Nintendo Switch 2 review in-progress: 24 hours with the next-gen console

The Nintendo Switch 2 is here!

We’ve got our hands on the Mario maker’s first brand-new machine in eight years, got it out of the box and have been able to test its new features, feel its new pads, play its line-up of launch games, and get a good idea of what it’s going to be like to own the Switch 2, long-term.

We're still getting to grips with the new machine, and our thoughts here will be an ever-evolving mix of ongoing at-home testing and pre-release preview thoughts. There are a few things we’ve still not seen — some launch titles were unavailable on day one, and we still need to put battery life through its paces. But following a day-long hands on session with the Nintendo Switch 2, we're confident it’s looking like a great machine.

Better yet, some of the features that I wasn’t certain about shocked me when tested — not least of all the GameChat and camera features, which have to be used to be understood how significant they are. Nintendo’s made some smart and jaw-dropping changes for its new console. Read on for the stand-out impressions from my time with the Nintendo Switch 2 so far, ahead of a final verdict in the coming days.

[This review is currently in progress. We'll be adding more thoughts and findings as our time with the Nintendo Switch 2 progresses, so keep checking back to find out our final verdict.]

Nintendo Switch 2: The core specs and features

Before we get into the jaw-dropping details, here’s a quick run down of the main features of the new console.

• More powerful: The Switch 2 can play games at higher resolutions and faster framerates than the original Switch, up to 4K / 120fps depending on the game, thanks to a new (as-yet-unnamed) Nvidia mobile chipset.
• New dock: Capable of 4K output, this larger dock has a built-in fan to keep the console cool when connected to your TV.
• Bigger screen: With a 7.9-inch screen, the Switch 2 has a considerably bigger display than the 6.2-inch original and 7-inch OLED model. It’s also sharper too, with a 1080p display, and is richer thanks to HDR and VRR frame rate support. That VRR support does NOT extend to docked play though, whether your TV supports it or not.
• Backwards compatible: 99.9% of original Switch games work on the Switch 2.
• New Joy-Con controllers: Not only are the new controllers bigger, with bigger joysticks, but they attach to the console with a new magnetic connection. Each Joy-Con 2 pad can instantly turn into a mouse for the console too, by placing it on its side.
• GameChat: A new dedicated button on the console fires up a built-in microphone and turns on in-game chat for you and your online friends. If you purchase a sold-separately camera, you can also see your pals while you play, with some games putting your video feed into the action. Video and voice chat features are tied to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Despite initial skepticism, it now feels like a killer feature that can't be missed.
• Pricing and availability: Available for purchase now (if you can find a retailer that still has stock) the Nintendo Switch 2 costs £395.99. A good-value bundle throws in Mario Kart World for £429, — a big saving considering the game itself costs £74.99 if it were bought individually. The console was released on June 5th. It’s a price bump (the games are on average £10 more expensive, too). But the new features justify the leap.

• Nintendo Switch 2 order: Where to buy Nintendo's new console

Now, on to the good stuff — the details that impressed us most during our hands-on time…

Getting started: Simple set-up and a whizz-fast interface

Coming charged straight out of the box and ready to play, the Nintendo Switch 2 offers up a relatively thorough guide to how all its new hardware works when you first fire it up. Onscreen prompts tell you about the position of the console’s kickstand, how to detach the newly-magnetic Joy-Con controllers, how to re-attach them, and the many different controller configurations they open up.

It’ll even talk you through how to transfer system data from an original Switch to a new Switch 2 console — though, like us, you might have to jump a couple of hoops to make that feature work.

It’s otherwise a painless operation though. Setting up the dock, for instance, is a breeze too. The Nintendo Switch 2 charges over USB-C, and connecting the provided power pack to the docking station that comes in the box, along with a 4K high-speed HDMI cable that hooks up to your TV, lets you quickly move from handheld to sofa-bound play sessions. Head into the settings section and there are easy-to-follow instructions for making sure the new HDR image options pop.

If this all sounds quite familiar, then that’s somewhat intentional — this is a console that aims to build on the success of the Switch, rather than re-invent the wheel. And that familiarity extends to the user interface, which feels very similar to the grid-based layout of apps, games and storefronts found on the first Switch. The central part of the homescreen is dominated by your most recently played games, with an app library at the far right. Above that are icons for changing user profiles, and quick info like the time, Wi-Fi connectivity, and battery level.

Below that central strip are further options for accessing: the Nintendo Switch Online service; new GameChat features; the Nintendo news feed; the eShop digital game store; a library for your screenshots; GameShare (letting you play with another Switch player from a single cartridge or game download); Virtual Game Cards (Nintendo’s management system for sharing digital games across user profiles and consoles); general settings and a Sleep option.

Though it all more-or-less looks the same as it did on the first console, what’s striking is just how smooth it all feels in operation. The original Switch was hamstrung by a low memory allowance that had to be shared between in-action games and the core operating system behind everything. But with the Switch 2’s added processing oomph, everything flies along, with not a stutter to the interface — and a considerable boost to game loading speeds too. The eShop in particular is starkly different, much more pleasurable and responsive to browse — which is certain to be music to the ears of the golden coin-counting money men at Nintendo’s Kyoto HQ.

