Latest news with #ScarletAndViolet
The Verge
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Fortnite feels like a new game on the Switch 2
While you could play Fortnite on the original Nintendo Switch, it was a less than ideal situation that made the game feel more like a rough around the edges tech demo than a polished piece of software. Because of the Switch's hardware limitations, Fortnite could only run at 30 frames per second max, which could make it tricky to pull off well-timed shots. Character models were often so simplified that they barely looked like their counterparts on other consoles. And a combination of dropped frames, simpler textures, and overall lower resolution gave the island a choppy, muddy aesthetic quality that was tolerable, but far from beautiful. Though it was constantly being patched, Fortnite felt dated on the original Switch in a way that made it hard to justify Battle Passes or get excited about new design changes to the island. But, similar to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Fortnite 's Switch 2 update revitalizes the game by addressing almost every one of its core issues and highlighting all of the new bells and whistles Epic has been developing for it. Even in the Fortnite 's main menu where all of the game's various modes, shops, and inventory screens are displayed, there was a sluggishness to how things moved that could be attributed to the OG Switch's hardware. 30 fps was fine for choosing which skins you wanted to wear and selecting colorways for your weapons. But if you tried scrolling through your inventory of characters too quickly, you could see (and hear as the fan kicked on) the console struggling to keep up. Like the new eShop, there's a fluidity to Fortnite 's menu navigation on the Switch 2 that immediately makes the game feel more modern and like a platform designed to keep you poking around making adjustments to your avatar because it's fun. On the original Switch, it was common to see Fortnite characters whose in-game models looked very different than the rendered icons displayed in your locker due to a lack of proper lighting and things like clothing physics. Because of Fortnite 's toy-like aesthetic and the fact that you're not meant to be staring at your character head-on while playing, Epic could get away with simpler models on the first Switch. But on the Switch 2, you can see how much work the studio's designers have put into making its version of Poe Dameron look like Oscar Isaac, and Lewis Hamilton's braids actually move like pieces of hair that have weight to them. Before I was usually only able to check out the lobby for a couple of seconds before being pushed onto the Battle Bus because of how long the console spent stuck on its loading screen. But during my first Switch 2 Battle Royale, what shocked me most at first was to find my avatar standing in a lobby with ample time to mess around emoting at other players and checking out what kinds of skins they'd slapped on. I actually wanted to watch people dancing and playing instruments because there was time to do so without having to rush and get ready before everyone started shooting. And once the match had properly begun, I found myself way more interested in running around to look at waterfalls and watch NPC wander through neighborhoods as the sun set because of how much more visually impressive the island is with the update's improved lighting and textures. Fortnite still looks pleasantly cartoony on the Switch 2, but the game's boosted frame rate and resolution give its visuals a gloss of reality that makes everything feel more high stakes. It was thrilling to see the Scarlet Witch sprinting through the woods trying to shoot Force Lightning at a Sabrina Carpenter. Technically speaking, the characters weren't running any faster than they could have on the old Switch, but the action felt more intense because there was far more visual information coming in. There were still a handful of moments where Fortnite 's glitchiness rendered its head. Even though the Switch 2 version has better draw distances to help you see things that are far away, occasionally, I could see the train chugging along at a chopped and stuttering pace. Character selections also sometimes wouldn't immediately be updated after I selected them, and I'd have to wait until I was in a match to see which skin I'd equipped. At a glance, those sorts of bugs seemed to have more to do with how Fortnite is streamed to consoles as opposed to being reflections of the Switch 2's hardware. But they weren't so persistent enough to make the game feel broken or like it wasn't a massive upgrade over the original Switch. One of my personal bugaboos about skin-forward, free-to-play games like Fortnite is a concern that I'll end up spending real world money on costumes that I don't ultimately want to use all that much. It's why I've been picky about buying skins and leery when it comes time to sign up for a new Battle Pass. Fortnite on the Switch 2 can't solve for buyer's remorse, but the game's updated models make me want to try more of them out instead of sticking to my favorites who look better with their masks on. To gamers on other platforms, this might all sound unremarkable. But the difference in quality between the Switch and Switch 2's iterations of Fortnite is so stark that feels it fair to say that Epic has finally given the Nintendo fans a version of the game as it's meant to be played — one that's vibrant and makes you understand why it might be worth spending a few V-bucks. And if the game's forthcoming mouse control support is anywhere nearly as well-implemented as these visual changes, Fortnite could be one of the best new(ish) games you can play on the Switch 2 right now.
