The AD disclaimer:
Nintendo UK sent me a special invite to let me get early hands on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 at a special timeslot available a few hours before the first public slot. The public slots were the people who won a ticket via lottery system or got one via waitlist.
Nintendo UK sent me a special invite to let me get early hands on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 at a special timeslot available a few hours before the first public slot. The public slots were the people who won a ticket via lottery system or got one via waitlist.
I got to the Excel building at around 7:35am, just over an hour before the check-in phase started.
When the N5 zone entrance opened up, I collected my entry band. My entry band is a yellow one which represents a 9am-1pm entry, the idea is for the staff to find any rebels overstaying their welcome, being the very first set of people to complete the check-in got me near the front of the zig-zag queue before the grand opening.
As we entered the main venue, the staff members were clapping which felt pleasant as we were the first fans in the UK event to get early hands on.
Mario Kart World Pt1
So Mario Kart World had 2 stations, one nearby the entrance and another nearby DK Bananza set. The first station focused on GP mode on both the TV and then in handheld mode. If you're familiar with Mario Kart 8, you should be able to jump into Mario Kart World pretty well, not everything is exactly the same. For starters, the max amount of coins a player can carry per race is 20, not 10. This is probably done to speed up the reward process by having high coin targets to unlock more things (just a guess for now before more information from Mario Kart World Direct) but less number of races thanks to the bigger count per race. The items such as shells and bananas will always be behind the player, without the need to hold the button, the lightning item not only shrink them but actually stuns the racers properly and when they're tiny, they can be squashed by bigger players. One big difference I've noticed is the omission of custom vehicles. After choosing your character, you are then asked to select a pre-made vehicle, the build we were playing on had a lot of karts but not so much on bikes.
Donkey Kong Banaza
The surprise reveal from the Switch 2 Direct, the second ever 3D Donkey Kong Platformer. I didn't watch any Treehouse footage because I like to play upcoming games with as little prior knowledge as possible other than the debut trailer. So when I was about to play this game I definitely didn't expect the game to use "split" joy-con setup similar to Super Mario Odyssey. After playing it and collecting the first major collectible known as a banandium gem, it screamed Super Mario Odyssey thanks to the subtitle nod that is placed underneath the "Ohh banana" text. DK can punch above, straight ahead or down below him, when pressing Y to punch ahead, he alternatively uses his left/right fist but with the motion control shake from the joy-con2, you can make him only use his specific arm based on the joy-con so left joy-con means only his left arm and right joy-con means he uses his right arm.
The game isn't always underground, some levels have you going above the ground, when playing these maps it allows you to pause the game and zoom the camera far back to look around the map. When this happens, the framerate does drop from 60 to somewhere around 30. The main focus is destruction as there are multiple ways to navigate through the underground segments/solve puzzles. It does get a bit flashy with lots of yellow, flying towards the camera as you break through the environment. DK can pick up a chunk of rock below him and use it as a temporary surfing board, toss it like a projectile to hit enemies from a distance. There are some challenge rooms which if you succeed, you'll get a banandium gem.
The game tracks different type of materials as you "aim" at them and their resistance rating to give you an idea what type of attacks/items can be used to break them down. The boom bomb for example is an explosive material DK can use to toss around is strong enough to break trough concrete.
HP wise he has 3 at max and has to eat apples (yep) to recover lost health. What worked really well for me are the motion controls for aiming, this probably because it felt less awkward than using a pro-controller when I wanted to aim really well in Splatoon/3D HD Zeldas.
Loading times were fairly fast lasting roughly 5-7 seconds, giving you enough time to read the hints/tips.
This is going to be the next popular Switch2 game after Mario Kart World, releasing July 17th 2025, right after Summer Games Done Quick 2025.
Gamecube Classics
Not many games were available with just 4 including:
F-Zero GX
Zelda: The Wind Waker
F-Zero GX
Zelda: The Wind Waker
Soul Calibur 2 and
Mario Smash Football (known as Super Mario Strikers in NTSC regions)
I had a go at F-Zero GX and gave it a stress test on the controller by abusing the snaking mechanic. It works mostly fine but I did notice some minor yet rare framerate drops during intense the parts, it would be great if there was a way to import the replay save files from the early 2000s over to the new 2025 device to check if there's no extra framedrops at all which isn't likely going to happen on "official stock" hardware by this point. I should note that Digital Foundry reported that the internal resolution is 900p, not 1080p/1440p/2160p.
Drag X Drive
The wheelchair vehicle basketball game where the main control method involves using both joy con2 in mouse mode.
This is Nintendo at its finest, releasing a new game that takes full advantage of the new controller. The controls are simple to learn but challenging to fully master due to the execution required to pull off some of the game's maneuvers. Despite most of the controls being fully motion based, there are some actions that are only mapped to buttons such as using the brakes and passing the ball to a team-mate, I should mention that passing only works if you see other players Infront of you.. 5 minutes of the experience was spent getting used to the control by going through some checkpoints then afterwards I was sent to a 3 v 3 match. The toughest part was trying to chase the opponent who has the ball as bashing towards them is the only way to make them drop the ball. You get at least 2 points for netting the ball but it's possible to get more by passing the ball and performing tricks along the way. I can see this being a fun game but require x6 Switch2 systems to enjoy at its fullest in a local area.
