When I found out that the Switch 2 was releasing on my 21st birthday, it was a no-brainer that I had to have it. When the family asked the dreaded, “What do you want for your birthday?” I actually had an answer.
I’ve had my original Switch since May 2020 and she’s definitely seen the love over the past five years - not just from myself, but my friends and family too. Our flat was the hotspot thanks to my trusty Switch and we’ve made countless memories through the variety of games that we played (mainly Mario Party).
So, the news of a Switch 2 was unbelievably exciting for me. I’m no tech whizz, and granted I definitely should be more knowledgeable when it comes to expensive consoles, but I heard the possibility of a Switch 2 exclusive Tomadachi Life and I was sold.
...found myself gravitating to my original Switch games rather than trying anything new.
But now that I’ve had my Switch 2 for three months, I must say I’m not feeling very fulfilled. The game selection upon release was sparse, and though Mario Kart World has been a lot of fun, I’m still not satisfied and have found myself gravitating to my original Switch games rather than trying anything new.
Being away from university, however, has definitely been a contributing factor, as it’s undeniable that the Switch is a party console, designed for multiplayer games with your family and friends.
disappointing, upmarketed remakes of games that have already been around for years...
Despite this, you’d think after three months of being released that the selection of Switch 2 exclusive games would’ve expanded past disappointing, upmarketed remakes of games that have already been around for years, and then the odd couple of original (yet majority unappealing) video games.
...allowed me to rekindle with games that I had once fallen out of love with.
However, the Switch 2 is objectively a step up from its predecessor with my favourite feature being the hugely upgraded screen size (from 6.2 inches to 7.9). This accompanied by the improvement in resolution (4K in comparison to a previous HD) has, quite literally, been a game changer for me and has allowed me to rekindle with games that I had once fallen out of love with.
Another notable improvement from the Switch 2 is its greatly increased storage size, standing at a strong 256GB in comparison to a mere 32GB on the classic Switch. I suppose it at least means when a more saturated catalog of games are available for the Switch 2, I'll actually be able to download and play them all, as opposed to choosing my monthly sacrifice on the Switch 1.
A small design change that I also appreciate from the Switch 2 is the larger joycons - proven to be incredibly helpful during games such as Mario Kart, where I no longer have to awkwardly wrap my hands around the joycon to control my beloved Yoshi properly.
Although the Switch 2 is still beat by its predecessor when it comes to battery life (the original Switch provides 4.5-9 hours of battery life with the Switch 2 only offering 2-6.5) this isn’t something that’s ever really bothered me too much, as I tend to play my Switch 2 docked majority of the time anyway.
Overall, I don’t think the Switch 2 is as bad as people make it out to be, but I still don’t think it’s worth it yet. If I was forking out of my own pocket to buy one, I’d definitely be waiting until there’s a stronger selection of games to play.
Note: written before the latest Nintendo Direct.