Review: Nintendo’s Switch 2 Is a Great Console, but Too Expensive, With Too Few Options

This is probably the least important review I’ve ever written. That’s not because the Switch 2 isn’t interesting — it is — or that it’s not important — it is. Instead, it’s because this is the only way you — or your children — can play the new Mario Kart game, “Mario Kart World,” and whether you buy it now or in the run-up to Christmas, you will buy it for them if they want one. It’s the only new console I’ve bought, and it was precisely for that reason.With that caveat in mind, knowing that this review won’t influence your buying decision, the Switch 2 is a significant upgrade over the first generation. It’s bigger, with a 7.9″ LCD touchscreen — 1.7″ larger than the previous generation — and it does so while remaining slim. The dock is mediocre, and you can never tell which way to insert the Switch, but otherwise, the handheld itself is a significant step up from the prior generation. To my hands, it feels like a more premium plastic, and the bigger size makes for a more comfortable control scheme, though it’s too early to tell if the dreaded Joy-Con drift will return.Switch 2. Via NintendoThe new snap-on system for the Joy-Cons is so reliable and easy to use that it feels like this should have always been the default, and their larger size makes them more comfortable for multiplayer use. Even so, I would recommend the $25 optional steering wheel add-on — not for driving with tilt controls, which are pretty poor, but for providing a larger touch surface. The mouse mode is handy for menu navigation, when you can remember it, but you won’t, and no games make much use of it.There are some new additions — a chat button and a screenshot button — but I haven’t used them intentionally. Ultimately, this is the same formula as before, but refined and improved, with stronger hardware and a nicer screen. I thought it would bother me that it isn’t an OLED, but this is a great LCD panel, and it’s a constant delight to play on it, lying down on your couch, then continuing on the TV through the dock.Switch 2. Via NintendoThe biggest problem is the limited game selection — with only two major new exclusives, “Mario Kart World” and “Donkey Kong Bananza” — and the prices of everything. The games start at $80 for a digital version, or $90 with a physical cartridge. A second pair of Joy-Cons costs $90. The “Pro Controller” costs $80. A spare dock is $110. And the base console is $450. You can play most original Switch games on the Switch 2, but many of them require a paid upgrade to make them compatible and upgraded.This isn’t a budget-friendly console anymore, particularly if you intend to build up a library of games. But if you’re only looking to play Mario Kart, this is the best it’s ever been.

Review: Nintendo’s Switch 2 Is a Great Console, but Too Expensive, With Too Few Options

Review: Nintendo’s Switch 2 Is a Great Console, but Too Expensive, With Too Few Options

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