Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour - Switch 2 Review
"It’s not a game... but it is interesting"
The Switch 2 is here! It's got lots of new features, enhancements and tricks compared to its predecessor, and Nintendo wants to teach you about them. How? Through a walking tour of a giant console, obviously! So, would you like a tour? It's only a small entry fee for the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour…
The Good
Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour is described by Nintendo as ‘an interactive exhibit of sorts’. This unusual phrasing actually does sum it up quite well—your goal is simply to explore the incredibly detailed, giant model of the Nintendo Switch 2 and all its various peripherals and accessories. You’ll do this by combing every inch of the Switch 2 inside and out, playing minigames and tech demos, and reading little information boards about various hardware features accompanied by (extremely) basic quizzes.
The snippets of information you receive about the Switch 2 vary from marketing material to basic user guides all the way to detailed technical concepts and design considerations. These latter pieces can be genuinely interesting and made me appreciate some design choices and features that otherwise wouldn’t have crossed my mind. Once you get through all 12 areas, you’ll certainly have learned more than you ever thought you wanted to know.
The minigames and tech demos provide the majority of the gameplay. They each highlight one of the Switch 2’s features, though most focus on the mouse controls and HD Rumble 2. The minigames are diverting but shallow and vary in quality—some are basic (move the cursor through a maze quickly), some are surprisingly fun (a variant of Twister for your fingers on the Switch 2 screen or a mouse-controlled FPS), and some are plain silly (guess the frame rate or try to adjust the Switch 2’s stand to a certain angle). The tech demos are also basic but show off the Switch 2’s capabilities in an approachable and entertaining way.
The overall presentation is polished and has a certain charm, with the area populated by staff and visitors, and some funny writing and thoughtful moments to keep things going as you wander around this slightly bizarre game. ‘Game’ probably isn’t the right word. To borrow from Nintendo, it is an ‘interactive exhibit’ that I wanted to see all of.
TL;DR
- Some genuinely interesting information
- Charming presentation
- Some fun tech demos and minigames
The Bad
It is impossible to review Welcome Tour without touching upon the discourse around the price—depending on where you are, it costs ~ £8/$10/A$16. When comparing this to other ‘tech demos/console intros’—which is what this is—it obviously pales in comparison to PS5’s Astro’s Playroom or Wii Sports, both of which were free with the console and very much the gold standard of pre-packaged games. It feels more in line when compared to Nintendo Land for the Wii U or 1-2 Switch for the original Nintendo Switch in terms of charging for the experience. But those were both larger, full-price games—Welcome Tour is a strange middle ground of much less game for much less money.
Ultimately, I think we all agree this should have been free software with the Switch 2, particularly given the wider discourse around game prices—and I believe if it was, Welcome Tour would be being discussed in much more glowing terms. But with the decision made, the question is, do you get value for your money? That’s obviously a personal judgment, but I enjoyed the small, self-contained experience. I’ve spent £8 in worse ways, but in better ways too.
This isn’t a game that you’ll be coming back to again; even the best minigames aren’t going to keep you around for very long. There’s no incentive to 100% the game, such as you can—in fact, it's impossible to ‘true’ 100% the game without a 4k TV, the Switch Camera and a Pro Controller, all of which are required for at least one minigame. There’s a clear workaround for those who don’t have these items (after a patch), but you’ll only get 2 silver medals instead of 3 gold. So if you’re that sort of completionist—I mean, go play Mario Kart instead, firstly—but consider yourself warned.
‘Finishing’ the game only requires exploring the areas and finding all the stamps, which is the most basic part of the experience (and most frustrating part when you’re missing one somewhere). Harder levels of minigames and some tech demos are locked behind medal requirements, so you are obliged to play some minigames for the full experience. But if you aren’t engaging with the further info, demos and games, you are missing the point.
TL;DR
- Should really be a packaged game with the Switch 2…
- Full completion requires more hardware
- Stamp finding can get frustrating
- Minigames are hit and miss
Final Score: 6/10
As a tech demo / ‘welcome to the console’ Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is happily an 8 or maybe 9 out of 10 experience. As a separately purchased piece of software, though? It’s not a game—a lot of it isn’t really trying to be ‘entertaining’ in a traditional video game way—but it is interesting, charming, and provides some memorable individual moments in its tech demos and minigames. Some will justifiably baulk at the price tag, but those who do pick it up and take it for what it is will end up appreciating the Switch 2 just a little more.
Thank you for checking out our Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour Switch review, thank you to Nintendo AU for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:
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