Nintendo Switch in 2021 - worth buying? (Review)

2021 marks the fourth year of life for the nintendo switch and in those four years this portable gaming console has managed to sweep the world by storm and a massive very impressive game library hey how's it going i'm josh from 91 tech and i love the nintendo switch but there's no getting around the fact that it is about four years old already so today let's ask the question is it still worth buying for many of you the answer is going to be a definitive and obvious yes the switch is worth buying and that's a totally fair opinion and uh it's one that i share i love this console so if you wanted the answer as quickly as possible yep the switch is worth buying just make sure you get the red box model not the white box model i'll explain the differences a little later on that being said it is still worth talking about especially because the gaming landscape has changed significantly as of recent of course the nintendo switch light came out in 2019 i'll link my review of it in the description below but basically it's 100 bucks less than the regular switch and it's just as good except that it is unable to be plugged into your tv making it portable only for almost everyone i'd recommend the regular switch over it as having the versatility of choosing either tv mode or portable mode is kind of amazing it's a feature we've never had on any console before the nintendo switch i mean that's where the switch gets its name it can switch it's completely changed portable gaming as we know it bringing full console level titles into our hands without even the need to be plugged into anything a game the scale and quality of zelda breath of the wild on the go it's unbelievable really the switch is great and it is worth buying but the competition has improved massively since its release while the switch was not quite on par with the ps4 and xbox one it wasn't that far off with many aaa titles even being ported over at reduced graphics usually like witcher 3 doom and skyrim games that would typically look worse on the switch but were still the full game but compared to the ps5 and xbox series s and x and suddenly the switch isn't quite as appealing while the portable element is still huge and the main selling point the amount of power these new consoles have are equivalent to very good gaming pcs and the performance and 4k graphical quality shows just that spider-man miles morales on my ps5 blew me away with the raytraced lighting and the many particle effects that just cannot be achieved on something like a switch or ghost of tsushima which was actually a ps4 game but runs at 4k 60 frames per second on the ps5 and looks amazing you can never get anything like this on the switch right that being said you can have as great graphics as you want but the matter of the fact is that the switch is still the only real portable system on the market right now if you're someone who only can see themselves playing on their tv then the ps5 or xbox just probably are the better options but if you desire to play in bed or on the bus or away from home the switch is kind of a no-brainer despite being 4 years old the switch still remains in high demand and costs a solid 300 that might not sound too bad but throw in games most of which at least from nintendo hardly ever go on sale and suddenly costs rise real quick but those nintendo games really are a major factor in choosing this console while the portability is huge there's no getting around that sony and xbox have nothing that competes with the multiplayer fun of nintendo games or at least very little and even the single player experiences such as zelda breath of the wild and mario odyssey are just fantastic colorful detailed and just plain fun games only found with nintendo so again the console is worth buying but i'm not just going to end the video suddenly here for those interested we'll be taking some time to go more in depth into the console itself and at the end i'll be discussing the overall value and future of the system so let's back up here and start with the design of the nintendo switch the 2017 nintendo switch is essentially a small black tablet with a plastic display fairly thick black bezels and the switch logo on the back the bottom of the system holds the usbc charging port and the power and volume buttons are on the top by itself the switch is very plain looking but it's when you slap on the joy cons it becomes a console this here what essentially looks like half a controller is a joy-con you can easily slide it onto the side of the switch then the other side and bam you're good to go the controllers connect with a satisfying click and it's very intuitive easy enough for anyone to do at basically any age it also works seamlessly you get new joy-cons just slide them on and just like that they'll be linked very smart design although actually playing the switch portably can occasionally feel a bit flimsy to me maybe that's not the right word but there's definitely a bit of give between the controllers and the console which can make it feel like it's not all in one piece which it isn't the switch light definitely feels better when playing portably to me but that makes sense given it is specifically made for that and so i have no real complaints there's also a kickstand on the back of the switch so you can prop it up while playing without holding the system the issue here is that the stand doesn't account for the charging port which means you can't charge it while standing it up a definite pain given battery life has never been fantastic but i'll get to that the plastic screen is worth talking about due to the potential scratches it can get even from the dock itself if you're not careful i fully recommend having a tempered glass screen protector like i have here ignore the annoying air bubble which not only in my opinion feels better to touch but will stop any minor scratches or abrasions from happening a full blown case is really up to you personally i'm not too concerned as the whole thing is plastic and i don't see some scratching it's a big deal but if you want a case there are tons and tons of options out there the game cartridge slot cover kind of just pops off so you can put the game in and there's a micro sd card slot underneath the kickstand which allows for some cheap expandable storage you'll definitely want to get a micro sd card if you plan on downloading games the switch does come with 32 gigs of memory but you'll find that goes pretty fast all in all the design of the nintendo switch is simple and that's fine by me it really doesn't need to be any different from this it does the job of