Tech
My day one Nintendo Switch 2 review: Its here, and its awesome
Folks, we’re finally here. The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally showing up on people’s doorsteps, while others braved the lengthy lines at midnight launch events that spanned the globe.
Because I have a cool job, I actually got the console a day early. And after spending about 24 hours with my new Switch 2, I’ve got plenty of early thoughts to share. I know some gamers are on the fence about spending $450 on a new Nintendo console (and $80 for the new Mario Kart World), especially in tough economic times. My full Switch 2 review will come later, but for now, let’s dive into my first day of gaming.
And because you've waited long enough, here's my early verdict: It's awesome, though not without its setup quirks.
My Nintendo Switch 2 first impressions
Remember: This is definitely not a full review of the console, as again, I’ve only had it for a little over 24 hours at the time of writing. My impressions and reviews of games like Mario Kart World and Rune Factory will also have to wait. These are my unfiltered thoughts on the hardware and user experience so far. You can also check out my first impressions of the new Game Chat features.
Setup is easy enough but not perfect
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Let's start with good news: Getting the console up and running on the initial startup is quite simple. You turn it on, log into your Nintendo account if you have one (you should probably have one), connect to the internet, and then you’re more or less good to go. I mean, you won’t be able to play any games right away unless you have physical copies because downloading games takes time, but all things considered, I found this process pretty painless.
The only caveat I’d add to all of that? There’s a (by all accounts) lengthy and involved data transfer process if you want to transfer over everything from your Switch 1 to your Switch 2. This is obviously useful if you have a bunch of old Switch games you’re currently in the middle of playing, or if you want to grab your save data the old-fashioned way. Nintendo Switch Online members have access to cloud saves, and for almost every game, downloading them takes just a few seconds on the home screen the first time you boot the game up.
Attaching and detaching the magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers feels so good the first time you do it. Just trust me.
I should note that I didn’t try the data transfer because I didn’t have my Switch on me at the time and I needed to start playing games ASAP, but everything I’m hearing from other gamers makes it sound like kind of a mess. Former Mashable superstar Adam Rosenberg went through his experience in a thread on Bluesky, in which he said the process took two hours. His Switch 2 tried to transfer everything instead of giving him an easy way to decide what to bring over and what to leave behind.
He’s not the only person I know who expressed frustration with the Switch 2 transfer process. To be honest, I recommend skipping the initial data transfer and just manually installing the games you want to keep playing. You've waited long enough for the Switch 2, after all, and you'll want to start playing ASAP.
The hardware itself is an immediate and profound step up
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Strange setup quirks aside, the Switch 2 is so, so much better than the first console once it’s actually in your hands.
The new 7.9-inch, 1080p display has a 120Hz refresh rate and is a colossal improvement over the 6.2-inch, 720p, 60Hz original. There’s one more caveat here, though; it’s an LCD display, meaning it is, in one specific way, inferior to the Switch OLED. I was never a Switch OLED owner, so I can’t say authoritatively that the lack of OLED is a huge problem on the Switch 2. The new display looks pretty darn good to me, though I suppose it could be a bit more vibrant in certain spots. That said, your mileage may vary if you’re used to looking at an OLED display.
Beyond that, the new Joy-Con 2 controllers are substantially bigger than before, making them much better suited to adult-sized hands. The new analog sticks have a bit more travel to them and feel a little more responsive overall, though it remains to be seen if stick drift will be a big problem on Switch 2, given the lack of Hall Effect sensors.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
I’d also like to shout out the new magnetic attachment mechanism for the Joy-Con controllers. On the first Switch console, the Joy-Cons slid on and off via a vertical rail. This was fine for 2017, but over time, it became clear that a better solution was needed. Switch 1 Joy-Con controllers have a bit of wiggle to them, even when attached. That’s been entirely eliminated on Switch 2, based on my experiences so far. Attaching a Joy-Con 2 to the unit is as easy as slapping it into the open slot and letting magnets take over from there. Thankfully, there’s a release lever you have to pull to detach them, making it functionally impossible to detach them accidentally. (At least, that's been my experience so far.)
Attaching and detaching the magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers feels so good the first time you do it. Just trust me.
The new dock, which looks and works similarly, is also worthy of some praise. The new dock can output at up to 4K resolution and has a new built-in fan for heat dissipation. Crucially, it also has a built-in ethernet port now. Please, please wire up your dock if you can. Your experience will be so much better.
