Nintendo Switch Console Review
After months of waiting we finally managed to get our hands on the Nintendo Switch!
So was Nintendo’s latest console a hit or miss? Find out in our review below
Nintendo’s latest offering surprised with it’s power and the size of the unit, the Switch is tiny! Screen is beautiful and Multiplayer on the go is great! Zelda Breath Of The Wild is also one of the best games of all time and one reason why you should get a Switch to play it on the go!
Price:
With the Nintendo Switch being released March 3rd for £279 with just the Joy-Con controllers included many would think that it seemed expensive. I personally think the price is reasonable and being able to take such a powerful little console on the go is one of the many reasons why, this thing can be played anywhere and you have Multiplayer Built in with the two Joy-Cons!
It would have been nice if Nintendo offered a launch game with the console like 1-2 Switch but then most people will be buying the Switch to play Zelda anyway.
For £279 you will get the Switch Console, two Joy-Con controllers, Dock, HDMI Cable, Joy-Con Grip, Joy-Con wrist straps and an AC adapter. Accessories for the Switch is where things can get expensive, Joy-Cons can cost around £79 for a pair or around £42 each with the wrist straps around £5 each, with a recharging Joy-Con docking controller costing around £25. The Pro Controller will cost you around £65 each.
Protective Case Option:
The other thing you may need to invest in is a carry case, I personally opted for an all in one solution so I could take everything with me on the go. Check out my short video belew of the PowerA Messenger bag and what is included.
The case does include a hard backed carry pouch for the Switch tablet with Joy-Cons attached but don’t forget a screen protector as well as this case doesn’t include one but some other options do.
Build Quality:
The unit itself feels well made and looks great, the build quality of the dock included with the Switch is a little cheap looking but it does the job. There have been reports of the dock actually scratching the tablet when inserting onto the dock, looking at the dock on the inside you can’t help but think it needs to have something softer than the plastic that is causing the scratching. Users have also reported that stickers for the switch is a big NO as the stickers don’t react well with the Joy-Cons or the tablet itself and will damage on removal.
The kickstand on the back of the Switch feels very flimsy and majority of the time isn’t holding the tablet in the right angle to actually play and see it properly. Options are available for a dock that holds the tablet up and adjusts to move it more to your preferred eye level.
Design:
With the console being a bit of a master of all trades you have to praise Nintendo for the design, there is nothing else quite like it!
You can use it anywhere and with the Joy-Cons you have multiplayer on the go anywhere. In portable mode you have so many options, there’s a kick stand on the back of the unit to stand it up or you can attach the Joy-Cons and use it as a handheld console. I have found the portable mode slightly better on Breath Of The Wild, everything just looks sharper and no framerate drops compared to on the TV. On the TV it also performs well, Images are still sharp and the transition from portable mode to TV mode is instant, no need to pause or anything you can just pick the unit up and carry on playing.
Joy-Cons
The Joy-Cons design is where I find it doesn’t work well for me, the controllers are a little to small for me as I have large hands, the buttons are packed in very close to each other and can prove awkward to use at times, this isn’t to say they are terrible because for the size they are fantastic, but they don’t compare to the Pro Controller for comfort. If you don’t have the Pro controller or can’t justify the price, Nintendo do include a grip to put the Joy-Cons in and it does make them more comfortable to use but it’s the button placement I had problems with, the buttons are extremely small and I didn’t find having the control stick directly under or above the buttons helped. Please note if you have smaller hands you probably won’t have this problem at all.
The Joy-Cons feature some highly rated tech such as the HD Rumble, Amiibo support and Motion Control which I have tested a couple times in Zelda and Motion Controls are brilliant.
One problem some users are getting with the Joy-Cons are the left one losing sync and sometimes moving the character you are using without you touching the control stick, Nintendo are aware of it and have posted on the internet ways to try and stop it from happening. If you have been experiencing this problem click Here to follow the link for help.
Our review for the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller can be found Here.
