Nintendo Switch 2 hardware hands-on impressions - what I liked the most, and the least

I'm now sitting on a plane about to take off after spending the morning at the Nintendo Switch 2 Premiere event in Paris. In other words, all that I have experienced with the new system, its games, and its peripherals, remains quite fresh, but settled enough to share with you after some reflection. If you want to read about games first, please go here for my Metroid Prime 4: Beyond impressions, and here for the Mario Kart World preview, with Donkey Kong Bananza and more to follow shortly after.

So, how does the new console look and feel? With the Switch2Gate leaks galore Nintendo suffered in December and January, you already knew about most of its features, whereas its January reveal plus yesterday's Switch 2 Direct more or less completed the official aspects, specs, release details, and more. So this won't be the place for me to talk TFLOPS, crazily overpriced software, or in-depth game-specific insight. This is where I share how I felt personally with the different components, including some interesting findings. And to give it some contrast, let's talk the good as well as the bad.

I liked: It feels light!

The Nintendo Switch 2 as a handheld console stroke me as surprisingly light the very first time I picked it up. I'm used to my good 'ol OLED model as of late, and the Switch 2 actually felt lighter. It is not, if my numbers are correct, so it's more of a feeling, perhaps having to do with the balance of weights, or with how its screen, at 7.9", is almost an inch larger than the OLED panel, but believe me the half a kilo felt like somewhat less.

I liked: Good non-OLED screen

Coming from the aforementioned OLED screen I was expecting this to be THE downgrade, as in the only thing feeling or looking worse when compared to the 3.5 year old update. But it is not that noticeable, with the added size, the decent brightness for LCD, the good blacks, the convincing colours, the HDR support, and the 120 Hz refresh rate, not to mention the increase in pixel count from 720p to Full-HD 1080p, which means great pixel density for the size. Don't get me wrong, I expect a Switch 2 Premium model in the future with an even glossier and shinier OLED screen, but the few games I played popped from the screen and filled it with grace. That being said, I spent way more time in Docked TV mode for video and impressions convenience.

I didn't like: Little upgrade to system menu & interface

From what we saw on the Switch 2 Direct and the little shown during the Premiere event, it looks like the UI will remain pretty much the same. "When something works, don't change it", right? Well, yes, but even if I came to appreciate the cleaner, non-clustered home menu of the first Switch when coming from the service-filled, smart-TV-like showcases of either the PS5 or the Xbox Series, I was hoping a bit of a rework here to make it more efficient and fresher to the eye. Of course, we'll have to wait until launch in June and see.

I loved: The magnetic detachable system for the Joy-Con 2

I wasn't sure about this when it first leaked, now I'm sold to this smart solution, even though we'll need to see how it endures the test of time. It simply works comfortably, in a very pleasant manner, and for what looks like a sturdier, more resistant result. No more wobbling, I hope, but just the gesture itself is so easy to perform that it renders the good 'ol Switch 1 Joy-Con slide quite clumsy, frictional, and uncool. Detaching the controllers from either the Switch 2 console/screen unit, or from the Grip adapter, is as easy as pressing the now quite big release buttons for them to get loose. But the more pleasant sensation is when attaching them to the system, with any effort or friction, just nearing them to the magnets to see them click as if you were using the Force. A slightly different sound, but the renewed satisfying trademark Switch 2 gesture after all. Oh and the additional straps are also much easier to plug/unplug, thankfully.

Check out how the magnetic Joy-Con 2 work in this video:

I loved: The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller could be the best gaming controller I've ever tried

As simple as that. I had played everything either with the two Joy-Con 2 controllers attached to the handheld console, separate standalone, or attached to their included Grip accessory, with the results I'll comment below. But then! When the turn came for Hades 2, I picked up the Switch 2 Pro Controller and... oh my God(s). The softness of the taller, incredibly smooth sticks, the clicky feeling of both the face buttons and the D-Pad (only way I'll play Street Fighter 6 by the way). The ergonomics, the shape, the design (I'll personally go for the black and white variant). The HD Rumble 2 distributed around the unit, the added GL and GR buttons you didn't know you needed until you give them your middle finger (literally). The stereo minijack. This controller really is a game changer and to me already feels better than the Switch Pro Controller, the beloved Wii U Controller, and also the DualSense and the Xbox Controller. BUT! And what a but...