providing a balanced experience between portability and also the power to play fairly big games the joy cons definitely add a large element of color to the system which is nice and you can get the gray ones if you prefer that and of course there are actually quite a few other color options as well such as purple and orange and yellow and blue and green and pink and you name it lots of different choices for all kinds of tastes and there's special edition versions of these consoles which can be hard to find later on such as like an animal crossing switch so that's something to look for if you're interested in that and before we talk too much about the joy cons let's take a look at what they surround the 6.2 inch lcd display the screen has a resolution of 1280x720 which isn't very high to be honest with you and this display isn't going to blow you away by any means in fact more than likely your smartphone will have a higher resolution and look sharper that being said as mentioned before it's all about balance and actual games running at 720p here still manage to look quite good because the screen isn't too large which means a fairly good pixel density and it looks sharp enough to be more than playable if they were to pump out more pixels the battery life would significantly diminish and so i think that 720p is really the sweet spot with the switch hooking it up to the dock the switch is able to output up to 1080p at 60 frames per second which isn't bad although right now there are no 4k options whatsoever but games can run really well especially if they're made by nintendo mario odyssey or mario kart are both fantastic looking games graphically and here they are on this tiny little machine running at a smooth 60 frames per second it's very impressive and with that mario collection that came out recently you can play mario galaxy in hd at 60 frames per second much better than it ran on the wii and it looks really good some games like zelda breath of the wild won't be hitting 60 frames for you but on the other hand super smash brothers ultimate a game where there can just be a ton of crap going on at once runs at an extremely smooth 60fps and the games most people really want to play are going to run great and look even better third-party titles for the switch can be a bit hit or miss though skyrim is pretty well done but it's also a nearly 10 year old game at this point the witcher 3 has some serious downgraded graphics to get it working but still is the full game of witcher 3 on switch which is pretty cool big games like the witcher are going to be better to play in handheld mode as the reduced graphics mean they won't look good on modern tvs by any means and truth be told the best case scenario is to have a more powerful system for games like that the switch is awesome for nintendo titles and any game that isn't too intensive but when it comes to really big console titles like doom or mortal kombat or the outer worlds or arc those games tend to just be plain out better on either playstation xbox or even pc that being said those games i mentioned are completely playable on the switch some of them don't perform very well but they're playable and if you desperately want them portably or only have the switch to play with then at least you have the option and it's not like every non-nintendo 3d game runs poorly in fact i found especially ports of older games really are the switches bread and butter for example assassin's creed 3 and 4 i've not quite finished black flag on here yet but i've put a good few hours into it and it's been a very enjoyable experience on my switch light running very similar to how it would have on my xbox 360 back in 2013 except this time 100 portable the freedom you have with the switch to move around and play in bed or at someone else's house or on vacation or on the bus or wherever cannot be understated it's a fantastic experience and if you're someone who moves around a lot a nintendo switch is going to be the way to go it's also the way to go if you're a fan of co-op multiplayer games if couch co-op is your thing look no further than the switch games like smash bros mario party mario kart mario tennis and so many more are sure to keep you and your friends entertained and hey that's only a few of the switch games there are so many great games for the system it's unbelievable just to mention some i haven't named whatsoever in this video yet zelda link's awakening hyrule warriors breath of the wild 2 is coming at some point here mario maker 2 yoshi's crafted world crash bandicoot overcooked 2 cupheads sonic mania captain toad donkey kong country tropical freeze borderlands new super mario brothers you deluxe which might just have the most pointlessly long game title of all time and of course i can feel the anger rising here pokemon sword and shield as well as let's go pikachu and eevee can't forget those if you're a pokemon fan the switch is a must-have system as nintendo has moved on from the 3ds i say anger rising because i know people take their pokemon games very seriously and i haven't mentioned them to this point the games are amazing and that's really what the switch does so well it may not have the best hardware it isn't pumping out 4k like the ps5 but it has just thoroughly enjoyable and fun gameplay including many titles by nintendo that you just straight up can't play anywhere else that's why you buy the switch for the games not just the portability everything else could be terribly mediocre about this console and it wouldn't even matter because the games are just that good and luckily the switch isn't mediocre although it does have its flaws the hardware was always going to age poorly compared to most consoles due to it being more of a mobile device and the graphical fidelity and power pills in comparison to the next generation of consoles as already mentioned there have always been kind of rumors of a pro nintendo switch eventually coming one that could support 4k gaming but this hasn't happened yet nintendo's been really squeamish about saying anything about it and there's not a lot to signal that could be happening anytime soon if one was to release it'd be significantly more expensive so for that reason alone i wouldn't really worry about it buy the switch when you're ready and if they ever do have a better model you could always sell your current console and upgrade to the new one just as said before make sure you get the red box model this is essential unless you're into home brewing and hacking your system in which case you do need to get the older switch but for most people the redbox switch has better battery life and a slightly brighter