Nintendo Switch 2 One Week Later REVIEW:
It's important to note I've never owned a Switch 1 before, so to me owning a Nintendo Switch in general is a new concept and its been a seriously interesting and fun experience.
Hardware wise I am quite impressed with the Nintendo Switch 2, I love the Black color design of the console combined with the orange/blue accents, and the size of the console in general is perfect for me. I am more of a hardcore sit at the desk with the biggest screen, highest resolutions type of person as I frequently mainly game on a PS5 Pro so selling me on playing on a smaller, portable screen was something I never was remotely interested in. So I am mainly shocked at the fact I've spent the majority of my Switch 2 playtime in handheld mode.
The screen is excellent, it is LCD not OLED but its colors are very vivid and 1080p resolution is pretty much the sweet spot for me in terms of handhelds for this size, It's rare that I can tell something looks marginally worse than it does on docked because the screen is too small to make out those rough edges. One super odd note I discovered is that for some reason, turning off automatic brightness massively increases the actual brightness of the screen, I only figured this out after 6 days of owning it because its not something thats made clear at all.
What makes the Switch 2 handheld so great for me is that it makes gaming possible while lying down in bed, or taking my console out with me to university as I spend a lot of time there, being able to use each joycon as a controller is a major plus as well so playing Mario Kart with friends is so easy, having this portable console that can play games at an acceptable resolution and frame rates (which is something I didn't buy Switch 1 because it couldn't do as well) is an amazing thing.
Another thing I wanna mention about the joycons is that they have PS5's haptic feedback, done with rumble here (Pretty sure this was in Switch 1, not sure if it was as good) but it feels frankly the same as PS5, you can feel Donkey Kong's steps while moving for example, which I as a massive fan of haptic feedback with dualsense absolutely love.
Now the real reason anyone buys a console is for what games they have on it, I have never owned a Nintendo console before so going in, I have a *massive* library of Switch 1 games to get through but for the Switch 2 itself, I really like what's on offer so far, Mario Kart World is a seriously addictive racing game but the true system seller for me is Donkey Kong Bananza. This is an IMPECCABLE platformer that I cannot stop praising, it is an absolute blast to play and right up there with Astro Bot as one of the best platformers I've got the chance to play.
In terms of third parties, I am quite surprised at how well these run, Cyberpunk 2077 does 1080p 30FPS and on handheld, is a great showcase of the console capabilities, on docked it isn't worth playing unless you have no other option however as it visibly is much worse than any other platform you can play it on, Cronos The New Dawn just got an update that makes its visuals on par with PS5 Pro in terms of graphics settings but obviously at 30FPS and less resolution, still impressive none the less for a portable system, I also tested Fortnite and that worked pretty much perfectly.
A few gripes I have:
- There is no messaging system while playing online, I find this an odd omission. I haven't tried GameChat yet but locking this behind Nintendo Online subscription sucks considering parties are free on PSN.
- I wish the battery life was better, atm its lasting me about 2-3 hours which is never enough for a proper long gaming session, thankfully it does charge with Type-C so its rare I don't have a charger for it ready to use.
- And of course the biggest gripe of all: PRICES. Everything in Nintendo Switch 2 is expensive, I haven't seen anything even 7+ years old discounted but I have heard Black Friday deals are basically the one time Nintendo sales are good so I'll have more thoughts on prices when that happens next month, the accessories are also expensive, I don't think I need the Pro Controller but $90 for a controller is ridiculous imo when the Dualsense costs less and arguably is more advanced. Also I stand by that no game is worth $80 to me, especially not a light remaster of Zelda, Mario Kart, or Kirby. I refuse to support $80 pricing so I'll be waiting for sales to pick Kirby up for example.
So OVERALL: I love the Nintendo Switch 2, I think if you already own and play a ton of Switch 1 then you don't NEED to upgrade right now, you can definitely wait a while for more exclusives to drop but if you don't own a Switch, Switch 2 is pretty much the best deal atm to play all those iconic Switch 1 games at higher resolutions and stable FPS while also having access to all future Nintendo games, also Donkey Kong Bananza is a genuine masterpiece and something that I could see platformer fans buying a Switch 2 just to play.
Considering all the recent price increases to consoles, it is kind of crazy to think $450 Switch 2 has become a genuine great deal even when only a few months ago we thought this was a bit much, I don't think this console will ever go on sale considering the economic situation and most likely its price will go up with time so do consider getting one soon if you are interested in it like I was.