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It's hard to believe, yet we're already closing in on the new Switch 2 console's six-month milestone. By the time Metroid Prime 4: Beyond debuts on the fourth of December, we can provide the console a fairly thorough assessment thanks to its strong lineup of first-party initial releases. Blockbuster games like the new Donkey Kong game will dominate that review, however it's Nintendo's two most recent games, Pokémon Legends: Z-A and currently the Hyrule Warriors sequel, that have helped the successor pass a key challenge in its initial half-year: the performance test.

Tackling Performance Issues

Before Nintendo formally revealed the successor system, the biggest concern from players about the rumored system was regarding performance. Regarding hardware, Nintendo trailed Sony and Microsoft in recent cycles. That fact began to show in the end of the Switch era. The hope was that a successor would bring smoother performance, better graphics, and standard options like 4K. That's exactly what we got when the console was released in June. That's what its hardware specifications promised, at least. To really determine if the upgraded system is an enhancement, it was necessary to observe major titles running on it. That has now happened in recent days, and the prognosis remains healthy.

The Pokémon Title as an Initial Challenge

The console's first major test arrived with the October release of the new Pokémon game. Pokémon games had some infamous tech struggles on the first Switch, with releases including Scarlet and Violet debuting in very poor shape. The system wasn't exactly to blame for those problems; the underlying technology powering the developer's games was aged and being pushed beyond its capabilities in the series' gradual open-world pivot. Legends: Z-A would be more challenging for its developer than any other factor, but we could still learn to observe from the game's visual clarity and how it runs on the new system.

Although the title's restricted visual fidelity has opened debates about the developer's skills, it's undeniable that Legends: Z-A is nowhere near the tech disaster of its earlier title, Arceus. It runs at a smooth 60 frames on the new console, but the Switch version maxes out at thirty frames. Objects still appear suddenly, and you may notice various fuzzy textures if you examine carefully, but you won't encounter anything similar to the moment in Arceus where you begin airborne travel and watch the entire ground below become a uneven, basic graphics. That qualifies to grant the new console a decent grade, though with reservations since the developer has separate challenges that amplify limited hardware.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment as a More Challenging Performance Examination

We now have a more compelling tech test, however, due to the new Hyrule Warriors, released November 6. This Zelda derivative pushes the Switch 2 due to its action-oriented style, which has players facing off against a huge number of enemies continuously. The franchise's last installment, Age of Calamity, had issues on the original Switch as the system couldn't handle with its rapid gameplay and density of things happening. It often fell below its target 30fps and gave the impression that you were pushing too hard when fighting intensely.

Thankfully is that it also passes the hardware challenge. I've been putting the title extensively over the last few weeks, experiencing every level it has to offer. Throughout this testing, it's clear that it manages to provide a consistent frame rate relative to its predecessor, actually hitting its 60 fps mark with better regularity. It can still slip up in the most heated of battles, but I haven't experienced any time when the game turns into a stuttering mess as the performance struggles. Part of that may result from the situation where its compact stages are designed to avoid too many enemies on screen at once.

Important Compromises and General Assessment

There are still compromises that you're probably expecting. Most notably, shared-screen play experiences a significant drop around 30 frames. Moreover the premier exclusive release where there's a clear a noticeable variation between previous OLED screens and the new LCD display, with cutscenes especially having a washed out quality.

Overall though, Age of Imprisonment is a dramatic improvement over its predecessor, like the Pokémon game is to Arceus. Should you require evidence that the Switch 2 is delivering on its performance claims, even with some caveats still in tow, the two releases provide a clear example of how the Switch 2 is markedly enhancing titles that performed poorly on previous systems.