It’s hard to believe, but we’re already closing in on the Nintendo Switch 2’s six-month anniversary. By the time Metroid Prime 4: Beyond launches on Dec. 4, we’ll be able to give the console a fairly thorough progress report based on its strong lineup of first-party launch window games. Heavy hitters like Donkey Kong Bananza will headline that check-in, but it’s Nintendo’s two most recent games, Pokémon Legends: Z-A and now Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, that have helped the Switch 2 pass a crucial test in its first six months: the tech exam.
Before Nintendo formally revealed the Switch 2, the biggest concern from players around the then-theoretical console was about power. When it comes to hardware, Nintendo has lagged behind PlayStation and Xbox over the last few console generations, and that reality began to show in the Switch’s final years. The hope was that a Switch 2 would bring more stable framerates, smoother textures, and industry-standard features like 4K. That’s exactly what we got when the console was released in June. Or that’s what its specs indicated, at least. To truly know if the Switch 2 is an upgrade, we’d need to see some key games running on it. We’ve finally gotten that over the last two weeks, and the prognosis remains healthy.
The console’s first major test came with October’s Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The Pokémon series had some infamous tech struggles on the original Switch, with games like Scarlet and Violet launching in downright disastrous states. Nintendo’s hardware wasn’t exactly to blame for that; the actual engine powering Game Freak’s RPGs was outdated and getting stretched much further than it could go in the series’ gradual open-world pivot. Legends: Z-A would be more of a test for its developer than anything, but there was still a lot we’d be able to glean from the game’s visual clarity and performance on Switch 2.
While the game’s limited detail has opened debates about Game Freak’s technical capabilities, there’s no denying that Legends: Z-A is far from the tech disaster of its predecessor, Pokémon Legends: Arceus. It runs at a stable 60 frames per second on Switch 2, while the Switch version tops out at 30 fps. Pop-in is still present, and you’ll find plenty of blurry assets if you zoom in, but you won’t hit anything like the moment in Arceus where you first take to the skies and watch the entire ground below turn into a jagged, polygonal surface. (Granted, Z-A’s more limited traversal makes it harder to find those seams.) It’s enough to earn the Switch 2 some passing marks, but with caveats considering that Game Freak has its own problems that exacerbate limited hardware.
We now have a more compelling tech test, though, thanks to Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, out Nov. 6. The new Zelda spin-off pushes the Switch 2 thanks to its Musou formula, which has players facing off against a literal army of monsters at all times. The series’ previous game, Age of Calamity, struggled on the original Switch as the console couldn’t keep up with its fast-paced action and density of things happening on screen. It frequently dropped below its target 30fps and created the sensation that you were breaking the game when going too hard in battle (a feeling that some fans of the genre actually dig). In terms of hardware potential, Age of Imprisonment would be the real make-or-break moment for the Switch 2’s first six months.
The good news is that it also passes the tech test. I’ve been putting the game through its paces over the last few weeks, playing every single mission it has to offer. In that time, I’ve found that it’s been able to deliver a more stable framerate compared to its predecessor, actually hitting its 60 fps mark with more consistency. It can still slip up in the most heated of battles, but I’ve yet to hit any moment where I’m suddenly watching a slideshow as the framerate chugs. Part of that might be due to the fact that its bite-sized missions are careful not to put too many enemies on screen at once. I’m rarely taking out more than a few hundred enemies in any given mission, so we’re not talking about thousands of Moblins rushing the screen at once. (I’ll have much more to say about Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment soon, with a full review coming this Thursday, but limited mission design is its weak point.)
There are still compromises that you’re probably expecting. Most notably, splitscreen co-op sees performance taking a significant drop closer to the 30 fps range. It’s also the first Switch 2 first-party game where I’ve really noticed a major difference between my old OLED display and the new LCD display, with cutscenes especially having a washed out quality to them.
But for the most part, Age of Imprisonment is a night and day difference over its predecessor, just as Z-A is to Arceus. If you need any sign that the Switch 2 is delivering on its tech promises, even with some caveats still in tow, both games provide a clear example of how the Switch 2 is significantly improving series that struggled on old hardware.
