The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim getting a native Nintendo Switch 2 version was one of those no-brainers we expected to see as soon as the console launched, yet it took more than a few months to arrive, and when it finally did, it was a mess. What happened there? It’s a game from 2011, for Talos’ sake.
If you hadn’t been keeping track of the recent situation, the Switch 2 port of Skyrim arrived in December out of nowhere and promising sharper visuals and stronger performance than its Switch 1 counterpart. The first part was true; Skyrim’s Anniversary Edition (the most recent version of the game that comes with plenty of Creation Club content) on Switch 2 was lots sharper and more detailed, landing next to the more recent refreshes of the game and even sporting sharper looks than on handheld PCs due to impressive DLSS implementation.
Sadly, the game didn’t feel good to play. Note how I’m not saying the performance was bad. Input lag is an entirely different thing, and that was the problem. Veteran players instantly noted the massive issue, and Digital Foundry later confirmed everyone’s suspicions the game was suffering from terrible delay between pressing buttons and actions happening.
Needless to say, we also wanted a 60 FPS mode for a 2011 game that was already running amazingly well on the Steam Deck and other handheld PCs, but 30 FPS was fine (Skyrim is not a fast-paced game) in exchange for the sharpest portable version of the game we’d seen so far. But you know, put in the work to make it not feel like shite due to unresponsiveness.
Last month, a quick patch uncapped the framerate, which helped with the overall input lag but felt like a band-aid fix. Plus, resolution and graphical settings were barely altered, so the game never really hit 60 FPS and thus felt wobbly and unstable, especially when Docked, as Switch 2’s VRR screen could mask some of its unevenness. Not quite there.
With Fallout 4‘s Switch 2 port around the corner (24th February), pressure was mounting. How could we be excited for that version of the game when the far simpler Skyrim wasn’t running properly? Well, things have changed now, as the just-released 1.2 patch takes a hammer to input lag, stability issues, and overall control awkwardness. More importantly, Performance and Visuals (Quality) modes are now a thing that can be toggled at any time.
Image credit: Eurogamer/Bethesda Softworks
On paper, the choices are simple: 30 FPS with sharper graphics or 60 FPS with softer visuals due to a lower internal resolution. After spending some time with the game after the patch myself, I can say they work exactly as intended, and even the 30 FPS mode delivers more responsive controls than what we had before. There are bigger differences beyond the resolution cut to hit the sweet 60 FPS line though (see above).
The most obvious cutback is the one done to object density and LOD details. Like in older versions of the game (or the PC one when you lowered settings), grass draw distance sees the biggest change. When targeting Performance, it’ll pop-in a few tens of meters ahead of you, which reminds me of the original versions of the game. Distant details, including NPCs, also feel instantly blurrier, and shadows are chunkier. Moreover, textures are less defined in order to free up resources.
In practice, however, I think most players will agree the game still looks fine and better than its original iterations, and the 60 FPS target is consistently maintained in my experience so far. Whether you play Skyrim in third or first-person, all the aiming and imsim-like interactivity greatly benefits from higher framerates, and going with Performance here feels like the only path forward to me. The 30-FPS Visuals mode is solid now if you can get used to it though, and since these options can be swapped on the fly, I’d recommend it to get the best possible screenshots even if you’re going with Performance during normal play.
Overall, Skyrim on Switch 2 finally feels like what we should’ve gotten back in December, and while there’s room for extra improvements and fine-tuning (maybe a Balanced 40 FPS mode for handheld?) in future patches, Bethesda’s modern RPG classic is a perfect fit for the system. Bring on Fallout 4!