Review: Nintendo Switch Lite is a great entry point to Mario, Zelda and Pokémon
Handheld gaming has never been as richly satisfying as with Nintendo’s newest console
By Steve Brown
Words: Tim Heap
Nintendo’s ethos has always been to offer fun and accessible gaming, and after a shaky few years, 2017’s Switch console achieved just that.
Melding handheld capabilities perfected by countless generations of GameBoy and DS units with the big-screen multiplayer functionality previously offered by Nintendo’s traditional consoles, such as the N64 and Wii, the Switch was a gamble that paid off with more than 36 million units sold since its launch in 2017.
Playing a few times on friends’ Switch consoles, I found it to be a pure distillation of Nintendo’s mission statement: easy to use, fun to play – cooperatively or competitively – and wildly addictive, whether throwing banana skins on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or running around making soup on Overcooked.
While the original Switch is undeniably fun, it’s true strength lies in playing with friends. What, then, if you’re more of a solo gamer, or the party is over? Well, for most people, nothing changes perhaps.
Just snap the Joy-Con controllers back on, and carry on with the Switch as handheld console, if one that’s slightly oversized.
Or, try the Switch Lite, Nintendo’s new handheld-only incarnation. Slightly smaller, with a lower price tag (£200) and three colours to choose from, the Switch Lite caters to those who just prefer to do their own thing.
True, the ‘Switch’ moniker doesn’t exactly fit, now that the Joy-Cons have been replaced with integrated controls (including a full D-pad) and TV and tabletop mode aren’t possible, but, semantics aside, it’s a welcome addition to the family.
Over the years, I’ve owned at least one iteration in each family of Nintendo’s handheld units. I remember unwrapping a see-through GameBoy one childhood birthday with both Pokémon Red and Blue (I don’t think my parents realised they were essentially the same game).
In high school, I saved up for a GameBoy Advance, and later, on a whim during a brief spell of unemployment, bought the pared-back Nintendo 2DS, all essentially fuelled by a desire to play the latest generation of Pokémon.
The Switch Lite is here to carry on their legacy, and true to form, a new Pokémon game is just weeks from release.
Until then, I’ve made do with The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, a remake of the 1993 classic, which has provided ample opportunity to get to grips with the console in my quest to collect the eight instruments of the Sirens.
The Switch Lite feels sturdy to hold, clad in matte plastic in either turquoise, yellow or grey.
A 5.5-inch screen is a 0.7-inch reduction from the original Switch, but it’s a small sacrifice to pay for a console that feels decidedly more portable – and around a third lighter, at 275g. Battery life ranges from three to seven hours, and even with some lengthy train journeys I never had to play until it died.
The Switch’s impressive games library is at your fingertips, with Nintendo stating that all forthcoming games will be compatible with both the regular and Lite consoles – though the Lite’s lack of HD Rumble and IR Motion Camera restricts the full gameplay of some titles.
And if, for some reason, you want to use your Switch Lite for multiplayer action, Bluetooth Joy-Con pairing will allow you and your pals to crowd around the console to race around Rainbow Road on Mario Kart.
Some niggles are found when it comes to owning both a Switch and Switch Lite and trying to link Nintendo accounts and sync games across both consoles, but for those of a simpler persuasion, the Lite is a great entry point into a world of Mario, Zelda and, of course Pokémon.
I choose you!