James Lucas is an Executive Editor from Newcastle, England. They have written for sites like IGN, NME, GaymingMag, and VG247, with a special focus on FPS games, Soulslikes, and survival horror.
With 2025 now in the rearview mirror, we’ve come to the end of the Switch 2’s first year on the market, and in commemoration, players are looking back at their time with the console to reflect on what it does well, whether it was worth the wait, and if it’s a worthy successor to the legendary console that birthed it.
“Been enjoying your Switch 2s?” asked u/Straight_Bar_8815. “What are your pros and cons”?
A common thread throughout the comments is that the battery life simply isn’t sufficient for a handheld, running out of juice in less than two hours for some triple-A games, though new features like DLSS are a “game changer” for more modern releases. “The battery life is absolutely abysmal and annoying,” argued u/Tonymayo200. “All of these games you can sink dozens of hours into but you have to stop and charge every two hours when my old Switch OLED gave me at minimum double and sometimes even six hours of gaming time.”
Of course, key cards—which are what they say on the tin, a key to download the game—also crop up as a sore point. “I don’t like that third parties don’t know how to make physical media work with the console so they use those awful key cards,” said one commenter. “I don’t like key cards,” another put it bluntly. They’ve been contentious ever since they were first unveiled, with players saying they make the Switch 2 an “undesirable console to upgrade to”, and that it’s hard to justify buying third-party games on the platform because of them.
Many comments call for more 40fps modes as a balance between performance and quality.
Then there are those who are still disappointed by the LCD screen, arguing that a “lot is lost” in the transition from the Switch OLED model to the Switch 2, cynically suggesting that Nintendo skimped out for a future double dip when it inevitably releases a new model. However, some, like u/Keyan06, refute this, “You can’t really do OLED and VRR in a handheld with current tech as the APUs cannot be driven hard enough and you get weird visual artifacts in the darker part of the screen.” Luckily, for most, like u/mrmivo, it “isn’t a deal breaker”.
The Pros
As for the positives, commenters note that all they wanted was a better version of the Switch, and they got exactly that. “When the Switch 2 first came out I saw a lot of people complaining that it’s ‘just a Switch, but better,’ which I thought was kinda infuriating considering (seemingly) everybody and their mother wanted a ‘Switch Pro’ AKA a Switch but better,” said u/HarryxClam.
Curious about where the Switch 2 goes next? Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper Switch 2 coverage—hardware analysis, game lineups, performance insights, and community reactions that add context and clarity.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The games are another highlight, as commenters like u/Rawkhawkjayhawk muse that they’re “great”, but that there’s “not enough of said games to play”. Then again, in a matter of months, we’ve had new Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, Pokemon, Metroid, and Kirby games, with The Duskbloods set to follow next year. Hopefully, Animal Crossing joins that suite soon enough. But even if none of those tickle your fancy, several players point out that “Switch 1 games have been given a second life”, and that they’ve enjoyed revisiting the likes of Tears of the Kingdom through a new lens.
So, even taking issue with the LCD screen and shorter battery life, this thread sums up what a lot of Switch 2 players are no doubt feeling, that it was a much-needed refresh for the ageing hardware. It’s a decent showing for the console’s first year. Let’s see if it can keep that momentum going into 2026.
We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.
Please respect our community guidelines. No links, inappropriate language, or spam.
Nothing about key cards in the article, despite the headline?
2026-01-01 17:01:34
Strange, had a whole section on it in the backend. Just copy and pasted it back in, hopefully that works.
2026-01-03 07:55:00
James Thanks James. Nice article. I’m still not sure why Nintendo went the key card route. How did they justify it, despite it being pretty universally unpopular?
2026-01-03 16:00:09
Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
One of many strange decisions haha, the dedicated chat button that you can’t use without a subscription also confuses me.
2026-01-04 04:28:28
Bears_Wear_Hats The game carts currently only have a 64GB option, so key cards were developed so developers could have a way to put games bigger than that on the Switch 2 still have a physical retail presence. Without key cards, these games would have to be digital only.
The problem is that developers with games smaller than that still just use them anyway. Hopefully with the rumored 16 32GB carts on the way, we’ll see more developers use them instead of key cards since they’ll be cheaper for them to buy.
2026-01-04 23:08:45
Battery life isn’t the greatest. Average is 2 1/2 hrs. I find certain games like Mario kart or donkey Kong you have a little longer battery life.
2026-01-05 21:06:38
But… there are hardly any games *for* the Switch 2. Most are just Switch 1 games with Switch 2 updates. That’s the console’s biggest problem.
2026-01-05 08:24:34
It’s only been out 7 months and it has 4 full exclusives, along with 2 new cross gen titles. For the first 7 months of a console’s life span, especially these days where Sony struggle to get one out a year, it’s excellent.
2026-01-05 13:30:53