Virtual game cards are weird
The Switch 2 introduces “virtual game cards,” a new feature Nintendo has added to both Switch consoles. This essentially turns any games you’ve purchased digitally into a commodity that can only live on one console at a time. At any time, you can scroll to the new virtual game card section in the main system menu and load any games you own digitally onto the console. In fact, you have to do this to bring over any Switch 1 games you plan on playing. Once that’s done, you can’t play it on any other Switch console unless you boot that machine up and do the same thing over there.
For a single and childless person like me, this is only mildly inconvenient. I’m not going to complain too much about having to press an extra button to tell the Switch 2 to download a Switch 1 game I own. However, I can imagine this being nightmarish for multi-Switch households. Users have the ability to “loan” virtual game cards to other users for up to two weeks, but as I understand it, that means the loaner loses the ability to play that game while it’s in the hands of the loanee.
While some games now support “GameShare” (a new feature that allows users to play multiplayer games with only one copy of a game), that’s not universally supported. There are definitely good use cases for loaning digital games to other people, to be sure, but this is also a lot of extra management that’s foisted upon every Switch 2 owner. I can imagine it’s going to create entirely new ways for siblings to fight with each other, too.
Storage is going to be an issue in the long term
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Obviously, I’ll do a deeper dive into the console once I’ve had more time with it, but the final first impression I’ll share is that the Switch 2’s internal storage capacity of 256GB might not be enough for serious gamers.
When it was first announced, I thought it was fine. I mistakenly made the assumption that game file sizes wouldn’t balloon too much from the OG Switch, but I was wrong. In fairness, first-party Nintendo stuff has been fine so far; Mario Kart World is a manageable 22GB, and the only other thing I saw that crossed the 20GB threshold from Nintendo itself is the Switch 2 version of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Third-party games are a different story, however. Hitman: World of Assassination is 58GB, or roughly 22 percent of the internal storage capacity. That at least makes sense, as that’s three entire games in one package, and frankly, it’s a lot bigger on other platforms. Street Fighter 6 is 48GB, which is pretty big, but again, that’s a big game on other platforms, too.
The most confusing one I’ve seen is Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut. On a PlayStation 4, Yakuza 0 is 24GB. On a Switch 2, it’s a staggering 45GB. Granted, there’s some new content, like additional cutscenes, a multiplayer mode, and new English voice acting, but nearly doubling the file size is a bit much.
Credit: Sega/Nintendo
To make life more difficult, the Switch 2 only has one option for external storage expansion — microSD Express cards. This is a new type of memory card with substantially faster data read speeds than a regular microSD card. Nintendo going to this new standard is a good thing overall because games load way faster than before, but it also means everyone has to buy a new memory card, and they’re pretty expensive and hard to find right now. That won’t be a problem forever, so hopefully people can hold out until there are some good Black Friday sales or something like that.
I feel like I’ve spent most of this piece complaining about some relatively minor quirks with Switch 2, so I want to make something very clear: I think it’s awesome. Most of the games I’ve played have been impressive in one way or another, and the hardware is a clear improvement over the first Switch. It’s not perfect, but nothing is.
Look out for a full review in the near future. In the meantime, I'll be perfecting my grinding skills in Mario Kart World.
Where to buy the Switch 2
As of this writing, the Switch 2 is still sold out at all major retailers, though price gougers are having a good day over at eBay. You can try placing an order through the My Nintendo Store or check the retailers listed below.
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Buy the Switch 2 at Nintendo
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Buy the Switch 2 at Walmart
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Buy the Switch 2 at GameStop
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Buy the Switch 2 at Best Buy
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But the Switch 2 at Costco
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Buy the Switch 2 at Target (available online June 6)
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
To creep around.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
SNEAK
Hurdle Word 2 hint
A long-legged bird.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
STORK
Hurdle Word 3 hint
To throw.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
CHUCK
Hurdle Word 4 hint
More accurate.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
TRUER
Final Hurdle hint
They show when one smiles.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
TEETH
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
This summer, FX's Alien: Earth latched onto my brain like a Facehugger latches onto a new host.
Now, with the release of the show's Season 1 finale, you'd think that Facehugger would drop off and leave me be. You'd be wrong! Instead, the Season 1 finale leaves viewers with some major questions we'll be puzzling over until the show's potential return.
Here are the five biggest questions we have for Alien: Earth Season 2.
What does a Neverland run by hybrids look like?
Season 1 of Alien: Earth ends with the group of hybrids known as the Lost Boys in total control over the Neverland research facility. They've imprisoned Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin), Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant), Morrow (Babou Ceesay), Dame Sylvia (Essie Davis), and Atom Eins (Adrian Edmondson). Now, with the adults out of the way, Wendy (Sydney Chandler) declares it's time for the hybrids to "rule."
