Since its announcement, the Nintendo Switch has flicked on the interest of the gaming world. We know its official specifications. We have seen some hands on demo. Gamers are going crazy on looking for the best way to preorder the hybrid console. With the embargo now over, let's see what critics are saying about the Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo Switch Design
The public has seen Nintendo Switch from all angles and thanks to an error of a retailer, we've also seen the first ever Switch unboxing video.
"The Nintendo Switch's industrial design and build quality is easily the best thing Nintendo has ever put out, even accounting for the smooth simplicity of the Wii more than ten years ago," wrote Arthur Gies of Polygon.
TIME's Matt Peckham also praises the build of the $300-game console.
"It's important to note how durable and substantial Switch feels, an unostentatious but strangely beautiful carbon-black slate that's like a blue collar version of an Apple product-all the same "magical" design elegance, none of the pretension," he wrote.
Chris Plante of The Verge also compared the Switch to an Apple product.
"The tablet summons that giddy feeling I got from Apple's original iPhone, and long before both, Nintendo's own original Game Boy. It's beautiful, it's simple, and it feels a bit like magic. Nintendo has long encouraged players to step outside, and now they've made a home console that allows for that," Plante wrote.
Plante also noted that the detachable controllers do not release easily from the tablet.
While most praise the design of the Nintendo Switch, there's still some room for improvements as Kyle Orland of Ars Technica noted.
"The extremely thin and small Joy-Con controllers can be a little hard to get a solid grasp on when they're not connected to a controller Grip or the tablet system itself. The rounded corner of the controller ends up crooked in the very center of your palm, which has to offer most of the support as your fingers struggle to wrap around the tiny base," wrote Orland. "The one exception to that solid build quality so far is the extremely flimsy kickstand on the back of the unit. In about two days of frequent use, that thin, roughly one-inch wide piece of plastic has already broken off two times under normal use," he added.
Switch Battery Life, Gaming Experience, UI, And More
What the early reviewers can do with the Nintendo Switch is pretty limited, given most only have The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild to check out. The system, just like other modern game consoles, needs the Nintendo Switch Day One Patch to be fully functional.
"The Switch's UI and interface thus far is wonderfully minimalist and very fast. I would laugh at how revelatory it feels to put in a game card and be able to play it instantly. Bringing up the Switch's home menu within a game is instant, and there's no latency in navigating settings," Gies commented.
Peckham of TIME agrees.
"The game never ceases to function. There's no shuffling of save files, waiting for video streams to buffer, or rebooting of operating systems. You merely shift video outputs, a process simpler (and faster) than tapping the 'input' button on a TV remote," he said.
Stephen Totilo of Kotaku praised the ease of transitioning from one mode to another.
"That is damn impressive that you can pull the Switch from its TV holder and immediately have the game running on the screen that is now in your hands. The signal transfer is faster when you go from TV to portable mode," he wrote.
Orland adds the console's display and a resolution on the list of his pros.
"The screen's size and relatively high resolution means that elements like text, health displays, and button prompts can be both small and clearly legible. After years spent tolerating Nintendo portables with relatively low-res screens and big, pixelated graphical elements, the level of fine detail that can be held in your hands is a wonder," said Orland.
In terms of battery life, the general consensus of early reviewers is that Nintendo delivered what it promised. Playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, most of them was able to squeeze out two to three hours of game time.
Overall, the experts are saying Nintendo Switch has a great design, but one is yet to see its full potential depending on what the unreleased software will bring. The Nintendo Switch shows a lot of promise, but it's still a wait-and-see game.
