A few days ago, Nintendo released their second game direct of the year which primarily featured content for the Nintendo Switch 2. The direct showcased new features, ported games from the Switch, additional content for said games and some brand-new releases for the console. The direct included a lot of valuable content worth looking at, so here’s all you need to know.
The Nintendo Switch 2, which releases on June 5, has its own in-game chat system. This system is laid out similarly to Discord’s. Players will be able to join video calls with their friends—whether for playing a multiplayer game or simply chatting. The Switch 2 will also come with an advanced microphone system within the Switch’s hardware itself and a camera that allows for a “face-cam.” The camera will allow players’ faces to appear over their profile picture or the game they are playing while on a call.
Game chat, in my opinion, will be a very useful feature for gamers who want to talk while playing games online without using another device to communicate. Along with the game chat feature, the Switch’s Joy-Con will include “mouse mode,” in which players can use one of the Joy-Cons as a computer mouse.
In the direct, Nintendo revealed a bunch of games for the Nintendo Switch 2. Four huge titles that will be coming exclusively to the system include: “Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment,” “Kirby Air Riders,” “Donkey Kong Bananza” and “Mario Kart World.”
Mario Kart World is marketed as the flagship game of the system. It is even included in the deluxe package for the Nintendo Switch 2. Mario Kart World is the tenth entry in the Mario Kart series, following Mario Kart Tour. The game features a large cast of characters from the Mario universe, including Pauline, Nabbit, Cataquack, that penguin from Super Mario Galaxy and a lot more we haven’t seen yet.
In terms of updates, the game heavily promoted its off-the-track open-world mode, in which players can freely roam a brand-new world in their karts. No other kart racer has done a mode like this before (unless you count Crash Team Racing’s hub world, to an extent). The game also features a few never-before-seen tracks set within the brand-new established setting, rather than reusing tracks from older games. It is unclear if the game features a story mode, but with what the Direct has shown us so far, Mario Kart World is gearing itself up to be the most ambitious game within the franchise.
Overall, the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct was very successful and based on social media reactions, people seemed to generally be pleased with the revealed games and features. Personally, I am very sad that there was no new “Punch-Out!!” content revealed or even hinted at (although, in reality, this possibility is highly unlikely outside my personal bias), I was overall glad and happy about the games that were revealed and what the Nintendo Switch 2 is shaping up to be.