The big Switch 2 Direct aired yesterday, and there’s a lot to unpack. Let’s a go!

The Console

The console itself is what people expected, and it’s everything it needs to be. It’s basically a larger, more powerful version of the Switch, with some new quality-of-life features like a magnetic rail for the Joy-Cons (the old mechanical rail can be quite clunky). Honestly, it seems perfect. The dock has a built-in fan as well, so it will be even more powerful in docked mode.

They also talked about the new Joy-Con mouse feature. This has been rumoured for a while, and it was strongly hinted at in the previous teaser. But it’s still nice to get the official confirmation. It’s an awesome feature that both scratches Nintendo’s itch for innovation and has a lot of potential uses.

The mysterious “C” button, previously noticed in the leaks, had its grand unveiling. It’s a chat button used for video calls and online gaming (totally called it). The chat works using a built-in microphone on the tablet. Nintendo has had mics on their consoles before, but they’ve never been overly successful with it. Still, the technology has come a long way, the new microphone will be able to filter out background noises. I’m glad to see they’re giving it another shot.

Switch Online

Chat is a much-needed feature that was conspicuously absent from Switch Online. Xbox and PlayStation have had it for multiple generations. There’s also a camera accessory that can be used with the chat. It will even have some gameplay features and mechanics.

But that’s not the only update to Switch Online.

They’re finally adding Game Cube games to the Switch Online library (to go alongside the N64, Sega Mega Drive and more). People have wanted that for a very long time and I’m thrilled that they’re finally doing it. The announced Game Cube games include Luigi’s Mansion, F-Zero GX and the Wind Waker. I do wonder if this makes a Wind Waker HD port less likely; one of the few Wii U games that was never ported to the Switch. I guess we’ll see.

As with Switch Online’s other classic libraries, they’re releasing a new classic controller that can be paired with Switch. This time based on the Game Cube controller. This is generally exciting. The Game Cube controller is one of the best controllers ever made (it’s also the best way to play Smash). I noticed that they added a small left bumper, which is good. The lack of a left bumper was the controller’s one flaw. They’ve also added a chat button.

Updated Switch 1 Games

A host of Switch games are getting updated Switch 2 versions to take advantage of the new hardware. This can be done via a paid update if you already have them.

For most of the games, like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, this is chiefly a visual enhancement and performance boost (a welcome and amazing one). The new Pokemon game is included here, which might mean it actually runs and isn’t really laggy like the last Pokemon game (grumble, grumble).

Some Switch 1 games are getting a full-blown expansion, however. Mario Party Jamboree will be expanded with Jamboree TV, which uses the new mouse controls and camera. The 3D platformer Kirby and the Forgotten Land, meanwhile, is getting a new storyline called Star-Crossed World. Big fan of that (it reminds me of the Bowser’s Fury expansion for 3D World).

Metroid Prime 4, as expected, will be released on both consoles. And wow, does the Switch 2 version look good? 120 frames per second! You can also use the Joy-Con mouse feature to aim, which is cool. Mouse and Keyboard is probably the best way to control First Person Shooters. It somehow never occurred to me that Nintendo might use the Joy-Con Mouse to imitate this. How well it works, we’ll have to wait and see. But I’m optimistic.

Third-Party Support

There seems to be quite a lot of support for the Joy-Con mouse, even amongst third-party developers. Civilisation 7 was announced for the Switch 2 and confirmed that there would be mouse support. This isn’t surprising. Strategy games are one of the most obvious/intuitive uses for the mouse. Still very exciting to see it get confirmed.

On that point, the third-party support seems really strong. A lot of massive games were announced, including games like Eldin Ring. There’s even a new exclusive from FromSoftware, The Duskbloods. This is great news. Switch 1 didn’t have a lot of third-party support at first – too many developers were wary after the Wii U’s failure. For Switch 2, they’re getting in on the ground level with all-new games like Borderlands 4.

The Switch 2’s power level is helping a bunch here. Developers don’t have to massively downgrade their games for it, which often happened with previous Nintendo consoles. The fact that PS5 graphics are prohibitively expensive to develop is probably helping Nintendo here. It means that the Switch 2 doesn’t have to match the PS5’s power level to compete for games.

They also announced a new Hyrule Warriors game, a collaboration between Nintendo and Koei Tecmo. It’s a spin-off of Tears of the Kingdom that claims it will tell the story of the Imprisoning War. I say ‘claims’ because the last Hyrule Warriors game, Age of Calamity, claimed it would tell the story of Breath of the Wild’s Great Calamity. It did not. (I might be a little bitter about that).

I digress, the Switch 2 is going to have a lot of third-party support from the get-go. This will undoubtedly help to sell units. A console lives or dies on its game’s library, and Switch 2 is looking to have a strong one.

I was personally very happy to see a brief glimpse of the next Professor Layton game. I have a lot of fond memories of that franchise.

First-Party Games

The most exciting parts of any Nintendo Direct, to my mind, are the first-party Nintendo games. Though this time, the number of first-party game announcements felt strangely low, especially for a console launch. There were some, and they look great. I just thought there’d be more.

They announced a new game called Drag x Drive, which is designed around the Joy-Con mouse feature and looks pretty cool. They also announced a paid tech demo called Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which will have a few mini-games. Nintendo often has tech-demo-esc games (Wii Sports, Nintendo Land, etc), but they’re really emphasising the tech demo aspect with Welcome Tour. Having it be a paid digital game seems strange as well. It seems like something that should come preinstalled.

The star announcement was, of course, Mario Kart World. The Direct opened with the Mario Kart trailer and presentation. They’ve gone full Forza Horizon with it. It has an open world, and you’ll be able to drive and race between different tracks. They’ve also increased the number of contestants to 24 and added a host of new mechanics. In the trailer, someone drives into the back of the truck and gains control of the truck! They’ve also swapped out the glider and underwater mechanics for speed boats and jets (reminding me of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed). They’ve even got wall jumping. It looks amazing.

They’ve announced a new Kirby Air Rides game: Kirby Air Riders. That was a real wildcard but a welcome one. I’ve been playing a lot of Kirby Air Rides recently (I’m bad at it). Best of all, it’s being directed by the legendary Sakurai, the creator of Kirby and Super Smash Bros. He retired a few years ago, so this represents his triumphant return. It’s got me wondering about the next Smash Bros as well. Will Sakurai be directing? Or is he just returning for Kirby Air Riders?

I was dead wrong about a new 3D Mario game being the killer launch title. That role will be played by Mario Kart World instead. They did, however, announce a new 3D Donkey Kong Game. There hasn’t been a 3D Donkey Kong since the N64 and I’m always happy to have a new 3D platformer. So that’s great. Donkey Kong can apparently destroy and tear up parts of the landscape (I wonder how deep you can tunnel). I also got the impression that it will have an open world. But I can’t say that for sure.

There was a rumour that the 3D Mario team had been working on Donkey Kong (now seemingly confirmed). So, it could potentially be a while until the next 3D Mario is released. Still, I’m not willing to rule out a Mario announcement.

We don’t know anything about the Switch 2’s holiday lineup, so there’s likely a host of first-party Nintendo games waiting to be announced. Nintendo usually has a Direct in June, which is the launch month. It’s possible they’ll announce their holiday games then. I would be genuinely surprised if there isn’t a new 3D Mario on the way.

Regardless, the Switch 2 is shaping up to be amazing. It’s going to be a long wait for June!

-Dexter