First Impressions: Nintendo Switch 2 'Wows' Most When You Go Back To Your Old Switch

admin · 2025-04-03T16:35:42+0100

After years of speculation, Switch 2 finally exists. It’s got a launch date, a price, a bunch of accessories, and — most importantly — a lineup of games large and small, all showcased in an hour-long Direct which answered a lot of questions.

But what does the system actually feel like in the hands? How does that screen compare to the lovely OLED panel we’re so used to? Is the ‘clack’ as good as the ‘click’?

We've gone hands-on with the hardware and a whole bunch of the software to bring you our initial thoughts.

Nintendo Switch 2 Hardware Preview - First Impressions

Let's start off with our initial takes when we were handed the system. Find impressions from both me and Alana here.

Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
For anyone with larger hands, Switch 2 should feel a lot more comfortable than the original. It's all very familiar and within an hour you'll have forgotten any differences in feel — all the buttons are right where you expect them to be. Going back to the original Switch, you instantly appreciate the ergonomic improvements with S2.

I can't speak to how it'll hold up after a couple of months' heavy use (I spied a light-coloured scrape on a demo Joy-Con 2 that had apparently suffered a drop), but it looks slick with Nintendo's trademark sturdiness - solid enough to withstand a drop or two.

Your thoughts, Alana?

"Oh wow, it's got some weight!"

I think that sentence can apply to a lot about the Switch 2, but in this case, I also mean it literally. The brand new hybrid feels sturdier that its predecessor; colder to the touch, with the black speckled exterior and matte finish, it feels like a quality product. And the more I put my hands to the handheld version of the console, the more I fell in love with how it felt in my hands. I learned to love the Switch 1 in handheld, especially after the OLED, but it was too light, and the Joy-Con too small for my piano fingers.

That's not the case with the Switch 2. It's just right, and any doubts I had after uncovering the hidden aspects of the console online nearly melted away. Nearly. - Alana

The screen

Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
It's not an OLED, but the screen is a looker. We didn't have access to brightness controls on any of the demo models (all menu-related buttons were non-responsive for nearly all of the demos), but the panel looked bright and crisp. As someone who was really worried that a non-OLED display would feel like a massive downgrade, it doesn't feel like that.

I mean, of course I'll spring on the inevitable Switch 2 OLED model the moment it's announced, but I didn't come away feeling short-changed.

Oh goodness, we've come a long way from the LCD screens of 2017. My Steam Deck, and even other writers, have assured me of this before I went hands-on with the Switch 2, but once you start playing Breath of the Wild in handheld mode on a shiny new console, you're washed over with a sense of joy.

Essentially, the new screen is fantastic — the colours are so much brighter than the standard Switch, and they might even rival an OLED thanks to that bigger screen. It turns out that .9 inches makes a huge difference. I also didn't really notice the bezel around the screen; it wasn't intrusive and because of how bright the screen actually is, my eyes were never drawn to the black outline. - Alana

The new Joy-Con + Pro Controller

Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
Both the Joy-Con 2 and the Pro Controller 2 exemplify the main quality of the new system: the novelty will wear off fairly quickly because it's all so familiar and natural, but going back to Switch 1 will feel weird after this.

The rumble wows much like it did in the original - whether it'll have any more staying power this time around is debatable, but I always enjoyed shaking multiple balls in a box, and HD Rumble 2 (Nintendo's really taking the 'clear sequel' messaging to the extreme) puts rubber balls in maracas - what's not to like? No word on whether the triggers are Hall Effect or not, but we're working on getting a definitive answer.

The Pro Controller 2 feels a tad more compact than the original, and I love the lighter highlights. The programmable buttons on the back are hardly revolutionary, but they fall in a natural place and feel great - although again, we weren't able to access them or the (presumably system-level menu) to program them.

You might be amazed to read that no, the first thing I did with the Switch 2's Joy-Con wasn't to un-click and click them. I was excited to, don't get me wrong! But all of my biggest issues with the Switch lie in the Joy-Con. Namely, the buttons and the ZL/ZR shoulder pads.

Everything on the Switch 2 Joy-Con has been fixed. No more clacky, hard buttons — there's a slight sponginess to them now that makes them click in a little softer, both on the D-pad and the face buttons. I didn't feel like I was going to get blisters when I was accelerating to victory in Mario Kart World or sucking up power-ups in Kirby & the Forgotten Land.

