Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour: a successful Switch 2 tutorial that really should be free
10.6.2025
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Pictures: Domagoj Belancic
Get to know Nintendo’s new console with the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. This mix of tutorial, tech demo and mini-game collection succeeds for the most part – still, I can’t recommend the paid download.
Sometimes, I don’t understand Nintendo. With Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, the Japanese company has developed a successful hardware tutorial that every new Switch 2 owner should play.
This makes it all the more incomprehensible that Nintendo is selling the «game» as a paid download, not as a free game included with every Switch 2. Despite exciting ideas, the game just isn’t worth the price of 10 francs or euros.
How does Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour feel to play?
To call Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour a fully fledged game would be an exaggeration. The experience can best be compared to an interactive museum visit. As a nameless human character, you explore a huge Switch 2 and accessories such as the Pro Controller or the Switch 2 camera.
Graphically, the game remains simple, but works regardless. Its minimalist style goes well with the design of the Switch 2. Walking around on the hardware I’m holding does feel a bit surreal. All the little characters look like ants making their way through the console’s electronics.
Three types of interactive stations are spread throughout the Switch 2 museum: high score-based mini-games, interactive tech demos and quizzes. The more stations I complete, the more medals I receive. I can use these to unlock further stations.
There are also hidden stamp stations to discover, usually hidden next to important hardware elements such as buttons, connections or ports. Only by finding all the stamps in an area can I travel to the next exhibition. I’ll admit, wandering around aimlessly in search of invisible stamp stations can get on your nerves after a while.
Mini-games fluctuate between bland and ingenious
In the mini-games, you get to know the unique control elements of the Switch 2. You can use a Joy-Con 2 controller as a mouse, play around with the motion sensors or feel the precision and power of the new rumble motors for yourself.
Most games consist of several levels. With each additional level unlocked, the difficulty and level of complexity increases. Unfortunately, you first have to fight your way through some rather basic mini-games before getting to the really exciting bits. I also think it’s a shame that the majority of games are designed for the new mouse controls. A bit more variety here, please.
Here are some examples:
In Dodge the Spiked Balls, you dodge falling bullets as a UFO, controlling your flying saucer with the mouse. What starts out very boring (one UFO, a few balls) later escalates into a really cool hardcore bullet hell mini-game. You control two UFOs with two mice at the same time and have to collect stars along the way. Pure chaos.
Touch Ten demonstrates how the Switch 2’s touchscreen can register up to ten touch points simultaneously. In this mini-game, you have to touch and hold different coloured dots one after the other, kind of like the party game Twister, only with your own two hands.
In Stunt Driving, you control a car with the right Joy-Con in mouse mode. Moving the controller, the vehicle changes lanes. If you tilt it, the car drives on two wheels, avoiding obstacles and collecting boosts. What a cool idea!
In contrast to the mini-games, the tech demos are more relaxed. Here, you examine aspects of the hardware that can’t be translated into a high-score game mechanic. I experienced the console’s DLSS capabilities, used headphones to check out the new 3D sound chip and played around with the built-in microphone. The demos are a nice way to pass the time, but rarely produce a wow moment.
Between «Wow, that’s awesome!» and boredom
Nintendo is a secretive company, which is why I’m all the more amazed at the exciting information Nintendo reveals in Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. Across the numerous quiz stations, the company provides deep insight into the development process of the Switch 2 on information boards. No really, I mean deep.
I particularly love the level of detail with which various aspects of the Switch 2 hardware are highlighted. Never in my life would I have thought that Nintendo would explain to me in a game how the Nvidia chip in its console works, why the magnetic connectors of the Joy-Con 2 controllers are virtually indestructible or how the ventilation systems in the handheld and dock work.
Not only do you learn a lot about the system, you also learn to appreciate the numerous technical refinements and design considerations. It’s astounding how modern technology works!
It’s also cool how honest Nintendo is. The game almost apologises for the Switch 2’s poor battery performance. And it admits that the OLED screen of the predecessor has richer colours.
Time and again, the information boards at quiz stations also take a detour into the company’s past. The game often references classic Nintendo hardware and compares it with the current state of the art.
Unfortunately, these exciting snippets of information are accompanied by tedious quiz questions. Once I’ve read all the information on one aspect of the hardware, I’m tested with pretty stupid questions and even stupider answers. It’s fun the first few times, but it gets boring pretty quickly.
In a nutshell
A successful introduction to the Switch 2, but not worth the price
I enjoyed my time with Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. Over about eight hours, I played my way through various mini-games and tech demos, learning plenty exciting facts about the Switch 2 and Nintendo’s past. If, like me, you don’t want to read everything and don’t have to crack every high score, you’ll finish the title in just over two hours.
Regrettably, the game feels artificially stretched despite its short playing time, filled with bland mini-games, annoying fetch quests and boring quizzes. As a paid download, I’d only recommend Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour to passionate Nintendo fans who really want to take a look behind the scenes. If you aren’t interested in the technical intricacies of the console, deduct another star from my rating and give this paid tutorial a wide berth.
Pro
- Exciting info about the Switch 2 manufacturing process
- Simple yet successful visuals
Contra
- Mini-games sometimes lacklustre
- Unspectacular tech demos
- Tedious fetch quests
Domagoj Belancic
Senior Editor
Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.chMy love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.
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