Switch 2 Welcome Tour review: A fun but niche deep dive that didn’t need to be pre-installed

Depending on who you ask, Welcome Tour is either a $10 app that in an ideal world would have been preinstalled on every Switch 2, or the most egregious example of bare-faced capitalist greed ever committed to binary.

Being of the less sensationalist nature, I’m very much in the former camp. While it certainly would have been nice to have had Welcome Tour included in every Nintendo Switch 2 system, for only around a third of the price of the VGC book (if you’ll pardon the shameful shilling) it’s far from an insult.

Indeed, it becomes very clear after just a short time that Welcome Tour has had a lot of time and effort spent on it, and isn’t just some throwaway bundle of tech demos slapped together to make a bit more profit on launch day.

That said, while it would have been nice for Welcome Tour to be a free piece of software, I don’t necessarily believe that it should have been preinstalled on every console. That’s because this particular software is aimed at a niche selection of Switch 2 owners, providing a level of information that could be considered intimidating to those who don’t really care about the system’s inner workings.

Welcome Tour takes place in a museum shaped like an enormous Switch 2 and its accessories. With 12 separate areas to explore, you’ll be wandering around the surface of each Joy-Con, the Switch 2 unit itself, and the likes of the Pro Controller 2, Switch 2 Camera, Joy-Con 2 Grip and even the Joy-Con 2 Wheel designed for use in Mario Kart World.

At times you’ll even get to climb a ladder into the hardware itself, giving you the chance to have a simplified look at the internal features of the console and Joy-Con controllers without trying to find one of those impossibly small screwdrivers Nintendo uses to stop people opening up its hardware.

It’s here where the best argument can be made for Welcome Tour not being included as standard with all Switch 2 consoles. Although its title suggests a tutorial designed to get newcomers acquainted with the console, Welcome Tour is more technical than that, to the extent that younger players or those who only bought the console to play the next Mario game may be put off by how deep it dives.

“Although its title suggests a tutorial designed to get newcomers acquainted with the console, Welcome Tour is more technical than that, to the extent that younger players or those who only bought the console to play the next Mario game may be put off by how deep it dives.”

Yes, there are tech demos in there and many of them appeal to all ages. My daughter has been spending a (frustratingly) long time playing the Echo Generator demo, where she can say something out loud and the Switch 2’s (surprisingly impressive) microphone will either echo it back to her or convert it to a parrot, gorilla or robot sound. It’s hardly Clair Obscur, but as a demonstration of the capabilities of the hardware, it’s undeniably effective.

There are also a bunch of mini-games designed to show off the hardware in a more entertaining way. Each of these awards medals depending on how well you do, and while getting the required two medals for each is manageable enough, getting the secret third medal for each one for going above and beyond can be comically difficult for certain games. It’s fun enough to ensure at least some replay value, but you’re not still going to be playing Colour the Shapes or 4K Pixel Hunt months from now.

Much of the rest of Welcome Tour is catered more towards – for want of a better phrase – the nerdier side of the player base. If you’re the type who wants to know why the Pro Controller’s sticks don’t make a noise when you quickly move them all the way, or would be fascinated by an internal diagram showing the magnetic circuit created when the Joy-Con 2 controllers ‘lock’ to the console, Welcome Tour is for you.

It’s not the first time Nintendo has offered a peek into the engineering and thought process behind its hardware and software. The likes of Labo, Game Builder Garage and even DS game WarioWare D.I.Y. gave players in-depth lessons on every aspect of console, controller or game development, and Welcome Tour feels like a natural evolution of these, breaking down everything from the type of metal used for the new stand (7075 aluminum alloy, if you’re asking) to a detailed description of how variable refresh rate works.

For some, it will be too detailed. The fact that the Joy-Con 2’s mouse controller has a custom lens different from other mice – to account for the way the optional Joy-Con 2 strap lifts its sensor higher off the surface – won’t be of interest to most, and I dare say such an unnecessary level of explanation is exactly why Welcome Tour wasn’t built into the console at launch.

If buying a Switch 2 is the equivalent of going to see a Marvel movie, Welcome Tour is the equivalent of attending a Comic-Con panel – not everyone cares that much about the minutiae of how it was put together, but those who do will get a kick out of it.

“If buying a Switch 2 is the equivalent of going to see a Marvel movie, Welcome Tour is the equivalent of attending a Comic-Con panel – not everyone cares that much about the minutiae of how it was put together, but those who do will get a kick out of it.”

For the right audience, then, Welcome Tour is a fascinating look into the thought processes that went on behind the scenes at Nintendo as it engineered literally every aspect of the Switch 2 hardware and accessories.

By the time you’ve taken the few hours to get through everything it has to offer, you’ll likely know more about the inner workings of Switch 2 than any other console you’ve owned at launch. If the prospect of that excites you, it’s $10 well spent. If, however, you could care less that the Joy-Con 2 straps are made of fiberglass so they don’t snap, you can afford to skip this, affordable as it is.