The Following is a Nintendo Switch 2 console review. The opinions expressed are that of the author and don’t necessarily represent the opinions of That Park Place or its subsidiaries.
The Nintendo Switch 2, successor to the third-best-selling console ever made, promised to dominate with its portable brilliance and top-tier exclusives. With Xbox losing focus and PlayStation banking on costly remakes, Nintendo seemed unstoppable—until they revealed in an April Nintendo Direct the $80 price for games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
This $20 jump for a several-year-old title and ongoing shift from the pricing standards of the past has sparked outrage. Yet, the console still sold well at launch, with demand soaring. Can it rise above the pricing backlash? I snagged Nintendo’s newst system at a midnight launch to find out—here’s my review of the Nintendo Switch 2.
The joycons for the Nintendo Switch 2 – YouTube, Super Nintendo Fan
Booting up the Switch 2 and transferring my original Switch data, I found a start-up screen nearly identical to its predecessor. It’s great that my gaming memories carry over, keeping the nostalgia alive, but after dropping $500 on a new console, I expected a fresher home screen. The lone choices of black or white themes feel dated, with no custom artwork or Nintendo-themed options.
This lack of flair disappoints, though familiar menus make navigation easy. However, a console’s real strength lies in its games, so let’s dive in.
Mario Kart World, the pack-in title, is a vibrant step up from Mario Kart 8, a title long overdue for a sequel. Its dynamic tracks and bold art style make racing exhilarating, and new costumes add personality to every character.
Mario in a screenshot from the trailer to Mario Kart World – YouTube, Nintendo of America
Everything in the game just feels so alive and the world is very fun to explore. The title does not avoid the routine problems of past Mario Kart entrie. Races can swing from 12th to 1st in a flash, which I will never understand how that is fair—but its formula has proven successful time and time again. It’s a near-perfect pack-in title that shows off the system’s power.
Less impressive is Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a $10 launch title slammed as a “glorified tutorial.” The backlash was so loud that even former Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aimé weighed in, posting on X a clip from an old interview about him fighting to make the famous Wii Sports a free pack-in title for the Wii many years ago.
A screenshot from the trailer to Mario Kart World – YouTube, Nintendo of America
Despite all the controversy, is Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour worth the price?
Short answer: Absolutely not!
Long answer: I decided to purchase the “glorified tutorial” for the purposes of a fully-fleshed out Nintendo Switch 2 review and it lived up to criticisms. While not anything broken it is unfortunately one of the worst examples of showcasing of a new video game system ever. The style is basic and it suffers from being incredibly bland compared to other games on the market. The games within it are fine enough, but in a world where we have creative graphics with all kinds of art styles and imaginative mini-games found in titles like Wario Ware, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour offers a game that looks more like a soulless training video for a job. And quite like work, you’ll find yourself wishing you were doing anything else…
A screenshot from the trailer to Mario Kart World – YouTube, Nintendo of America
The Switch 2’s new mouse-like control, a cursor driven by Joy-Con motion sensors, surprised me with its precision and charm. It’s ripe for creative games—imagine a possible Mario Paint sequel or a point-and-click adventure. But without a title to highlight it, this feature risks being forgotten. Perhaps Nintendo could’ve re-released some retro PC titles that are hard to run in the modern age from developers like LucasArts. It’s a missed chance to make the Nintendo Switch 2 stand out.
The eShop offers over 25,000 titles, from classics to indies, ensuring something for everyone. Backward compatibility is a huge win, letting most original Switch games shine on the new hardware. But the featured lineup leans heavily on older titles. The eShop feels robust but lacks enough new exclusives to justify the upgrade.
Link in The Legend of Zelda Breath of The Wild – YouTube, Nintendo of America
Nintendo’s pricing strategy is the biggest misstep. At around $500, the Switch 2 is a steep investment. And $80 games—even ports—feel like a cash grab.
Welcome Tour’s $10 price tag only fuels the fire.
The original Switch launched with a small but impactful lineup, including Breath of the Wild. The prior system also launched in a better economy which made the investment in the console feel much less like a disappointment. The Switch 2’s sparse new offerings echo the Wii U’s shaky start, and Nintendo’s refusal to learn from past console launches like the 3DS comes off as willfully ignoring history.
The supposed Nintendo Switch 2 Screen – YouTube, Super Nintendo Fan
A $20 price hike for games after years of $60 standards is hard to swallow, especially with so few must-have exclusives.
The Switch 2 inherits the original’s massive library and portable charm, making it a solid system out of the gate. But strip away backward compatibility and it’s a pricey, bare-bones console with a foggy future. Waiting a year for more exclusives could’ve justified the cost and given fans signs of a silver lining.
The magnetic joycons for the Nintendo Switch 2 – YouTube, Super Nintendo Fan
Despite all this, Nintendo has earned enough trust to suggest they can deliver more quality games once the system has more time in the spotlight. Until that day comes, I can’t help but believe that this is the most price-gouged Nintendo system ever…
What’s your Nintendo Switch 2 review? Do you think the system is overpriced? Are you excited for any news games? Sound off in the comments below and check out That Park Place for all the news that should be fun!
Any gamer worth his salt knows that his upgrade is not worth the asking price. Nintendo have been getting worse when it comes to their policies so I don’t want to support them as a company.
Sad to say, but the Wii U was more of an upgrade over the Wii than this is over the Switch. And the “style” rather than male/female thing has kept my wallet closed, at least for now. I bet I’m not the only one.
I got one because I have to keep up with the industry. For everyone else I say “skip this one and save the money. If you feel compelled to get it, at least wait till the inevitable OLED model is released).
For me? I wish I had my money back! The console is too expensive for what it is, the games are too expensive for what they offer, and the extras are too expensive for what they bring (seriously, $90 for a “pro” controller?)
As for mouse controls, I can’t see myself playing with the a joycon mouse for longer than an hour before my hands start cramping. If you want to try them out Civ 7 – the worst of the series – uses the mouse as does Cyberpunk 2077.
After I had my steamdeck, the switch 1 turned into a doorstop, only dusted off for the Zelda. I haven’t had this one a week and it is already at risk of being promoted to doorstop along with its older brother.
When the industry finally crashes and burns because you burned your money over overpriced dogshit products that are only priced that way for no reason other than laundering the kiddies’ wallets such as yourselves and then wondering why there’s no such thing as harmony in this world, history will never forget that you brain dead gay pedophile gaymers proudly and openly voted with your wallets for Jewtendo to buttfuck you right in your anuses and you were 100% happy with it, you low IQ subhumans.
A big price increase for a device that Nintendo can decided to brick without a moments notice. Looks like its not fixed the drifting issue too. It pissed me off so much when fanboys acted like it was a made up issue.
Did you try any of the GameCube games or none interested you?
The second I found out they purposely are not adding real Achievements/Trophies, I lost all interest.
Not only is this a PS4 in handheld form, but it’s one with less features, and is PURPOSELY not adding them.
On top of that, I never was a Nintendo fan, and I’m happy to see they are now turning evil and against thier fans. This is what happens when you blindly follow a single Console. They will turn on you, just like how Playstation did at the end of the PS4.
“bUy AmErIcAn!” they demand as they play their eastern developed games on their brand new Japanese console.