immediately attempt to download to your Switch 2. 

You can’t stop these downloads without manually cancelling each one. Then you have to go and manually remove each icon. Don’t do this fast enough and your storage will immediately be filled with Switch 1 games and if you try to delete them later, more will begin automatically downloading.

There’s no way around this and I was forced to do a factory reset. But if you have a Nintendo Switch Online membership, there’s an easy work around. You can skip the transfer, sign into your profiles, and then manually download all the save data you want from the settings page. After skipping the transfer, I signed into my account, and manually picked twenty switch 1 save files that I really wanted. If there’s more I want later, I can redownload them later as long as I still have an active membership.

Is all this hassle worth it? Definitely. Many of your Switch 1 games will play even better on the Switch 2. There are Switch 1 games that receive paid upgrades that allow them to play as native Switch 2 games. This includes games like Breath of the Wild. These are significantly improved versions of the game.

Some games receive free upgrades that offer minor improvements like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet that make the games look and run better. But many games simply benefit from being on a better console. I recently reviewed 9th Dawn Remake for the Switch 1 and the frame rate is better on Switch 2. Many Switch 1 games will receive better frame rate, faster loading times, and cleaner images. I personally can’t wait to compare games like Fire Emblem Three Houses and Monster Hunter Rise.

Mouse controls are also a cool gimmick. I really like that it’s included as part of the joy con and not some accessory you have to purchase. I was also surprised at how well the mouse function works. I’ve used it on a regular table and a mattress with no issue. I’ve had actual computer mice that wouldn’t do anything without a dedicated mouse pad.

But is there a use for mouse controls? Now that I’m actually playing the games and not just theorizing, I see that it’s quite useful. For starters, mouse controls were very helpful in Switch 1 games that were originally on PC like Among Us and Minecraft. You just need to play docked or with the kickstand up. Mouse controls were also useful when typing is involved and in the eShop.

Speaking of the eShop, the Switch 2 eShop is way better. Organizing between different filters is easier and scrolling is much faster. My only complaint with the eShop is that listings that have switch 1 and switch 2 versions will be confusing for some people. 

For instance, xxx has a switch 1 version, a switch 2 version, a switch 1 version bundled with the switch 2 upgrade, and a separate switch 2 upgrade. They’re all different prices too, and not everyone will understand the difference. 

Should you upgrade to the Switch 2? If you’re happy with your original Switch and collection, you can hold off until there are even more Switch 2 exclusive games or until prices come down a bit. In my opinion, $450 is a good base price for all the performance improvements, mouse controls, and backwards compatibility. But if you’re upgrading from a console that you already paid $300 for a year or two ago, then yeah, it might not be worth it yet. 

$450 is fair for a console that’s basically on par with a PS4 Pro. I’ve seen people say “that comparison is bad since PS4 Pro is 8 years old” or “if you wanted a PS4 Pro, buy a PS4 Pro. After playing for a few days, I see that those remarks are ridiculous. A PS4 Pro is a PS4 Pro but the Switch 2 is effectively a PS4 Pro that also runs Switch 1 and future Switch 2 games. It’s only a matter of time until more games that were only on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Steam, start making their way to the Switch 2.

Prices for the games themselves is another story. It’s entirely possible that Mario Kart World has enough content to justify $80 but there are a lot of people who won’t agree with the prices. That doesn’t mean that all games will have such high prices. For instance, Cyberpunk 2077 is $70 but includes everything. Hitman World of Assassination is cheaper than the retail priced Steam version. Bravely Default is $40. Just because Nintendo is raising the prices for their games doesn’t mean that all publishers are doing the same. This won’t be a problem for a few more years. 

To recap, the Switch 2 is a beefy console that plays Switch 1 and Switch 2 games that can expect a lot more ports of PS4, XBox One, and Steam games. Better joy cons, and a fresh eShop make buying and playing games easier. You don’t have to make the upgrade now, but the Switch 2 is already a significant upgrade that will only get better.