What an info blowout that was. I was already sold on the Switch 2 from its reveal, what with their being a Mario Kart. But now Nintendo have shown that Mario Kart is expanding in a big way. Plus plenty of other, mostly third party releases, coming across the months from launch. A launch that will be on 5/June. Though pricing wasn’t in the Direct, the My Nintendo Store has shown off a price of £395.99 for just the console, or in a bundle with Mario Kart for £429.99.

Before I get to that Mario Kart, several features were highlighted across the Direct. The first being the mystery of the C button. It’s a game chat functionality, that’s pretty much Nintendo’s own built-in Discord. Called GameChat, it’s been said that the Switch 2 microphone can clearly pick up your voice, even in a loud room. Along with voice chat is screen sharing. Both of these can be used across different games, allowing hangouts to take place directly from the Switch 2.

A camera accessory will also be released that allows a person to just show their surroundings as they chat, or automatically superimpose themselves over the image of their game. The camera displays can even be used in-game, as seen with Super Mario Party Jamboree’s Switch 2 Edition. It’s an interesting feature to have straight out of the box, and is sure to bring people together without the need for third-party apps.

Game sharing is also a thing, letting local players only need one game among many to play together. Select games, such as Super Mario 3D World + Boswer’s Fury, will be gaining the GameShare functionality. The first to do so being 51 Worldwide Games. As said above, certain games will also be getting Switch 2 Editions, allowing for them to take advantage of the increased power and new features of Switch 2. They are paid upgrades, so it depends on if you want the extra additions.

There were a lot of technical details shared, such as the console having a 4k resolution and 120fps framerate. The internal storage for the console is also larger than the Switch, at 256GB. Improvements to sound are also a thing, with 3D audio being a thing. The dock has a built-in fan, keeping it cooler than just its own internal fan allows. Switch 2 will only support the faster Express MicroSD cards, so there should be faster downloads to more than just the internal storage.

For Nintendo games, I’ll start with the one thing I’ve been hoping for. GameCube on NSO Expansion Pack. Exclusive to Switch 2, it will be here on launch. Among the first games will be Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Soul Caliber 2, and F-Zero GX. Coming in the future are two games I have wanted to see officially return for many years now. Pokémon Colosseum and Gale of Darkness. A dedicated GameCube controller will also be available from launch.

Another surprise was the fact that Sakurai’s new game is a return to Kirby Air Ride. A lovely little trailer to announce it, Kirby Air Riders is bringing this classic back. How it will do so is unknown as yet, what with just a 2025 date given to it, but it is so good to see a new Kirby racer. This, plus the new Mario Kart and F-Zero GX on GameCube NSO, mean that there’s plenty of racing delights to find on Switch 2 in its first year.

Plenty were expecting a new 3D Mario, but there’s been something else long-rumoured. A new Donkey Kong game. One that takes the big ape on a 3D adventure where he can destroy the terrain, digging down into the ground or even using it as a weapon. Donkey Kong Bananza will be coming in July, a month after Switch 2 launches. Which clearly means there’s only one game this console could be launching with.

One more thing before getting to Mario Kart is one I’ve been hoping to see since Tears of the Kingdom released. If Breath of the Wild had a tie-in Hyrule Warriors game, it felt certain that Tears would, too. And here it is, known as Age of Imprisonment. A story showing more of what Zelda got up in during her time in Hyrule’s past, it’s looking to be an excellent time when it comes in the winter.

And so the launch game. Mario Kart World, as it’s called. Since, as expected, it is open world. That’s a huge world to be exploring, with many past tracks integrated into it. Along with many of the new ones. There’s many interesting things to note with this one, such as underwater driving no longer being a thing. Instead, the karts transform into boats, to drive over the water. Gliders are replaced with wings, though they seem similar in function.

I’m not going to talk about all the differences here, but the vehicles can also wallride and grind on rails. Grand Prix now involves more than just the tracks, as racers drive to the next race across this open world. Knockout Tour is a new mode that sees the last place racer eliminated after certain checkpoints across the races of that Tour. And, naturally, there’s free roam.

Mario Kart World feels like it will be the largest Mario Kart yet. Along with what I’ve already mentioned, it looks like there’s plenty of characters to be choosing from. Various costumes for them, too. Much more about Mario Kart World will be revealed with the game-focused Direct that will come later this month on 17/April. I’m happy with what has been shown so far for this. I’ll definitely be tuning in to that Direct later this month, too.

There were two other games Nintendo had in this Direct, but they felt small-scale tech demos than true games. Both of which centred on the mouse functionality of the Switch 2 Joy-Con. A wheelchair basketball game called Drag x Drive sees players performing the motion of using a wheelchair to move, with motion control to then handle the ball. It feels like it could be an awkward one to control, so I’d hope for more regular control schemes.

The other is Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which is something you’d expect to be part of the console. But no, this is a paid game that reveals a lot about the console in a quirky fashion. Testing out various functions, learning how parts of the Switch 2 operate, it seems like it would be a fun thing to mess around with. If it was available right from booting the console up. As it is… I can’t see it being remembered fondly by many.

For third party announcements, there was plenty here. Hitman: World of Assassination, Star Wars Outlaws, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and a whole lot more. IO Interactive also announced that Project 007 would come to Switch 2. Activision showed off some more of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4, teasing SpongeBob SquarePants content for the game. Shin’en are also bringing a new Fast game in Fast Fusion. Even Hollow Knight: Silksong appeared for all of two seconds in a sizzle reel.

Much of this Direct focused on the third party games, with Cyberpunk 2077 being one game to release alongside the launch of Switch 2. It feels like Nintendo wanted them to have the spotlight, show off what beyond Nintendo games can be found on the system. There will be plenty of time for Nintendo to show off more of what they have to offer in June. Or perhaps there might be a new announcement or two with the Treehouse Live events across the next two days.

This Direct showcased the Switch 2 greatly. New features, new games, and a whole host of third party support incoming. As said, I was already sold from seeing Mario Kart in the announcement for a day one purchase. But now, I get Mario Kart, a new 3D Donkey Kong platformer, and a new Hyrule Warriors. Plus everything I was already hyped for from the Switch Direct of last week confirmed to also have a Switch 2 version. As soon as 5/June arrives, I’ll be enjoying what Switch 2 can provide.

Images Taken From:
Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 | Nintendo UK