Nintendo Switch 2 screen is so much better than gen 1

Larger, brighter and running at higher frame rates, the Switch 2 LCD display is excellent, a massive improvement over the original Switch. With HDR and VRR features, the screen really pops, richer and smoother than the gen 1 display, with the power of the processor letting it run at twice the resolution, too. Viewing angles are massively improved, meaning you’ll more easily be able to share it when gathered around in tabletop mode.

Is it as rich as the first Switch’s OLED revision? No, and Nintendo will inevitably be creating a Switch 2 OLED to tempt latecomers and double-dippers to the system. But it’s not a huge gulf between this new-and-improved LCD and the OLED, and until a Switch 2 OLED turns up, it’s sharper and smoother too.

Controllers: Joy-Con 2, magnets, mice and Pro pads

Controllers: The Joy-Con 2 magnets are strong

Whereas the original Joy-Con controllers attached to the core console component via a catch-and-release rail system, the new larger Joy-Con 2 controllers instead use magnets to satisfyingly snap to the sides of the Switch 2. The SL and SR buttons on the side of the pads now are made of metal, helping to keep the pads in place, and released by a trigger that pushes the Joy-Con 2s away from the console.

Larger and heavier than the original Switch, we had our doubts that magnets could effectively hold the new Joy-Cons in place. Keep in mind that it’s a console primarily aimed at families, with youngsters not always great at holding pricey tech carefully. But, much to the horror of bystanders, we held the Switch 2 up by a single Joy-Con 2 to see if the connection could bear the weight of the console itself.

And, even with a little jostle, it held! It makes us much more confident about handing the new machine over to younger members of the family, and is a big part of what makes the new device feel more like a premium gadget than merely a toy, without taking that element of transforming fun out of the equation.

New modes of play: Mouse control is actually good

You wouldn’t have been the only person to raise an eyebrow when you heard that the new Joy-Con controllers can be used as mice for the Switch 2. They’re a size unlike any other mouse out there, bringing ergonomics into question, not to mention how fit they are for living room play — the Switch’s natural home.

We're happy to report that the Joy-Con 2 controllers make for excellent mice. Turn them on their side and they glide around smoothly and with precision, with the two trigger buttons on each Joy-Con half working as your left and right mouse buttons. They even work well when dragged over your jeans too, meaning sofa play isn’t out of the question.

Whether controlling Samus’s aim in Metroid Prime 4, dragging wheels in wheelchair basketball game Drag x Drive, or dodging obstacles in Mario Party mini-games, Nintendo already seems like it’s got plenty of ideas on how to use the control scheme, too.

It will take some getting used to — it’s a weird shape, and long-term play might benefit from a grip attachment. You’ll have to relearn where face buttons sit at a horizontal angle too. But, surprisingly, we're pretty excited about playing with a Joy-Con mouse on Switch 2.

Larger console, better ergonomics: Bigger sticks make a massive difference

Bigger Joy-Cons make for more room for larger input controls, and Nintendo has taken advantage of that. It’s almost as if Nintendo has expected its younger Switch audience to have grown with the Switch 2, and scaled everything up to match.

That’s felt nowhere more keenly than with the Joy-Con 2 analogue sticks. They’re a tad bigger, but that makes a huge difference in adult hands, giving you greater on-the-go precision, and making a Nintendo Switch Pro controller less of a must-have accessory than with its predecessor. Will Joy-Con drift still be an issue? That remains a fear, as Nintendo hasn’t employed Hall Effect sticks here. But in every other respect, they’re an improvement.

Performance and Storage

Though we STILL don’t know exactly what Nvidia chipset is running the show on the Nintendo Switch 2, we can confirm it’s a banger — for the price point, this is the best-performing handheld device on the market, only challenged by portable PCs twice the price.

As mentioned earlier, the interface is super-snappy compared to the Switch 1 predecessor. But things really start cooking in games. We’ll talk about individual titles in a moment, but seeing titles run buttery-smooth at Full HD in handheld mode, and pushed to either 4K resolutions or 120Hz refresh rates when docked, is brain-melting. We’ve come a long way from the charming greenscale pixels of the original Game Boy — and the likes of the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or any potential new handheld from Xbox or PlayStation will need to work hard to match the magic Nintendo has squeezed in here.

More impressive games demand more storage space to fit them on, and the Nintendo Switch 2 comes with a dramatic jump in onboard storage compared to the original Switch. You’re going from 64GB to 256GB of high-speed solid state storage here. You could argue that 512GB would have been a more generous offering at the Switch 2’s relatively high price point, but it is what it is.

What might be slightly more challenging however is expanding that storage space. While the original Switch would work with basically any old microSD card, you’re going to have to fork out for the newer, faster and (importantly) pricier microSD Express cards for the Nintendo Switch 2. That’s not a change for change’s sake — the more demanding games require faster cards in order to work, and microSD Express fits the bill. But it’s a relatively new storage format meaning prices remain high — you’re looking at about £50 quid for an extra 256GB. At least the benefits are clear to see — games loading times are much faster on Switch 2 than they ever were on Switch 1.