But what will their rule entail? Will they stay on Neverland, or will they try to extend their authority to the rest of the world? Will they remain fast allies, or will they turn against one another and go full Lord of the Flies on their new island kingdom?
How will Weyland-Yutani and Alien: Earth's other corporations react to Boy Kavalier's plight?
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX
By the end of Alien: Earth Season 1, Weyland-Yutani is closing in on Neverland in order to take back the specimens Boy Kavalier stole. But will Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver) change tack when she realizes her rival is being held captive? Will she leave the island alone or try to stage a hostile takeover? Perhaps her priorities will change entirely, shifting from trying to capture the alien specimens to trying to perfect Boy Kavalier's revolutionary hybrid tech. Either way, her looming presence does not bode well for the newly independent hybrids.
Weyland-Yutani isn't the only other major corporation on the board in Alien: Earth, though. There are three other corporations we haven't truly met yet: Dynamic, Lynch, and Threshold. Could they be joining the party in Alien: Earth's future?
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What's next for the loose orchid and eyeball aliens?
While the Xenomorph may be under Wendy's control, there are still several alien threats running wild on the island. In the Season 1 finale, the orchid alien (aka D. Plumbicare) revealed that it could turn into a floating, octopus-like creature and got loose in Neverland. I would not want to be walking around the island with that out there, that's for sure.
But that's not all: Alien: Earth's breakout star, the eyeball alien T. Ocellus, found a new host in the corpse of Arthur Sylvia (David Rysdahl). We've seen T. Ocellus take over a cat corpse and a human body, but now we get to see it go full zombie mode in what might be Alien: Earth's coolest development yet. But what's T. Ocellus's plan while in Arthur's body? Will it try to find a new, stronger host in, say, a hybrid? (And what would that look like?) Will it finally have a conversation with its biggest fan, Boy Kavalier? And how in the world will Dame react when she sees her beloved husband with a massive new eyeball and a burst-open chest? Bring on the zombie shenanigans!
Will the Xenomorph continue serving Wendy, or will it rebel?
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX
For now, Wendy and her Xenomorph seem pretty tight. But what happens if the Xenomorph goes through a rebellious teenage phase and decides it doesn't want to serve its human mother figure anymore? Could the hybrids lose their grip on Neverland if the apex predator at their disposal decides to turn on them?
Wendy's Xenomorph also isn't the only Xenomorph on the island. There's also the specimen that burst out of Arthur's chest. As it grows, will it become territorial with Wendy's Xenomorph, or will it join the hybrid-Xeno family and view Wendy as its queen? If so, what are the odds Wendy tries to build a whole Xenomorph army?
How will Alien: Earth tie back to Alien?
The question hanging over any prequel is "how will this tie back to the original?" and with Alien: Earth, that question is especially pressing, given that it takes place two years before the events of Alien. By that point, there are no mentions of hybrid technology, nor are there any mentions of them in the sequels. So what will happen to the hybrids between then and now to render them obsolete? It's a daunting question, but it's one that Alien: Earth will certainly have to contend with as it closes in on the original films.
Alien: Earth is now streaming on Hulu.
After eight episodes of terrifying new creatures, Alien homages, and existential questions about the future of humanity, Alien: Earth Season 1 has come to a close. And what a close it was.
The finale, titled "The Real Monsters," flips the power dynamic that's been in place for the entire season. By the end of the episode, the hybrid Lost Boys, led by Wendy (Sydney Chandler), have gained total control over their keepers, including Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) and Dame Sylvia (Essie Davis). This power shift has been in the cards since Alien: Earth's first episode, but how do we get here? Let's break it down.
Alien: Earth's hybrids finally realize how strong they are.
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX
From the first moment Alien: Earth introduces Wendy in her super-strong, super-fast, super-durable hybrid body, it's clear that she and her fellow Lost Boys could absolutely wreck Prodigy's Neverland security team if they wanted to. That idea doesn't cross their minds, though. Instead, the Lost Boys are still children in consciousness, and they believe Neverland to be a safe paradise for them.
However, this idea erodes over the course of Alien: Earth's first season, as the Lost Boys lose confidence in the people they've been told to trust. They're endangered and experimented on. Nibs' (Lily Newmark) traumatic memories were manipulated. Isaac (Kit Young) died while tending to the alien specimens. Morrow (Babou Ceesay) threatened to kill Slightly's (Adarsh Gourav) family. Each horrifying incident wears away at the Lost Boys' childlike innocence, turning the idyllic Neverland into a hell on Earth.
