Following a delay "for performance fine-tuning," Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition has now been released on Nintendo Switch 2. Digital Foundry has taken a detailed look at the port and delivers a refreshingly clear assessment.
How Well Does Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition Actually Run on Switch 2?
According to the tech test, reported by Nintendo Life among others, the game runs in docked mode with a dynamic resolution between 720p and 1080p – reaching the upper limit of what the PS4 version achieves. In mobile handheld mode, the resolution ranges between 432p and 864p. There is no graphics mode switch for manually toggling between performance and visuals; according to Digital Foundry, the image quality is essentially fixed out of the box.
How Does the Switch 2 Version Compare to Other Platforms?
Particularly noteworthy: in terms of loading times, the Switch 2 even plays in a higher league than one might expect. The journey from Roundtable Hold to the "First Steps" Site of Grace takes around 12.4 seconds on Switch 2, about 18.6 seconds on Xbox Series S, and even 35.6 seconds on PS4. Digital Foundry draws an overall positive conclusion: players get "largely the PS4 feature set with improved framerates, on average higher resolutions, and significantly faster loading times" – without, of course, reaching the visual fidelity of current-gen consoles.
For anyone who remembers the rocky implementations of other open-world titles on Switch/Switch 2, this comes as a genuine relief. Elden Ring is technically considered one of the more demanding FromSoftware games, so skepticism was high as to whether a smooth handheld port was even feasible. The postponement of the release date, which caused frustration among some fans at the time of the announcement, is now visibly paying off according to the test – an example that additional development time for technically complex porting is rarely wasted.
Ultimately, the Tarnished Edition on Switch 2 isn't a graphical spectacle, but it's a solid, highly playable Elden Ring experience on the go – especially for those who've only known the game on stationary consoles until now.
Source: Nintendo Life
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