That's equally true of the wider 'ZL' and 'ZR' buttons, which feel so nice to rest your fingers on. I'm not trying to stop my fingers from slipping off the console, and they feel closer to the PS5's shoulder buttons — not as good, but much better than what the Switch 1 was offering.

I have many thoughts about HD Rumble, which might be my favourite thing about the Switch 2, but the level of immersion in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Drag x Drive in particular blew me away. I usually turn the rumble off in controllers because I worry about battery life far too much, but I won't be doing it here. It's incredible.

Lastly, the sticks: no more hard rubber, silky smooth turning. I won't need to worry about scratching them too much or denting them anymore, and my thumbs won't feel like they're on fire anymore. - Alana

The 'C' button

Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
It feels like a button, but it was disabled on all the demo models we played, so nothing to C here.

Well... it was there. It pressed I touched it! I couldn't call Doug Bowser using the Switch 2 at this time, though. - Alana

'Mouse Mode'

Image: Nintendo
Drag x Drive was the biggest surprise for me - a game which is dull as ditchwater to spectate, but had dashes of the magic I really want from Switch 2. The controls took time to get to grips with, but dual-wielding them on a nice flat mat or my thighs (steady!) yielded similarly successful results. Software built around this mode will be worth keeping an eye on.

I was less impressed by the more standard mouse-style use cases demoed with Metroid and Civ VII. With the latter, I was reaching for a scroll wheel that wasn't there (you can use the stick instead), and my unfamiliarity with the latest Civ didn't help. It worked fine and the game looked lovely, but it wasn't like Civ suddenly made sense on Switch - Firaxis had already done a great job of console-ifying the controls.

With Metroid, the lack of gyro outside of the lock-on screen (hold down 'ZL') threw me off. PC gamers will take to it instantly, no doubt, and a lack of skill on my part definitely contributed to the frustration. Just flipping the Joy-Con on its side instantly activates the mode — no menu selections or anything — and I admire that. But this feels like an optional extra that I'll end up ignoring beyond games specifically designed around it.

I went into the experience knowing that Mouse Mode probably wasn't for me, and I still feel that way. I haven't really ever played games using a mouse and keyboard, and that's okay! Some people love and swear by it. It's always felt clunky to me, and my left/right coordination isn't great anyway. But at least computer mice are wider.

I, personally, don't love Mouse Mode. But props to Nintendo — it's completely seamless. You can swap from Joy-Con to Mouse easily by simply placing the Joy-Con down on a flat surface thanks to the in-built sensors. It's actually amazing swapping between controls and the mouse in Metroid Prime 4.

But, ultimately, the slim Joy-Con on the side feel unnatural to me. I found it was too easy for the Joy-Con to slip and tilt, which became frustrating playing games like Drag x Drive. And I haven't seen enough creative uses of the mice outside of the aforementioned, Welcome Tour, and Mario Party Jamboree! Prime 4 and Civ VII are easy. Let me drive my kart around using the mouse. Or maybe not because I'm bad at it. - Alana

Switch 2 - The Games

Images: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
You'll find deep dives into the software we played in our other articles, but here are some quick-fire thoughts and comparisons covering what it feels like to actually play games on Switch 2:

Mario Kart World

A warm, comfortable blanket of a game, but I also only scratched the surface based on the demos available. It controls exactly how you expect. Knockout Mode got the heart racing.

Overall, this feels like they've given MK a lick of the Wonder charm in its art and animation. I suspect MK8D will suddenly feel dry and static when I go back.

Is Mario Kart World just another Mario Kart game? Sort of. At least of what I got to play. We only got to try out Grand Prix and Knockout Mode, the latter of which is new, but they both felt great and, most importantly, looked and ran phenomenally. It's more Mario Kart, so it's a winner — and there are new Power-Ups, new characters, and new Kart types to try out. What's not to love? - Alana

It's painfully obvious to everyone except Nintendo that this should have been a pack-in, but it's a fun intro to the system's functionality. It's odd to see Nintendo lean into the tech aspects such as frame rate (there's a guess-the-frame-rate comparison game).

One minigame has you play the entirety of Super Mario Bros. 1-1 rendered in original pixel resolution, slowly spreading across a black screen to the flagpole on the far right.