Ironically, these incidents only increase the Lost Boys' feelings of powerlessness, even though they're the most powerful beings on Prodigy's remote island. But it's also in one of those scenes of powerlessness — when Prodigy forces corner Nibs, Wendy, and her brother Joe aka Hermit (Alex Lawther) on their escape boat in episode 7 — that the Lost Boys begin to realize their power. Nibs fully rips a soldier's jaw off, leaving Hermit to shoot (but not kill) her. Here, a horrified Wendy learns two things. First: Humans, including her brother, are terrified of the hybrids. Second: They have good reason to be. The hybrids are extremely dangerous. So why not embrace that?
That's the realization Wendy comes to in Alien: Earth's Season 1 finale. "All this time, we've been afraid of them," she tells the Lost Boys as they sit trapped in a Neverland cage. "But I think they should be afraid of us."
The Peter Pan allegories come to a head in the Alien: Earth Season 1 finale.
Credit: Patrick Brown/FX
Embracing the Neverland staffers' fear of them is the final stage in the Lost Boys' loss of their childish innocence. Or, in terms of Boy Kavalier's relentless Peter Pan references, this is them finally "growing up." However, that's exactly what the Prodigy founder and the rest of Neverland don't want to happen. As Wendy puts it, "We're all in this cell because we can't be kids anymore, but they won't let us be adults."
Nibs has another suggestion for what they are, one that's especially fitting after seeing the graves of their dead human bodies. "We're all ghosts," she says.
So what do these ghosts do? They turn Neverland into a haunted house, with Wendy using her in-built connection to the facility to manipulate video feeds, elevators, and doors to terrify every last soldier and scientist. Of course, having a Xenomorph at your beck and call helps too.
The entire episode serves as both a liberation for the Lost Boys and an identity crisis for Wendy, otherwise known by her human name, Marcy. She tells her brother, "I don't know what I am. I'm not a child. I'm not a grown-up. I'm not Marcy. I'm not Wendy. And I can't be what everyone wants me to be."
(Earlier in the season, Joe even questions whether Wendy truly holds his sister's consciousness, yet another blow to one of the pillars of Wendy's identity.)
Wendy's statement reflects the binaries in the world of Alien: Earth. Child and adult. Human and synthetic. Hybrids exist somewhere in between, blurring boundaries and creating a new kind of personhood. Wendy and the Lost Boys have spent the entire series having not just new names but entirely new identities imposed on them by exterior forces. Now, they get to make their own. Fellow hybrid Curly (Erana James) embraces her former name, Jane, as Wendy reminds each of the Lost Boys of theirs — a move the late Isaac, formerly Tootles, only enjoyed for an afternoon.
Wendy's identity crisis also explains her affinity for the Maginot aliens, whom she considers "honest." These creatures are wholly themselves, unlike liars such as Boy Kavalier. As Wendy points out, he considers himself Peter Pan, but he was never truly a boy. He was always a "mean, angry little man," just like his abusive father. Ouch. I'm not sure he'll be picking up a copy of Peter Pan any time soon after that.
"Now we rule."
Credit: Patrick Brown / FX
"The Real Monsters" ends with Wendy and the Lost Boys holding all of the authority figures in their lives hostage in the same cage they were formerly incarcerated in, prompting Wendy's declaration that, "now, we rule." Even Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant), their Prodigy synth senior, and Morrow, their cyborg antagonist, now answer to them.
The hybrids finally taking control is undoubtedly worthy of Alien: Earth's last hard-rocking needle drop. But it's certainly not the end of the Lost Boys' story. After all, the Weyland-Yutani forces are still encroaching on the island with numerous Prodigy forces still left, hinting at more conflict ahead. Plus, the alien orchid is loose, and T. Ocellus has found a new host in the chestburst corpse of Arthur Sylvia (David Rysdahl). That's a lot of threats for these still-young hybrids to deal with. How will they be able to fight off their enemies and learn how to rule their island?
That question of what it will look like for hybrids to "rule" hints at an intriguing new literary reference point for a possible Alien: Earth Season 2. If Season 1 was the Lost Boys growing up in the style of Peter Pan, then Season 2 might just see them learning to survive on an island in the vein of Lord of the Flies. With that in mind, who's Piggy, who's Ralph, and will the Xenomorph's head somehow wind up on the end of a pointy stick?
Alien: Earth is now streaming on Hulu.
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