Okay, it’s a slightly over the top title… but it’s true. The Switch 2 has totally changed my brian when it comes to the sorts of games I play and how I play them.
It’s pretty remarkable, so I figured I’d write a post about it. See if it’s useful context for other people.
In a nutshell… the Switch 2 has the perfect combo of games I want to play, available in a physical way I can actually play them.
It’s such a big change it’s reshaping my gaming life… and parts of my home.
Lemme explain… Starting with the second bit… games available in ways I can physically play then.
The Switch 2 has a handheld mode which works when i’m laying flat in bed, laying across a sofa, or reclined in the buggy…
It’s not the first device I can play this way… but it’s the first one which has stuck. I think it’s the combo of performance, large screen, instant on & physical shape that makes it work.
The OG Switch and streaming games to my phone is small, fiddly and hard to read…
My ‘lay flat VR’ setup is cool. Using my Quest VR headset & PC streaming to create a giant virtual cinema screen works well… it’s easy to read… but it’s a massive faff to setup & not super reliable.
The Switch 2 just works. It’s not perfect, a little heavy and can often cause numb hands. But it works better than anything else I’ve tried…
It’s comfy… which means I wanna use it… and motivates me to go find games to play on it :)
There aren’t that many games I wanna play most of the time. For my main gaming setup, sat in the blue chair, my gaming time is super limited.
it ends up being all about confidence:
The Switch 2 changes all three in a huge way… it all started with Cyberpunk 2077!
After asking around online I was confident to give it a go.. I’d seen a few videos and it looked doable. Friends have played it too, so there’s help around if I get muddle.
With the ability to play it laying flat… I was confident I’d play it often enough to remember the plot… and confident I’d get enough playtime to be worth the price.
I downloaded it in late June and I’m over 100 hours in already! It’s been brilliant. It’s just works so damn well.
The Switch 2 has turned into my RPG & Adventure machine!
Within Cyberpunk I can match the gameplay to my ability.
Having a derpy evening, that’s fine. Go flop in bed and run around Night City looking for funky outfits and taking photos.
Waiting for my meds to boot in the morning? Also good. Lay across the sofa, go do a side gig or a NCPD scanner job…
Randomly got a couple hours of good seating time? Perfect. Use the cross progression feature and play it on the PC in glorious 4K… a good time to progress the main story.
I ended up rearranging my playroom so I could more easily play cyberpunk on the TV sat in my big blue seat.
It’s expanded my gaming so much it’s inspired more games. I pre-ordered Star Wars Outlaws for the Switch 2 because i could play it the same way… I’ve also just brought Portal, Portal 2, No Man’s Sky & a bunch of assassin’s creed games too. All for ~£35.
I’m confident I can play them in a way I’ve never been before & it’s affordable enough I can take the risk.
My gaming world is getting bigger. Quite literally, i’m so excited about gaming right now. With the Switch 2 I can play all sorts of new games easily. Expanding to the PC via cross play when something sticks.
Accessibility is so often about removing many small barriers… the Switch 2 has removed so many barriers it’s changing the way I think about games & gaming. I can’t really think of a better way to put it. It’s brilliant!