GameChat, cameras, mics and multiplayer accessibility

GameChat = Game-changer

If one element in particular of the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal had us raising eyebrows, it was the GameChat feature. Nintendo seemed to be creating fanfare around a now-standard console experience — voice chat — and ‘elevating’ it with very low-res accompanying video camera feeds.

Reader, we were wrong to doubt Nintendo. So, so wrong — GameChat is the most multiplayer fun we’ve had in years.

Whether you’re using the Switch 2 itself or a Pro controller, a quick button of the new ‘C’ button fires up GameChat. Pick which friends from you list you want to chat with, and a grid appears below the main game screen, showing your friends ready to chat. If they’ve got an external USB camera plugged into their consoles (Nintendo sells a first-party one, but many third-party models work just fine, too), you’ll also get a little video feed of them below the screen too. These can show their whole room, them on a cutout coloured background, or a zoomed-in close up of just their faces, intelligently following them if they move a little.

It’s hard to do justice to how profoundly intimate it makes the whole multiplayer game experience. For starters, it’s one of the easiest group-chat ‘party’ modes we’ve ever set up, taking the friction out of some of the arcane methods some chat clients use. But more than that, the clarity of the audio, and the simplicity of the video set up, is frictionless. The mic is handled by a built-in far-field mic found in the Switch itself — no headset necessary unless privacy is an issue. And the Switch 2 does an incredible job of isolating voice audio away from in-game sounds. We had our Nintendo Switch 2 docked and behind our TV and surround speakers — and it still sent our voice crystal clear without game sound overlapping — from across the room. And though the camera feed is low resolution (sharing your personal gamescreen with friends is more a slide show than a video), there’s something joyous about seeing your friends’ reactions live to being on the receiving end of a blue Spiny Shell in Mario Kart World.

It also has great accessibility features too — those with poor eyesight can benefit from text-to-speech messaging if a friend sends a text message to your system. And perhaps even more impressive, GameChat can pull off live voice-to-text transcription from a chat, which then can be set to scroll down the right hand side of your screen.

Even after our Mario Kart World game session ended, we still found ourselves hanging around on our call to chat with pals for another hour or so. That’s not something we do on a PlayStation or Xbox voice chat call. This is FaceTime for gamers, and it really is an awesome addition.

Now, there are some concessions here — after a trial period, GameChat will become part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription, meaning its use will be only available to those that pay for the monthly service. It feels a bit weird to have a dedicated controller button only usable if you essentially subscribe to it (additional retro games on Switch Online notwithstanding). Also, Nintendo’s Friends system, requiring the trade of lengthy friend codes to initially pair up with pals, feels archaic. It’s also uncharted territory in terms of safeguarding — putting a camera and mic in your console will undoubtedly have unexpected consequences, and could be abused by bad-faith players. This last part is at least partially protected against by the Friends-only camera chat stipulation, and the face GameChat requires an initial phone number authentication to work.

But those grumbles aside, we can’t stress enough just how fun and seamless GameChat felt. This is the closest any console has come to bringing that feeling of couch co-op online, and we absolutely love it for that.

Switch 2 vs Switch 1

Wondering how the key stats and specs of the Nintendo Switch 2 compare to original Nintendo Switch model? Check out the table below for the details:

Nintendo Switch 2 games: From first party Mario Kart World to AAA Cyberpunk 2077

AAA gaming on the go: Cyberpunk 2077 actually works

…Which bodes incredibly well for future, high-end ports to the system. When Cyberpunk 2077 first released on PC back in 2020, we had to rebuild a relatively-good PC for it run at any acceptable rate. And it was a really shoddy experience when it first hit PS4 and Xbox One.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition – Announcement Trailer – Nintendo Switch 2 - YouTube

Watch On

So the fact that Cyberpunk 2077 not only works on the handheld Switch 2 system, but looks great and runs surprisingly well, is shocking. It’s not the mega-flashy ray-tracing experience a high-end PC player gets, but it’s not so compromised as to detract from the fun of the gigantic, demanding game. There are some frame rate dips, sure, but there’s also a bit of time for some further refinements with post-launch updates. It makes us hopeful that we could see games of great scale with modern technological features eventually make their way to the console.

Nintendo Switch 2: Early verdict

Though we've still much to explore with the Switch 2, Nintendo has clearly delivered a substantial upgrade with the Nintendo Switch 2. So many of the main drawbacks of the first Switch have been answered by this re-imagined design, and surprising features — like the mouse control, GameChat and screen specifications — have exceeded our expectations when seen and used in person.

We've still got more games to play, more online features to test, and some out-and-about battery draining tests to conduct. But if you’ve been wondering whether or not to buy the console, or been fearful about an order you’ve made, rest assured — the Nintendo Switch 2, so far at least, feels fantastic.

• 9 Nintendo Switch 2 Games, Played and Ranked: Our Most Anticipated Titles