Following in the footsteps of one of the highest-selling consoles to date, the long-anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 is finally available.
Much like the original Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo Switch 2 offers both a handheld and home console experience due to its hybrid nature. Coming with detachable controllers with motion control support and a touchscreen, you might not see much immediate difference between the two consoles. Is it worth picking up the more powerful successor? Let’s explore the features and find out.
Now You’re Playing With Power
While the Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t as powerful as its home console contemporaries, it’s quite a large step up from its predecessor. This allows Nintendo Switch 2 games to have a larger scale, higher graphical performance, and more features compared to the original Switch.
Perhaps the most obvious showcase of this is games with Nintendo Switch 2 versions of titles which were already released on the original. We’re seeing versions of games with improved image quality, higher framerate, and even added HDR support in some cases.
The Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive titles and new ports take advantage of this too. It’s unlikely that we would have seen more ambitious features like free roam in Mario Kart World on the original Switch, and we’ve already seen a handful of ports that never made it to the less powerful predecessor.
The console is backward compatible with the vast majority of Nintendo Switch games too, and these games have certainly benefited. Certain titles such as Pokémon Scarlet/Violet have had specific patches significantly increasing performance, while others like Rune Factory 5 and Disgaea 6 haven’t had patches but do run more smoothly. Quite a few games have improved framerates which are now at least a stable 30 fps, and many have improved load times, some significantly so. I’ve been having a lot of fun with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity which runs much better on the Nintendo Switch 2 for having a stable framerate.
Super Show!
The Nintendo Switch 2 comes with a 7.9″ 1080p LCD touchscreen which supports HDR 10 and a variable refresh rate of up to 120 fps. There is some disappointment that it’s not an OLED screen with its better colors and deeper blacks. With that said, the Switch 2 screen looks great and including HDR and such a high refresh rate are welcome additions. The colors are vivid, and blacks do appear deeper than on the original Switch’s LCD screen. While of course an even better screen such as an OLED or even QLED with their benefits would have been welcome, I imagine this would have increased the price significantly. I know my Pimax Portal with its QLED 4K touchscreen looks amazing, but it certainly isn’t cheap!
As an aside, frequent NookGaming visitors will know that we play a lot of text-heavy games here and I was asked the question by a community member. Yes, the text is nice and clear on the screen and it provides a great reading experience in handheld mode.
In docked mode, your experience will of course vary based on your TV, but the Nintendo Switch 2 supports up to 4K at 60 fps. If you use 1080p or 1440p, then up to 120 fps is supported. Again, HDR 10 is also supported.
Music Blocks
Using handheld mode, the quality of sound is quite impressive for a handheld. The detail comes through clearly. While it actually uses the same speaker parts as the original Nintendo Switch, structural changes have been made so the sound doesn’t come out as muddied.
The microphone is quite impressive too, which makes sense with the addition of GameChat as a feature. It carries voices clearly and is particularly good at background noise removal. Desk bangs, vacuums, and TV noise either didn’t or barely came through in my testing.
Mario Express
With 256 GB space on the internal storage (minus some for system use), expandable by up to 2TB via a MicroSD Express card (though only 256G – 1TB cards are available at the time of writing), you can put quite a few games on the storage. However, if you’re a fan of bigger titles and you play a lot of games, then you may struggle with internal storage alone.
One of the larger examples is Cyberpunk 2077 at 59.4 GB. This is atypical though, with titles like Mario Kart World at 21.9 GB, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma also at 21.9 GB, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time at 12.6 GB, Pokémon Scarlet/Violet at 10.1 GB, and smaller titles like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour at 1.6 GB.
It is worth noting that you can’t use the same type of MicroSD cards that are used on the Switch, which makes sense due to their slower speeds. It’s a pity though, as MicroSD Express cards are currently fairly expensive. I believe most people won’t really need a MicroSD Express card any time soon as long as they don’t have dozens of titles downloaded at the same time. This may become more of an issue as time goes on and titles become bigger, but I imagine that prices for storage will come down by that time.
Take This!
The Nintendo Switch 2 is a rather large device. It does fit in my hands comfortably, but it’s a little heavy at 534 g with joycons attached, so I tend to lean it against my leg for longer play sessions to take some of the weight off my wrists or detach the controllers and use the kickstand (which lets you adjust the angle and is rather strong, unlike the original). I had a similar (if more severe issue) when trying the Steam Deck which is 669 g. With that said, I do get wrist and hand pain, so this will affect me more than some people.
Much like the original Switch, it comes with two joycons that snap onto the side of the Nintendo Switch 2, and which can be inserted into an included grip to form a more traditional (if narrow) controller shape, or can be attached to wrist straps for motion control games. They magnetically snap into place with a satisfying click and feel completely secure when playing. A button is needed to release them, and even pulling on them won’t detach them otherwise, at least without an excessive level of force.
The buttons are responsive and the layout is comfortable, though much like its predecessor the buttons and spacing are a bit small for larger hands. The analog sticks are still perhaps a couple of millimeters smaller than I’d like and not as long, which does feel a touch less precise in activities like aiming a gun than some controllers. Digital triggers are used which means no use of analog trigger controls for acceleration on racing games or rates of firing on certain FPS titles. Overall, the controllers are good enough, but when played in docked mode I prefer using the Pro Controller.
