With the Nintendo Switch 2 approaching like a Spiny Shell in Mario Kart, it’s tempting to start thinking about shelving the original Switch and fully embracing the new.
But not so fast!
First, I want to pause and pay tribute to the console that’s quietly become my favourite over the years: the Nintendo Switch Lite.
Announced and released in 2019, the Nintendo Switch Lite was greeted with much hilarity because it’s a Switch you can’t actually, erm, switch. There are no detachable Joy-Cons. No dock. No TV mode. The Switch Lite is handheld-only, and that’s precisely its charm and precisely why I love it.
The Lite strips the Switch experience down to its essentials. It’s a compact, sturdy, reliable, and highly portable gaming system that you can just about take anywhere. Although the standard Nintendo Switch was the first system to merge Nintendo’s home and portable consoles, it was never a pocketable device in the lineage of the Game Boy and Nintendo DS. The upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 even less so.
The Nintendo Switch Lite found a place in my life by being simple. It fits neatly into a bag, a pocket (just about), and under a pillow. It’s gaming without distraction, a system to let the software shine.
It doesn’t have an OLED screen, but at 5.5 inches, the 720p display looks sharper than on a standard Switch. The battery life is solid, it feels mostly indestructible, and—crucially—it has a proper, reliable D-pad, making it perfect for platformers and retro classics from the Nintendo Switch Online library.
What makes the Switch Lite so loveable is how it carries forward the spirit of Nintendo’s handheld lineage. While the standard Switch represents the company’s hybrid future, the Lite feels like the true successor to the Game Boy, DS, and 3DS families.
Its focused design philosophy echoes the original Game Boy’s “less is more” approach. It doesn’t try to be everything to everyone—it knows exactly what it is. And what it is, is a brilliant little portable gaming machine.
For those of us who grew up sliding a Game Boy into a school backpack or taking a 3DS on long journeys, the Lite feels like coming home. It captures that special, intimate gaming experience that’s distinct from console or PC play. There are also welcome echoes of the PSP and PS Vita in its form factor, which feels appropriate given how much Lumines I’ve played on mine over the years
I tend to use my Switch Lite for that hour or so before I sleep, or when I’m out of the house. It’s the system I use to chip away at puzzle games or RPGs like Octopath Traveller II and Mario & Luigi: Brothership. It’s ideal for big games built around small moments.
Just because the Switch 2 is here, I don’t think the original Switch—and especially the Lite—should be dismissed straight away. As the cost of gaming hardware trends upward, the Switch Lite remains an accessible entry point to a vast library. It makes the perfect companion device for chipping away at a backlog of games I have accumulated over the past eight years without clogging up valuable space on the shiny Nintendo Switch 2.
The Nintendo Switch Lite was never meant to be the flashiest model in the lineup. But it is the most focused. There’s something beautifully simple about a handheld console that just works, and has access to hundreds of top-quality games.
No one can argue with Nintendo’s hybrid strategy but I’ll miss the truly dedicated portable handheld tradition that the Lite represents so well.That torch has been picked up by a new wave of retro-focused handhelds from companies like Anbernic and Retroid, which double down on portability and nostalgia to offer bite-sized gaming experiences.
So yes, the Switch 2 is coming, but as we count down the days, don’t overlook the humble Lite. It might be old and it might be simple, but it still has a lot to offer.
