Nintendo Switch 2 review: easy to pick up, almost impossible to put down

More than 20 years have passed since Nintendo politely excused itself from the console wars. While PlayStation and Xbox engaged in a graphics arms race, the maverick Japanese inventors instead focused on making gameplay as engaging as possible. Along the way they enjoyed plenty of victories (the arm-waggling Wii Remote, the pocket-sized brilliance of the DS) and suffered the occasional misfire (the less said about the Wii U the better).

Released in 2017, the Switch combined the best bits of handheld and home systems, becoming perhaps Nintendo’s biggest success so far. It sold 152million units – which is more than the Xbox Series X/S and the PS5 combined.

• READ MORE: The essential games for every Switch 2 owner

That triumph is perhaps why Nintendo have played things safe with the Switch 2. As the name suggests, this next-gen gaming system features no revolutionary gimmicks. It’s just slightly superior, in nearly every way.

We won’t bore you with all the nerdy tech stuff, just know that each colourful pixel looks crisper and cleaner. We didn’t realise quite how fuzzy Super Mario Odyssey looked on the original Switch and the beautiful fantasy world of Hyrule in The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild appears even more inviting on this new bit of kit.

There’s good news for impatient gamers, too. Setting up the new console is incredibly straightforward. Within 20 minutes of unboxing, we’d already auto-transferred across our data from the original Switch and were darting around the criss-crossing tracks of Mario Kart World while thinking about revisiting our forgotten neighbours in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Thanks to its souped-up CPU (Computer Processing Unit, basically the machine’s brain), the Switch 2 is technically more powerful than the PS4, which is an absolutely huge improvement. It means developers have been able to push the boat out with Mario Kart World, hosting hectic 24-player online races without a hint of lag. After being a bit of a mess on the original Switch with slow loading times and frequent crashes, hit multiplayer game Fortnite now runs flawlessly. Nintendo purists will also no longer have to miss out on blockbuster titles such as Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring and Borderlands 4 as they’ll all be available for the first time in the coming months.

The Switch 2 sits nicely in your hands. It’s robust, but not heavy. It is a little bigger than its predecessor, so you can’t exactly stick it in your pocket before you leave the house but a built-in stand provides the perfect companion for train commutes or impromptu gaming sessions. Connecting it to your TV is incredibly simple too and the Bluetooth function has been upgraded, meaning you can switch out controllers and headphones without frustrating sync issues.

On top of that, the Joy-Cons have been redesigned so they’re more comfortable, whether they’re attached to the console or not. These reworked controllers can also be used like a computer mouse. It’s a nifty trick that works on a polished desk or your own leg but apart from a few mini-games on Welcome Tour, there’s not much need for it. Whether that changes in the future remains to be seen but it’s currently the only part of the Switch 2 experience that feels awkward.

Perhaps the biggest innovation on the Switch 2 is the GameChat function, a built-in way for you to talk to your friends online without needing to rely on third-party sites like Discord. It can be launched by pressing the new ‘C’ button and players can set their own rules around who can reach them. Alongside a microphone that’s great at cutting out unwanted background noise, it makes playing online a lot more communal – even if you do have to pay for the privilege via a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

There have been plenty of complaints about a lacklustre launch day lineup of games stopping Nintendo’s latest being an insta-buy. Mario Kart World may be the only proper new title on offer – Welcome Tour is a gamified educational experience, really – but the Switch 2 is powerful enough to makes old favourites feel new. From rediscovering the magic of GameCube software via the expanded online library to travelling through the open-world Pokemon Scarlet without all the technical drawbacks, there’s something for everyone. This is an essential console with a very bright future.