Now you are really playing with power
That Nintendo was in no hurry to replace its first hybrid handheld is hardly a shocker. The original Switch transformed the gaming landscape and went on to be one of the best selling games consoles of all time. But for those of us running out of patience with games that evidently needed a bit more juice (never mind the barely acceptable ports), an update couldn’t come soon enough.
On first inspection an update seems to be exactly what Nintendo has delivered with the Switch 2, to the extent it feels more like an iteration than a truly new generation of console gaming. The Kyoto company’s changing of its long-held ‘lateral thinking with withered technology’ philosophy also makes it the most expensive Nintendo console to date.
The $450/£395 price isn’t just about being able to run better-looking games, though. There really is a lot more going on here than it first appears, which makes it a significant leap of an upgrade.
Design: Smooth hybrid
Without trying to shake up the formula, the Switch 2 follows the same idea of its predecessor: it’s a touchscreen tablet device that offers console-quality games playable on the TV while docked; you can then take it with you on the go in handheld mode, or detach the controllers to play in tabletop mode. New handheld competition including the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally might’ve landed in the eight years between Switch generations, but none have delivered this sort of seamless swapping between play modes.
The Switch 2 does what the original Switch does but better. The most significant difference is its size, owing to a much larger 7.9in display compared to both the original Switch’s 6.2in and the OLED’s 7in screens. That also means the Joy-Con controllers that attach to the device are larger than before. It’s naturally heavier at 535 grams, but still lightweight compared to its chunkier rivals, and somehow retaining the same thinness of the first Switch generation.
At the back of the device is a handy stand that’s almost as wide as the console, allowing you to set it up in tabletop mode. It’s much better than the flimsy kickstand of the original Switch. I still think the OLED’s is better; this one is U-shaped with space in between, which makes me worry it might be more prone to wear and tear over time. It’s nonetheless very flexible so you can adjust it at the right angle whether playing at a desk or the fold-out table of a plane. Just like the OLED, you also need to lift the stand in order to reach the slot for inserting extra storage. But with 256GB in the internal storage, you at least have significantly more to start off with.
