Review Roundup: The Nintendo Switch Is A (Very Solid) Work In Progress
After a dip in form with the Wii U, Nintendo is back with a new console: the Nintendo Switch, in stores this Friday, March 3rd.
Playable as a tablet (with attached or unattached controllers) or as a home console, the Switch promises seamless transitions between home and portable play. Is Nintendo back in the home console realm? The review embargo dropped this morning — here's what critics have to say:
As A Portable Gaming Device, It's Aces
If there's one area where the Switch excels largely (though not entirely), it's as a portable gaming tablet:
Though Nintendo marketing seems intent on describing the Switch as a home console that it just so happens you can take with you, I've found myself using the system as a portable much more often than on the TV… The system goes from its power-sipping "standby" to "actively playing a game right where I left off" in about three seconds, making it incredibly easy to pick up and put down as needed. I've highlighted the quality of the Switch's 6.2-inch, 720p screen for portable gaming in previous pieces, and the quality display still stands out after just over a week with the system.
[T]he Switch doesn't match the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 in power, but it does best the Wii U and pretty much every portable gaming machine out there (except for high-end tablets). The result is a machine that feels like a small upgrade for Nintendo's home consoles but a major step forward for a handheld device.
But as enjoyable as the portable experience is, don't expect it to last very long on this battery:
As you'd expect, battery life is the Switch's biggest portable problem. I was only able to play Zelda for around two and a half hours before I needed to recharge…. Since it charges over a USB-C port, though, you should be able to juice up easily with typical battery packs in sleep mode… You might have trouble charging from some sources while playing Zelda, since the system would technically be using more power than it takes in.
[Engadget]
As A TV Console, It's Essentially An Upgraded GameCube
The Switch feels much more familiar when it's docked to a TV. As soon as you slip the Joy-Cons into the Grip accessory, there really isn't a huge difference between the Switch and Nintendo's previous consoles. As a former Gamecube owner, I also felt a bit of nostalgia holding the Joy-Con Grip. It's similar to Nintendo's excellent Wavebird controller in your hands, even if the two gamepads don't look much alike.
[Engadget]
Much like the GameCube failed to do, the Switch probably will not beat out Sony's PlayStation or Microsoft's Xbox in terms of visuals:
Games run well on the Nintendo Switch, surpassing any expectations I had in that department, though it's not capable of the same visual standard set by its competition in the home market.
[CGM]
It's also plagued by some thoughtless design problems:
The most glaring is that there is no way to lay the system on its side while docked, which is particularly irritating given that the game card slot, headphone jack, headphone volume controls, and power button are all along the top of the system. If you, like many people, keep your consoles in an entertainment system of some kind with shelves, there simply isn't a convenient way to get to any of this stuff… If you wanted to opt for some premium wireless headphones, you can't because there is no optical port on the Switch. There's no LAN port either.
[IGN]
The Joy-Con Controllers Are Cool — When They Work
The detachable, motion-sensing Joy-Con controller is the most experimental part of the Switch — which can either serve as a single controller, or split into two — and as with many experimental features, it's a mixed bag:
[F]ascinatingly small controllers that slide into the Switch itself, the Joy-Con Straps, or the Joy-Con Grip with the most satisfying "Snap!" sound imaginable. Never before did I imagine how much I'd love a small controller, but the way the Joy-Con disappears into my hand when held separate from the Switch feels fantastic.
I often found myself in the middle of a quest in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild when a favorite show was coming on, so I simply attached the Joy-Cons and played on the couch while half-watching TV. It's a flexibility we simply haven't seen in a game system before.
But the controllers are dogged by connectivity issues when not connected to the portable console:
The Joy-Con are a nifty idea, though they don't always work as well as I would've hoped. For starters, I simply haven't found them very comfortable. I find that the buttons are oddly placed and the thumbsticks feel small and overly flippy… I've also run into a frustrating issue where the left Joy-Con momentarily loses tracking and stops responding to my inputs… It appears to be an issue with a body part or other object blocking the Joy-Con's view of the docked console… This should not be an issue for a game controller in 2017, and it's pretty annoying.
[Kotaku]
The issue was not isolated to Kotaku's unit; among others, WIRED's Chris Kohler found the issue to be a "showstopper" (not in a good way):
The left half of the Joy-Con controller simply won't stay synced to the console. Either it's connected but severely laggy, so button presses either register late or not at all, or it simply drops the connection. It's a total showstopper. I cannot play Switch on the television—not unless I buy an optional "Pro Controller" for $70, that is.
[WIRED]
The Number Of Games Available At Launch Is Disappointing
If you're planning to spend the next couple months totally immersed in Zelda: Breath of the Wild, then you might not notice anything. But if you want to try out some other games and ports of older Nintendo games, prepare for a wait.
This could, if Nintendo doesn't play their cards right, be the Switch's unravelling. One of the major reasons the Wii U flopped was because it doesn't have great games unless you are a hardcore Mario fan. What will happen when people complete Zelda? 1-2-Switch can only be so entertaining and really requires many people to be involved. The same goes for Just Dance 2017. Snipperclips looks fun, but not exactly an AAA game to run home about.
Many of its most appealing games, from Splatoon 2 to Super Mario Odyssey, won't be available for a little while. Even a port of the Wii U's 2014 Mario Kart 8 won't be out until late April.
[Kotaku]
For what it's worth, you might actually just spend months in Zelda, because it's awesome (and appears to have a world twice the size of Skyrim's):
If the entirety of Breath of the Wild maintains the beauty and variety seen in its opening hours, it will be a strong contender for the best Zelda game of all time. I say this fully aware that any new Zelda game comes with a hefty dose of hype and anticipation. Throw in a console launch on top of that, and you wouldn't be blamed for sounding the hyperbole alarm.
[GameSpot]
The Jury Is Still Out On The Switch's Online Capabilities — Because They Don't Work Yet
By far the roughest part of Nintendo's rollout of the Switch has been it's online capabilities:
[T]here are still several major lingering questions around Nintendo's online strategy. As of this writing, we still haven't gotten access to the Nintendo eShop or any games beyond Zelda and 1-2–Switch. We don't know how online multiplayer will work, or how we'll add friends, or how we can share images on places like Twitter or Facebook, or even how to connect to public hotspots that may have a login page. The Switch, notably, won't have a web browser. It won't have Netflix, either, making it one of the few connected devices left in this world incapable of streaming Orange is the New Black.
What's it like to set up a Nintendo account online, or migrate your existing account over to Switch? Don't know. How's the experience of buying software digitally? Can't say. What about finding online friends and communicating with them? No idea. Online multiplayer gaming? Haven't the foggiest. All of these things are quite germane to a review of a piece of personal technology in 2017, but Switch doesn't do them yet.
[WIRED]
TL;DR
The Switch throws a lot of ideas out there. Some work great (the portability), some are promising but flawed (the Joy-Con controller), some are frustrating (the battery). All in all, as Engadget puts it, "it does so much right, and yet it's not a slam dunk."