Switch 2 Oblivion Remastered: A Mixed Bag of Technical Marvel and Frustration
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered has finally made its way to the Nintendo Switch 2, a year after its initial release on other platforms. With the Switch 2's less powerful hardware, concerns were raised about its performance, and the review confirms that these worries were not unfounded. While the port delivers some visual enhancements, performance remains a significant issue, especially in open-world environments.
One of the standout features of the Switch 2 version is the inclusion of mouse support via detachable Joy-Cons, which greatly improves menu navigation and bow targeting. Additionally, Nvidia's DLSS upscaler is employed, offering a more advanced implementation than the TSR used on other consoles. However, this technology has its limitations.
In docked mode, the Switch 2 targets a 1080p final frame reconstructed from a native 960x540 resolution, which holds up well in close-up details like dungeons and towns. Yet, in open-world spaces, DLSS struggles with high-frequency details, causing flicker, shimmer, and noise on elements like tree branches and rainy armor. Occlusion artifacts and stair-stepping in the Imperial City further highlight the technology's limitations.
Visually, the Switch 2 version lags behind the Xbox Series S in many aspects. Foliage density is reduced, and certain trees are removed from the map. Draw distances are more aggressive, with castle structures and shadows appearing more distant. While textures are generally on par with the Series S for road signs and brickwork, some materials, like mud pathways, are replaced with different assets, making them harder to distinguish. Tree shadows, in particular, suffer a significant hit, losing their defined leaves for simpler blobs of shade.
On the positive side, Lumen reflections and GI are impressive, and SSR is used as a fallback at a lower resolution. Indirect light bounce is accurately simulated across dungeons and towns, matching the Series S in most scenarios. However, NPCs at a distance animate at 15fps, which can be distracting in the open world.
Performance-wise, the Switch 2 version targets a 30fps cap, which is not a significant improvement over the 30fps cap of other consoles. The game still suffers from frame pacing issues, causing camera judder and traversal hitches. Hiccups exceeding 230ms when galloping or encountering multiple enemies are particularly frustrating.
Interestingly, the Switch 2 version seems to avoid the 'degrading performance' issue found on PS5 and Xbox, where performance worsens over time. After an hour of play, no significant degradation was observed, possibly due to the 30fps cap. However, a camera bug and a reproducible crash were encountered, indicating that stability is still an area of concern.
The hybrid rendering setup, which runs the original Oblivion logic beneath an Unreal Engine 5 layer, is a technical marvel. It ensures the game's authenticity, preserving the original's systems, bugs, and NPC behaviors. While the UE5 eye candy enhances the visuals, technical frustrations like uneven frame pacing and hitching hold it back. A year later, it's challenging to consider this as the definitive tribute to the beloved game, but it remains a fascinating technical feat for a handheld device.
In conclusion, Switch 2 Oblivion Remastered is a mixed bag. While it showcases impressive technical achievements, it also highlights the challenges of porting games to less powerful systems. The performance issues, especially in open-world environments, are a significant drawback. Nonetheless, the game's inclusion of mouse support and DLSS upscaler are welcome additions, making it a fascinating technical experience for Nintendo Switch 2 owners.
