My Switch 2 Review in Progress: It's Good, but Don't Give In to the FOMO Yet
After about two days of using the Nintendo Switch 2, my best description is that this is Nintendo's original Switch console, all grown up. But that growing up is still in progress.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is all anyone in gaming is talking about right now, and it could very well be the biggest gadget of 2025. Nintendo's console sequel is something I got to demo several times this spring before finally getting one a day before the official release on June 5. By now, thousands of Switch 2 owners have one in hand as well, and the company will certainly sell thousands more this year, especially during the holidays. So, how good is Nintendo's new console? And is it worth upgrading from the original Switch?
I haven't had enough time to fully review the Switch 2 yet, and the Switch 2 hasn't had enough time to spread its wings and grow its game library. These are early days for Nintendo's new console, but there's some stuff I can already tell you. This clearly feels like a really good upgrade to aging Switches, but it's also not anything any current Switch owner needs to rush into. Oh, and upgrading will cost you in more ways than one.
Read more: Switch 2 Stock Tracker: Select In-Store Availability and More
I've been running around, unboxing and setting up, shooting a video and managing onboard storage as I load up all the launch games and try them. I'm frazzled, but I have some initial thoughts.
Watch this: We Finally Unbox and Play the Switch 2. Should You Buy One?
09:23
Get ready to spend
The cost of upgrading is more than just the system itself ($450, or $500 with the Mario Kart World bundle). You may also need to budget for new controllers ($85 for the Pro, $95 for an extra pair of Joy-Con 2s, though older Switch controllers will connect), new accessories (a $55 camera, and the old Switch docks won't fit your Switch 2) and new cases (the OG Switch ones won't fit).
Then there's the cost of new games (at anywhere from $10 to $80 a pop) and also upgrades to some older games ($10 for the Zelda upgrades, but free if you're a premium Switch Online subscriber). You'll also likely have to pay for more storage. The included 256GB is fine for some, but if you're planning on getting a bunch of newer games like Cyberpunk 2077, you may fill it up fast. The system needs MicroSD Express cards, not standard MicroSD cards, and they cost about $60 for 256GB, and nearly $100 for 512GB if you can find them.
The dock, Switch 2, and Joy-Con grip are included. The Pro controller (right) is $85 extra.
Scott Stein/CNET
Screen upgrades and a better feel overall
The screen seems pretty good to me: 7.9 inches, 1080p, bright enough, vivid enough, and it's HDR. The image isn't as vivid as OLED, but definitely better than the original Switch. It's really good. Also good are the speakers, which feel boomier, as well as the haptics on the Joy-Cons, which are subtler and stronger.
I also love the magnetic snap-on, snap-off design of the Joy-Con 2 controllers. It's a simple thing, but it really makes swapping them into accessories and back into the Switch feel effortless, the way Nintendo always advertised the experience as feeling.
The whole thing gives me a "new tech" feeling, and my kids have already confused it for a Steam Deck multiple times.
The Switch 2 (top left) vs Lenovo Legion Go S (bottom left), Steam Deck OLED (bottom right) and Switch OLED (top right). Switch 2 is small in comparison to the PC handhelds, bigger than older Switches.
Scott Stein/CNET
It's big but refreshingly compact compared to PC handhelds
The Switch 2 is approaching Steam Deck/Windows Handheld size, but it's definitely easier to carry. The Steam Deck is a chunky boy in comparison. Lenovo's Legion Go S is even bigger. PlayStation Portal? That's not even really portable.
The Switch 2's flat design, basically the thickness of the original Switch, is a big help for travel. I bought a hard case and slipped it in and it's easier to lug in a backpack than those other handhelds. I'd be far more likely to take Switch 2 on a plane than the Steam Deck.
My kid trying out the Switch 2 Joy-Con as a mouse, briefly. There aren't many games that use it yet, but it works easily on nearly any surface.
Scott Stein/CNET
Mouse mode activated, sort of
The Joy-Con 2s can also serve as mice. Both of them have little black-and-white cameras that can work on any surface, even sofas or your pants (thanks, Switch 2 Welcome Tour for that info!).
Mouse mode is probably going to be pretty useful, more so than I thought, since you can enter it at any time by putting a Joy-Con on a flat surface when a game (or the Switch 2 OS) supports it (games like Cyberpunk 2077 already do). And when I showed my 16-year-old son the mouse feature -- he's a PC gamer -- he was intrigued. It could allow a whole wave of PC ports to live on Switch 2, but then again, will PC owners really be compelled to get a Switch 2 over a Steam Deck or other Windows handheld?
DragxDrive is Nintendo's big upcoming mouse-designed game, but it's not here yet. Other than some minigames in the quirky Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour (which costs $10 and should have been included for free), there's not much use for mouse mode yet.
The optional USB camera puts your face in the game, for some games.
Scott Stein/CNET
The optional $55 camera is magic
The camera is turning out to be pretty fun, too, and it's one of the best early party tricks. Mario Kart World's camera mode puts four faces into the game, hovering over your kart. It's useful and weird and a wow moment, something Nintendo needs more of. I recommend getting the camera if you do TV-docked play, have a family, and want some weird fun.
