I think Nintendo played it very safe with Switch 2 - but that's not a bad thing

The highly-anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 has launched across the world and gamers are keen to tear open the box and get the console set up as quickly as possible - if they haven't done so already.

Unusually, Nintendo has just straight up called this the Switch 2 - no SNES, Wii-U or 3DS confusion here, it's clearly a successor to the Switch.

This is very indicative of the route Nintendo has gone down with the new console.

It's undeniably more of an upgrade rather than something completely new and revolutionary with Nintendo seemingly playing it very safe - and on first impressions, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Nintendo Switch 2 consoles have now launched worldwide / Jake Brigstock, indy100

The original Switch launched in 2017 and has gone on to be the third best selling console of all time with more than 150 million units sold, sitting just behind the Nintendo DS and PS2.

It really changed the landscape of gaming as players can play a game docked to their TV and then seamlessly carry on playing the same game on a handheld if they're on the go.

There are now a lot more competitors in this market because of its success, such as the Steam Deck, and it's led to a surge in gaming companies thinking about how they can successfully ensure their games can be made available everywhere. Xbox seems like a perfect example of this with its focus shifting to Game Pass and its 'This Is an Xbox' campaign.

With the Switch and this concept proving such a hit, Nintendo has understandably not wanted to veer too much away from what made the original Switch so successful, instead refining the experience with the Switch 2 with new features, better performance and a bigger screen.

Setting up the console is incredibly easy. There's an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide to setting it up once the console is booted up for the first time. It walks through setting up the console itself, dock and even getting you familiarised with different ways to play.

Accounts, data and saves from an original Switch can be transferred really quickly and all the games from the original Switch appear on the Switch 2 ready to download.

Once you get to this part, this is where it becomes apparent (if it hasn't already) the Switch 2 is evolution, not revolution.

The system's UI (user interface) is very similar to the original Switch - just with more colourful icons around what you've selected. For those that updated the Switch with the latest software shortly before the Switch 2 launch, the layout and tabs are pretty much identical.

The Switch 2 UI is very similar to that of the original Switch / Nintendo

The new dock offers a welcome bump up in picture quality and performance over the original Switch. The Switch 2 can now run at 4k at 60fps with HDR too and it simply looks great. Games such as Mario Kart World look amazing and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Switch 2 Edition is simply a cut above on the new console. Loading times across the board are much quicker too.

In handheld, stating the obvious, the console is bigger. It's heavier than the original Switch too. The bigger 7.9 inch screen can run 1080p and up to 120fps and it looks amazing up close. That means bigger Joy-Cons too which is incredibly welcome as they feel less fiddly, even though it's a shame they're not as colourful this time around which is something that's synonymous with the original Switch.

Having said that, the Joy-Cons themselves are a noticeable improvement. The HD rumble feature is great and they can now be used as a mouse, giving you an extra option of how you want to tackle certain games and offering entirely new experiences for console players.

Playing around with it in Cyberpunk 2077 for a while, it was fun to experiment with, but as a console player it didn't take me long to revert back to what I knew and felt more comfortable with. I did a similar thing when trying out Metroid Prime 4: Beyond at the Switch 2 preview event in London in April.

This feature will likely shine in modes and games where mouse controls are the only option, such as Drag x Drive and dedicated minigames in the snappily titled Super Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV Switch 2 Edition which were incredibly fun to try out at the preview event.

Nintendo very kindly sent a Pro controller to try out too and this is my preferred option when playing docked so far. HD rumble, which is included in the new Joy-Cons, is a feature here, along with the C button, GL and GR buttons that can be remapped and a headphone port.

With battery life, Nintendo gave a broad spectrum of saying it can run anywhere between two and six-and-a-half hours depending on what games are played. I charged it up fully and then played a few Mario Kart World Grand Prix with other games downloading in the background.

Within the first half-an-hour, the battery life depleted by 20 per cent. One Grand Prix with downloads running in the background brought it down by about 15 per cent. With background downloads running while playing, I managed to make it to the two-and-a-half hour mark - just.

Admittedly, this is quite an extreme example and games won't be being downloaded in the background all the time but it's probably best to ensure the Switch 2 is fully charged before taking it anywhere. There's a welcome setting that allows you to charge the battery to 90 per cent instead of 100 to preserve its life longer term.

It's great to see games such as Cyberpunk 2077 initially running as advertised on Switch 2 / CD Projekt Red

Internal storage here is an absolute and necessary game changer. The Switch 2 comes with 256GB of internal storage, way up on the original Switch's 32GB.

It gets tiresome having to select which games to uninstall and install to save space. Thankfully, at least at launch, the Switch 2 alleviates some of that with that storage. This might not be the case going forward for long though as one Switch 2 game can take up around a quarter of this so a microSD card would be recommended for those who like to keep their games installed.

On that note though, as well as the first-party titles that are releasing, the third-party games that are releasing on Switch 2 are incredibly encouraging. Who would ever have thought Cyberpunk 2077 could run on a Switch 2 at launch? It's great to see Split Fiction available too.

Because of the added power and increased storage of the new console, it makes it a much more attractive and realistic proposition for third-party developers to release their games on the Switch 2. Huge titles, such as GTA 6, may be too big for the Switch 2 to handle still, but it's nevertheless encouraging that more top quality games could be releasing on the console going forward.

The vast majority of existing Switch games are backwards compatible, some even with free Switch 2 downloadable updates. Of the Switch games in my library I downloaded and spent some time on, I had absolutely no issues whatsoever. It felt amazing to be able to play some of my all time favourite games, like Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age, on a bigger handheld screen too.

Backwards compatibility works absolutely fine from what I've experienced so far, such as Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age / Square Enix

Nintendo has really gone to town on promoting GameChat, a brand new feature that allows you to use voice chat and video chat with friends, as well as share screens and play games together.

Nintendo also sent the official Switch 2 camera across and it works great. It's really easy to set up, just plug a USB-C to USB-C cable into the camera and the top of the console, and you're away.

I had the chance to try out GameChat with a couple of other reporters and a Nintendo tech advisor and we played a Mario Kart World Knockout Tour together.

In all honesty, it was really good fun. It's funny seeing people's reactions as Mario Kart-ness happens to them in real time. (Needless to say, I won and gave it the big first bump at the end.) I can't wait to check this out more with friends.

The console's inbuilt microphone is actually pretty good too. Inbuilt microphones can usually be pretty questionable but this one sounds good. Everyone could be heard really clearly at all times. You can tell Nintendo has put a good amount of effort into this.

GameShare is a new feature that lets players share compatible digital games with other consoles, even if others don't own the game themselves. This makes it much more inclusive but is not something I've managed to try out yet.

Virtual game cards allow you to organise your game library more easily. It's a handy tool but doesn't feel essential in the slightest as games can still be seen and accessed in the 'view more' section at the end of the homepage.

The Nintendo Switch 2 definitely feels like an upgrade more than something completely new. Nintendo knows it didn't need to completely reinvent the wheel for the Switch successor to be a success and that's quickly made apparent.

But the original Switch is that good, and the improvements and new features work so well, that the Switch 2 initially feels like a very welcome and incredibly successful upgrade.

Elsewhere from indy100, a new James Bond game called 007 First Light gets an explosive first trailer and Samsung is reportedly already "pushing" Nintendo for Switch 2 OLED models.

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