Fortnite on the Nintendo Switch is here, and it’s already very popular. The folks at Digital Foundry took a detailed look at how the visuals of the game hold up against the most powerful console on the market, the Xbox One X.
It’s not a fair comparison, but the side-by-side nature of the video is very helpful in communicating what the Switch version of the game is doing visually. And the verdict is pretty positive. Watch the entire video above for some interesting notes about how the game runs, and then check out what struck us about the analysis below.
So ... how is Fortnite on the Nintendo Switch?
Digital Foundry’s testing pretty much confirmed what I wrote in my initial hands-on report: You lose a lot of visual fidelity on the Nintendo Switch, but you can play just fine.
Fortnite on the Nintendo Switch has a ceiling of 30 fps, which means you’re never going to have the smooth play you may be used to on your much more expensive gaming PC or even on the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. It also runs at a 1600 by 900 resolution when docked, so the resolution takes a hit. That number is the ceiling, by the way, which means that the resolution may get even lower if a lot of things are happening on the screen.
Epic Games dials back the settings even further when you’re playing in portable mode, but the smaller screens makes it harder to notice, or care. The issues with the system’s power become the most apparent, according to Digital Foundry, when you’re fighting a lot of players with complex building going on in crowded areas. You may get down to 25 fps in that situation, along with a drop in resolution, so expect a slight disadvantage when you need every bit of help you can get.
But in general, this is a very strong, very playable version of the game, and you can play it on the go. You shouldn’t jump on the Switch version if you’re worried about giving yourself every advantage, but this is a fun way to play the game when you’re away from your other hardware. Epic Games did a great job with the port, and put the focus right where it belongs: on the play, not the visuals.
