Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is a very odd launch title. It’s basically an introduction to the Nintendo Switch 2, from a hardware perspective, with a variety of mini-games and demos designed to show off exactly what the console can do. It’s a teaser of what’s to come, with a scattered array of quizzes, fun facts, and activities illuminating more about the console and its capability.
Functionally, it’s a very well-built game. In a minimalist world, you are a tiny being attempting to chart various giant Nintendo Switch 2 accessories – the console, Joy-Con 2s, the racing wheel, the dock, and so on. In each location, you can explore on the surface, and then within the surface, learning more about console construction.
For the curiously-minded, it’s a smorgasbord of cool facts. You can learn more about the Nintendo Switch 2’s gyro system, and the mouse mode of the Joy-Con 2s. Quizzes go in-depth into Nintendo’s history, asking you about the original Nintendo mice, and when rumble was first implemented. In segments, you’ll read a bunch of facts about the Switch 2, and then you’ll answer a short quiz for a brain-tickling “Full Marks” score.
As you roam, you’ll also unlock medals – which is really how Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour encourages you onward. Along the game’s map, you’ll find special stamps that unlock new areas of the game, as well as themed mini-games and demos. These chart a variety of mechanics, operating as fun, bite-sized examples of functionality.
In one mini-game, you’re encouraged to play a sort of ‘finger Twister‘ as you select various coloured circles on a map. If you can get all ten touch points sorted without removing your finger from the screen, you win three medals! In essence, this mini-game is all about demonstrating how the Nintendo Switch 2’s touch screen allows up to ten points of contact.
There’s also a fun little frame rate-testing game which asks you to select which frame rates are in action, from two options. Is the ball moving at 20FPS or 120FPS? Is it 30FPS or 60FPS? It’s a surprisingly instructive game that really illuminates the impact of frame rates.
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Elsewhere, you can play an adapted version of Super Mario Bros. that explores the nature of widescreen. You can use mouse mode to collect stars or avoid UFOs, and to solve a cool little puzzle with moveable blocks and shapes. You can shake the Joy-Cons like maracas, to reveal virtual beads inside, or a bouncy ball.
There’s plenty of novel ideas in these mini-games. That said, the excitement is somewhat dampened by their short nature. They’re essentially introductions to cooler, better games – hints for possible future applications that haven’t yet manifested.
It’s also worth noting many of these mini-games are presented in fairly dry fashion. In going for minimalism, Nintendo introduces you to a sparse world, where the interactive NPCs make generic comments about their excitement, and you spend much of your time reading walls of text.
There is substance in all this reading, and if you are curious about the technology backing the Nintendo Switch 2, this title provides an ample breakdown of every little decision and inclusion. It’s a wonderful piece of hardware history, and serves as an important artefact for console development.
That’s where the rub lies. It feels more like a textbook than an actual video game, and so Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour will likely only appeal to a specific subset of people. Those who enjoy learning about new technology. Those curious to know about the inner workings of the Nintendo Switch 2. Perhaps other console developers, or technologists, who want a look under the hood.
But as it stands, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is being positioned as a consumer-facing game, and one of two core launch titles for the Nintendo Switch 2. As many have pointed out, there’s little draw here for the average consumer, who would rather play a new video game than learn about how a video game might be made. If it were a pack-in title, it would be more of a novelty – a way to educate folks who want it, and keep Nintendo Switch 2 buyers occupied between bouts of Mario Kart World.
As it stands, it’s hard to recommend Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour as a paid title. With very niche information delivery, it’s a very interesting game, for some. But for everyone else, it’s a quirky oddity with few key draws to make its hardware breakdown feel essential.
Three stars: ★★★
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch 2
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: 5 June 2025
A copy of Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.
