Switch 2: First Impressions and Early Adventures

In short: it's worth the price, I would say

In a break from normal service, I thought I would write about getting a Switch 2 this week and what I have been doing on it.

Quick gaming background: Nintendo fanboy who also owns an Xbox. I play a lot of games but don't write about gaming. You can take this one of two ways: either I have no experience in gaming journalism, so who the hell cares what I think, or I have no incentive to shill for big gaming companies, so you can trust what I say.

Mario Kart World

I got the Switch 2 on Thursday. I have mostly been playing Mario Kart World because it’s a new Mario Kart, which we’ve desperately needed for well over a decade.

I know a lot of people don’t like the new gimmick. Personally, some of my favourite tracks on MK8 were the no-lappers that just had a start and end point so I am cool with how MKW mostly works. The driving between tracks and free drive is a bit of a gimmick and doesn’t add much. However, the new system has created the most exciting innovation in Mario Kart for years: Knockout Tour.

If you are picking up this game new, I get the instinct to blast through the GPs and unlock everything. But as soon as you feel comfortable, give Knockout Tour a go. For those who don’t know, Knockout Tour basically gives you six rounds to get through. At each round, only a certain number qualify to continue. The race starts with 24 and ends with four.

It makes for one really long race, encourages tactical driving and use of weapons and is a tonne of fun if you are playing online against strangers – if bloody hard.

One thing I have noticed in this game is that it doesn’t seem to reward you too much for using one control system over the other, which is nice and probably means families can have an easier time when experienced players go up against kids.

Adventures in Hyrule

If you have Switch online and the expansion pack, you can play the upgraded Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom and WindWaker via the Game Cube expansion.

All of these are absolutely worth it and I am taking breaks from Mario Kart to play a bit of BOTW and WW. Will get to TOTK at some point. The BOTW upgrade feels worth doing, especially if you haven’t played that game in a while. It’s much snappier and the controls feel better and more fun to use. It’s the first time playing this game since TOTK came out that I hadn’t had the urge to put it down and pick up (the superior) TOTK.

As for WindWaker, this game is as charming as ever. If you’ve never played it before but want to see what all the fuss is about, I would (hypocritically) urge you not to play it alongside one of the more modern Zeldas. The camera in this game is inverted on the right stick and as far as I can tell, there is no way to custom map it. It makes elements of the game – particularly stealth elements – really frustrating. Also: remember to save as often as possible, this game didn’t have auto-save!

Elsewhere

I have played the demo of Street Fighter 6, but not bought it as I already have it on Xbox. It feels quicker on the Switch 2 – I have absolutely no idea how or why, but it does. The deal currently on the Nintendo e-shop is the game and a two-year season pass for £50, which is an unbelievable deal if you don’t already own it. If any Capcom PRs happen to see this …

Overall view

Switch 2: definitely worth it if you can get your hands on one. There is loads to do and a lot more coming. The console itself feels like such a big upgrade from the first Switch that even if you are just playing your old games, you will appreciate it. Don’t get the stupid Welcome Tour game, though. Waste of time and you will work most of it out as you go.

If you want me to write about anything in particular by the way, remember I am not a games journalist and buying all this myself, so *cough* if you wanted to chuck me some cash *cough* (see below).

More soon,

Luke