A year ago, I wrote my first article for Virus. The topic was Nintendo Switch 2, a console I bought despite all my rules about waiting for reviews, price drops, and the initial hype to die down.
At that time, I concluded that Switch 2 is not a revolution, but a logical evolution of one of the most successful consoles of all time. A year later, after dozens of played titles, several major exclusives, and a bunch of third-party ports, the question is simple: would I write something different today?
Honestly? Not too much.
Hardware that has proven to be sustainable in the long run
One of my biggest concerns at launch was build quality. Nintendo put that unfortunate protective film over the screen that scratched easily, and the dock managed to give me a mini heart attack in the form of a scratch within the first week.
Fortunately, the protective glass I applied practically right away solved that problem. After a year, the console looks almost as good as it did on day one.
The magnetic Joy-Con system is still perhaps my favorite hardware improvement. I don’t use it often since I play most of the time with the Pro Controller, but every time I snap the Joy-Cons back onto the console, that magnetic “click” remains just as satisfying as it was on day one.
There’s no drift, the battery hasn’t noticeably degraded, and the playtime ratio has remained almost perfectly split between docked and handheld modes. Whether on the couch or on a 4K TV, the experience is equally enjoyable.
The biggest surprise was not the exclusives
When Switch 2 launched, the biggest criticism was very simple: where are the games?
Mario Kart World was fun, but it didn’t feel like a title that sells the console on its own. Donkey Kong Bananza, Pokémon Legends Z-A, and Metroid Prime 4 were still on the way.
A year later, the situation is better, but I still think that Switch 2 doesn’t have that one defining title for the generation yet.
Bananza impressed me. If you played Super Mario Odyssey, you know roughly what to expect. Just replace Mario with Donkey Kong and add enough destruction to make building inspectors collectively faint.
I also liked Metroid Prime 4, although it divided the audience. After so many years of waiting, the expectations became almost impossible to meet, but I think the result is still a very good game.
The biggest disappointment remains Pokémon. After all that Nintendo owns in that franchise, I expected more.
Third-party support has become the biggest win for Switch 2
This is the part where I may have changed my perspective the most.
At launch, I was impressed with the hardware, but I wasn’t sure how seriously developers would really support the console.
A year later, the answer is clear: very seriously.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Resident Evil Requiem, Star Wars Outlaws, Final Fantasy VII, Pragmata, Indiana Jones, and numerous other titles have proven that Switch 2 is no longer just a “Nintendo console.” It has become a legitimate platform for modern AAA games.
Of course, there are compromises. Some textures are weaker, the resolution is lower, and DLSS often does the heavy lifting, but the fact that I can play such games on a device that looks like a slightly thicker tablet still feels somewhat surreal.
Resident Evil Requiem easily makes its way into my favorite games of the year.
And then there's Silksong, the perfect game for this device. Yes, the wait has lasted long enough for me to develop gray hairs, but it was worth it.
Boost Mode might be the best thing that no one has praised enough
A year ago, I complained that some old Switch games looked blurry on the new screen. Today, the situation is significantly better.
Boost Mode allows many Switch titles to run at higher resolutions and with better performance, practically using the old docked settings in handheld mode.
Returning to games like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or Fire Emblem Three Houses shows how big the difference can be. Games that once felt technically limited now look the way I always wanted them to look.
For someone with a large library of Switch games, this might even be more important than new exclusives.
Was I right?
Overall, I agree with myself (who would have thought!). Switch 2 is still not a revolution. I still believe it lacks a few major first-party “system seller” titles that would push it into a new stratosphere.
Still, everything I praised at launch has proven to be true. The hardware is excellent, the build quality is good, third-party support has exceeded my expectations, and revisiting old games today is better than ever.
I don't play it every day. Sometimes a week goes by without turning it on. Partly due to a lack of time, partly because I play and review a lot on PC, but I've never regretted the purchase. And honestly, looking at how hardware prices are only rising, I doubt it will soon become a cheaper entry into the Nintendo ecosystem.
At the moment I'm writing this, a new Nintendo Direct is just around the corner. Maybe Nintendo will finally pull that big ace out of its sleeve that I've been waiting for since the console's launch, or maybe it won't.
In any case, Switch 2 is only a year old. If Nintendo has taught us anything over the last few generations, it's that they often save the best cards for later.
