On the whole, though, the Switch release generally looks very comparable to the last-gen console versions. Please enable JavaScript to use our comparison tools. In the heat of combat this concession isn't too noticeable but fights appear a bit less intense as a result. Particle effects are modestly scaled back as well, with fewer particles spawned during explosions, sword hits and dodges. This is occasionally quite obvious, but mostly the downgrades are small and only really stick out in side-by-side comparisons, things like less rounded barrels or blockier debris on the ground. Most of the time however, the Switch version holds up on its own terms - it's mostly the smaller-scale details that seem to stand out when there are differences.Įlsewhere, some of the geometric detail in the environments has been lost. It's not totally clear what's going on, though I have to imagine tweaks to the demanding global illumination system present on last-gen consoles, or possibly its removal, may be to blame. There are also some pretty stark differences in ambient lighting at times. Volumetric lighting also appears to be absent on Switch, or at least significantly scaled back. In particular, most of the point lights in background areas have been removed. This is most clear with respect to the game's dynamic light sources, which are often stripped back or removed. Lighting has been simplified to some degree too. It's a big change visually but the results generally look fine, although they do look a bit too bright when presented under shadowed regions. Grass density has only been mildly pared back but curiously, the 3D polygonal grass in the original versions of the game has been replaced with alpha-tested textures. Trees and bushes feature much lower resolution alpha textures and have simplified layouts, appearing much less dense as a result. Nier Automata on Switch - the Digital Foundry video tech review.įoliage is pared back and altered to better fit the Switch. In some areas, the textures look soupy, with no fine detail to speak of, though most of the time it's not quite as severe. Across the board, textures are degraded, with lower resolutions not to mention simplified layers and material properties. Measuring the game against its Xbox One S counterpart, the first thing that stands out is a significant reduction in texture detail. Relative to base last-gen consoles, the Switch release is comprehensively downgraded - though the overall image still looks surprisingly comparable. So what kind of compromises are we seeing here? It's important to keep this relatively poor showing in mind, because the Nintendo Switch falls far short of those machines in raw number-crunching performance. The typical run of play was 40-60fps, with combat and open-world traversal causing issues. Despite relatively pedestrian visuals, the title targeted 900p without any anti-aliasing, with somewhat messy performance on both machines. The challenge is clear - and it's all down to just how difficult this game was to run on PS4 and Xbox One. This seems like one of the so-called "impossible ports" - a technically demanding title downscaled for Nintendo's hybrid console, often with somewhat mixed results. This is why the Switch port came as a bit of a surprise when it was announced a few months ago: there's a huge performance gap between the Switch and even the base last gen consoles with precious little room to cut resolution before image quality becomes unacceptably poor. From a technical perspective though, the situation was far from ideal: the game was beset by frame-rate and image quality issues on last-gen machines, with wobbly performance coupled with plenty of aliasing. Nier Automata is one of the most celebrated last-generation action titles, marrying Platinum Games' signature stylings with inventive, varied gameplay and a mind-bending narrative.
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