Throughout the 15 hours spent playing Welcome Tour, going through everything it has to offer, what stuck out to me is that this title is not a video game. But, it is more so an experience. If you put on the lens of a consumer who is fresh to the potential of the Switch 2, this is a fun showcase of the hardware. However, as someone who has caught up with the Switch 2’s rumor cycle and knows some of Nintendo’s lore, Welcome Tour feels imbalanced.
Developer & Publisher // Nintendo
Platforms // Nintendo Switch 2
MSRP & Release Date // $9.99, June 5th, 2025
Reviewed On // Nintendo Switch 2
Welcome To the Tour – Introduction
The game has 4 main sections, and pressing X opens the map and reveals the separate sections. These include Insights, Tech demos, Minigames, and Stamps. Although there is a 5th section titled areas, this section shows the completion percentage of all the discovered locations.
We go through these areas in this virtualized convention demo package. And controlling a little character running around on the Switch 2 hardware and its peripherals. In theory, this is a fun idea. But I feel like half of the game is a chore.
The Insights in Welcome Tour
Insights are where users will learn Nintendo’s lore or learn the design philosophy of all the different components. These are neat to read, and in these insights, I feel like Nintendo tried to convey their sense of pride for the device. But where this section ultimately loses me is with the insight quizzes.
After reading the insights, we are quizzed on the insights, and especially later on, when roaming on the camera or the Pro Controller, the insight quizzes became a chore. They range from three to five questions. But it was tedious doing all of these, and to pass the quizzes, players will need to get every single question correct. Or else, the entire quiz needs to be retaken. I think to make these more palatable, we should only have to redo the questions that we got incorrect instead of having to do the entire quiz again.
Stamp Collecting in Welcome Tour
Stamps are what I would call this game’s version of the Golden Path. This is how you progress through and unlock the different areas, and it’s simple. Every named component on the device will have a stamp attached to it. Just walk right up to a component, and a podium will pop up. This will tell us the name of the component and to collect the stamp, just press A at these podiums. Although these are easy to collect, they are not fun to collect.
Tech Demos in Welcome Tour
The most fun in Welcome Tour, is going through the various Minigames and Tech Demos. Tech Demos are practical applications of what is new with the Switch 2. These tech demos are where we mess around with the DLSS/ resolution capabilities inside the system, the VRR in the handheld display, and the 3 different methods of inputs that the Joy-Con 2s have. The highlight in the Tech Demos is located in Area B, titled Super Mario Bros. 4k (1-1).
In this Tech Demo, the Switch 2 console must be connected to a Dock and a 4K screen. But we get to play the entirety of the first stage in the first super mario bros. The cool thing here is that when going through this stage, the screen stretches out to fill the resolution. I thought this was a great way to showcase the benefits of 4K resolution in a fun way.
Mini Games in Welcome Tour
I spent most of my time in Welcome Tour attempting to get all the badges within the mini games. And surprisingly, there are a ton of them here. Each one has three badges to earn, and earning all three in the various Mini games is definitely challenging. The first highlight for me is Touch Ten. In this Mini game, the console must be in handheld mode and placed flat on a surface. And we are pretty much playing a game of Twister, but with our fingers.
One that surprised me is a set of mini games titled Guess the Angle. Here, the console must be propped up with the stand to initiate the mini-game. Once we are in, there is a given angle on the screen, and we have to adjust the angle of the stand to match the given angle on the screen. It is neat knowing that the console can judge what angle the stand is on, and getting it right on point is satisfying.
The last set of Mini-Games that stood out to me is the one titled Balloon Hunt. In this one, players will need to use both of the Joy-Cons. The left Joy-Con is used for movement with the stick, and the right Joy-Con is used in mouse mode for aiming. The goal in Balloon Hunt is simple: pop all the balloons and do it as fast as possible. These mini-games do a good job of showcasing the potential of what can be done with the new hardware.
The Cons of Welcome Tour
While I enjoyed the Mini games, the important note is that 4 out of the 50+ mini games require additional accessories. One that requires a USB camera, and any USB camera will do the trick here. Meanwhile, the other 3 mini games require the back buttons on either the Pro Controller 2 or the Charging Grips.
Including mini-games that require additional purchases is unnecessary, in my opinion. Another gripe I have with the title is that they are selling it. In this instance, a nice value play for Welcome Tour would be the title being included in the NSO + expansion pack. There is a decent amount of content in here, but content that the user finds enjoyable may be sparse. And lastly, I want to reiterate that doing the quizzes and collecting the stamps was not fun and felt like busy work.
Conclusion
Welcome Tour is an interesting time. On one hand, Nintendo offers us insight into their past, and the thought process behind creating the Nintendo Switch 2. And at times, it feels endearing to get a peek at the hundreds of engineering years poured into the device. On the other hand, it feels very corporate and structured. I enjoyed aspects of the Welcome Tour, but I can’t say the entire experience was enjoyable. It feels like a gamified convention demo that lacks the soul of titles like Wii Sports or Nintendo Land.
Score: 6.5/10
This product was purchased by the reviewer.
Pro’s
- Fun Minigames
- Neat Gamified Convention Experience
- Interesting factoids and tidbits
- Tech Demos showcase the potential of the hardware
Con’s
- Certain mini-games require extra peripherals
- Paid product
- Quizzes are a chore
- Collecting the stamps is boring
