Review of the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

I’m gonna be honest, when Nintendo said something about the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour being a launch thing, my curiosity got the better of me. I mean, they were talking about what sounded like an instruction manual you play through with little games, quizzes, and a whole showcase of the Switch 2 tech. Weird, right? But hey, if anyone could somehow make that work, it’d be Nintendo. But, get this, instead of slapping it in the box as a freebie, they decided it’s gonna cost ten bucks. Yep, ten dollars. Suddenly, my enthusiasm did a nosedive. Still, I figured I’d keep an open mind. Sadly, it wasn’t even worth the low bar I set.

So, imagine you’re trekking over huge Joy-Con controllers and whatnot. That’s where it kicks off—massive versions of the new Switch stuff. Kinda throws back to Astro’s Playroom on the PS5, except this here is, hmm, let’s say a snooze-fest that they charge you for. Unlike the fun-filled Astro, this one’s got about as much excitement as watching paint dry, and yeah, ten bucks for the privilege.

The little games they packed in here are… how do I put this delicately? Well, like WarioWare but on a diet. You’re in and out of them in no time, probably forget you even played them. Oh sure, as you go, they try to spice things up with more complicated versions. Like, there’s a game where you dodge spike balls—thrilling, I know. And if you earn enough medals or something, you unlock, wait for it, a version where you also grab stars. Doesn’t exactly crank up the fun meter, let me tell you.

Oh, and everything’s super reliant on these Joy-Con mouse features. Some bits try mixing it up—a touchscreen thing here, adjusting your console stand there. But then suddenly, surprise! You need extra accessories. Just one more way this thing screams, “Buy more stuff!” A couple of special games demand you shell out for extra controllers and such, which makes no sense at all. I can hardly keep up with the fancy lists they have you checking off.

Now, one puzzler sticks a lock on the game unless you have a Pro Controller or some camera. Cool thing, though, other USB-C cameras can work. But don’t get too excited—the camera part was a nightmare to start. I fiddled with it forever, and finally, it decided to cooperate. The Pro Controller game was buggy too; it kept acting like I was pressing buttons I wasn’t even touching. I mean, come on.

There’s also some stuff they hide behind needing a 4K monitor. Like, what is this even supposed to be?

The mini-games are hit or miss, mainly miss. But the tech demos that are ironically not games have flashes of actual creativity. One… okay, yeah, one was kind of fun. You hold the Joy-Cons like you’re on a motorcycle, twisting ‘em like handlebars. Here, you kinda feel the HD Rumble doing its thing. There’s potential there—if they’re ready to seize it.

Tired of games? Let’s move on to quizzes. So educational, except when you realize they’re a drag. The quizzes peppered about are supposed to teach you about the Switch 2. At first, it’s fun trivia. Then it’s textbook dull. I found myself ducking and diving around them to keep the whole experience from completely drying out.

In the end, this whole game is just a walkabout looking for stamps – literal stamps – highlighting different parts of the Switch 2 hardware. Grab enough, and you move on to the next area. Riveting, huh? No challenge, less joy.

So should you throw away ten bucks on this? Hmm, how about a hard no. Maybe if Nintendo handed it out for free, I’d call it a curiosity. But paying to play what’s essentially a marketing ploy for their accessories, nah, man. When you’re poking around a Joy-Con wheel area, and there’s an NPC begging their kids to want one so they can justify buying it… it’s not just dull now, it’s starting to feel a bit shady.

The whole thing, three hours maybe, unless you’re tangled up with some camera issue like I was. Three hours of looking at big hardware models and pretending to have fun until something better, like real Switch 2 exclusives, come out.

I mean, there are slivers of interest—it looks kinda cool and there are things to do if you’re patient or super committed. But I was just grinding through more out of necessity than anything. Here’s hoping Nintendo just ups and gives us real games to sink our teeth into soon.