{"id":759946,"date":"2026-09-04T17:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T17:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/759946\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T17:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T17:42:16","slug":"review-switch-2-elden-ring-ps4-visuals-improved-frame-rate-and-faster-loading-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/759946\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Switch 2 Elden Ring: PS4 Visuals, Improved Frame-Rate and Faster Loading Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tom Morgan verdict on Elden Ring’s delayed – but successful – Switch 2 port.<\/p>\n

After initial controversy around sub-standard performance in pre-release code, the Tarnished Edition of Elden Ring is finally available for Switch 2 – and the substantial delay has paid off. After its delay from an original late 2025 release, From Software has delivered a robust package that includes the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, additional starting classes and exclusive cosmetic items for the player and their mount – contained within a 40GB install size. But what kind of Elden Ring experience are Switch 2 users getting and is it more PS4 than PS5?<\/p>\n

Excepting the handheld and docked configurations, there are no graphics modes to wade through here, making our life a little easier. While in TV mode, Elden Ring runs at a dynamic 720p – 1080p range, matching the upper bounds of the the original PlayStation 4 version. Surprisingly the max 1080p figure is well-held across most of Limgrave, though 720p appears in rainy woodland regions – like the Weeping Peninsula. Another key distinction is that Switch 2 doesn’t lean on dynamic scaling as heavily as PS4, meaning most matched shots are clearer by comparison. Also curiously, there’s no DLSS used here, with From instead opting for its own anti-aliasing solution. The end result is image quality that looks extremely similar to the PlayStation 4 version of the game when both run at 1080p – but it’s tantalising to imagine how Nvidia’s upscaler could have benefitted the port.<\/p>\n

In terms of “settings”, Switch 2 is a almost a mirror image of the PlayStation 4 code, with identical textures, world layout, shadow quality, along with the same screen-space reflection implementation. The only discrepancy you might spot is in grass density, which favours PS4 while looking to the mid-to-far range. It\u2019s ever-so-slightly higher than Switch 2\u2019s in density by comparison, but it takes a close zoom to pick out. Meanwhile Switch 2 enjoys an advantage in asset streaming while travelling through the world on horseback – where trees and bushes struggle to load consistently on PS4’s HDD at such pace. Stand still however, and the scenery resolves with identical results. The two are almost 1:1 – while comparisons against PS5 show what’s left on the table in higher-end settings. You get more lush, foliage-rich environments from the current-gen versions – including Series S – which are not present on Switch 2.<\/p>\n

\"2\"\/<\/a>Switch 2 Elden Ring looks much the same as PS4, but does have a performance advantage beyond the last-gen console’s 30fps cap.
\n\"3\"\/<\/a>Switch 2 Elden Ring looks much the same as PS4, but does have a performance advantage beyond the last-gen console’s 30fps cap.
\n\"4\"\/<\/a>Switch 2 Elden Ring looks much the same as PS4, but does have a performance advantage beyond the last-gen console’s 30fps cap.
\n\"5\"\/<\/a>Switch 2 Elden Ring looks much the same as PS4, but does have a performance advantage beyond the last-gen console’s 30fps cap.<\/p>\n

It looks like Elden Ring, it feels like Elden Ring, but the Switch 2 port does share some of the CPU-based restrictions seen on last-gen and Series S. When numerous enemies are on-screen, animation decimation is in play, causing movement on those characters to appear akin to a stop-motion sequence. It’s not a constant, it only happens intermittently, but it is there, just as it is on other lower power consoles.<\/p>\n

Handheld play gives Switch 2 fewer GPU resources, requiring further cutbacks. First up, the dynamic 720p – 1080p range while docked drops to a lower 432p – 864p range while portable. Again, typically it’s at the max 864p figure around Limgrave and still looks sharp enough on the smaller screen – but the Weeping Peninsula will trigger a res drop. Otherwise, foliage density is pruned back a setting below docked mode, while SSR is also tweaked – though at least it’s still there. Shadow quality also takes a hit.<\/p>\n

The frame-rate strategy for the Switch 2 is a touch bizarre. The bottom line is that Switch 2 runs with a 40 frames per second cap. As a design choice, this 40fps cap makes perfect sense for a 120Hz handheld panel or a living room display running at the same refresh rate, but only if it can sustain the frame-rate target with even frame-pacing – historically, not From Software’s strongest suit. Gunning for 40fps is entirely unique to this platform, given that PS4 and Xbox One ran with a 30fps cap, and the current-gen systems run entirely unlocked to 60.<\/p>\n

\"6\"\/<\/a>Xbox Series S has performance and resolution advantages over Switch 2.
\n\"7\"\/<\/a>Xbox Series S has performance and resolution advantages over Switch 2.
\n\"8\"\/<\/a>Xbox Series S has performance and resolution advantages over Switch 2.
\n\"9\"\/<\/a>Xbox Series S has performance and resolution advantages over Switch 2.<\/p>\n

The reality is that 40fps play is only truly possible while looking at the sky, or during parts of less taxing dungeons. It’s simply not sustainable for any length of play in the open world – and when it does, those frame-times are inconsistent too. Ultimately, typical play rests much more often at 30-35fps while running docked. We’ve even spotted some lurches into the high 20s around the Caelid area – occasional as they are – which may hint towards troubled performance levels later on. Portable performance is in a similar ballpark going by eye, and based on the first five hours of play, we’re getting similar dips to 25fps causing judder there too. It’s not ideal by any means. But, in the wider context of Elden Ring’s frame-rate on other platforms – like PS4 and especially Xbox One – Switch 2 is a more performant release by comparison.<\/p>\n

Loading times are a highlight for the Switch 2, which proves significantly faster than its last-gen rivals. Moving from the Roundtable Hold to the First Steps site of grace takes roughly 12.4 seconds on Switch 2. This is considerably faster than the Xbox Series S at 18.6 seconds and significantly quicker than the PS4, which, constrained by its mechanical hard drive, takes 35.6 seconds. While it does not beat the 7.1-second load time of the PlayStation 5, the performance is impressive and helps maintain immersion while exploring the Lands Between.<\/p>\n

Summing up our experience with the game, Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition is thankfully nowhere near as “tarnished” as initial media suggested – the delay has proven immensely beneficial to the quality of the final release and there’s no issue in recommending it. It’s a successful port that may not trouble the user with the higher-end visual experience enjoyed by other current-gen hardware, but you are broadly getting the PS4 feature set with improved frame-rates, higher resolutions on average, and much faster loading times – and, of course, you’re getting a decent handheld experience too. An optional 30fps cap would have been welcome but From Software’s history in delivering that with a consistent level of frame-pacing is essentially non-existent so while the existing 40fps capped solution is not perfect, it is likely preferable.<\/p>\n

\"Thomas<\/p>\n

An obsessive of all things cutting-edge in graphics technology, Tom\u2019s been writing reviews for Digital Foundry and Eurogamer since 2011. His all-time favourite games include Gitaroo Man, Hades and Street Fighter 6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tom Morgan verdict on Elden Ring’s delayed – but successful – Switch 2 port. After initial controversy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[764,83690,59,376,129,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-759946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-elden-ring","tag-face-off","tag-gb","tag-nintendo-switch-2","tag-reviews","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}