Nintendo Switch 2: The Popgeeks Review

Didja hear? For the first time in eight years, Nintendo has a new console out! They stretched the success of the Switch as far as they possibly could, but there are only so many smaller versions or slightly better screens or unrelated clocks you can stall with before you have to face reality and actually upgrade the technology. It wasn’t easy fighting the websites at midnight to nail down a preorder for the Switch 2, but I pulled it off and here’s the proof splayed out on my couch, wrappers and all.

The Switch 2 comes in a smaller box than the original, with a thin cardboard lid, liftable from the bottom, revealing the screen and Joy-Cons on the top tray (hopefully your sales merchant hasn’t stapled anything there!) Lift the tray and you’ll find the charging cradle, AC adapter, USB-C cord, HDMI 2.1 cable and a small sheet of medical warnings and warranty info. Also, if you got the bundle version, there’ll be a scratch-off ticket for your Mario Kart World code here. No instruction manual to speak of; figure it all out yourself.

The Switch 2 is a bit heavier than the OG  Switch, and its finish feels a bit coarser (but I like it that way). It really is a numbered sequel — it does exactly the same things the first Switch did, but does them all better (and with different sound effects). Load times are significantly shorter, and not just for new games — Breath of the Wild will take you from title screen to meadow in mere seconds. The eShop, which was a pain to use on the previous model, sees the most improvements…you can actually find what you’re looking for now.

I’ve observed Nintendo has this weird pattern with the controllers of its consoles. They alternate from comfortable to uncomfortable, without fail, every time. The original NES had this crude box-shaped controller design that we only put up with because we didn’t know of anything better. The SNES improved this with a circular shape that was easier to hold. The N64 went in the opposite direction with a three-pronged, convoluted setup and one of the worst thumbsticks ever (though they were a new thing). The Gamecube may have been THE most comfortable controller ever designed, molded perfectly to melt into human hands. Then all that was thrown out with the awkward sharp corners of the Wii remotes. The Wii U gamepad was a return to comfortability, though only I and the three other people who bought one will ever know that. Then came the Joy-Cons of the Switch….which I tried once and then immediately sought out a Pro Controller.

I didn’t think it was possible to make a Joy-Con comfy. They’re just too small! But Nintendo found a way this time. Like the SNES to the NES, the Switch 2 has widely rounded edges that feel better in your hands. The Joy-Cons loudly snap onto the screen with a strong magnetic force, yet can be easily dislodged by pushing a lever (which is easier to find than the Switch 1’s tiny release buttons). And yeah, they can also function as mice now, but I don’t own a game that uses this feature (I might have if they didn’t charge for the introductory demo).

The Switch 2’s screen is currently the frontrunner for handheld screens. The menu is the same as it was before, except it screams its HD-ness and HDR-itude constantly with colorful glowing indicators all over the place. I’m sure it won’t take long for competitors to catch up, but my Steam Deck’s screen is the same size and Switch 2’s blows it out of the water by just doing what it does, on the menu alone. In fact they may have gone a little TOO overboard with the sparklies…

The issue is that HDR effects are set by default for EVERY game you play on Switch 2, even Switch 1 games. The first title I went for was my old standby, Collection of Mana (I looooove Mana games). I know by now what Secret of Mana is supposed to look like, I’ve seen it hundreds of times, and the HDR filter whitened the screen and washed out the colors. The next game I tried was the Link’s Awakening 2019 remake, because I’d heard the stuttering framerate was gone. It has indeed been fixed, but boy is the sun-bleached sand bright on that beach where Marin finds Link. Do yourself a favor and go to “Display” in Settings, then set HDR to “Supported games only.” Not everyone will find this setting, but everyone needs it.

There have been some grumblings about the Switch 2’s battery life. Basically, Nintendo spent the life of the Switch 1 finding better, longer-lasting lithium-ions to stick in it, and now thanks to all these new graphics, we’re back to square one. Me, I still have the Model 1 Switch that I bought from Target on launch day back in 2017. and a Switch that can’t stay on for three hours is a normal Switch to me. Mind, there are people that have it worse. Here’s Good Tip #2: if you hold down the power button on either Switch model, a menu will pop up that lets you shut the system down instead of keeping it on standby. This improves the life of your battery immensely. I know folks whose Switches can barely hold a charge anymore but mine is still relatively fresh, eight years later. I plan to keep the same habit here.

Good Tip #3: when you first boot the Switch 2 up, and enter your account info, it will ask you if you’d like to transfer over your save data from Switch 1. For reasons that are only known to those within the Kyoto-based corporation itself, it will only let you do it THIS ONE AND ONLY TIME. In fact, it warns you of this on the screen itself, but I should reiterate it. You have nothing to lose by transferring your Switch 1 stuff, since I can confirm it does not erase that data on the Switch 1. You can still use both devices; unlike previous such transfers on the 3DS, it will not be wiped.

Are there any downsides to the Switch 2? Yeah, it wouldn’t be a Nintendo console without ’em. The most obvious is the price tags on everything, which due to the double whammy of inflation and tariff anxiety has shot the stickers WAY up. Mario Kart World broke a taboo by pricing itself at $80, something everybody’s trying to get around by buying the bundle, where it comes with the Switch and costs just $50. Nintendo neglected to mention until a month from release that the Switch 2 would need the newer “Express” version of Micro SD cards, which were hard to find then and even harder now. The other downside is, well, the one that’s always been there: if you enter Nintendo’s house, you play by Nintendo’s rules, period. Even if those rules make no sense (and they won’t).

There’s no company in the world like Nintendo. Most other companies have peaks and then decay, but these folks are still putting out the same quality work they did forty years ago. They are the greatest video game company on Earth, but they are also the weirdest video game company on Earth, and at times, the most ruthless. One day they’ll surprise you by shadow-dropping the most incredible interactive experience ever to star a talking mushroom, the next day they’ll sue a five-year-old for drawing Mario on a public bathroom wall (not a real example, but the fact that this disclaimer needs to be here….)

I can’t predict how well the Switch 2 will do in the years to come. It’s breaking sales records in its first week and is on track to beat the PS5’s launch record, but the ultimate test will be if it can capture the same audience of EVERYONE — if millions of mothers can be convinced Junior needs a new Fortnite Machine when the one he has plays Fortnite just fine. I feel for that to happen it’s going to have to lower its price, but I could turn out to be wrong. I do know the world needs Nintendo, for better or worse….because those kids need to know what a good game is like.