Switch 2 handheld close up
In one section of the venue, I had a chance to fully pickup the system in handheld mode and was impressed on the thickness being identical to Switch1, the most satisfying part is indeed the magnetic joy-con2 connection, it looks really flushed and part of the system once connected. The downside is that the magnets are indeed made out of metal which means it will light up every metal detector in places where security is super tight.
Street Fighter 6
The million dollar fighting game, coming out to Nintendo Switch
Performance and quality is a huge step up compared to the Street Fighter IV years with Nintendo's 3DS version vs Xbox 360/PS3. That said, the visual target seems to be on par with the PS4 version so it has 30FPS framerate during VS Screen close-up shot and there's less detail/missing NPCs in the background compared to the PS5/Xbox Series X versions. My biggest gripe is that the physical release is a Game Key package meaning none of the content is on the physical cart, it requires installing the files from the internet a service that doesn't last forever, downloading over 50GB which is over 1/5th of the system's internal memory, the big N can say this is great for third parties going cheap but the consumer can only download so few 50GB+ big size games, look the Micro SD Express cards used to expand the storage are not cheap either. Shoutout to CD Projekt Red for releasing Cyberpunk 2077 + DLC on a single 64GB cart by the way, that's a true physical release.
Fun fact: This demo build had the base cast, all year 1 DLC characters but only one year 2 DLC character and that's the dictator, M.Bison, no Terry, Mai nor the upcoming Elena in this build.
Fun fact: This demo build had the base cast, all year 1 DLC characters but only one year 2 DLC character and that's the dictator, M.Bison, no Terry, Mai nor the upcoming Elena in this build.
Yakuza Zero Director's Cut
Yakuza Zero is the equivalent to both Persona 5 and Fire Emblem Awakening, entries released in the 2010s that pushed the franchises' popularity to new heights.
I played the PC version during the Christmas holidays of 2020 and I seriously loved it. The Director's Cut is exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 featuring two new audio tracks including an English Dub and an online multiplayer battle mode: Red Light Raid online. It even includes new cutscenes which if you're a seasoned player you got to be very cautious when trying to skip the old cutscenes.
The original Yakuza Zero was designed to run on PS3 which then gained a performance boost remaster on the PS4. This version is running at 60fps but I did see the jaggy lines on some of the objects, not a deal breaker by any means. If you're a person who only play Nintendo systems, do not ignore this game. It's roughly 15-20 hours to complete if you focus on story missions alone. I can see Yakuza Kiwami 1 (Switch 2 edition), Yakuza 3, 4 and 5 running fine at 60fps on the new Switch2. The Dragon engine games including: Kiwami 2, Yakuza 6, Judgement spin-offs and the RPG focused Like A Dragon games are a bit more demanding might run it at 30fps as it did on the PS4.
Cyberpunk 2077
I didn't play this one, but when watching it I did notice it was running uncapped as the lesser demanding underground/black market segment was running at above 30 say either 40 or 50fps whereas the other sections kept it at around 30fps capped. There was a disclaimer text at the top to remind players that this is not the final product.
Metroid Prime 4 Beyond
The first NEW game to have both Switch 1 & Switch 2 editions, coming out sometime this year (I'm betting it's either August or September). At the Prime 4 station, we were asked to try out the new Switch 2 mouse control first of all to get a feel and if we (the players) were not comfortable, we can try the traditional controls. My experience with speedrunning Quake2 64 on PC did help as I was pretty sharp at my shooting skills. The only gripe so far is that when using the mouse mode on the right joy-con2, the ZR (right mouse button) is your primary fire for beams whereas the R (left mouse button) is your missiles. Here's hoping that it has an option to swap the two actions over so that R becomes the primary beam shot and ZR for missiles. Another learning curve is that the four face buttons on the right joy-con2 are used for jumping, scan visor and changing into morph ball mode, so it's a first for me to use side buttons that are not your typical gunswapping. The structure was going through a series of rooms, taking out space pirates, learning the quirks of the lock-on system by hitting other targets whilst focusing on one, a morphball tunnel sequence showing the NPCs doing a scripted sequence and eventually a boss battle which can only be damaged by aiming your shots at the weak spots. Some players did die to this fight but I didn't struggle too much thanks to my experience with the previous games.
Overall, this control method feels like Metroid Prime 3 but replace the pointer with a mouse with 4 side buttons.
Breath of the Wild (& Tears of the Kingdom)
It runs at a high framerate of 60fps. Due to the length of the game and the quality of other games (you know, trying out brand new Switch 2 games).
The HD 3D Zeldas will be tough for me to play again, this is not an issue if you play very few games or you've never played them during the Switch 1 days. I am impressed that even in handheld mode, the game was running at 60fps.
The HD 3D Zeldas will be tough for me to play again, this is not an issue if you play very few games or you've never played them during the Switch 1 days. I am impressed that even in handheld mode, the game was running at 60fps.
