Is the Nintendo Switch Lite Worth It? – A Few Months In

I have very recently started gaming as a hobby, mostly because my brother was getting rid of his old X-Box and I wasn’t bothered to invest any more time into finding something else to fill my time.

I very quickly understood the appeal of the e-gaming world, from the escapism and creative storytelling aspects to the fact that they can be used to connect with other like-minded folks, I found myself reaching for the X-Box when I wanted to disconnect and turn my brain off. I love to read, but sometimes, even reading feels like too much brain power.

The only downside I found in the X-Box is the fact that the set-up isn’t quite as portable as I would’ve liked it to be. The console itself is pretty big and heavy, and it requires a connection to a TV or monitor for it to work, something I don’t have in my room at home. 

I found myself thinking about how nice it would be to be able to sit in my bedroom on a cold spring night, and play my favourite farming game in the comfort of all 500 blankets on my bed. That’s when I discovered the joys of the Nintendo Switch.

I acknowledge that this is totally a “First World Problem”, I could just play in the living room and it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but I also love to travel, and take public transportation a lot, and I found it unfortunate that I wouldn’t be able to play on the go, especially because I grew up with a Nintendo DS, and I carried that little pink console like Linus and his blanket until it went out of style.

The Switch is without a doubt one of the most convenient, versatile gaming consoles on the market. Not only can the original be used as a standard console, similar to the X-Box or Playstation, but it can also be put in hand-held mode and used on the go, so it’s perfect for us ex-DS children! I sprung for the cheaper Switch Lite, which unfortunately doesn’t have detachable accessories and the ability to connect to the T.V., and is slightly smaller than the original, but has similar specs (I will touch on this more later). 

Is it the most robust or high-spec console? Absolutely not. Even with the new OLED display models, the processing speeds of the Switch are nothing like the ones of Microsoft or Sony’s newest models of their flagship consoles. Even in comparison to the OLED model, the CPU of the PS5 is a whopping 3.5x faster than that of the Switch, and taunts 12GB more RAM.

However, if you’re a casual gamer like myself, who wants to play relaxing, “cozy” games as I like to call them (farming simulators like Stardew Valley, Super Mario games, story-heavy games like Coffee Talk etc.), then you won’t notice the discrepancies. If you enjoy action-adventure, or stealth games (Fortnite, Assassins Creed, etc.) then you could see more lagging and an overall stiffer gaming experience, and forgoing the portability might be your best bet, but beware, there's a substantial difference in price tag!

I thought that the Switch/ gaming fanaticism phase was just that – a phase; I’d be obsessed with it for a few weeks, couldn’t put it down, and then from one second to the next I never touched it again and moved on to another hobby, which is why I didn’t buy the more expensive original model. Even for someone who falls hard and loses interest just as fast, the Switch has managed to retain my interest for nearly 4 months, even with my busy schedule with college and other responsibilities. There are days when I don’t have time to think about playing or just don’t feel like it, but I’ve continued to come back for more because it’s just that good. There’s a great variety of games, it’s portable, lightweight, and fits in a clutch-style shoulder bag! 

My only regret is not spending the extra €70 on the original model because as much as I love cuddling into my warm bed and planting my fake parsnips, sometimes I do long for the option of TV/ monitor connectivity the standard provides.

That said, the Switch Lite comes in lots of fun colours (mine is pink), while the Switch comes in black with limited joy con colour options. If you are considering getting a Nintendo Switch (which I recommend you do), spring for a slightly more expensive option for the sake of variety and adaptability because believe me, when you start, you won’t be able to stop!