Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour Is an Oddly Priced Tech Demo

Nintendo Switch 2 may largely be a larger, more powerful evolution of its predecessor (read our full impressions here), yet it introduces a host of enhanced and entirely new functions. Games including Super Mario Party Jamboree, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Drag X Drop use its camera, microphone and mouse features in different ways, but Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour appears designed as the clearest technical demonstration of Nintendo’s new hybrid console. I played Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour to find out how it compares with other games built to demonstrate the Switch 2’s distinctive features.

Exploring Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

In Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, you guide a miniature avatar across the exterior of a Nintendo Switch 2. You can stop at various kiosks to discover more about the hardware, answer quizzes and tackle minigames centred on Switch 2 features. One pleasing detail is that the avatar skates across the display, signalling that it has moved onto a smoother surface. While touring the Switch, you can magnify its buttons and triggers for a closer view of the console render, alongside snippets explaining how particular components work, including the Joy-Con 2 mouse sensors.

Nintendo Switch 2 features in minigames

I spent most of my session on the minigames. In one, I held two virtual maracas and had to meet objectives such as shaking them a specified number of times and switching from bead-filled maracas to one containing a rubber ball. HD Rumble is particularly effective in games such as this: the vibration genuinely changes according to what the virtual maracas contain. It is similarly impressive in On a Line, where you slide the Joy-Con 2 back and forth in mouse mode to identify the area of the screen producing the strongest rumble. Another game uses the mouse controls to steer a UFO away from falling spiked balls for as long as possible. Completing different tasks earns medals that unlock further games, while some challenges also offer tougher versions with extra requirements, such as collecting stars as you avoid the spiked balls.

New consoles with unusual gimmicks frequently arrive with enjoyable, compact software that neatly introduces the latest additions to your entertainment centre. Astro's Playroom showcased the PS5 DualSense’s capabilities, later receiving a sequel that claimed the 2024 Game of the Year, while the Wii was famously accompanied by Wii Sports. Both were free pack-in games for their respective consoles, offering players something entertaining to play while they learnt the functions of a new system.

A paid Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

Based on my time with Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, it is clear that it capably demonstrates the platform’s range of functions. Still, making it paid software is genuinely perplexing; it feels far more like an interactive manual than acclaimed pack-in titles of the past, such as Wii Sports and Astro's Playroom. I am glad to hear that it will probably cost under $10, though even that price seems excessive.

I had fun shaking the Joy-Cons as maracas to experience HD Rumble and using the mouse controls to evade spikes, but if I am paying for software that demonstrates my Switch’s new functions, I would prefer to receive a proper game as well. Nintendo may yet change its mind about charging for it, but if it does not, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour appears to contain many of the elements of the finest tech demos, apart from one: the price.