I didn't like: Where. Are. My. Analogue. Triggers. Nintendo?

It was one of the things I was naively hoping they would fix with the new console. Perhaps they were too fragile for the Wii U, or the Switch given kids mistreat it, or too nonsensical for the split Wiimote-Nunchuck controls, but why abandoning the standard altogether?! And this hurt even more the moment I picked up the NSO Gamecube controller (which now includes C, Home, and Capture buttons on its top edge) to play some of my beloved F-Zero GX. The irony! Nintendo had the longest-traveling analogue triggers, and now they're nowhere to be found, killing the gradual precision some games and genres require. And now I'm an it, while I like those GL and GR customisable buttons in both the Pro Controller 2 and the Joy-Con 2 Grip, why don't you add them to the Joy-Con 2 now you're at it? This way you're preventing them from becoming a system feature, damned to be something occasional.

I liked: The more ergonomic Joy-Con 2 controllers

They can't compare with my new love above, but they're quite close to a regular controller, both attached to the machine, to the Grip, or standalone. They got the message we needed bigger sticks and buttons, more resting area for the fingers, and also bigger ZL, ZR, SL, and SR. And as a bonus, both the newer HD Rumble 2 and the upgraded gyro sensors are more accurate and nuanced. Together with the mouse capabilities and the range of motion-controlled actions, they come as impressive upgrades. With time, we'll have to check about drifting, a problem Nintendo can't allow themselves to repeat.

I didn't like: Mouse controls when you need complex actions

Please refer to my aforelinked Metroid Prime 4: Beyond impressions for more info, but TL;DR, I don think I'll play Mouse mode for long sessions, less so if it involves pressing both ZR/R (as they would be your regular mouse buttons) and any of the ABXY face buttons (as would be for a traditional mouse side buttons). It felt better when I tried out Drag X Drive and Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour later, instead of Samus' more hardcore experience, but it's clear that the shape of the Joy-Con 2 controllers can only work for so many uses. They work pretty nice as vertical controllers clicked or moved, they work much better than before in NES mode sideways, and they can work for a little while in this third invention, but it is a bit of a stretch to be honest. How could a single same shape nail it for such a left-fielded approach?

I liked: Faster load times

Yeah, I didn't measure loading times, but I saw several games load, and you could tell they're using much faster memory this time around. It happened with both Switch 2 Edition games such as Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, or Mario Party Jamboree, but also with new games such as Mario Kart World (remember how long it took for the Wii U to load tracks?) and Donkey Kong Bananza. It was a much needed, much requested improvement, and I can't wait to try downloading, installing, and running much more software to confirm what could be a leap in terms of UX for those coming from the original Switch.

I have no idea: The Nintendo Switch 2 Dock and what it adds

As I said this is based on my experience alone. On paper I appreciate what the Dock 2 says it does. The 4K output, the fancy buzzwords Nintendo isn't used to such as alternative 1440p (2K) and VRR, the fan to cool down all this... But the thing is I couldn't mess around with the new Dock 2 itself as they were untouchable, waiting to just be beholden behind a protective glass together with the rest of the hardware pieces and peripherals. Are the cables now more manageable? Does it get too warm? Are the different ports easy to reach? Is it kinder on the Switch 2 unit when you land it or lift it from the Dock, preventing from scratches? I guess I will have to check out for my full Nintendo Switch 2 review...

I will update this if something else comes up by reviewing my hands-on notes on the different games, or if you ask questions in the comments below, but this is for now how I feel about the Switch 2 hardware. And one takeaway: this is one of those cases where something changes completely in person, in close quarters, mostly for the better. Videos and pictures don't do justice to many of the things discussed here, so if you're interested, try and give it a go before deciding your purchase.