Video games rarely look as beautifully composed as promotional screenshots, but the Switch version of Trials Rising does not look anything like the screenshots on its Nintendo store page. In fact, it seems like those screens are from another version of the game entirely.
Trials Rising came out today on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Switch. Many of the screenshots used to advertise the games on each of those platforms’ digital stores are identical, even the ones for the Nintendo Switch — despite the fact that its version of Trials Rising is clearly not as visually detailed as from the others.
Here’s the screenshot for the Egypt level that appears in the Switch’s eShop and the Nintendo website:
Here’s that level as it appears in a YouTube video of the game’s recent Xbox One beta:
But here’s that level as it appears in Digital Foundry’s analysis of the Switch version of the game:
The Switch version doesn’t look bad per se, but it’s missing a great deal of environmental features like rocks, stages, trees, shadows, and an entire Jumbotron setup.
Here’s Kotaku’s own video comparison of the starting level, Breaking Bad, as it appears in both the Switch and PS4 versions.
Other levels are more similar. The Grand Canyon stage, for instance, matches up pretty well with the one that appears on the other platforms and in one of the other promotional screenshots for the Switch version.
When asked for comment about the discrepancy on its website, Nintendo referred Kotaku to Ubisoft, the game’s publisher, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It’s looking like Switch isn’t the optimal platform for playing Trials Rising. In addition to running at 30 frames per second on Switch compared to 60 on other platforms, the game seems to be hampered by the Switch’s controllers, which don’t have analogue triggers. The triggers on the DualShock 4 and Xbox One controller allow variable input, but Switch’s only register on and off, which isn’t ideal for a game like Trials Rising that requires precise inputs.
When the game was originally revealed at E3 last June, its developers told IGN the game played “perfectly” on Switch. While plenty of people on the game’s subreddit have reported having a grand old time with the Switch version of Trials Rising, it’s clearly a downgrade — one that’s currently masked by the screenshots on the Switch’s eShop page.
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6 responses to “Trials Rising Switch eShop Screenshots Look Way Better Than The Real Thing”
i was so busy trying not to ride on my face that I didn’t even notice what it looked like
Seems like they’re opening themselves to refunds under the Australian Consumer Law. The product is clearly not as advertised.
Only problem I’ve had so far is a slight stutter in frame rate here or there, but other than that I’ve had a solid experience. I don’t really play Trials for the visual flair.
Side note, I’ve been playing handheld (as I do the majority of the time) and the controls port across perfectly fine. Back in the day on Xbox, I never really played Trials with precise acceleration in mind (then again, it probably became second nature since I play a lot of racing games), but I haven’t noticed a dip in control accuracy despite the change to a standard input.
Pretty sure you can use on of joysticks for accelerate or at least I read that.
Ooh, I’ll have to check that out.
Tried it out on my switch last night as I saw the beta post pop up, didn’t even notice the graphics but the lack of analogue triggers drove me insane having played older Trials games on Playstation/PC