Oh boy, Nintendo, you’re doing that thing again where you kind of surprise us, but we’re not even mad about it. Like, how you show up at a party you weren’t invited to but somehow everyone’s happy you’re there. Weird, huh?
Nintendo’s been acing the whole console game-with-purchase thing forever. Remember Super Mario Bros taking over our lives with the NES? Or Tetris being our perfect little time-waster on the Game Boy? Super Mario World, Wii Sports… ugh, nostalgia. Anyway, Nintendo’s at it again, riding high on the Switch’s success wave, releasing this oddball gizmo, Switch 2 Welcome Tour. Is it a game? An instruction manual? Maybe both? I can’t decide… but it works.
So here’s the gig: when you want folks to love your shiny new console—especially if it plays well with the old one—you gotta show off what’s fresh. And that’s exactly what Welcome Tour does, bouncing around like a kid in a candy store. You’re out there collecting these virtual stamps—controllers, fans, dock ports, oh my! It’s like a scavenger hunt, and each thing you find unlocks something cooler around the console. Plus, there are these little factoids sprinkled in, quizzes too. Oh, and mini-games! Yes, those sweet teasers letting you know what this Switch 2 thing can really do. There’s HD Rumble—fancier than it sounds—and using the Joy-Con as a mouse… I mean, who thought of that? It worked surprisingly well, though navigating with my recliner’s armrest didn’t vibe as much. Hey, we can’t have it all.
Now here comes the snag. It’s both cool and not-so-cool that to max out Welcome Tour, you’re gonna need a USB camera and the fancy new Pro Controller. Ugh, more spending, right? But hey, I got through most of the game without them, so I’m not too salty about it. And because we love extra challenges, those medals in the mini-games? Yeah, they drive you to explore more stuff and ace high scores. Get ready to dive in when you need a break from… life, I guess?
First take? Welcome Tour’s got waaay more going on than my half-asleep self was ready for. It’s like a crash course in what the Switch 2 has up its sleeve. And I’ll admit, I’m sneaking back in for bite-sized doses of game and quiz chaos. I mean, the game teaches and amuses—kinda like a fun teacher that’s also cool with spontaneous dance parties in class.
The name says it all—it’s a tour, and somehow, it doesn’t wear out its welcome. Probably would’ve rocked as a pack-in game, but ah, we can’t have everything, can we? Manuals are snoozefest material… so yeah, Welcome Tour’s definitely filling a gap. Worth it? Totally. Now my console knowledge is up, my wallet’s crying a little less, and hey, I call that a win.
