Hands on Impressions: Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour seems too welcoming to not be included

Let's start with the elephant in the room right away. The fact that this tidy, elegant piece of software isn't included with the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware - as it's sold separately as a 10-buck purchase - seems not only offensive to many (more so when we have such examples as Astro's Playroom on the PS5 and its DualSense controller, or even Wii U's Nintendo Land), but in my opinion it's just a clumsy move when it comes to marketing and communicating the newborn console.

Yes, we will all play some Mario Kart World (find my impressions here) and Donkey Kong Bananza (my hands-on preview here) when someone comes over to try out the new system, but this is just so well thought out, so smart in the Nintendo way, that it just feels wrong to think that many will miss it and that it's not the demo title explaining the new Switch 2 features to just everybody. Not just veteran players and fans, who will find interesting details they actually might not now about, but I'm thinking also newcomers and especially kids, who could spend a lot of time here, and with an educational twist to it.

Now that I gave you my conclusions first, let me tell you that I played a little bit of the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour at the preview event. I, ehm, toured around by taking a walk with my Mini-Me avatar on the in-game representation of the system, gathered some info, and played some demonstrative mini-games.

The console, in its portable mode, is shown as a gigantic office building, with added staircases and escalators for easier traversal, and information desks dedicated to the different external and internal elements. My gameplay time was spent around the so-called Joy-Con 2 (L) Area, meaning I could learn more about the blue analogue stick, the digital directional buttons, the Minus button, or the HD Rumble 2 feature, among others.

Asking the different mini representatives makes further description windows pop up, with some being more like your typical, boring "tighten your wristband" warning screens in the Switch's UI fashion, and others being more fun and elaborated. There are even Quiz spots to make it all the more informative and engaging, but of course the best way to try out every feature is by playing a dedicated demo.

For instance, I stopped by the HD Rumble 2 Quiz spot to "learn more about the kinds of vibrations it makes, where it's located, how it works, and more", and after replying that I was interested, five different stations showed up around the L stick, each one providing more concrete insight and even a summarise with bullet points for easy learning.

I also "walked down" to check out the side of the controller as I knew there I would find some more on the brand-new Mouse Mode, and that is precisely what I did after checking out the new Release Button and the Mouse Feet, and after quickly passing by the redesigned SL button, which is now blue and larger for more comfortable pressing.

However, the mini-game to test your mouse skills wasn't placed next to its sensor, but on the surface of the L Joy-Con 2, beside the Capture button. "A mouse allows you to move your character quicker and more accurately than control sticks," the attendant told me in a tone that I read as actually charming, even if slightly patronising, as if I'd been born yesterday. "Let me show you I wasn't!" I thought, and there I was playing "Dodge the Spiked Balls (Survival Mode)", a simple yet challenging mouse mini-game where you have to do exactly what the title says, for as long as you can.

And I played, and I dodged, and I focused. And so much so, I reached that "all I see now is blonde, brunette, redhead" moment. And, you know, I'm no longer a hardcore PC gamer teabagging others online on twitch shooters, but browsing through the intricate Gamereactor backend has made me an ace at avoiding misclicks and nailing the right checkboxes when, say, publishing a video. That years-long training honed an incredible ability, one that stood tall before the awe of the growing number of journalists and representatives gathered at my station.

53 seconds dodging Spiked Balls. A new record of the day. Three medals on my first attempt. And I could've smashed even higher scores, had I not needed to play other games.

And what other mini-games or experiences does Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour include? Well, quite a few, with for instance an impressive, 1-2-Switch-like "Maracas Physics Demo" for you to "experience subtle vibrations", or even a "Super Mario Bros. 4K Demo" for you to "experience de vastness" of the expanded TV-output resolution with a 256-pixel wide NES screens that keeps growing larger and larger. All have a checklist of achievements in the form of the aforementioned Spiky Balls medals, a nice detail for completionists.

But this feels way more about the info and the fan service than about your skills. It's like an sponsored exhibition, like an interactive expo for the curious minds. The presentation is nice and clean, speaking to all audiences, while the 3D models recreating the console's components are clean and crisp, the viewing angles pleasing to the eye. It could even be seen as a sort of so-called "hardware porn", where you get tantalising, enticing takes on the hardware you just bought. A beautiful design I'd love to explore fully when the final version releases alongside the Nintendo Switch on June 5, a pity already that "alongside" here means "at the same time but separately" and not as a pack-in type of deal.