Hands-On With Nintendo Switch 2: Borderlands 4, Pokemon…

Hot on the heels of the Nintendo Switch 2's momentous launch, which saw the debut of Mario Kart World, a host of third-party ports, and upgraded Nintendo Switch classics, Nintendo is gearing up for its next batch of releases for the bestselling handheld. Thanks to the Nintendo Switch 2's improved hardware, many of the upcoming titles are handheld ports of recent releases such as Elden Ring and Star Wars Outlaws, which likely couldn't have run well at all on its aging predecessor. It's not all ports, however: Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Kirby Air Riders are bona fide Nintendo Switch 2 titles.

At PAX West in Seattle, Washington, I attended a preview event that showcased the Nintendo Switch 2's new batch of releases. Among the games I played were Star Wars Outlaws Gold Edition, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, Kirby Air Riders, Elden Ring Tarnished Edition, and Borderlands 4. While I was surprised by how well some of these titles performed, others struggled to keep up, even with the Nintendo Switch 2's specs. Meanwhile, the two native Nintendo Switch 2 games—Kirby Air Riders and Pokemon Legends: Z-A—were extremely promising.

Star Wars Outlaws Gold Edition Is a Surprisingly Well-Done Nintendo Switch 2 Port

Off the bat, Star Wars Outlaws is a remarkable port. It's a demanding game, one that tested my aging PC's limits, and I didn't anticipate a Nintendo Switch 2 port running as well as it does. While the game's performance on handheld is understandably not up to par with its console and PC versions, I found the demo to be eminently playable. For the demo, I played through the Toshara Fueling Station mission, which is an excellent showcase of Star Wars Outlaws' stealth and combat gameplay, culminating in a space battle and an atmospheric transition to Toshara's surface. Despite the unexpectedly solid performance, Star Wars Outlaws doesn't suffer visually much either: there weren't very many noticeable visual artifacts, and the picture was crisp. Performance did take a hit when I landed on Mirogana, Toshara's primary hub and one of the more graphically demanding locations in the game. That said, it never reached unplayable territory.

The Star Wars Outlaws team didn't stop at delivering a solid 1:1 port, however. The game also leverages the Nintendo Switch 2's touch screen, allowing for intuitive pinch-zooming and panning of the map, as well as touch selection of nodes during the hacking minigame. Additionally, players can use the Nintendo Switch 2's motion controls to aim. Whether gamers will utilize these features is up to players, but the effort demonstrates a commitment to making this a worthwhile and thoughtful port. Nintendo Switch gamers who are fatigued by the platform's typical offerings of open-world titles like Zelda, or Star Wars fans interested in a rare Jedi-less Star Wars game, now have a solid new title to sink their teeth into.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A Is a Leap Forward for the Series

Pokemon Legends: Z-A is a major leap for the series in terms of gameplay. Like their many monsters, Pokemon games have evolved considerably over the years, but one unchanging aspect has been their turn-based combat. Pokemon Legends: Z-A takes things into a new direction, with a real-time combat system reminiscent of some classic Final Fantasy games. Rather than taking turns, Pokemon abilities operate on timed cooldowns, leading to the familiar gameplay loop of using a Pokemon's ability and then switching to another one.

This combat system captures the essence of Pokemon's strategic gameplay, while making it far more engaging from moment to moment. In battles against Mega-Evolved Pokemon, the player must also take care to dodge attacks aimed at the trainer. The boss fight I tackled wasn't overly complicated, leaving me with more than enough breathing room to manage my Pokemon while dodging the occasional attack. For fans worried a Pokemon game with dodging might overcomplicate things, it doesn't seem to be anywhere close to a Dark Souls boss encounter underpinning a Pokemon battle.

I was mostly limited to a brief jaunt through an area where I could fight other trainers, so the game's open-world exploration component remains to be seen. However, there were plenty of hidden treasures tucked away throughout the area I could explore, rewarding me for checking dead ends. If that experience was any indication, Pokemon Legends: Z-A will not only encourage trainers to catch every Pokemon, but to search every nook and cranny of its map.

Elden Ring Tarnished Edition’s Switch 2 Port Is in a Tough Spot

After countless hours enjoying Elden Ring and subsequently Elden Ring Nightreign on PC, I was looking forward to playing FromSoftware's hit via handheld. Elden Ring Tarnished Edition most notably comes with two new starter classes, along with an assortment of new gear and customization options for Torrent. I went with the new Knight of Ides class, which felt immediately comfortable as a long-time sword-and-board player. Starting the game with a greatsword and a shield is perfect for my playstyle, but unfortunately, Elden Ring's performance on the Nintendo Switch 2 stood as an impassable barrier for my enjoyment of this new class.