The motion controls are also worth noting. After playing Nintendo Switch Welcome Tour 2 in particular, I could appreciate just how well they actually work. While they’re not as good as camera-tracked virtual reality controllers, it’s come a long way in accuracy since the Wiimotes.
Since we’re talking about controls, a cool new feature of the Switch 2 joycons is the ability to turn it on its side and use it as a mouse. I’ve found I can accurately control it, as long as the movement isn’t too fast, which has more to do with how I find it to move than the tracking. It does feel like it could be a game-changer for certain titles, especially the strategy genre, but there are only currently a handful of games that support it, like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour and Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition. It does seem like original Switch games can be specifically updated for it too, but how frequent this becomes, we’ll have to wait and see. The joycon feels comfortable to use as a mouse if perhaps not as much as a computer one… which is why it’s even better that some games support a USB mouse too.
Oh, are you wanting to use some other controllers for those retro games? Nintendo offers their own retro controllers of course, but it seems that at least some unofficial Switch accessories work on the Nintendo Switch 2. I’ve been using my Numskull Nintendo Switch Wireless Retro Controller Converter to connect my original Gamecube controller for playing F-Zero GX. Not everything will be compatible of course though, and some such as the 8bitdo controllers/adapters may require firmware updates.
Game On
The game library of the Nintendo Switch 2 at launch could be considered either extremely weak or incredibly strong, depending on your perspective.
In terms of Nintendo Switch 2 exclusives, there’s only a handful at launch. The only real headliner here is Mario Kart World. Purely in terms of exclusive games at launch, it is a bit disappointing.
With that said, there are also upcoming upgrade packs for Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kirby and the Forgotten Land which add new content to these games. Donkey Kong Bananza will also be released soon after launch. In addition, while Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is much later, I can tell you it’s one of the exclusive titles I’m looking forward to the most.
They don’t exactly count as exclusives as (often overpriced and secondhand) copies of the original titles are available, but the Nintendo Switch 2 also offers one of the most convenient ways to play a handful of GameCube games. This currently includes The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and Soul Caliber II. You can play these and other retro games if you have the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, which includes added convenience features like Rewind, allowing you to turn back the clock and undo any mistakes. It would’ve been nice to have a few more of the GameCube titles at launch, but they’ve previously added to their offering of retro titles on the service over time and several have already been announced.
Outside of exclusives, the list of launch games is much stronger. Quite a few games are getting Nintendo Switch 2 versions, including some great titles like Rune Factory: Guardians or Azuma and Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time.
And of course, as mentioned above you can play almost the entire backlog of original Nintendo Switch titles. That’s over 10,000 titles!
If you’re like me and you have all of the major platforms, you’ll probably feel that the launch lineup is weak. We’ve played a lot of these ‘new’ games already! However, if you’re diving in as someone who hasn’t had a console in a while or only had the original Switch, you’ll find so much to play here that you won’t even notice the few months until the more new exclusive titles have rolled out.
However you feel about the games at launch, it’s early days and there’s still plenty more to come. Even just counting first-party content, Nintendo hasn’t disappointed yet, so I’m confident that whenever we get the next Mario, Zelda, or Splatoon titles, they’ll be worth playing.
It’s a (Mario) Party!
The Nintendo Switch 2 has introduced GameShare, a feature reminiscent of Download Play from the Nintendo DS. On supported games, it lets you play with people who don’t have the game, both locally and online.
I’m certainly happy to see this, as it’s a great way to get friends interested in a game and to play together even if they just have the system. It even allows people with an original Nintendo Switch to receive shared games, though that’s limited to local play. It all seems to work incredibly smoothly and getting people into the games was easy enough after reading the instructions. At the moment, only a handful of games support this, but I imagine that list will grow over time.
It does feel like Nintendo is going more into online play with the Switch 2, as they’ve also introduced GameChat. It’s essentially integrated online chat, where you can share your screen, play together, and appear on camera if you want. This is part of the online subscription, but is currently free to everyone until the end of March 2026. As you might expect for Nintendo and its often family-friendly image, it includes verification methods, approval on a per friend basis, and the requirement to opt-in.
Power-Up?
Much like many other modern handhelds, the battery of the Nintendo Switch 2 doesn’t let you play wirelessly for hours on end. How long it lasts depends on what you’re doing, but I’ve found that when actively gaming the battery tends to last between 2 to 3 hours in handheld mode.
It would be nice if this were longer, but it seems more or less the same as the current PC handhelds. Luckily, it doesn’t take too long to get back into the game. In the dock, it fully charges in about 2 hours.
Verdict
The Nintendo Switch 2 is bigger and better than its predecessor and feels like more of an upgraded version than something brand new, which makes sense with the success of the original Nintendo Switch. It has some nice new features, but the performance increase which allows some of the new games and the notable boost to many original Nintendo Switch games makes it more than worth it, despite having a few areas where I’d like to see improvements.
THE NINTENDO SWITCH 2 IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
While waiting for new games for the Switch 2’s library, you may be inclined to check out upgraded versions of games on the original Switch’s library with their improved performance, such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Many thanks to Nintendo for a review unit of the Nintendo Switch 2, online subscription, and some games and accessories to thoroughly test it.
A gamer since the days of Amstrad and DOS and someone who has dabbled in a variety of professions. He enjoys a wide variety of genres, but has been focusing on visual novels and virtual reality in recent years. Head Editor of NookGaming. Follow him and the website on @NookSite.