Kirby & The Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World
This type of game should've been 60FPS from day one on the original Switch. I am happy I did skip it back then because now I get to play a more definitive edition along with the new Star-Crossed World extra. Here's hoping Kirby Star Allies will get a 60fps boost as well.
Welcome Tour
A digital only game that showcases the Switch 2 features, heck it even shows the difference in framerates so your eyes can train the difference between 60fps and 120fps. The mini-games are mostly simple tech-demos to give you an idea why it doesn't work on the Switch1. The UFO games are straight-forward, try not to die as you dodge a barrage of falling spike balls. The rumble sensor game is interesting for a few attempts where you got to pan left to right and find the strongest rumble, good luck trying to feel the difference between 100% and 99% strength. I didn't get to try out the NES Mario game where W1-1 is shown at its small native resolution in front of a 4k canvas as the time ran out during the framerate test, all of these demos have time limits just to give other people an opportunity to try them out.
Mario Kart World Pt2
I only had roughly 25 minutes left so the last big thing I wanted to try out was the Knockout Tour in Mario Kart World.
This mode has a lengthy race that lasts 8-10 minutes long, the catch is that by the end of each segment, the slowest 4 racers will be DQ'd.
During the waiting period, the game sends you to a free roam mode which is a fun way to get used to the feel of your character before the start of each race.
it's a good streaming mode in my opinion as the match gets more intense in the later phases with over half of the racers getting KO'd. I had two goes playing this mode.
My first attempt ended in a disaster as I was ranked 23rd out of 24 racers, all due to getting hit by an item at the worst possible time. I did have a laugh along with a staff member sending pre-made messages on the screen based on the current leader. I decided to have another go as there were not many players after my first attempt, this time instead of going for the heavy weight Cow, I went for medium weight (unconfirmed) Waluigi.
This run went a lot better than my first, it had its highs and lows but in the end, I made to first place all thanks to some lucky mushroom pickups in the last segment which allowed me to cut a corner and gain a big lead on the final straight. The most impressive part is that this station had 24 screens and 24 Switch 2 systems, it's something you wouldn't be able to set up so easily in your house or even at a speedrunning event and this is coming from someone who helps out with the 8 GC & 8 TV Mario Kart Double Dash LAN sessions at Sweden.
So yeah, my gaming session ended with a high by being a winner Nearby the exit was the goodie bag til which allowed us to pickup a bag full of Switch2 merch including a mug, a pen, sticky notes, a note book, a lanyard and a metal water bottle.
In conclusion
Overall, I did enjoy the event, having the 9am start slot did give me an edge when it comes to skipping the queues on the bigger games but I did wait for roughly 15-20 minutes on Metroid Prime 4 as that one I think had less overall seats than Donkey Kong Banaza plus Prime games are consistently very good. I didn't get to try out every game due to either time limits and/or low interest at the time including:
Cyberpunk 2077
Hades 2 (I regret not trying this one out)
Hades 2 (I regret not trying this one out)
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster (another Game Key release, boo)
Split Fiction
Sid Meier's Civilization VII
Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV (Switch 2 edition).
The Switch 2 will feel like a PS5 in its early years due to the pricing and currently few true Nintendo IP Switch2 exclusives with the new Hyrule Warriors coming out later in 2025 but this is an successor to a 150 million plus system with one of the biggest libraries of games for a single console ever.
When the Switch 1 came out in 2017, it had no backwards compatibility with Wii U so it was a fresh start with very few games. Zelda BotW was the system seller along with Mario Kart 8 DX which came out late April 2017. Now in 2025, the Switch 2 has a new Mario Kart but also supports the fair majority of the Switch 1's 10,000+ library with some performance enhancements to classics including the 3D HD Zeldas, 3D Kirby and even upcoming titles such as Prime 4 and Pokémon Legends Z-A. Switch1 is still a very popular platform for physical copies of retro/indie games as it skips the mandatory install seen on both PS4/5 and Xbox One/Series consoles and has portability as a bonus.
When the Switch 1 came out in 2017, it had no backwards compatibility with Wii U so it was a fresh start with very few games. Zelda BotW was the system seller along with Mario Kart 8 DX which came out late April 2017. Now in 2025, the Switch 2 has a new Mario Kart but also supports the fair majority of the Switch 1's 10,000+ library with some performance enhancements to classics including the 3D HD Zeldas, 3D Kirby and even upcoming titles such as Prime 4 and Pokémon Legends Z-A. Switch1 is still a very popular platform for physical copies of retro/indie games as it skips the mandatory install seen on both PS4/5 and Xbox One/Series consoles and has portability as a bonus.
I won't be too surprised if Switch1 will still be selling games over on the eShop during the early 2030s with more retro themed titles/collections. The PS4 is still making new games 12 years after release with a fair majority being either FGC focused or digital only titles. I did notice lately that some retro themed games with physical releases are only coming out for the PS5 such as Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and Japan only Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced.
So when will Splatoon 4 come out and breed team joy-con2 mouse vs the team gyro veterans?
