Switch 2 Welcome Tour is another wonderfully weird Nintendo mini-game collection
Welcome Tour provides a fun introduction to Switch 2 – if you’re willing to pay for it
There’s been a lot of debate over Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour’s $10 price point, and whether Switch 2’s introductory mini-game collection should’ve been bundled with the console for no additional cost.
Whether you think it’s worth the small cost or not will, of course, come down to your personal preference. Outside of that debate, Welcome Tour appears to offer another weird mini-game collection in the style of Clubhouse Games, which demonstrates Switch 2’s unique hardware features and provides a selection of score-chasing distractions for those settling in to the next generation.
Welcome Tour breaks down the Switch 2’s features, explains to the player how everything works and demonstrates this through a series of mini-games. Players control an avatar from an isometric view, on top of a gigantic Nintendo Switch 2 console that’s been set up like a museum exhibition, complete with reception desks and staff manning various activities.
Watch our Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour gameplay…
Players start off on the left Joy-Con 2 controller, and must collect stamps by exploring its various features, such as the analog stick, D-pad and minus button, which in turn will unlock another area of the console to visit. In each section, you’ll find NPCs who will share trivia about how the Switch 2 console works, and even challenge players with a quiz.
Most importantly, players will discover various demos and mini-games that utilize Switch 2’s various features. One game, for example, requires players to use mouse mode to control a spaceship and avoid falling obstacles. Another has you guessing the frame rate of a bouncing ball, and another requires you to complete level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. in pixel-perfect 4K, with the tiny stage slowly unfolding across your television.
It’s an enjoyable introduction to the Switch 2 console, with the various games demonstrating the creative flair we’ve come to expect from Nintendo’s smaller experimental projects. As you progress, you’ll even visit inside the Switch 2 hardware, suggesting we might learn some quite intricate details about how the console was designed.
There’s evidence here, however, that there’s enough of that brilliant ‘weird’ Nintendo playfulness to justify its small purchase price, and I’m personally looking forward to unlocking all of its mini-games, and learning more about the Switch 2 console, when we all get the full game later this week.
