Letting that inner child loose remains at the heart of Nintendo. The Japanese tech giant is well versed in creating those giddy experiences that leave you grinning from ear to ear, with the type of family-friendly ventures that stick with you for a lifetime (Mario Kart 64 anyone?). It’s a standout position, which bucks the hyper-realistic trends of its competitors.
You’ll be pleased to hear then that the Nintendo experience remain unchanged with the Nintendo Switch, and in the same way the Wii pushed gaming convention aside back in 2006, the Switch is again leading the way at the forefront of console evolution.
Nintendo Switch review: Console
Versatility is the name of the game with the Switch, and then some. This a console like no other, and by plonking the full console experience in the palm of your hands, Nintendo is hoping to create a whole new genre of machine. It’s a portable home console at its core, but blurs that once firm line between couch gaming and on-the-go play.
And if you were worried about how the Switch manages the switch between living room and mobile gameplay, there’s no longer any need to be concerned, because Nintendo has nailed the experience, and in spectacular style.
If you’re sitting at home and want the proper big screen experience, just plonk it in the TV dock, grab a controller and it’ll be a TV-connected console. Heading to work? No biggie, simply lift it out, slide the pair of controllers into either side of the Switch and you’re all set to play Zelda on that otherwise tedious train journey.
Moving from the big screen to its surprisingly bright 6.2in 1,280 x 720 display is seamless. There are no load times, games don’t pause to reload at the different resolution – they’re just there, ready to go, whether you’ve just docked or undocked the console.
It’s certainly true that the Switch is a bigger beast than the 3DS and it weighs more, too, but it’s by no means unwieldy.
Nintendo Switch review: Joy-Con controllers
Those dinky little controllers on either side are called Joy-Cons. The stars of the show, they slot in at the sides of the tablet for on-the-go goodness, or the Joy-Con Grip when you’re at home, but they can also be detached and used separately for some co-op action in supported games.
Each one is a controller in its own right, and comes complete with the usual analog stick, four action buttons and a pair of shoulder triggers, plus a gyroscope and accelerometer internally. Now, those diddy controllers do sit nice and snug in my small hands, but the buttons might feel a little cramped if you’ve got larger hands. They’re wonderfully light, though, which is just what you need from a controller you’re expected to waggle around.
What I was really impressed with, though, was the Joy-Cons’ “HD Rumble”, which produces intriguingly subtle haptic feedback flourishes during gameplay. This is no vague rumbling: it’s so sophisticated that you can feel even the subtlest movements of virtual balls buried inside the controller should you give the Joy-Con a little shake.
Nintendo Switch review: Games
The console itself impresses, but the lineup of games that will be available at launch is a concern. If it wasn’t for that system-selling Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there’s not much to get your teeth into.
Other than Zelda, there’s the mini-game-infused 1-2-Switch, which seems too much like a freebie than the fully-fledged £40 title it is. I enjoyed playing it at the preview event, with some silly cow milking head-to-head action thrown in, but to me it feels a bit too much like a glorified tech demo to be taken seriously. It does use those intriguing Joy-con controllers to great effect, though, so should Nintendo keep 1-2-Switch afloat with added mini-games after launch, I might be convinced.
There is a trickle of titles making their way to the new system in 2017. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a port of the Wii U version with all the extras, is coming in April while shooter sequel Splatoon 2 and 3D platformer Super Mario Odyssey arrive later in the year. Nintendo is playing the long game here, and there should be plenty of games to play come Christmas. For the time being, though, it’s slim pickings. Nintendo really needs to get to work on a solid Switch lineup.
Nintendo Switch review: Early verdict
I was unashamedly pessimistic before heading off for my lengthy hands-on time preview session with Nintendo’s Switch. Those unimpressive headline figures like that sky-high price and non-Full HD screen left me feeling pretty disappointed. But once I finally picked up those splendid Joy-Con controllers, my cynicism fell away completely.
There was a moment while milking a virtual cow (I wouldn’t make a good farmer) when I realised there’s simply no company quite like Nintendo. Everything I once loved about console gaming, way back in the days of the Nintendo 64, came flooding back to me. Only Nintendo could have done that.
It may not be as flashy as the PS4 and Xbox One, or as powerful, but those fun-filled family-friendly competitive gameplay experiences will stick with you far longer than one more lens flare or water reflection. And in the end, that’s all that counts. I spent five hours with the Switch on a snowy Friday morning, and could easily have spent five more.
Stay tuned for my full Nintendo Switch review in the very near future.
