Dot Esports recently spent just over four hours on the Nintendo Switch 2, sampling a bunch of its games and trying the console for the first time. In the session, we tried some titles in handheld or TV mode, and our first reaction was, “Yeah, this is definitely a Switch.”
It’s hard to get excited about the Switch 2 on a surface level. The original Switch was mind-blowing nearly a decade ago when we first tried it, so playing the Switch 2 just felt like a more powerful version of the console we all know and love with some minor alterations.
But it goes beyond that, and after trying different games and having a better feel of the system, we finally understand what makes it tick.
The new Joy-Con’s magnetic system was an amazing feature to try for the first time. We no longer need to slide controllers in and out of the system. Instead, it just connects by bringing it close to the side, and it’s pretty strong. The larger screen of the system, when compared to the OLED Switch, is noticeable too, and the screen quality, even being an LCD screen, was impressive.
But when it comes to the new control options like the mouse play, we found it a bit jarring. It’s pretty responsive, but the games we played didn’t really feel like a fit for the new mechanic, but we will get onto that shortly.
In short, the system is what you expect it to be: A more powerful Nintendo Switch with changes made to improve on the previous model, while offering unique selling points. It does the job, we are sold and can’t wait to get one on June 5, but a system is nothing without a great game lineup.
And oh boy, does the Switch 2 have some bangers.
Mario Kart World hands-on
I spent most of the time at the event playing multiple rounds of Mario Kart World.
I can’t specify how chaotic 24-player races are when they are players and not NPCs, especially in the game’s new battle royale mode, where you are constantly fighting to stay alive. Races feel receptive, and there are many characters and cars, all with their own statistics, that’ll make tier-list veterans happy to know about.
We didn’t see much of the free-roam mode or Grand Prix, but we definitely can see how this is the biggest and best racing game to come from Nintendo ever, and I am excited to play this on launch day.
Donkey Kong Bananza hands-on
I was oddly enthusiastic about Donkey Kong Bananza, and playing a small section of the available game, I’m happy to say those expectations were well met. There is a lot of control you have over the destruction of the area, and like with Super Mario Odyssey, a lot of collectibles to find that’ll have you traverse the world and work out puzzles with hardly any hints.
A lot of the game still remains a mystery, but the core gameplay experience is solid, and I can see myself destroying entire levels to level them out. You have more freedom than I anticipated and can’t wait to see more of it.
Metroid Prime 4 hands-on
We tried a 10-minute demo of Metroid Prime 4, giving us the chance to see the game for the first time in person, and our first chance to try out the mouse controls. The game is good, what you expect of a Metroid Prime game in terms of scanning things, dealing with enemies in a 3D space, all the good stuff. But when it came to trying the mouse controls of the Switch 2 Joy-Con for the first time, this is where things got messy.
Where it lets itself down, in my opinion, is its mouse controls. While using the mouse controls to move Samus’s arm cannon felt great, shooting was a little clunky, and controls like the morph ball are locked to the right Joy-Con, so you need to use your thumb to try and hit the right button, and it just doesn’t feel good. Especially in a firefight when shooting and using the Morph Ball to dodge attacks is part of the gameplay.
If there’s a way to customize controls, then I feel it can be saved, but the game left me with a lot to be desired with its clunky mouse controls so far.
And the rest
As for the rest of the games we tried at the Nintendo event, it was a mixed bag. We decided to skip playing the Switch 2 versions of games like Zelda BOTW and Mario Party Jamboree, opting instead to keep our attention on the new titles due to the queues.
While we did try Drag x Drive, we found it a bit dull and hard to play, mainly because the Switch 2 controllers we were given were attached to cables that stopped us from having free movement to grab the controllers back, as we would drag into the wire, stopping us from moving or shooting. So we didn’t want to give it an unfair opinion based on the limitations provided on the day.
And as for the GameCube collection, it’s the GameCube games you know on a GameCube controller with a slightly better frame rate and improved resolution. You can’t really go wrong with that setup, and we hope Nintendo keeps adding more GameCube games than the ones we have already seen over time. Viewtiful Joe, anyone?
In the end, it was a good day. We played of games, a lot of our questions were answered, and the Switch 2 looks promising. Let’s hope for a successful launch and a solid lineup of games over the next few years.
Published: Apr 12, 2025 05:31 am