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Which games run better on the Nintendo Switch 2?
The Nintendo Switch 2 was a blessing for a lot of Switch 1 games. By now we know that many favorite games run better with sharper visuals, improved loading times, and even higher frame rates.
Some get this benefit just by being played on a system with better hardware, while others have received Switch 2 updates that greatly improve their playability.
Such examples of success are already known.
Breath of the Wild, for example, runs at a steady 60 fps after the update, with visuals that truly do justice to the world of Hyrule they are presenting. While also receiving a new feature in Zelda Notes, which I absolutely want to dive into at a different time.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet had a ton of issues that have plagued the game since launch, which were finally addressed. If you’ve played it before and try the Switch 2 version, you’ll be amazed at how different of a game it feels. Everything runs smoothly at 60 fps as well, with no slowdowns and better resolution. Now is absolutely the time to jump into Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
But as mentioned, this is old news. Today I want to go over 7 games I was pleasantly surprised with.
And since we were just discussing Pokémon, let’s start with a title that I haven’t seen anyone mention yet.
New Pokémon Snap
New Pokémon Snap was released all the way back in 2022, and it’s considered one of the best-looking games on the system due to its vibrant environments, detailed Pokémon animations, and overall polished gameplay. It showed just how much could be squeezed out of the aging Switch hardware.
And because of these reasons, it never registered in my head as a game that could benefit from the Switch 2’s new hardware. Even booting it up on my Switch 1 today, it looks and plays perfectly fine.
That’s what I thought until I saw the upgrade it got.
The difference is not as striking as the free update Pokémon Scarlet got, but it’s enough for me to fully recommend it again.
New Pokémon Snap benefits from sharper and smoother visuals, making its already strong qualities shine even further.
Although I enjoyed the game back then, after finishing, I never felt the need to play it again, but now? It’s difficult to stray my eyes from it and put it down, and it’s the game I’ve been playing the most for the past few weeks before falling asleep.
One Piece Pirate Warriors 4
One Piece Pirate Warriors 4 is one of those games that I knew I had to try after seeing how great Age of Calamity ran on the Switch 2.
It’s also a Warriors game, meaning you’ll be running around a massive map completing objectives while dealing with hordes of enemies coming at you from every direction.
The Switch version struggled with this. Frame drops and long loading times were just part of the experience. Still, I played through the entire game and loved it because I’ve been a die-hard fan of One Piece for over 20 years.
So how does it run on the Switch 2? It’s just beautiful. I can finally pick my go-to character, Kaido, which is massive, and plow through everything at a steady frame rate. Comparing both versions side by side is night and day, and I can’t imagine how much better it can become if it actually received an update specific to the Switch 2, and the same can be said for the rest of the games on this list.
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is weird. Not because of its concept, but because the developers refuse to let it die. Just when we think we’ve seen everything, there comes a new update to revive it like a senzu bean.
I haven’t touched it in years, and there are at least 5 DLC packs I haven’t purchased, and I remember having them all up until a certain point in time.
Despite being released in 2017, Xenoverse 2 is still a game worth playing for any Dragon Ball fan. With plenty of customization and content to tackle for hundreds of hours. But the Switch version has always been the worst way to experience it.
After booting it up, the difference in performance is immediately noticeable. And it’s not just the improved frame rate; the loading times have always been my biggest complaint, and now everything loads instantly.
Battles feel so much smoother now, and there are no drops in performance when battling multiple enemies while you’re throwing your Ki Attacks.
The experience is so much better that I’m contemplating going over the entire DLC I missed and making some content about it. Please let me know in the comments if that’s something you’d like to see!
The Pathless
I mentioned The Pathless before on my list of games I hoped would run better on Switch 2.
I praised it for having a fantastic art style and gameplay, expected from Giant Squid Games studio. But at the same time, I criticized it for its performance issues and blurry visuals, which is not how I want to experience a game from these developers.
Running around in these conditions made the gameplay feel clunky, and I was pushing myself through it during my playthrough until I had enough and gave up on it entirely.
Luckily, all the issues mentioned have been fixed, and on the Nintendo Switch 2, it finally runs as it’s supposed to, and it’s beautiful!
Usually I’m not picky with my frame rates if they are constant. But in a high-speed game like this, having more than 30 fps with no slow-downs feels like I’m playing an entirely different game.
And seeing how it runs, it makes me hopeful that we’ll be seeing their next game, Sword of the Sea, on Switch 2 in a near future!
TemTem
I’ve played a lot of TemTem, mostly via Steam, since I’ve had it since the open beta. When the Switch version was released, I jumped on it immediately because at the time it was the only way of playing it in portable mode, and that’s how I enjoy playing my Pokémon-like games.
I’ve always felt that TemTem is one of the best options for players that want to play games like Pokémon. From capturing TemTem to gym battles, facing an evil team, and saving the region. All the major tropes you’d expect are there.
However, since launch, there have been a couple of issues with TemTem, mainly the performance. I never minded it much since I was having fun playing it portably, and I know there’s always some compromises.
But after purchasing a Steam Deck and seeing how it ran there, it was difficult to come back to the Switch version.
The Nintendo Switch 2 version, however, is a different matter.
Sharper Visuals? Check. Better loading times? Definitely. Improved frame rates? Oh, yeah.
Just like The Pathless, the difference is striking. Everything is more vibrant, smoother, and responsive. The entire experience has seen a massive improvement, and it’s now my favorite way of playing TemTem.
There’s still a lot of content that I’d like to explore, if I can find enough time to, that is.
Being a gamer with a 9-5, a toddler, and a blog and YouTube channel to manage doesn’t leave me much time to capture that many TemTem.
Balan Wonderworld
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Balan Wonderworld runs fine on the Switch 2. The difference is so big that I think I can finally find strength in me to play through the entire game.
Looking back at my experience on Switch 1, it was terrible. And the gameplay wasn’t the issue; it’s always been how it ran. Even before you enter the first level, you can see how bad it performs, and once you enter the level… that’s when the regret starts creeping in.
I knew I was left with a game that ran so poorly that I could never play it fully, but I could always hope that it ran better on the Switch 2.
Someone out there must’ve heard my prayer, because, as mentioned, it runs better. But nowhere near perfect, just enough to make it playable. You can still feel that this game is under-optimized for the Switch.
But, if you’re mental like me and have purchased this game before, now it’s the perfect time to play Balan Wonderworld, I guess.
Atelier Yumia
To close this list, I want to quickly highlight Atelier Yumia.
It was the first game I tried on Switch 2, and with good reason. From the demo version I got a glimpse of what Atelier Yumia was, and it convinced me enough to purchase it at full price on release.
The only part of me that needed convincing was the performance. It didn’t matter what you were doing in the game; you could clearly see the frame drops everywhere. Alongside the blurry visuals, it was getting difficult to make progress. And I bought it knowing this.
But I also bought it with the hopes of it running better on Switch 2.
My gamble paid off, but not in full.
Looking at how it runs on Switch 2, the difference is noticeable. The loading times have massively improved, and even in Quality Mode the game runs at a much steadier frame rate, with some dips here and there in places with weather effects or during battles.
It now runs as a Switch 1 port is expected to run. However, at this point I’m expecting more. We now have a console powerful enough to run games like Cyberpunk 2077 and I think it’s time some of these developers took action and fix their products, even if they only address the issue in one of the consoles.
Thanks for tuning in, and if everything goes well, I’ll be seeing you again next time with brand-new content.
