In a surprising twist of fate (and thanks to a very sweet fiancée), I got my hands on the Nintendo Switch 2 last week. It’s the first Nintendo console I’ve owned since the Game Boy, which I was practically glued to as a kid.
Back then, little me was obsessed with games like Tetris, Mario, Mega Man, and Donkey Kong. Over the years though, my taste shifted toward more cinematic, story-driven experiences, which naturally drew me to PlayStation and Xbox.
But to give you, dear readers, an even broader dose of my unsolicited opinions on the gaming world, I decided it was time to finally dive into the wonderful world of Switch. And here, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I’m about to discover franchises like Zelda (yes, never played before!), Fire Emblem, and Xenoblade. I honestly can’t wait.
Before I (hopefully) find some big new gaming loves, though, I first got to explore the new hardware itself. So here are my first impressions of the Nintendo Switch 2.
Hold up…the TV Switches on Automatically When You Dock the Switch 2?
This list is no doubt full of things that won’t surprise anyone with even a little experience on a Switch, but to me it was genuinely surprising.
After using the Switch in handheld mode for a bit, I decided to hook it up to the TV. I had to rely on YouTube for that, because yours truly is completely clueless when it comes to setting things up, no matter how simple it might be.
Once the dock was ready and the cables were plugged into the TV, I slid the console into place. And lo and behold, the TV, which had been off, switched on instantly. Pure magic! Sure, it only saves you from pressing a single button on your remote, but still. Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference.
Give Me a Second, I Still Need to Save My Game
This habit has been with me my whole life. Back in the day, when my mom called me for dinner, I had to frantically search for a checkpoint. And now, when I am about to head out for an appointment, nothing has really changed.
I have almost never used sleep mode, even though most devices these days include it. It was drilled into me that systems should be properly shut down. That was supposed to be better for the environment, although I now suspect it was also about the electricity bill.
The Switch 2, however, promotes sleep mode more than any console I have used. On PlayStation and others, the option always felt tucked away behind “power off.” On the Switch 2 it is the other way around. I actually had to Google whether you could fully turn the thing off at all.
Now I just instinctively press the button on top, and the console slips straight into sleep mode. Still, my habit of saving at checkpoints runs so deep that I have caught myself waiting for a chance to save, even though it is no longer necessary.
It feels amazing to dive back into my game with a single button press. From now on I can head to dinner right away instead of telling my partner, “Just give me one more minute, I need to save.” Honestly, I am thrilled, and she probably is even more so.
Game Prices Are High, and They Stay High
It is not all sunshine and roses. The games are fairly expensive, even the ones that have been out for a while.
One of the first titles I looked up in the Nintendo Store was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. That game launched in 2017, which is already eight years ago.
At first I saw a price tag of 10 euros, which looked perfectly fine. But my satisfied smile quickly vanished when I noticed in the fine print that this discount only applied to owners of the original Switch. For me, the price is still 80 euros before I can take my very first steps as Link.
Ahh So THAT’S Why It’s Called Switch
Another thing that probably should not have surprised me, but still did, is how pleasantly the design of the Switch 2 impressed me.
My very first minutes with the device were spent in handheld mode. Right away I knew this was going to bring many advantages compared to what I was used to. Recently I had started cutting back on screen time before bed. People say it is good for you, especially if you have trouble falling asleep.
That good habit lasted me about a week, until my new console arrived. So much for that resolution. A few minutes on the Switch before closing my eyes quickly turned into half an hour. And of course with the brightness turned all the way up, because I want to see all those beautiful colors in their full glory.
On television those colors shine even more. Whenever I have the TV to myself, that will definitely be my main way of playing. But when my girlfriend wants to watch one of her countless reality shows, I simply take the Switch out of the dock and slide the Joy-Cons into controller form (what do you even call all those attachments?). And it also shouldn’t be underestimated how nice it is that I can now play on the Switch and watch football at the same time.
The way the Joy-Cons snap magnetically onto the sides of the controller or the screen itself feels great. The Nintendo Switch 2 is a technical marvel, and I did not know I needed that kind of flexibility until the moment finally came when I could welcome the device into my home.
How the Nintendo Switch 2 Takes Me Back to My Childhood
As I mentioned before, these days I mostly lean toward photorealistic graphics and interesting stories, preferably with a few clever twists and turns along the way.
Back in my childhood, it was very different. As a kid I just wanted to see colors, the brighter the better. I wanted to jump, collect things, and dodge obstacles. I wanted to score points and gather gold coins. It didn’t need to be much more complicated than that.
And that is exactly what the games I have played on the Switch 2 so far excel at. It is simply uncomplicated fun, the same kind of fun I used to have as a child.
When I turn on my Switch, I turn off my thoughts. It is relaxing, thought-free, and just plain enjoyable. And while I will always have a big love for story-driven, deeper games, this way of having fun is actually just as wonderful.
