Stuff - UK (2019-12)

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TESTED NINTENDO SWITCH LITE

GOOD

MEH

EVIL

Even more

portable

than the

original Shame

you can’t

connect it

to the TV

Most

Switch titles

play just as

well...

Fiddly to

set up as

a second

console

D-pad

brings new

precision to

Celeste

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]

Nintendo’s slimmed-down Switch Lite promises

all the fun of the full-size console – well, nearly

all – in a miraculously pocketable package

Many people wrote off the

Switch before it had even

appeared on shelves... but

to say Nintendo has proved

the naysayers wrong would

be understating it. With a steady

supply of excellent games that

are equally playable on the TV,

the train and the toilet, it’s not

unreasonable to suggest that

Ninty’s comeback console has

already earned its place in the

company’s hall of fame.

Which brings us to the Switch

Lite. While still sharing its bigger,

comparably heftier brother’s

name, the Switch Lite can’t

actually switch. There are no

detachable Joy-Con controllers

here, and no TV dock.

You can play nearly all of the

same games on the Lite, and

many of them are arguably

better suited to it – like virtually

any old-school platformer that

requires a D-pad.

But by sacrificing versatility for

portability, does the Lite lose any

of the original console’s charm?

£199 / stuff.tv/SwitchLite

The legend of svelter

The rare Switch project

It comes in grey, turquoise or

yellow (2). The latter two are

just plain fun to look at, but it’s

good that Nintendo has included

a more muted option for those

who’d rather not attract attention

on the bus. And there are bound

to be new colours and special

editions down the line.

The seven-year Switch

At 275g, the difference in weight

from the full-size Switch is quite

something. You can easily hold

it right up to your face for long

sessions without feeling the strain

on your wrists, and it’s noticeably

less of a presence in a backpack.

It could prove too small for those

with bigger hands, mind.

Every Switch way but loose

We love the Switch’s Joy-Cons,

but moving parts do make the

original console feel unnervingly

breakable at times. No such

worries with the Lite. Wrapped

in a single piece of grippy matt

plastic (1), it feels sturdier and

has a much cleaner, if slightly

less premium, overall look.

...but a

handful

need the

Joy-Cons