GIF: Digital Foundry (YouTube)
Games that have adaptive resolutions are the ones that tend to handle the Switch transition the best. Wolfenstein 2 is one such game, and while studio Panic Button has made some savage cuts to maintain the frame rate, the game’s Switch port holds up surprisingly well.
Unsurprisingly, Wolfenstein 2 doesn’t run at 60fps on the Switch. But the game is exactly the same as what you’d get on the PC, PS4 or Xbox One, structurally at least. The maps and gameplay is intact, but the Switch has some particular problems when it comes to GPU and memory.
So Panic Button pulled out some neat tricks, as Digital Foundry outlines below. Much like the consoles of old, some areas of the map have walls that you won’t find in the original Wolfenstein 2 release. This is designed to help with load when traversing certain areas.
The other is the one we’ve come to expect: a drop in resolution. The game bottoms out – in docked mode as well as handheld – at 360p, which results in a pretty blurry image. The low resolution is most noticeable on a large TV, and if you’re going to pick up Wolf 2 handheld mode is the way to go.
But the benefit of all those cuts is a pretty reliable frame rate, save for a couple of areas. The game’s only 21GB on the Switch as well, less than half the size of the game’s install size on the Xbox One X. Given that the Switch has much less storage (even with microSD expansion cards) than a proper console, that’s a huge help.
New Orleans is rough, but it’s still a lot more playable than what we saw in the Switch version of PAYDAY 2. Note that you’ll get a little more instability playing in portable mode — since the GPU can’t run at its full capacity.
But it’s an impressive effort nonetheless. The hardware in the Switch is leagues behind the Xbox One, PS4 and their beefier cousins, but you’re still getting the same game with the same design, same levels and same pace of gameplay. It’s not 60fps, sure, but you’re also dealing with a console you hold in your hands that doesn’t need so much power it sets them on fire.
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