Display:
The display is only 720p but it looks absolutely stunning! The colours and resolution look fantastic as well as having very little FPS drops compared to playing on the TV on Breath Of The Wild. Text is very clear and the Switches touch screen is extremely responsive. No web browser as of yet but hopefully it will be something Nintendo add to make it a complete all in one tablet.
Portability:
Having the Nintendo Switch is like having a super tablet that you can play Zelda on anywhere anytime, the switch is so compact it nearly will fit in your pocket! Buying a carry case make everything so easy to take with you and so little clutter.
The fact you can setup in minutes for multiplayer sessions anywhere really make the Switch one of a kind.
Storage:
With the Switch only including 32gb of built in storage you may think that will be a problem. If you plan to buy games digitally this will 100% be the case as some games will use half that storage in one go. If you plan on buying physical copies you shouldn’t have much of a problem.
Nintendo thankfully allow you to install your own MicroSD Card and will take up to a whopping 2TB’s! While there isn’t even a card this big available it’s good to know the unit will support this in the future. MicroSD Cards can be picked up fairly cheap but anything of a decent size can be expensive.
Battery Life:
Battery life is around 3 hours playing something like Breath Of The Wild which would be hard work for most computers let alone something that isn’t much bigger than an iPhone 7 plus! I feel being able to play Zelda for that amount of time is impressive and if you are not playing Zelda you can get up to a claimed 6 hours off a full charge!
Joy-Con Controllers are meant to last around 20 Hours after a full charge, I have used mine a fair bit and I am yet to have them run out. I find it hard to see a reason why they would anyway because once they are attached to the Switch they are charging anyway so always remember to attach them when you charge your Switch and they will never run out.
Online Services:
Online services were up and running on Day 1 thanks to the Day 1 Patch from Nintendo.
The eShop looks extremely bare with only a very limited number of games available, It feels very rushed as there isn’t even any background music from the eShop so hopefully this will massively improve in the future!
Once Mario Kart 8 is rereleased for the Switch online multiplayer will improve but there is a serious lack of games and Nintendo will need to make serious improvements to the online offerings to justify making user pay later on the year. Nintendo did announce they will be using a service like Sony and Microsoft, offering a free game every month the only difference is the game is only free for that month and when the month is up you will no longer own it or be able to play it. Silly move compared to Sony and Microsoft hopefully that will get retracted in the future and let you keep the game while you have a paid subscription online.
Release Titles:
One of the Switches major problems at launch and maybe into the future. Titles are very thin on the ground for the Switch March 3rd with mainly one game selling the console and that being Just Dance 2017! No i’m joking obviously Breath Of The Wild and I can’t help but think this console launch would have been a disaster without that game releasing on launch day. The other big titles were, Super Bomberman R, 1-2 Switch, SnipperClips, Fast RMX and I Am Setsuna plus a few other Indie games.
Many people bought the console for Breath Of The Wild, but with the Wii U also getting the game on launch day for some the Switch just isn’t worth the £330 unless you are desperate to play it on the go.
One thing I will say is Zelda Breath Of The Wild will be the best game you play for a very long time either on Wii U or Nintendo Switch its essential!
Future Titles:
Another thing here that will make or break the Switch, Very few titles of any significance are in the pipeline that actually have a confirmed release date. We maybe looking at 1 big game a month for the next couple of months with, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in April and Arms and Splatoon 2 hopefully in the near future. There are some very exciting games in production but Nintendo really need to start giving some solid release dates as most titles haven’t even got a release date to look forward to.
Verdict:
Great looking console with unbelievable performance for something so compact and portable, the Joy-Cons can be awkward at times but provide multiplayer on the go built in with the Joy-Cons included from purchase. Accessories can be expensive but nothing essentially needed. Zelda Breath Of The Wild is fantastic on the go. The main issue and question will be, will the switch get the games it needs to make the console an ongoing success, only time will tell….
Score:8.5/10
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