Zelda: BOTW & TOTK Are “Transformative” On Switch 2, Says Digital Foundry
By Plenty of people are busy revisiting two of the Switch 1’s greatest games — Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom — on Switch 2. The frame a resolution boost are pretty remarkable in our eyes, and it seems like Digital Foundry agrees with our assessment, calling the upgrades “transformative”, especially for the 2023 sequel.
While the upgrades do cost a few pennies to pick up (though they are included in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription), Digital Foundry thinks it’s “worth it” to see just how remarkable these upgraded titles look on the new console.
First up is dynamic resolution, which is available on Switch 1, but the Switch 2’s version has a higher range in both games to support 4K displays.
Where dynamic resolution targeted 1600×900 on Switch 1 while docked, the Switch 2 release boosts that to a maximum of 2560×1440. There are dips in extreme cases, but these are extremely rare.
Digital Foundry did spot a few moments where the frames dipped randomly during cutscenes for no obvious reasons, but quickly corrected itself. And while the resolution boost and improved textures are fantastic across the board, there’s a distinct lack (or lack of effectiveness) of anti-aliasing in both games.
Improved load times (some of which are more than halved) and shadow quality are two other highlights the outlet was keen to point out, but we want to focus on the frame rate and performance.
Focusing on Tears of the Kingdom first, Digital Foundry confirms what we all know — the game is running at 60fps for the most part, and stays pretty consistently up in those figures whether you’re in battle or using Ultrahand. Testing only the first 6 hours of the game, DF noticed one tiny blip when building vehicles. A huge improvement from our experiences on Switch 1.
Breath of the Wild is even more consistent, with busier areas like Kakariko and Zora’s Domain put under the test with exploding barrels. These stay at a rock solid 60fps now.
So, it’s an impressive rundown, with a few little caveats. While “rough points” do remain in both games, these two upgrades come with an easy recommendation from the tech specialists.
Are you enjoying Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom on Switch 2? Tell us in the comments.