Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on: it’s all in the games

The value proposition of the Nintendo Switch 2 may seem pretty clear, but it’s much more obvious when you use one. Nintendo’s new console is the Switch but slightly bigger and slightly better, and that has been apparent since the device was first revealed in January in a mostly detail-free presentation. Now, we finally have some of those details — like the specs, price, and release date — and I’ve spent some time with the device, playing snippets of games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza and messing around with features like the mouse-style functionality of the redesigned Joy-Con controllers. It turns out that slightly bigger and slightly better makes a notable difference for an eight-year-old console, and Nintendo’s early lineup of games shows that off very well.

The most obvious difference with the Switch 2 is its size. The new device has a 7.9-inch LCD display, compared to 6.2 inches for the original Switch and seven for the OLED iteration. It still has the same 13.99mm thickness as the original. In your hands, the Switch 2 is noticeably larger, but it’s not uncomfortable. I played through a number of rounds of Mario Kart World in handheld mode, and the size didn’t bother me, though maybe it’ll be more of an issue after prolonged play. It also felt sturdier than the original Switch, with no movement in the attached Joy-Con controllers as I held on tight during white knuckle races. The Switch 2 controllers use magnets to connect to the console, though I wasn’t able to play around with taking them on and off the device.

Those are all welcome upgrades, though not necessarily the kind of generational shift the Switch 2 name suggests. The device is also more powerful, which becomes clear with the games themselves. Mario Kart World, for example, is a significantly larger game than its predecessor. The courses are not only huge but also dense with things happening: enemies firing objects at you, animals running around the road, and weather conditions like the downpour of a rainstorm. You can also drive on water, which often involves navigating giant waves, and races now feature a whopping 24 drivers. But despite all of that going on, the game ran fast and smooth during my demo and looked great, with no technical hiccups getting in the way of the vehicular mayhem.

The same could be said for Donkey Kong Bananza. While, on the surface, it’s another colorful 3D platformer from Nintendo, Bananza is built around the idea of destruction. DK’s main way of interacting with the world is to smash things. That can be simple, like pulling a boulder out of the ground to toss at an enemy. But you can also smash so much that you change the terrain around you — for example, digging a massive hole in the ground that opens up a new area below you or creating a pathway through the rock walls of a mine in order to escape. It’s a lot of fun but also technically impressive; as much as I smashed away at the world, the game never chugged.

As is typical of Nintendo, the company is able to use its own games to show how the device’s new features can be put to use for better experiences. For Mario Kart, it’s sheer scale and chaos, while Donkey Kong offers up destructive environments. In the case of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — which will be available on the original Switch and as an upgraded title for the Switch 2 — it’s a showcase of both the new controller functionality and higher frame rates.

The section of Beyond I played was much more action-oriented than typical Metroid, but it was super smooth and fast running at 120fps, which is exactly what you want from a speedy FPS. The visuals still look a step below the current generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony, but it’s a noticeable improvement from the standard Switch.

I was also able to use Beyond to test out the Joy-Con’s mouse-like mode. It essentially turned the game into a PC FPS minus the keyboard. I held the left Joy-Con in my hand like normal, moving Samus around with the joystick, while the right Joy-Con rested on the table in front of me. Moving it around like a mouse let me aim, and I fired by clicking the shoulder button. It felt a little weird at first, but it also allowed for some precise targeting, particularly during a gnarly boss battle at the end of the demo that required hitting glowing spots very quickly. You can also seamlessly transition from the mouse mode to using the right Joy-Con like normal just by lifting your hand; the controller automatically detects how it’s being held and shifts modes accordingly.

A less typical use for the mouse mode comes in the form of Drag x Drive, a three-on-three wheelchair basketball game. You move around by dragging your hands forward to simulate grabbing the wheels of a wheelchair. Using both hands will move the chair forward, while using just one will turn it either left or right. It’s a surprisingly exhausting experience — I could feel it in my shoulders after playing just two matches — but also a nice kind of tech demo to show off the feature.

There are some other smaller upgrades in the Switch 2, like a more sensitive version of what Nintendo charmingly calls HD Rumble. (Now it’s called HD Rumble 2.) In “Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour,” an experience that teaches you about the Switch 2 and somehow isn’t a pack-in game, I was able to test this out in a handful of simple minigames. In one, I had to slowly move the mouse across the screen and try to find the point where the vibration was the strongest, and my guess was very close every time. Another game simply had me shake maracas and feel the difference between when they were stuffed with beads or rubber balls. And I definitely could feel the difference. It reminded me a lot of playing Astro’s Playroom when the PS5 launched, which used the DualSense controller’s vibrations to mimic sensations like falling rain or grains of sand in a similar way.

Some of these features may end up being gimmicks. HD Rumble never really caught on on the original Switch, and it’s unclear how widely adopted the mouse functionality will be among developers not named Nintendo (though certain third-party games, like Civilization VII, have already announced support). There’s also a lot I wasn’t able to test out, including the new social features that have their own dedicated button.

But when you put all of these elements together and actually experience them, they start to feel like a cohesive package — and it becomes more clear why there’s that number 2 at the end of the new console’s name. The Switch 2 isn’t a massive upgrade, and its differences aren’t necessarily obvious at a glance, but Nintendo has been able to put together an initial lineup of games that show what’s possible with its improved hardware. A wild-as-hell new Mario Kart sure gets the point across.