Nintendo Switch 2 review: Exactly the upgrade I'd hoped for

The Nintendo Switch is hands-down my favourite video game console of all time.

My first ever day-one buy for a console back in March 2017, and over the years, I’ve easily put several thousand hours into the machine.

Hundreds of hours spent wandering Hyrule in The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (and another couple hundred in its sequel); countless nights with friends playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the latest Mario Party, or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; smashing through a huge library of indie games and third-party ports — did I really need to put another 200 hours into The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Skyrim?

Probably not, but the sheer novelty of a game being on Switch is something that has carried me through for the better part of the last decade. I’m honestly surprised my wife hasn’t left me, the amount of times I’ve nudged her and thrust the screen in her face to show her how I can’t quite believe they got X or Y game running on a handheld.

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Unsurprisingly, then, the fact the Nintendo Switch 2 represents more of a refinement than a total reinvention is something I see as an absolute win. And after nearly a week getting to grips with the new console, I’m convinced it’s everything I could have hoped for.

There’s no getting around it: the one thing that really started to hold the Nintendo Switch back towards the end was performance. Some developers were able to squeeze magic out of it, but even games like Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom were more than a little creaky in places. The less said about Pokémon, the better.

The Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t anything like as powerful as a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, obviously, but it’s a considerable step-up from its predecessor.

I’ve been testing the Switch 2 edition of Tears Of The Kingdom, and it’s a revelation. A silky smooth 60fps, consistent even when dropping from the highest point of the map down into the depths, or building some overly complicated contraption with Ultrahand. The improved 4K resolution when docked breathes new life into a game that was already stunning, and looks a treat on the handheld’s 1080p screen. Load-times are a big leap forward, too.

Cyberpunk 2077 is also an incredible testament to what the new hardware has going on under the hood. Having played CD Projekt RED’s RPG on Steam Deck and Switch 2 now, I can say it’s a much better portable experience on Nintendo’s console. Not perfect, but pretty damn impressive.

Then there’s Mario Kart World, Nintendo’s big first-party launch game. It’s a gorgeous, colourful kart racer that’s able to deftly handle 24-player madness without a drop in performance. It’s also an absolute blast, and I can see it consuming many an evening with friends for the foreseeable.

If there’s one issue with the handheld mode, Nintendo Switch games that haven’t had a full Switch 2 upgrade look just a little bit worse, upscaling 720p games to 1080p has resulted in a few titles getting an off-putting blurry appearance. Super Mario Wonder was particularly noticeable, though it’s not a major issue across all games, and I’d be surprised if more casual gamers noticed at all.

Design-wise, Nintendo has taken everything that was irritating about the original Switch and fixed it. The new joy-cons are much sleeker, chunkier, and thanks to the magnetic grips feel a hell of a lot sturdier. And while the handheld is substantially larger, it’s still nowhere near as cumbersome as a Steam Deck, and feels much more comfortable to play for extended periods in handheld mode.

The dock is a vastly improved bit of kit. Where its predecessor was a cheap plastic brick that felt like an afterthought, the Switch 2 dock feels infinitely better. You don’t have to rip the back off to plug or unplug cables, for a start, which is a huge win.

Mercifully, Nintendo has also added a second USB-C port on top of the console, meaning you can now actually charge your device when playing in tabletop mode. You’ll need to, unfortunately, given that the Switch 2’s battery life is not brilliant. I was able to average about 2.5 hours when playing Tears Of The Kingdom, Mario Kart World, and Cyberpunk 2077. If you’re on a long train journey, let’s hope you’ve got a plug socket nearby.

As far as setting the console up goes, it couldn’t have been easier. The system transfer process is a dream, and within the hour, I had all of the save data and games from my original Switch moved over and ready to go, though I can’t help but feel the launch of a new console would have been a cool opportunity to finally reintroduce custom themes.

Aside from a few playful clicks and whistles here and there, the Switch 2’s UI is just like its predecessors, in that it favours function over style. Still, at least the Switch 2 eShop is a huge step in the right direction. I miss the Wii Shop music, though.

The Nintendo Switch 2 might not be a seismic leap forward or mind-bending reinvention, but it didn’t need to be. Nintendo struck gold in 2017, and if a few smart updates here and there mean we get another eight years of brilliant first-party games, surprising third-party ports, and a massive library of indies, you can consider me along for the ride. My favourite console ever, but bigger and better? I couldn’t ask for much more.