BOTW / TOTK Nintendo Switch Editions

Not a huge amount to report here - they both looked, sounded, and felt great, if not massively different. Going back will be tough after playing these upgraded versions, though. Are you spotting a theme here?

Drag x Drive

Probably the biggest surprise of the lot, mainly because it looks so dull visually. I worry that it'll suffer the fate of ARMS — perhaps worse, as this has grey tech-demo vibes from the outside — but I had a great time playing a couple of 3v3 matches. Winning them both may have helped. Watch this space for further thoughts.

The Third Parties

Hades 2 looked great docked and played... well, it played like more Hades. It'll be interesting to see how they shake up your expectations with that one. Civ 7 looked cracking, and the mouse mode might attract some naysayers - although I imagine the people for whom that's a dealbreaker won't be won over with the Joy-Con take on mouse input.

I wasn't expecting so many third-party games to be playable on the day, so it was a huge surprise to see Street Fighter 6 and Yakuza 0 lined up amongst your Kirbys, Metroids, and Donkey Kongs. And most of them... were great! It's clear developers have put a lot of effort getting on board with the Switch 2's launch, as evidenced by the ports out on launch day. Split Fiction is almost exactly what you'd expect for a port, and Cyberpunk 2077 is, well, a little compromised. But hey, it works, and it runs.

Mostly, it's just amazing to see the difference from the Wii U to now. Nintendo has earned everyone's trust again, and the fact that we can get huge games on the system like Cyberpunk and Elden Ring is incredibly in and of itself. - Alana

Questions and Concerns

Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
It's early doors and we really didn't get enough time to evaluate the units and see how using them feels without being chained demo kiosks. The slight gun-metal effect of the casing looks lovely, although I wonder how that will wear over time.

Games-wise, there's a sense that there's nothing truly next-level on offer yet, which isn't helped by all the familiar-feeling software and retreads. Ultimately, I didn't walk away from this feeling that I'd seen something that wouldn't be possible on Switch in some similar form. Not as shiny, not as sharp, not as smooth, but playable. You may well play the Switch 2 edition of BOTW and quickly forget that it wasn't always like this.

Lastly, the 'CLACK'!

...hot take? I wish it were a little louder. It feels good to clack both Joy-Con in at the same time, but it's more of a 'ClacK' than an all-caps bang. - Alana

'Good' 7/10 - Could use 15% more clack.

Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life

Switch 2 First Impressions - The Verdict

For me, it's lacking in next-gen 'wow' but — as I've mentioned numerous times now — going back to TOTK my Switch OLED after tasting what you could be playing very soon highlights just what a step up Switch 2 is. It's almost more impressive in hindsight.

There's no one thing you can point to and say, "That! That's why you need the new Switch!" It's all the little incremental improvements combined. It's closer to a New 3DS-style upgrade than we're used to with Nintendo console generation jumps, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just remains to be seen whether the launch-period software will justify the hefty price of entry.

I talked about weight right at the start, and I want to circle back to that. This feels like a weighty moment in a lot of ways for Nintendo. We expected iteration with the Switch 2, and that's what we're getting — a buck of Nintendo's normal trend for inventiveness in recent years. A weightier console with weighter expectations and goals — it's aiming to be more powerful, with more technical ambition than any Nintendo console has ever aimed for.

And that weightiness has taken the wind out of my sails a bit. This feels like an actual Game Console, with specs and tech and features to go with it. Mouse Mode adds a little personality, and the variety of games on offer is wide. But the game prices, upgrade prices, pre-order restrictions, and the whole digital/physical card ownership thing afterwards... I wish I was told about it rather than stumbling across it online.

I've never been a huge hardware nut — it's always been about the games for me, and playing many of the games at the Switch 2 event really helped get me a bit more excited for the console again. I will probably love my Switch 2 eventually. I know I love the frame rate and visual upgrades already. But the Switch's launch line-up was slight for first-party hardware, and it is here too. It will have its moment. And going hands-on with it has helped. But I'm cautiously optimistic, let's say. - Alana

That's all for now - much, much more to come soon, though! Let us know any questions you have in the comments.

First Impressions: Nintendo Switch 2 'Wows' Most When You Go Back To Your Old Switch

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