Thoughts: 6 months of the Switch 2

My Switch 2 wrap up and some commentary on my experience so far.

In articles prefixed with “Thoughts” I share some ideas or commentary on stuff I have seen in the gaming industry / community rather than a review of a game. This time I am looking at the last 6 months of owning the Switch 2.

In my round up post of 2025, I mentioned that I wanted to wait for the Nintendo year in review / wrapped stats to land before I talk more about the Switch and how I have been finding it.

A year in review - 2025

While I have always been a handheld gamer first, the original Switch and I never really got on. I purchased one late in terms of its lifecycle, in early 2023 wanting to play the latest Pokémon games and Zelda BotW.

I played a bit while on holiday but then it sat there. My other half played a lot more, especially the two Zelda games and some Mario, but always in docked mode, which didn’t appeal to me. To be fair I was also deep in an Elden Ring hole, so maybe thematically I wasn’t jelling with the games I had the option to play. :D

But then this all led to me getting more into gaming, buying a steam deck, starting this blog, etc. I also started to follow the news of a new Switch and got one week 1.

So how does my playtime look and how have I been feeling about it?

The game time summary

I have tried several games on the Switch 2, most I wanted to get a feel for them, such as the Switch 2 update for Red Dead.

There are 3 games that stand out with a lot more playtime than others, however.

Zelda has a lot more playtime waiting, and there is potential to go back to Pokémon if they reduce the cost of the DLC drastically. Animal Crossing will always be there and in rotation, let’s be honest. :D

I am kinda happy that the games I am predominantly playing on the Switch 2 are games for that console if that makes sense. While it could also be a great indie gaming machine, I do have the steam deck for that. But I have played a few older indie games on the console and these run well. I’d love to get a physical version of Silksong and Hollow Knight for it. Maybe there will be a physical release soon.

Value for money?

Does anyone else look at the cost per minute of gaming? I don’t want to do that right now with that amount of hours on the Switch 2. :D I have a lot more to do and a lot more time to spend on it, and most importantly I am excited about it.

But I am happy with my purchase. I have a little trip planned in February consisting of a couple of long train journeys and I will be taking the Switch 2 for it. Since I bit the bullet and bought the dBrand Killswitch system for it (the joy con grips are fine), I love playing on it. It is so comfortable and it feels solid.
The screen is just that tiny bit bigger than on the steam deck and it does matter to me while handheld gaming.

Overall I love picking up the Switch 2 to game. I do find myself always having to charge it during a play session. Be that at the beginning or during it. Most Nintendo games seem to drain it reasonably well. Ha! But I can’t compare that to my experience with the Steam Deck, as I do tend to player older indie games on it, which really don’t use much battery juice.
And to be fair to the Switch 2. It does tend to deliver its advertised 2 hours ish of gameplay.

So when travelling I will bring my battery pack for sure. It is exciting however to see bigger titles coming to the Switch 2 and porting reasonably well. The newest Assassins Creed looks to be really playable on it, and considering that the screen is just that bit bigger on the Switch 2 than the steam deck it might be something I would consider playing on it. But for now I have a lot of Switch games to catch up on and I am excited to play more on it. It is easy to use and considering you can play the original Switch backlog on it too, you really can’t complain.

I do however wonder if people who have the Switch need to upgrade or not. I doubt you need to still but 2026 should see more Switch 2 exclusive. On Nintendo Life you can get an idea of exclusives so far.

Personally I am super happy with the Switch 2. But I am someone who plays a lot of handheld games and I have a lot of catching up to do.

Let’s see what 2026 brings in terms of gaming.

Did you get a Switch 2? Was it your first Switch device or did you upgrade?