Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour review (Image: NINTENDO)
The Nintendo Switch 2 is already proving to be a big success, selling a record-breaking (for Nintendo, at least) 3.5 million units in the days since launch.
However, despite some decent sales, the Nintendo Switch 2 hasn’t been without its critics, particularly when it comes to the pricing – both of the console itself and some of the first-party launch games.
On the one hand you’ve got Mario Kart World and its steep £74.99 price tag, and on the other there’s Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which most fans believe should have been given away for free.
While Welcome Tour isn’t particularly expensive, the Nintendo Switch 2 tech demo’s bland presentation and lack of fun factor makes it hard to recommend, even at £7.99.
READ MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 review – I got the new console and this is what I think
The big problem with Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is that it’s completely lacking the sense of playfulness we’ve come to expect from Nintendo.
It lacks the charm and colourful personality of most Nintendo games, especially when compared to previous console freebies like Wii Sports and the underappreciated Nintendo Land for Wii U.
It’s even more disappointing when you compare it to something like Astro’s Playroom for PS5, which has all of the character and creativity of a Nintendo game, and is available for free.
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour takes place on a giant Switch 2, which is separated into sections representing all of the console’s various components.
Players can explore each of these different components, reading facts about every major function, taking quizzes and playing mini-games that showcase the new features.
To highlight the new mouse controls, for example, players are tasked with avoiding falling spikes by moving the JoyCon around a flat surface.
Another game tasks players with identifying different frame-rates to demonstrate the new and improved screen, while one demo spotlights the haptics by using the JoyCons like a pair of maracas.
If these mini-games were presented with the usual Nintendo flair it would be one thing, but the presentation is so dour that you really won’t want to visit them more than once.
The majority of facts are presented in little text boxes, which means scouring every inch of the giant Switch 2 in order to bring up the information.
Then there are the dull quizzes, which kind of make you feel like you’re back at school.
You’ll need to earn medals, coins and stamps in order to move onto the next section and unlock further mini-games, which makes everything feel even more laborious.
It’s a shame, because some of the information about the console is genuinely interesting, and if handled correctly, the mini-games and tech demos could have given fans a glimpse about the console’s potential.
In Nintendo Land for the Wii U, fans were given a look at how developers could use the console to create asymmetrical multiplayer experiences that were unlike anything we’ve seen before.
Wii Sports, meanwhile, showed how the console could replicate real-world activities in a way that was so intuitive even your gran could join in.
HOW WOULD I IMPROVE WELCOME TOUR…
Far be it from me to tell Nintendo how to create games, but it feels like the developers could have made Welcome Tour a much more fun and engaging experience with just a few tweaks.
For starters, why not have players control Mario and friends in each of the different sections of the Switch 2?
Super Mario Question Blocks could have been used to display facts, while quizzes could have been presented in more of a game show format, with Mario Party-style presentation.
Classic Nintendo game demos could be used to demonstrate frame-rates, with players having to select the correct frame-rates at the end of each demo.
The maracas demo could have been a proper rhythm action mini-game, complete with a few different tunes to play along to.
I really wanted to like Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour and am shocked that it turned out to be so dull.
There are lots of interesting facts and information and facts to be discovered, and some of the mini-games have potential. I particularly liked the 4K Super Mario Bros demo, which expands as you make your way through the demo.
Unfortunately, however, these kind of experiences are few and far between, and it’s hard to recommend Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, despite its relatively small price tag.
VERDICT: 2/5