I played the Nintendo Switch 2, and it’s worth the hype

The Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular video game systems of all time, and that has little to do with its raw processing power or support for the latest graphical technologies.

Nintendo’s phenomenal software, combined with the innovative way the console can move between home and portable play, are the reason it’s been so embraced by players and developers alike. So, can the company keep that momentum going for a sequel?

I had the chance to play the Switch 2 extensively at a media preview in New York, and Nintendo’s approach to this question is clear. The upcoming system – which will launch in Australia on June 5 – has fundamentally the same premise as its predecessor. But it’s been tweaked from top to bottom to embrace more modern capabilities and new gimmicks.

The Switch 2 on display at a media preview in New York.Credit: Tim Biggs

Bigger, brawnier hardware

It will come as no surprise, given this is a brand new $700 device, that the Switch 2 is significantly nicer to hold and play than the original. It’s bigger, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say some smaller kids will find it a handful, but for my big mitts it’s unquestionably an upgrade.

The screen is a noticeable update on the Switch of eight years ago. It’s more than four centimetres larger on the diagonal, and it’s much prettier. Capable of 1080p output with HDR colour, and up to a 120Hz refresh rate, games look smooth and vibrant.

It’s not an OLED, which means it won’t have perfect blacks, but then LCD technology has come a long way in the last few years and from what I’ve seen so far, this one is up there in terms of quality. Adopting a high, variable refresh rate puts Nintendo’s machine in the same league as the latest batch of handheld PCs, and will help keep games looking smooth even if they can’t perform consistently on the mobile hardware.

Attached to a TV, the Switch 2 can output in 4K HDR.Credit: Tim Biggs

When you drop the Switch 2 in its dock the action moves to the TV, where the resolution can be boosted up to 4K. If your TV supports it, you’ll still get HDR and variable refresh up to 120Hz, and the dock has a fan inside to stop the console from overheating.

The new attachment mechanism for the Joy-Con 2 is also an improvement, and very satisfying. Magnets in the system and the grip guide the Joy-Con 2 in, and they make a very sturdy connection with no wobbling and no fear that you might accidentally wrench them apart. When you do want to separate them, triggers at the back physically push them apart with a hearty ca-chunk. It’s not that the sliding rail system of the original Switch was bad, but this way is far quicker and less fiddly.

Otherwise, it all largely works as it did before in terms of control; you get a basic grip in the box, but there are other options sold separately. A charging grip has a battery to top up your Joy-Cons as well as a USB-C port for wired play, while a new Pro Controller brings the improved sticks and buttons to an Xbox-style pad that also supports motion controls. Both also have a pair of grip buttons on the rear that you can use with your middle or ring fingers.

The big guns

But the nicest system in the world is no good without games. And the first one I played was Mario Kart World, the day-one launch game Nintendo hopes will become a killer app for the Switch 2.

Mario Kart 8 is the most popular game Nintendo has ever made, sales-wise, but World is a surprising departure. Rather than race on discrete tracks, you play across a massive continent that seamlessly shifts through dozens of locations and themes.

It feels fantastically familiar to play, managing to blend wide-open spaces with tight traditional racetracks, while also integrating new elements making the whole thing feel like a living world. A hoard of goombas might become a surprise obstacle, a shooting star falling from the sky can be caught to make you invincible, or a bad guy might arrive to start hurling spiked balls out the back of a van to throw a spanner in the works.

What’s most impressive is how dense it all feels. A downtown skate park and a spooky haunted film reel level are both ideas I can imagine in previous Mario Karts, but here they have to exist somewhere within a contiguous world, and Nintendo seems to be pulling it off.

Together with a massive roster of characters (including, bizarrely, a cow), each with unlockable outfits, and 24-player racing modes including a rally where you have to drive to each new location between races, or a battle royale where the slowest players to each checkpoint are eliminated, this game looks like a strong start for the Switch 2.

Donkey Kong Bananza, Nintendo’s next -biggest new offering, didn’t quite prove itself as well. It’s a smooth and beautiful action adventure that gives major Super Mario Odyssey vibes, as DK explores big levels searching for hidden jewelled bananas. As I ran and rolled I could punch up, down or forward at any time, and since most of the level was destructible, one finds themselves climbing or tunnelling through thick layers of earth. It’s an impressive feat technically, but in my short demo I didn’t feel a whole lot of direction. Is it a Minecraft style find-your-own-fun deal? I suspect there’s a lot more to it we’re yet to see. It’s due to release in July.

Donkey Kong Bananza brings Nintendo’s 80s-eras icon to the fore once again.Credit: Tim Biggs

The third Switch 2 exclusive game I played is a weird one that makes use of the Joy-Con 2’s new ability to act like a computer mouse. Drag X Drive is a robot wheelchair basketball game in which you drag the controllers forward or back to simulate turning the wheels with your hands. It was difficult to adjust to, but I can see it developing a cult following in the competitive scene, just like Arms did on Switch.

And all the rest

A big part of the reason for updating the Switch at all is so that games from the more powerful systems can come over, and having now played the likes of Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch 2 I can confirm they work fine. When displayed on a big 4K TV they show the obvious sharpening and artefacts of a game running at a much lower resolution and being upscaled (the Switch 2 supports DLSS, a kind of AI-powered supersampling), but having them on a portable machine as small and light as this is wonderful.

And while all your existing Switch games may benefit passively from the improved horsepower in the new system, you’ll also be able to pay an upgrade fee to turn some of them into full Switch 2 games. I saw The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, as well as Kirby and the Forgotten World running in HDR at high frame rates, and it really did transform their look. Those games get new content in the deal as well; the Zelda with smartphone functionality that can track your notes and quests, Kirby with a new story to play through.

I also played the Switch 2 Edition of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, a game that isn’t even out for Switch yet. It was running at 120 frames per second, and you could seamlessly shift between motion control mode and mouse control mode simply by placing the Joy-Con 2 on a surface or picking it back up.

And finally, the Switch 2 Edition of Mario Party Jamboree adds new minigames that take advantage of the Switch 2’s camera compatibility. With a camera attached via USB-C, the game becomes something straight out of Xbox’s Kinect era, with squished and distorted images of the four real-world players injected into the game, where Bowser subjects them to cruel challenges. They were the kind of arm-flinging, scream-as-loud-as-you can challenges that you probably couldn’t tolerate for too many games in a row, but that kids unanimously seem to love.

The writer travelled to New York as a guest of Nintendo.

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