While lower framerates on handhelds are to be expected, Elden Ring is a game about intricately tight timing and split-second decisions, and without smooth enough performance, the gameplay diverges from satisfyingly tight to frustratingly unresponsive. In contrast to Star Wars Outlaws, which is an even more recent open-world title, Elden Ring's Nintendo Switch 2 port doesn't quite meet the threshold for acceptability.

The new starting classes, equipment, and customization in the Tarnished Edition are exciting, but it's a tough sell for Nintendo Switch 2 gamers, as it'll be needlessly frustrating for first-timers and jarring for those who smoothly enjoyed the game on other platforms. FromSoftware has a track record for supporting its games with updates, so hopefully, the game's performance on the Nintendo Switch 2 will improve after some tweaking. If that's ironed out, Elden Ring could prove to be a hit on the Nintendo Switch 2 as—like Star Wars Outlaws—it taps into the platform's hungry open-world gaming audience.

Kirby Air Riders Is a Blast

Kirby Air Riders was perhaps the most standout title of the day, adding a colorful, wholesome, and fun multiplayer experience into the mix. Although it resembles a kart racer at first glance, Nintendo describes Kirby Air Riders as a "vehicle action game" first and foremost—in a similar vein as Twisted Metal. While the bulk of the game is indeed racing against iconic Kirby characters through a variety of tracks, the gameplay is heavily action-oriented. In fact, the throttle is locked on at all times—contrary to most games, players only need to worry about when to brake. This frees up cognitive load for the rest of the game's mechanics, like wiggling the thumbstick to attack nearby riders or braking around a turn to charge up the boost for a swift exit. Since the boost is charged by braking, however, this does feel awkward at times in the open-ended city battles when I attempted to redirect myself toward a power-up, only to boost right past it when I let off the brakes.

Kirby Air Riders' city battles are where the vehicle action takes the forefront. In this mode, players freely drive around a large, explorable city utterly littered with power-ups. As players swoop up as many power-ups as they can find, optional events will periodically begin where players can briefly compete for additional rewards. After a few minutes of looting and competing, we move on to the next phase of the mode. Here, players are shown a recap of the power-ups they've picked up, and are given a choice among several main events to participate in. The choice is largely driven by the power-ups one has accumulated: I picked up a significant number of combat-related power-ups and relatively few speed power-ups, so I opted for an arena-style brawl rather than one of the more mobility-testing events. Each player then competes in the event of their choice against any other players or NPCs that chose the same event. It sounds like a lot, but the entire process was a 10 to 15-minute affair.

Kirby Air Riders is a gorgeous game that runs butter-smooth on the Nintendo Switch 2, and its impressive array of playstyles, owing to its myriad characters and vehicles, makes for a highly replayable racer. The vehicular combat and unusual controls may take some getting used to for those coming from Mario Kart, but those with fond memories of Kirby Air Ride on the Nintendo GameCube are in for a treat.

Borderlands 4 Is Promising, But Not the Best on the Switch 2

After thoroughly enjoying the gunplay and character builds of Borderlands 3, but not so much its sociopathic space influencer-driven plot, Borderlands 4's more grounded tone is a deep relief. It's a shame that this brief demo didn't feature much of a narrative component to highlight this. The demo tossed me into a place called The Lathe outside the Vault of Inceptus, where I was immediately thrust into combat against waves of Seneschal enemies. The fighting took place atop a series of platforms connected by jump pads; after clearing out several waves, I'd jump to the next one and repeat.

As a longtime Siren user, I went with Vex for this demo, whose primary ability allows her to summon three copies of two different phantoms. One summon is a close-quarters brawler, while the other is a long-range damage dealer. A "pet class" is an interesting spin on the Siren class, preserving its trademark spellcasting playstyle without repeating Siren gameplay from earlier series iterations. These summons are quite effective, too, serving as a useful distraction. Vex seems to be an ideal class for solo players thanks to her companions' ability to soak up damage and enmity, and it'll be interesting to see how her build variety introduces further playstyles.

Loot was aplenty during this fighting, so I took the opportunity to loot and try every weapon type I could find. Charging sniper rifles, iconic Tediore throwable guns, shotguns, and launchers all handled as expected—with Borderlands' impeccable gunplay. That said, the weapons felt great, but enemies seemed to take quite a beating before going down. Perhaps with a more fleshed-out build and better weapons, the pace of combat will pick up.

Sadly, Borderlands 4's performance on the Nintendo Switch 2 isn't stellar, putting a damper on what ought to be tight gameplay. I was still able to aim and fight successfully through the demo, but games of this nature lose their luster when performance dips in ways that a slower-paced title might be excused. However, it was still an enjoyable enough experience, and if the Nintendo Switch 2 is the only way a Borderlands fan can get their hands on the latest installment, this port should satisfy the itch.

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