Nintendo Switch 2: The Ars Technica review

Link’s Awakening, Switch 1, docked.

Andrew Cunningham

Link’s Awakening, Switch 1, docked.

Andrew Cunningham

Link’s Awakening, Switch 2, docked. Note fewer jaggies and sharper textures, especially on top of the posts.

Andrew Cunningham

Link’s Awakening, Switch 2, docked. Note fewer jaggies and sharper textures, especially on top of the posts.

Andrew Cunningham

Link’s Awakening, Switch 2, handheld.

Andrew Cunningham

Link’s Awakening, Switch 2, handheld.

Andrew Cunningham

Link’s Awakening, Switch 2, docked. Note fewer jaggies and sharper textures, especially on top of the posts.

Andrew Cunningham

Link’s Awakening, Switch 2, handheld.

Andrew Cunningham

However, the real proof of the Switch 2’s improved power can be seen in early third-party ports like Cyberpunk 2077, Split Fiction, Hitman World of Assassination, and Street Fighter VI, which would have required significant visual downgrades to even run on the original Switch. To my eye, the visual impact of these ports is roughly comparable to what you’d get on a PS4 Pro (in handheld mode) or an Xbox Series S (in docked mode). In the medium term, that should be more than enough performance for all but the most determined pixel-counters, given the distinctly diminishing graphical returns we’re seeing from more advanced (and more expensive) hardware like the PS5 Pro.

The Switch 2 delivers a perfectly fine-looking version of Cyberpunk 2077

Credit:
CD Projekt Red

The biggest compromise for all this extra power comes in the battery life department. Games like Mario Kart World or Cyberpunk 2077 can take the system from a full charge to completely drained in somewhere between 2 and 2.5 hours. This time span increases significantly for less demanding games like old-school 2D classics and can be slightly extended if you reduce the screen brightness. Still, it’s a bit grating to need to rely on an external battery pack just to play Mario Kart World for an entire cross-country flight.

Externally, the Switch 2 is full of tiny but welcome improvements, like an extra upper edge USB-C port for more convenient charging and a thin-but-sturdy U-shaped stand for tabletop play. Internally, the extremely welcome high-speed storage helps cut initial load times on games like Mario Kart 8 roughly in half (16.5 seconds on the Switch versus 8.5 seconds on the Switch 2 in our testing).

The embedded stand on the Switch 2 (right) is a massive improvement for tabletop mode play.

Credit:
Kyle Orland

But the 256GB of internal storage included in the Switch 2 is also laughably small, considering that individual digital games routinely require downloads of 50GB to 70GB. That’s especially true in a world where many third-party games are only available as Game Key Cards, which still require that the full game be downloaded. Most Switch 2 customers should budget $50 or more for a MicroSD Express card to add at least 256GB of additional storage.

Those Nintendo gimmicks

Despite the “more of the same” overall package, there are a few small areas where the Switch 2 does something truly new. Mouse mode is the most noticeable of these, letting you transform a Joy-Con into a PC-style mouse simply by placing it on its edges against most flat-ish surfaces. We tested this mode on surfaces ranging from a hard coffee table to a soft pillow-top mattress and this reviewer’s hairy thighs and found the mouse mode was surprisingly functional in every test. While the accuracy and precision fall off on the squishier and rounder of those tested surfaces, it’s something of a marvel that it works at all.