Namely, the two most notable games I played were Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong: Bananza. The latter isn't a launch game, but they both made strong first impressions – not only as games themselves, but also as demonstrations of what the Switch 2 can do. Let's dig in.

You have to go all the way back to the Nintendo 64 to play the most recent 3D Donkey Kong game. But without a new mainline Zelda or Mario title (Mario Kart World doesn't quite count) queued up for the Switch 2's launch in June,

Nintendo is switching a few things up with its new console as it enters the next generation of gaming. The Switch 2 was unveiled Wednesday morning during a Nintendo Direct press conference, and Variety got a hands-on demo with the hardware and games launching on June 5.