Geek Culture
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
‘Pokémon Scarlet and Violet': First Looks At 4K 60FPS Gameplay For Nintendo Switch 2
Pokémon fan or not, there's no denying that Scarlet and Violet could have been released in a better state. From game-breaking glitches to inconsistent frame rates, the ninth-generation titles saw dampened excitement levels at launch, even if they ended up being Nintendo's fastest-selling entries. Fans can expect to bid these issues farewell on the Nintendo Switch 2, where the games will receive a free performance upgrade. Ahead of the console's launch on 5 June, with pre-orders for Singapore starting from 9 June, the company has dropped a gameplay preview running at 60 frames per second and 4K resolution on its Nintendo Today news app. Advertisement ▼ The footage is locked down on the platform, but a 33-second-long recording by Bluesky user Wario64 offers a promising glimpse of Paldea in docked mode. In it, the player is seen traversing various key locations, including the Pokémon Academy in Mesagoza and Casseroya Lake, notoriously known for its major frame rate dips and stutter in the original build, with relative smoothness. The visual experience remains largely unchanged, however, maintaining the same flat textures as before. The update for Scarlet and Violet may be too little, too late, but it does signify a big leap in the right direction, especially with the launch of Pokémon Legends: Z-A just right around the corner. Featuring similar mechanics to its 2022 predecessor Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the highly anticipated title is set in Lumoise City and will introduce cross-generational starter critters Totodile (Generation II), Chikorita (Gen II), and Tepig (Gen V). Advertisement ▼ Combat has also been revamped, with the turn-based tradition eschewed for real-time features akin to other role-playing games, such as active player positioning and dodging. Additionally, the Mega Evolution system is set to return after its last outing in Sun and Moon. Pokémon Legends: Z-A releases on 16 October for both the Nintendo Switch and its upcoming successor. The next-gen console will launch in most regions on 5 June, before landing in Southeast Asia on 26 June.
The Verge
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Pokémon Violet and Scarlet's Switch 2 update is as good as it looks
I recently did something sort of unusual: I went to a preview event for a game that's been out for almost three years. I've played around 400 hours of Pokémon Scarlet, according to my Nintendo Switch, since it was released in late 2022. It's safe to say I know the game pretty well. And yet, when I was invited to preview Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on the Nintendo Switch 2 ahead of the new console's launch, I gladly took the opportunity to see three-year-old games I already own. I wanted to find out just how much they'd improved. I have a high jank tolerance with games — it builds character — but I'm well aware of Scarlet and Violet 's shortcomings on the original Switch. There's lag. The frame rate is… inconsistent. There are online connectivity issues. For a lot of people, performance problems overshadowed what was otherwise a great new generation of Pokémon games. With the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, and the accompanying free performance update for Scarlet and Violet, that might finally change. Starting up the demo of Pokémon Scarlet on the Switch 2 at The Pokémon Company International's office in Bellevue, Washington, I knew immediately where I wanted to go first: Casseroya Lake, sometimes called 'Lag Lake,' where the games' graphical issues are most apparent. On the original Switch, the game really chugs when you're on the lake; the frame rate takes a dive, and it struggles to render more than a handful of pokémon in your immediate vicinity. Exploring the liveliest open areas and encountering the pokémon that populate them is one of Scarlet and Violet 's biggest strengths, but on the Switch, Casseroya Lake is dull and empty at best and impossible to navigate at worst. Playing on the Switch 2, however, Casseroya Lake ran beautifully. There were far more pokémon in view (and I was immediately accosted by a torpedo-like Veluza, same as it ever was), and the lag and stuttering I'd come to expect were nonexistent. I battled that Veluza with no problems. I stumbled upon a Slowpoke outbreak and sent out my Clodsire to auto-battle them — no lag. I found a wild Tera Pokémon and watched the Tera animation play out, looking sharper than I'd ever seen it. (I was playing in docked mode at a station set up by TPCi, so maybe that last one could be credited to the TV. But still.) It was the same case everywhere I went during my 30-minute demo: a stable and smooth frame rate, significantly faster load times, and far more pokémon populating the world. The Switch 2 update is not a complete overhaul of the graphics themselves — the grass textures looked just as unremarkable as always to my eye, for example — but it does seem to eliminate the performance issues that have dragged Scarlet and Violet down for nearly three years. It's a noticeable improvement in the world, in battle, in Tera raids, and even in menus. Is it praiseworthy for a game to simply run well? Maybe not. I don't pretend to know how games are made on a technical level, or really any level, but I know they're not easy to make. And I had enough fun with Pokémon Scarlet to play for 400 hours without the performance issues bothering me much. But it did feel bittersweet, briefly, to think how much more these games could have shone if they'd run well in the first place. Then, in the last five minutes of my demo, as I waded in a different body of water to confirm that it too ran smoothly, I saw it: among the pods of Buizel dotting the shore, a shiny. A good portion of my 400 hours in Scarlet were spent shiny hunting, because even though the alternate-color versions of pokémon are not quite as hard to find as they were in previous games, I get excited every time I see one, without fail. It's the perfect encapsulation of the kind of joy Scarlet and Violet have to offer: exploring a lively area and finding something special. I caught the shiny Buizel despite knowing that it wasn't my save file and not mine to keep. The Switch 2 update is arguably arriving a bit late for my Scarlet save file, depending on how many hours you think are reasonable to spend playing this game. But I also own Violet, and I have played about two hours of that version total. Looking at the shiny Buizel I didn't get to keep, I realized I was really excited to have a reason to play Violet finally — to rediscover what I liked most about these games, in a state that does them justice.
