When Animal Crossing came out I was obsessed and it was a nice escape from the world around me. What I’ve found in the last week though is I put my Switch in the drawer and stopped playing. I’d developed a habit of once I’d gone for my early walk I’d play animal crossing for an hour before starting my work day. It was becoming a grind for me and almost a habit, I’d actually stopped enjoying playing it. I’d mindlessly walk around my island picking fruit and flowers then selling them to make bells to pay off my mortgage!

I’d stopped playing and being creative but it turned into something that felt a chore.

I’m glad to see Nintendo are bringing in the option to go diving and I’ll probably dip (sorry) back in to check this out but for the most part I think I’m done.

Don’t get me wrong I very much enjoyed my time and it was a great distraction from the state of the world in 2020 but I won’t be hooked in every day grinding away.

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve had a Switch and thought I’d share how its holding up.

Overall it’s still in great shape, it’s been taken with me on holiday and work trips and when at home lives in the dock under the TV most of the time. The screen has had a protector on it given its plastic not glass and after recently taking it off is scratch free.

From this image you can see some signs of wear, which is what I have in various places on it.

The kick stand is still intact although has fallen off a couple of times. You can also see the wear around the screw hole.

The back shows some wear exactly where your fingers sit when holding.

I’d read stories about the top plastic components breaking off or cracking, mine are completely fine.

So overall it’s in great shape, in fact it’s held up better than my Apple gear has over the last couple of years.

I love this device and hoping Nintendo are bringing us a Mark II with a glass screen and some more performance to allow for more high end ports, such as Star Wars Battlefront II and maybe bigger joy con options but I’ll keep these thoughts for another day.

I’ve tested a few different screen protectors for the Switch but after recently needing to change it I found my favourite.

Why use a screen protector on the Switch?

I really don’t like screen protectors on my iOS devices but on the Switch I thought it was necessary. The screen itself is plastic so it’ll pick up scratches easily. This added to the fact you could scratch it just getting it into and out of the dock forced me to make the decision to get one.

The screen protectors

So I started off with a cheap plastic screen protector which lasted me about 6 months before changing it. I was clear for the most part but picked up scratches really easily.

Second was still plastic but a little more expensive and it held up until a week ago.

None of this matters now I’ve found my favourite. The Orzly Premium Tempered Glass Screen Protector.

I found it easy to apply, it comes with two in case you mess it up and looks good.

In the pack you get a cleaning cloth and also a sticker to get the dust off your screen before applying.

I did have to lift it off once to get rid of a little dust but thankfully it went back down ok so only used one protector.

Here’s the Amazon link.