display it's very much worth it and luckily at this point it's the only system most stores will carry as the old one has long been out of circulation you also may need to consider getting nintendo online if you want to play anything online although it's worth mentioning that fortnite doesn't require nintendo online i want to mention that game specifically because it's a very popular game on the switch but if there's a different game you're wanting to play online you're in luck because nintendo online is pretty darn cheap at only 20 for an entire year at least with an individual membership this also gives you access to a pretty decent library of classic original nintendo and super nintendo games which is a pretty great added benefit of course the major point of contention with the majority of switch owners is joy-con drift joy-con drift hasn't affected everybody it has affected me so we will get to it but first let's cover the controllers joy cons when performing as you'd expect are absolutely fantastic they slide on and off the console smoothly and the switch comes with a controller grip so you can slide them onto that and use them more as a regular controller you can also purchase a grip that has a battery built into it to charge the joy cons while you play there's also various accessories out there if that's not really your thing you also have the option of the switch pro controller which is a lot more similar to an xbox controller and to me personally feels like the best way to play games like zelda breath of the wild so joycons are fine i just find them to be a little bit small maybe and the pro controller seems more comfortable either way it's up to you that's just me personally nothing for the switch is cheap unfortunately with joy cons costing a full 80 us or a hundred bucks canadian for me and the pro controller costing more like sixty to seventy dollars us the price jump for joy cons might seem odd until you remember that joy cons can technically be used as separate controllers they come with these bumper things to slide on if you'd like and turning the controller horizontally or sometimes not depending on the game but you can play mario kart or whatever multiplayer game with your friends without needing to buy a whole bunch of controllers and so if you want to play most 4 player games buy the switch then buy another single pair of joy cons and you're golden so add that 80 to your initial switch cost if you want to play with four people i gotta say though the fact that joy cons can be two controllers is really cool and it's one of the best things about the switch adding yet another reason why this system is by and far the best for co-op gaming but joy cons aren't perfect unfortunately joycon drift has been an issue that's plagued the switch forever and while it doesn't happen for everyone it is very common essentially what drift is is when the controller acts as if the joystick is moving in a direction when you're not moving it at all so it just moves by itself this is especially noticeable in competitive games like super smash brothers sometimes it's really subtle but then there have been times where my guy just straight up would move the wrong direction thanks to drift how this is caused could be due to dust and debris getting into the controller or just due to a lot of use regardless it's again way too common and it's not an easy fix apparently nintendo does fix this for free if you contact them although i cannot confirm this as i've never tried it regardless even if that is the case it's a pain and just shouldn't be this way the other big flaw of the switch has to be the battery life it's not bad but it's not really great either and it doesn't help that i personally have the original whitebox switch which has a significantly worse battery the whitebox model at max can get you six and a half hours of gaming mind you those are numbers from nintendo and i don't think i've ever gotten that many hours but it really will vary greatly depending on especially what game you're playing like for example zelda breath of the wild is obviously going to run the battery harder than a lot of other games but the red box model apparently can get you up to 9 hours which is undoubtedly a vast improvement however even with the newer switch if you plan on playing portably on the regular it's a good idea to keep a charger within reach just in case beyond that i have no real gripe with the nintendo switch it isn't perfect but it's darn near close portable gaming has never been better than it is in 2021 and i'm so excited to see what comes next so is the nintendo switch worth buying absolutely without a doubt should you buy the switch lite instead to save some money again in the vast majority of cases i'd say no only get the light if you're 100 dead set on never ever wanting to play the switch on your tv will the switch be obsolete in the near future no i don't believe it will the games at least from nintendo are very well optimized and the switch has sold just way too well for nintendo to move on anytime soon so should you buy the nintendo switch well it might be worth it in a general sense at the end of the day it is up to you and it's not going to be for everyone especially with the option of the ps5 now and the xbox series x if you want a more powerful machine those are the ones to go for but if you like portable gaming you like nintendo games the switch is kind of a no-brainer so what do you think do you have a nintendo switch are you thinking about getting one let me know in the comments down below ooh actually make sure you comment your favorite game for the switch as well for me it's gotta be between breath of the wild which was just an awesome game mario odyssey which was a lot of fun and uh super smash brothers which i've just played hours and hours with friends overall the switch for me has been just a really great amazing experience i'm so glad that my family got it when we did late 2017 for the christmas of that year it's been a fun time if you found this video helpful or interesting maybe hit that like button and consider subscribing for more content just like this you can follow me over on twitter and instagram at 91 underscore tech if you'd like to for some reason and with that all being said thank you so much for watching i'm josh from 91 tech and i will see you all next time [Music] you

Channel: 91Tech

Views: 704,609

Rating: 4.8975806 out of 5

Keywords: nintendo, nintendo switch, switch, 2021, in 2021, review, switch review, buy, worth it, worth buying, switch 2021

Id: ULEBMxk4xWg

Length: 16min 54sec (1014 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 09 2021