Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is a crushing dissapointment given the pedigree of developer going into this. I am frankly baffled that a developer like Nintendo would think that any of this was a good idea. Slightly above average mini-games presented in a corporate wrapping that has all the appeal and flare of a wet school trip in the middle of November. I know this will seem hyperbolic, but this is probably the worst Nintendo game I have ever played.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is an interactive introduction to the new console’s features - the concept is fun and very Nintendo, but the execution feels dull at times, making the experience feel like doing chores.

It's mildly amusing to rattle Joy-Con like maracas, but a Nintendo table setter should strive to be better than 'mildly amusing'. And that's the strangest part here - Nintendo has not failed with Welcome Tour. It has succeeded in its ambitions. But if the Switch 2 is to match its predecessor, those ambitions had better grow, and quickly.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour works fine. It’s totally functional and educational. It just isn’t fun in the same way games like Nintendo Land and Astro’s Playroom are.

In short, Welcome Tour seems designed more to highlight USB ports and air intake vents than give us a game. The climax of our tour sees us trapped inside our new machine, running laps and poking into every corner, praying we'll find the last stamp to open the exit. At this point, one question about Switch 2 remains: Nintendo, how did it come to this? [Issue#413, p.123]

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is more of a tutorial than a game. Instead of a fun introduction to the new console, it offers presentations, quizzes, and unnecessarily drawn-out content that feels like corporate e-learning. While the technical details are occasionally interesting and a few mini games briefly entertain, the whole experience fails in its most important role – to excite players about the new generation of Nintendo Switch. It should have been free. And it should have been shorter, snappier, and most of all, more fun.

A sleek but ultimately pointless release. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour feels more like a paid interactive manual than a game—dull, uninspired, and lacking the fun we expect from Nintendo.

A bizarre attempt to celebrate the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 in the most boringest way possible, with a limp collection of unentertaining minigames made even duller by suffocatingly clinical presentation.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is not an enjoyable experience in the least, but it does have a few redeeming qualities. The giant-sized versions of Switch 2 hardware looks cool, and there is more to do than expected. Someone that wants to get 100% will have to buy a couple of accessories and spend a decent chunk of time mastering the mini-games and taking all the quizzes. It's not exactly my idea of fun, but I suppose it's something to do while waiting for more exciting Switch 2 exclusives to land on the platform.

Whereas the Switch 1 had games like ARMS and 1-2 Switch to show off the new tech, NS2 Welcome Tour carries the burden of being somewhere in the middle-ground of those and a free tech demo. If it was a free pack-in, this would've felt like an entirely different experience. But alas, it is unfortunately its own thing, and it's a thing that I hope does not become commonplace.