The ambitious port of Apex Legends landed on the Nintendo Switch earlier this month, so how does it stay? Digital Foundry has now put the Panic Button conversion to the test, trying out the latest version of the game based on the 1.07 patch.
In terms of resolution, the game runs at 720p in docked play, with “dynamic resolution scale dropping to 1066×600 minimum” and dynamic 576p on laptop, with “minimum 960×540”.
DF highlights a series of cuts – textures lack an immense amount of detail, shadows are affected, the drawing distance is reduced and obscured by fog, effects are reduced and details of trees, shrubs and soil objects are also massively reduced. Then, there is the removal of the “vast majority” of grass and foliage, which is considered a “cut too far”. This results in a passable experience:
“What users actually get is a good enough representation of the game world, albeit with lower polyester. Everything is as it should be and renders correctly in the range. Think of it as a less complex, but decent enough representation of the world. reflections are also maintained, lens flares are maintained, while tissue physics is present and correct. Enemies also render in the same range, crucial for a fair experience for all players. The unique benefits of the switch are thin on the ground, but the aim of the gyroscope is included. “
Performance is obviously the biggest talking point for Apex Legends on the Switch – with frame rates dropping to “low 20fps” during shootings. Other than that, the 30FPS target is maintained, but that is still only half the frame rate of players on other console platforms, which are running the game at 60FPS.
“The main problem is that the frame-rate problems get in the way of confrontations with other players – exactly where performance should be at its best. In addition, there is a feeling that the frame-rate may start to fail simply because it is close to other players – a kind of unlikely early warning system?
Digital Foundry says the cuts are “so severe” that its final recommendation is to turn off the crossplay functionality (which is automatically enabled) to play exclusively with other Switch users and even with the playing field.
Have you tried Apex Legends on Nintendo Switch? What are your thoughts so far? Leave a comment below.