Right now, the camera is only used for GameChat video chats (more on that in a second) and camera modes for supported games. That's Mario Kart World for now, which can overlay your face onto your kart while playing. The camera cleverly tracks four faces in a room at once - it doesn't auto-track, but it can frame your faces and plant them around games at will.
My GameChat impressions are TBD
I haven't done GameChat with friends yet (I need to wrangle some colleagues). You need to friend up, and even then you need to set up GameChat, which requires email and a phone number to authenticate. Then you press the C button, which is new, to start a chat and invite others. It accommodates up to 12 for voice, four for video and audio if you have a camera.
I tried GameChat in an early demo with Nintendo, and it's fine. It lets you hang out while playing, not even playing the same game if you don't want to. The camera can share your face and reactions, but the Switch 2 can also share your gameplay in lower-res, lower-frame-rate form. Showing chat windows means reducing the size of your actual game window, though you can also hide chat windows if you want.
Battery charging seems slow?
I'm a little worried about battery life and charge speed. I've been downloading a lot of games, but I've seen the battery creep down a bit faster than I'd like. And charging seems slow. I've kept it docked for hours, and it still hasn't charged fully. I'll have to keep checking, but I don't know if the Switch 2 will be as good battery-wise as the Switch OLED.
Mario Kart World continues to be the Switch 2's obvious must-have game, with good reason. Also, you can put your face in the game.
Scott Stein/CNET
Game thoughts: Mario Kart World, and others
Mario Kart World is great and ranks highly as one of the best Mario Kart games ever. The only problem is that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is already the best Mario Kart game and has 96 tracks, so a new Mario Kart isn't totally essential. But I love it and hope Nintendo keeps expanding it with DLC.
Mario Kart World's 24-player multiplayer is awesome, and I love the track designs, the open-world wandering with little extras to unlock, and who knows what else is lurking in there. It's the only big exclusive at launch, and you're getting it, so at least know that it's worth it.
The Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is weird. It's mostly demos, minigames and nerdy info about the Switch 2 tech, and it should have been free. At $10, it feels like a shameless money grab from Nintendo. But it's also only $10, and I'd get it just to play around a bit and explore unique Switch 2 features. Think of it like a Switch 2 coffee-table book in interactive, playable form.
Cyberpunk 2077: I've only just dipped my toes into it, but it does look good on the handheld. The 1080p display crams in text and menus in usable form better than the 720p Switch screen ever could. It's nearly 60GB to download, but it's the big-hitter game to try out. (Other options include Yakuza 0, Street Fighter 6, Hogwarts Academy and Split Fiction, which I need to dive into.)
Switch games run better. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which needs a $10 upgrade for the Switch 2 version (free for Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers), almost feels like a new experience. It's silky smooth, loads so fast you can barely read the tips on the load screens, and it finally feels effortless to play. Super Mario Odyssey is bright and fast. It's nice to have the larger screen for games, and it's making me want to dig back into my Switch library. Alas, that's hard to do, since I've had to delete most of those games to make room for the super-large file sizes of Switch 2 games.
My youngest kid trying the Switch 2. He liked it but thought he didn't need it yet.
Scott Stein/CNET
What did my kids think?
I barely got to show off the Switch 2 to my kids, sadly, but I made sure to see what they thought. My oldest, who's 16, was most curious about the mouse functions, and whether the Switch could now sort of be like his PC. He thought the magnetic Joy-Cons were cool.
My 12-year-old, meanwhile, played some Mario Kart World and was mildly surprised at how big (chonky) the Switch 2 is. He liked the way Mario Kart played, but he also loves his beat-up Switch and its mismatched controllers, which he plays constantly. He said he'd be fine not getting one right now. Mainly, at this moment, he just wants to play Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4, which came out the same day as the Switch 2. (My kids have good taste.) But it's also a little reminder that many of the original Switch's best things never involved bleeding-edge graphics.
A lot of games still left to test.
Scott Stein/CNET
Yeah, it's fun, but I need to know a lot more. Road trip!
Everywhere I go, I feel like I'm bringing little bits of joy with the Switch 2. The Switch 2 really is fun, and it keeps more of a good thing going. It's doubling down on what Nintendo already did right with the Switch.
But the Switch 2 inherits both the benefits and problems of more powerful gaming handhelds. Those benefits include much better graphics, a bigger screen and 4K performance on a TV. Still, I have concerns. It seems like it's taking longer to charge, and game file sizes are bigger, needing more storage and longer downloads.
Nintendo is also in a strange place now. Where it used to compete alone with often unusual hardware, it's now competing against other products with similar goals. The Switch was so spot-on in its vision that it's spawned more handhelds now, and more are likely to come from Sony, Microsoft and others.
Nintendo's whimsy and weirdness are its calling cards, and its exclusive games are its edge. The Switch 2 needs to lean hard into that, I think. But it's also got a lot of promise. I just have to see how much it feels like a Nintendo console versus like a Steam Deck, and what taking it on the road next week will feel like. I'm headed to California for the WWDC and AWE conferences.
OK, it's road trip time. Switch 2, are you ready for the ride?
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