The Switch 2’s mouse functionality is a nifty idea, but let’s face it, the prospect of scrolling around for hours with something that wasn’t designed from the ground up with that functionality in mind sounds like a recipe for hand cramps. Fortunately, you’ll have options.
In April, Polygon had a chance to take the Switch 2’s mouse controls for a test run. At the time we noted that the Joy-Con 2 was pretty good at tracking a variety of surfaces, including your own pants. In those demos, the mouse more or less worked the way you expected it to on a PC — but it was easy to accidentally press the wrong button due to the orientation of the controller. It’s possible that the quasi-mouse just takes some getting used to, but ultimately the control scheme wasn’t as intuitive as it could be.
If you have a mouse lying around, though, it might be easier to just use that instead. As revealed by Koei Tecmo in a developer diary for strategy game Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition, you can plug in a normal computer mouse and play games that way (first spotted by VGC).
One argument for using the Joy-Con 2 in these instances is that it can be paired with a mouse. That way, you can move around seamlessly while also making use of the buttons on the Joy-Con that are programmed with shortcuts.
Or you can learn to love the Joy-Con mouse! Producer Michi Ryu does make it sound like any potential speed bumps you experience while learning the ropes might be worth it. “For those who get used to it, operating via these shortcuts can make the game flow more smoothly,” he says in the video.
