6 reasons why Nintendo Switch is the best console to buy right now

The Switch isn't as powerful as the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4; it's certainly not as powerful as the PlayStation 4 Pro or the upcoming Xbox One X, both of which are capable of powering 4K gaming (the next step up after HD).

The Switch is, however, powerful enough. "Super Mario Odyssey" and "Breath of the Wild" and pretty much every other game on the Switch looks more than good enough. Does "Assassin's Creed Origins" look better than "Breath of the Wild," on a purely technical level? It sure does. The sun rays in "Origins" are incredible looking against the desert sands.

"Breath of the Wild" is still a far better game.

"Origins" is excellent, to be clear, but Nintendo's focus on game design over everything else is really showing in 2017. And the future looks ever brighter.

It sounds ridiculous, I know. The Switch is just a little game console!

What it feels like, though, is a little portal into Nintendoland — like an interface for accessing a Nintendo universe. It doesn't feel like a computer, really. That's notable, as the Xbox One and PS4 feel distinctly like computers.

The Switch interface is stark, simple, and fast. The console turns on instantly. At every step, it puts your time at a premium — it's seemingly optimized for going from zero to gaming as quickly as possible.

That the console's main feature outside of playing games is taking photos within games makes a lot of sense: If you're using the Switch, it's to play games. There's no internet browser, or social media, or even streaming services — the console is laser-focused on gaming.

And the Switch isn't just for any gaming, but the type of gaming that Nintendo's known for: Big, precedent-setting, joyous gaming. The type of gaming that players dive in to for hundreds of hours, as they scour the remains of Hyrule, or track down every last moon — that's what Nintendo's Switch is all about.

My family is small — just my wife, me, and our dog. We play games together on all the consoles, and have for years, but the Nintendo Switch is one we've spent an especially large amount of time with this year. Most of that time was "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe," admittedly, but now that "Odyssey" is out we've taken to swapping the controller between us while hunting down moons.

Games like "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" can easily be expanded out for more than two players, and even buying just one extra controller enables three players to play against each other (in total) because the Joy-Con can act as two separate gamepads. Besides, you should probably buy a Pro Controller — it's the best addition you can get for the Switch.

At $300, the Switch has a relatively low barrier to entry.

The competition has Nintendo beat in this regard — both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 can be purchased for well below $300, especially if you're okay with buying a "refurbished" model.

But, if you're willing to splash out and drop the $300, you get a combination home and portable game console.

"Super Mario Odyssey" looks great when you're playing the Switch in handheld mode or on a TV. I've been playing the game on a 55-inch 4K TV, and it looks fantastic. I've also been playing it on the subway in handheld mode. Surprise: It also looks fantastic there!

Being able to simply grab the console and slide it into my bag is a delight, and adds tremendous value to the console. It adds enough value, I might argue, to make it worth the extra money over the lower-priced competition.

Nintendo really set the tone of the tremendous first year of the Nintendo Switch with "Breath of the Wild" in March.

More than a great new entry in a classic franchise, "Breath of the Wild" moves forward the entire video-game medium. Through meticulous game design that demanded more from players, Nintendo once again demonstrated its uncanny ability to re-define foundational aspects of gaming.

It's the kind of game that changes player expectations — what they expect of themselves and what they expect from games. It's also an excellent game to dig into while traveling over the upcoming holidays.

Read our review of "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" right here.

Whether you've been playing "Mario Kart" games for years or you've never touched one, "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" is a tremendous delight.

It's the definitive "Mario Kart" experience, with a ridiculous number of courses and playable characters. Best of all, the Switch becomes a portable "Mario Kart" machine if you take the console in portable mode — each Joy-Con becomes a gamepad, and the Switch is the screen. Being able to casually challenge a friend to "Mario Kart" by simply having the Switch with you is pretty incredible.

Crucially, "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" is a perfect game to play alone or with friends. The vast majority of the time I've spent with the game has been sitting next to my wife, playing together online against the world. Since the game came out in late April, it's been a constant in my apartment.

Read our review of "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" right here.

The latest hit that can only be played on the Switch is "Super Mario Odyssey." It's currently got an average score of 97/100 on Metacritic, putting it on the all-time top 10 highest-rated games category.

It's highly rated because it's an outrageously good game, full of delight and surprise around every turn. "Odyssey" is the latest example of Nintendo's approach to major games as of late: Take classic franchises and evolve them to new heights.

It's hard to overstate the quality of "Super Mario Odyssey"; it's clever, and massive, and beautiful, and deeply referential, and so much more. It is, frankly put, one of the best Nintendo games of the past decade — perhaps of all time.

Read our review of "Super Mario Odyssey" right here.

Since launching in March, the Nintendo Switch has taken the mantle as the must-have console for playing the best games. This is the number one reason to buy the Switch this holiday: It's the only place to play the best games of 2017.

Yes, there are excellent exclusives on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. "Horizon Zero Dawn" on the PS4 and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" stick out as strong arguments for each, and that's not wrong.

But let's be clear: The Switch is absolutely stacked with huge, new games that can only be played on the Switch.