Nintendo Switch 2 review: Should you buy or wait a while as Nintendo’s hot new console hits the shelves?

Having sold 150 million units of the delightful original Switch in eight years, the Japanese company decided on pumping steroids into the existing design for the sequel – resulting in a more muscular yet more refined Switch 2.

The name intends to suggest that everything within is bigger and better. But the inflation also extends to the price – at €470, it costs 42pc more than Switch 1 did at launch in 2017. Nintendo incorporates this mindset in the games and accessories also – Switch 2 exclusive Mario Kart costs a thumping €90, for instance.

Of course, Nintendo’s competitors have steadily jacked their pricing too in the face of rising costs but you can still get on board with PlayStation 5 starting at €400 and the Xbox Series from €350.

Price doesn’t tell the full story of the Switch 2 nonetheless, for this machine builds on the phenomenal achievements of its predecessor – and chief among them was putting a full console in your hands on the go. Switch 1 was never as powerful as its contemporaries, the PS4 and Xbox One, but crucially it was capable enough to at least compete.

The Switch showed a mobile form factor provided a viable alternative to being tethered to the living-room TV, inspiring everything from the Steam Deck to Sony’s PlayStation Portal to the newly announced ROG Xbox Ally. Nintendo’s machine was a handheld, yes, but also performed admirably as a big-screen experience when docked.

Nintendo’s message about Switch 2 is clear: this is “the next evolution” of the same experience – swankier visuals, enhanced physical design, and a handful of hardware/software improvements. Crucially, it also plays all your old Switch games, which is no small thing given that Nintendo has never been great about backward compatibility.

The most obvious difference in this new generation of Switch hits you straight in the face. Look at the size of this thing! Actually, it’s not overwhelmingly big as you will see from photo comparisons. Nintendo reckons the Switch 2 screen is 1.6 times larger than that of the previous console – 7.9 inches versus 7 inches on the OLED Switch.

The Switch 2 case is slightly wider, taller and heavier but roughly as thin as its older brother. Yes, the dimensions have grown but it’s nowhere near the monsters that are the Steam Deck and ROG Xbox Ally.

Nonetheless, this probably isn’t the console for small hands. Even adults might find it tiresome to hold on the go without support for hours on end. But, of course, once you acclimatise to that gorgeous expansive LED screen, there’s no going back. Expect a lot of adults to suddenly justify a Switch 2 by handing down their old Switch to their children.

The new machine feels a little more robust too, benefiting from a superior kickstand and magnets holding the controllers that mean they attach and detach more easily, without ever feeling as if they’ll come loose. Intriguingly, one controller can function like a mouse when detached, opening up new game possibilities that have yet to be fully explored. Even more surprisingly, it works perfectly well by moving it around on your thigh rather than a flat surface.

Turn the console on and the Switch 2 interface looks very familiar – with the only significant change being the addition of GameChat, a Discord-like app that enables party conversations. Just press the C button on the console to connect.

Pay €60 for the Nintendo Switch 2 camera and you can even add video to that mix – though some unbranded webcams will also work.

GameChat is free until next March but after that you’ll need a Nintendo Online subscription (currently €20 a year).

Fire up a game, however, and Switch 2 begins to justify its lofty price, albeit with the caveat that Nintendo has not lined up a stellar launch slate. In fact, it offers just two Switch 2 exclusives – the predictably brilliant Mario Kart World and the curious “tech demo” called Switch 2 Welcome Tour. The other titles pushed by Nintendo are merely visually upgraded versions of admittedly great games (two Zeldas, for instance).

Third-party publishers offer a smattering of new games such as Survival Kids and Fast Fusion, while others have ported a selection of PS5-grade titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Split Fiction.

The catalogue is not to be sniffed at – and don’t forget backward compatibility gives access to the whole Switch 1 catalogue – but it could be deeper.

Nonetheless, Mario Kart World (and the other Nintendo-upgraded games) demonstrate the additional grunt under the hood. In handheld mode, and particularly attached to a big screen, you can clearly register the smoother, sharper graphics. Nintendo promises 4K resolution on a TV and up to 120 frames per second in handheld mode.

Note too the subtly enhanced audio quality from the console’s speakers, which approximate surround sound to decent effect.

Some of the more interesting aspects of Switch 2 come from a little digging around in the menus.

Nintendo doesn’t make a big deal about GameShare, for instance, but it’s one feature Sony and Microsoft should immediately copy. Remember the times when a friend could borrow a physical copy of a game you’d bought? Digital ownership has wiped that convenience out.

GameShare lets a Switch 2 owner loan a digital copy of Switch game (1 or 2) to a friend for a limited period of two weeks. You can’t play it while it’s on loan, obviously. The feature also lets you temporarily share a copy of a game with up to three others locally for multiplayer purposes.

Any concerns about Switch 2 – the small library of exclusives, the relatively modest nature of the overall upgrade, etc – will doubtlessly wash away as Nintendo ramps up its new releases. The incoming Donkey Kong Bananza due next month looks fabulous, for instance.

In the meantime, any buyers will have to content themselves with the bountiful charms of Mario Kart World – the retailers’ bundle of console plus MKW for €510 makes it a steal. Yes, your old games will respond better and appear shinier but Switch 2 cries out for the killer combination of beauty and brains, such as a new Zelda.

Your move, Nintendo.