Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour Impressions

There has been a lot of discourse around the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour experience on Nintendo Switch 2, some of it warranted and some of it not. In an effort to not bury the lead, this was an enjoyable experience overall by both myself and two of my kids. I would argue the $14.99 CAD price tag isn’t all that crazy for the amount of time you’ll spend with the game. The problem here is that there are too many “buts” to consider.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is your one stop shop for all things Nintendo Switch 2. Are you curious how the new rumble features work? This game will explain them to you. Want to know how the mouse controls work, and how Nintendo implemented them into the Joy-Con 2? This game can tell you that too. For those who haven’t been consuming every ounce of Nintendo Switch 2 content over the past few months, this is a great way to learn about the console you just purchased, and all the cool features buried deep beneath its plastic shell.

This experience is also equal parts informative and fun. The minigames here are generally fun to play, and working towards a perfect score – collecting all the medals you can earn – will take some work. One particular game has you dodging falling spike balls using mouse controls, and getting all three medals is so much harder than you might think. There are games for all the cool new features, including a bunch that look at these mouse controls. The miniature golf mini-game was a highlight of mine.

When you look at what is available in the game and you look at the price exclusively, there isn’t anything here that should make people upset. Yes, the content you get will be worth the investment you make, especially for less “hard core” Nintendo gamers. For parents who might have bought one of these for your younger kids, or for new adult games, or even for those who just want-to-know, this is packed with great information.

So why are people so upset – let’s knock them out in bullet form with a few comments.

• This should have been a pack in the title. I completely understand this sentiment. When the PlayStation 5 launched, it included Astro’s Playroom free of charge, which highlighted the cool new features in the brand new Dual Sense controller, and also looked at the history of PlayStation. It was really fun, and it was included with the console. It does feel like this could have been included for free.

• To 100% the game you need accessories. For people who love to 100% their games, this does present a bit of a problem. If you want to do everything in Welcome Tour, you’ll need access to a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller or the Nintendo Switch 2 Charge Grip, both that come with an additional charge. There are also minigames that require the GameChat camera. Even if I didn’t have these things, I don’t generally 100% my games so this isn’t a real concern for me, but it might be for others.

So with all that said, where do I land on the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour controversy? I completely agree that this should have been a pack in experiences. The entire purpose of the game is to highlight the new and exciting features of the Nintendo Switch 2 and accessories, so putting it behind a paywall not only does the game a disservice (I feel many will NOT play this), but could result in people missing out on cool features they might not uncover themselves. On the flip side, there is easily enough here to warrant the $14.99 CAD purchase.

Ultimately, unless you have some moral stance against paying for a game you feel should be free, it’s worth picking up and exploring. Nintendo is not going to magically make this free tomorrow – it’s a paid game. It is what it is, like it or hate it. I still believe you are doing yourself a disservice by skipping it, though!