24 HOURS WITH THE...SWITCH 2

T3's Tech Editor spends a day testing Nintendo's new console to the max

- Words: Mike Lowe Photography: Phil Barker

The anticipation surrounding the Switch 2 launch had me excited like a kid on Christmas Eve. That's the thing about Nintendo: the Japanese gaming giant somehow manages to bottle magic that transcends the ages, continuing to remain relevant to all - including me, a man in his forties.

Even now, a full week since receiving Nintendo's new console, I've had to reorganise my life to squeeze in more of those joyous gaming sessions. That excitement isn't entirely owed to nostalgia either, as while the Switch 2 can access a library of bygone classics - Nintendo Classics as they're called in the online store - it's the latest Mario Kart World, the Switch 2's champion exclusive launch title, that's had me hooked.

Some people may say the Switch 2 is merely iterative: a bigger screen and more powerful update that's similar to the original console from 2017. Sure, the sequel looks similar, but what I think Nintendo has done so masterfully is to craft a familiar yet entirely new console, showing its wealth of experience.

As one of 2025's most important product launches, T3 magazine's Editor asked me to embark on 'a day in the life', documenting my gaming escapades over a weekend, highlighting why the Switch 2 is not only the ultimate portable gaming machine, but also a big-screen dream when hooked up to a TV.

07:00: WAKEY, WAKEY, TOTK AND BAKEY!

While I'd normally allow myself to have a lie-in at the weekend, my first weekend of Switch 2 ownership seemingly installed a biological alarm that had me up and out of bed. The sensation in my stomach wasn't the want for a Saturday morning bacon sarnie, it was the hunger to get some early Switch 2 playtime in.