You begin your tour at the left Joy-Con, and in order to unlock new sections, you’ll need to collect hidden stamps scattered throughout each area. Grab them all, and the next area of the tour opens up. You can also earn medals by completing mini-games and demos, which can be used to unlock harder challenges. What makes the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour engaging is that you can’t just breeze through it in an hour. It took me over five hours to complete the main activities, and I was already cheesing through it by skipping sections. It could last even longer if you take your time and try to do 100% of the whole thing.

Next are the mini-games and demos. These two activities are different, but both share the same purpose: to showcase the capabilities of the Switch 2 and teach you how to use the new mechanics in a gameplay setting. For example, this mini golf game uses the Joy-Con 2’s mouse mode, which is utterly different from how you would traditionally play it if you were playing Wii Sports. There is also this game which showcases the various angles of the console’s new kickstand. The goal is to set up your screen to match the angle, but what’s surprising is that it can detect the angle you set and compare it to what’s said on screen. One of the most challenging mini-games the Welcome Tour offers is the Rumble Hunt game, where you must locate the exact location of the strongest rumble. It sounds easy at first, but it’s precise. You may think you’re close, but you’re not. There’s also a pixel hunt mini-game where you must find a tiny white pixel on a large screen. Another fun activity was guessing the frame rates of various ball movements, which is insane.

What’s great about these games is that they showcase Switch 2’s precision, sensitivity, and technological improvements. It excites me and makes me want to play future games that take advantage of these features. One standout was a mini-game that used one Joy-Con 2 as a mouse and the other in a standard grip. That demo alone showed the potential of this hybrid setup, and I hope more titles explore it. However, most of the mini-games are based on the mouse mode of the Joy-Con 2s, which makes sense since it’s the latest gimmick, and you might be using it a lot in later games. However, there could have been opportunities to showcase more of what this device can do in a gameplay setting. At least it happened during the Nintendo Switch Welcome Tour’s demos.

Unlike the mini-games, demos are simple activities showcasing what the Switch 2 can do. Think of it as an interactive demonstration that you can use at home. One of my favourites was the HDR fireworks, where you can set fireworks to showcase the Switch 2’s HDR tech demo. Another cool feature is the HDR Rumble 2 Sound demo, where you get to hear the rumbling sound from the Joy-Con 2 transform into a sound familiar to the Super Mario Bros games. There are so many to choose from, and it’s a great way to showcase what this device can do.

Both the mini-games and the demos are fun activities with strong replayability. However, don’t expect to do all the activities the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour offers. Some require the other Switch 2 accessories, like the camera and the Pro Controllers. Since when has a tech demo feature locked something because of missing gear?! I was keen to try out the Super Mario Bros 4K demo, but it required a 4K TV that I don’t already own.