TheNintendo Switch 2is off to a slow start withMario Kart Worldbeing the lone stand-out release in the system’s first month, butDonkey Kong Bananzaand the followingSwitch 2 exclusiveswill hopefully bolster the platform by the end of the year. Great games are the least of the worries regarding a Nintendo platform, though. I’m more skeptical of the Joy-Con 2 consistently being put through its paces, and it seems like there’s a strong chance the Switch 2 will follow in the footsteps of thePlayStation 5.
Much like the Switch 2 being asuper-charged Switch, the Joy-Con 2 is a rather straightforward upgrade over its predecessor. Aside from the C button’s return to accommodate GameChat, the two major changes in function are magnetic couplings usurping the Joy-Con’s rails and the addition of an optical sensor so each half can be used like a computer mouse. I prefer the Joy-Con 2’s magnets, but that has very little bearing on gameplay.It’s the mouse controls I’m worried aboutgoing the way of some DualSense features.
Joy-Con 2 Mouse Controls Are Surprisingly Incredible
Ergonomics Could Use Some Work
Looking for a chance to really try out the Switch 2 mouse controls, I gotCivilization 7, and have been pleasantly surprised by the results. When I first got my Switch 2, I messed around with the mouse controls on the system menus, and while the idea is very clever, I felt it may ultimately be a gimmick.PlayingCiv 7has completely changed my mind.
It feels bizarre to say, butthe Switch 2 could be a wonderful destination for strategy games.Civilization 6broke the series' console barrier years ago, and many other strategy games do a passable job with their console ports, but there’s always a sense that the experience is compromised by not playing on PC with the utility of a mouse. The Switch 2 version ofCiv 7does not feel compromised at all.
There are some ergonomic concerns for sure: the odd shape of a Joy-Con 2 half on its side takes a bit to get used to, and if you have especially large hands, I can see that being an issue. But I’ve now been dragged into multiple, many-hours-long sessions ofCiv’s notorious “just a few more turns” trap, and havevirtually no issue with the Switch 2 mouse controls.
They work on my coffee table, on my end table, on the couch cushion, and even on my bed. When I think of other use cases, though, there’s only one other than strategy games: bespoke experiences for the mouse controls likeDrag x Drive.I’m worried the Switch 2 mouse controls will suffer the same fate as the DualSenseon PS5.
DualSense Features Other Than Haptics & Adaptive Triggers Are Underutilized
The DualSense is a foil to the Joy-Con 2 – they have similar issues (potentially), but the DualSense’s more recent innovations are the ones being used consistently. Many games take advantage of the DualSense’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, the two upgrades from the PS4’s DualShock 4. What the DualSense has taken a step back on, however, isthe utilization of the touchpad and gyro.
To an extent, this is a continuation of a problem started during the PS4 era. The touchpad has long been used as a glorified extra button in the center of the controller, and gyro never really caught on (even when the PS3 introduced the Sixaxis) outside of people who see its benefits in aiming. But I can’t help but think of particular examples, likeKillzone Shadow Fallusing directional swipes on the touchpad for four different inputs, orInfamous Second Sonhaving you hold the DualShock 4 one-handed, turned 90 degrees, and aim it like a can of spray paint while you tag walls in-game.
Nintendo has actually pushed the use of gyro aiming the most, with that being the definitive control scheme for playing high-levelSplatoon.
Such features have been left almost entirely behind in the PS5 generation;onlyAstro Botcomes anywhere close to taking advantage of the DualSense’s full suite of capabilities. Scrolling the mini-map and placing pings with the touchpad inHelldivers 2is the other sophisticated use of it that comes to mind, but even that is just an alternative to the traditional button controls.
I Hope The Switch 2 Mouse Controls Don’t Become A Forgotten Gimmick
There Are Hurdles To Overcome
The mouse controls being forgotten would be the obvious outcome if they were just okay. What’s been surprising so far is just how well they actually work – once I got used to the shape and found a hand-placement that works, it’s just like using a computer mouse. I can see more strategy games finding an audience on Switch 2, and I desperately wantSwitch 2 mouse controls inBalatro, butI’m worried that’s where the uses will stop: straight translation of the PC experience.
Drag x Driveis the poster child for bespoke experiences using the Joy-Con 2 mouse controls, but it doesn’t strike me as the so-called killer app I’d like to see. It’s very clever, and raising the profile of wheelchair basketball is a heartening side effect, butI haven’t met anyone really itching to get their hands onDrag x Drive. I think it will release, get some praise for its ingenuity, and then fade and become an oddity that’s looked back on from later in the Switch 2’s lifespan.
Civ 7proves that there are some interesting things to be done with the mouse controls, especially when you consider the other half of the controller you can hold in your other hand (you can use the left joystick to navigate the map inCiv 7).The onus was on Nintendo to show the potential of its new controller, and I don’t thinkDrag x Drivewill do enough to convince the industry it’s a unique control scheme worth exploring.
There are some obvious issues, the first being that if you do anything only possible with a Joy-Con 2, you’re locked to one platform. You also have to consider that the mouse controls require a surface, which severely limits the Switch 2’s portability. TheNintendo Switch 2mouse controls aren’t as potentially ubiquitous as the DualSense’s touchpad is, and that makes me worried we’re repeating a missed opportunity from thePlayStation 5.
Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 is the successor to Nintendo Switch, scheduled for release in 2025. Confirmed as backwards compatible, it will play both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. A full reveal is pencilled in for June 22, 2025.
