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It's surprising, but we're approaching the Nintendo Switch 2's six-month milestone. By the time Metroid Prime 4: Beyond launches on December 4, we can provide the system a fairly thorough progress report due to its strong lineup of first-party initial releases. Blockbuster games like Donkey Kong Bananza will headline that analysis, yet it's the company's latest releases, the Pokémon Legends installment and now Age of Imprisonment, that have enabled the new console overcome a critical examination in its opening six months: the tech exam.

Confronting Performance Worries

Prior to Nintendo officially announced the successor system, the primary worry from gamers around the hypothetical device was regarding performance. Regarding technology, Nintendo has lagged behind PlayStation and Xbox in recent cycles. That reality began to show in the end of the Switch era. The expectation was that a Switch 2 would deliver more stable framerates, improved visuals, and standard options like 4K resolution. That's exactly what we got when the system was debuted this summer. Or that's what its technical details suggested, anyway. To accurately assess if the Switch 2 is an improvement, it was necessary to observe some key games operating on the system. We now have that evidence during the past fortnight, and the assessment is favorable.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A serving as Initial Test

The console's first major test was the October release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The Pokémon series had well-known technical problems on the initial console, with titles such as the Scarlet and Violet games debuting in highly problematic conditions. The console itself wasn't exactly to blame for that; the actual engine running the developer's games was aged and getting stretched past its limits in the franchise's move to open-world. This installment would be a bigger examination for its studio than anything, but there was still a lot to analyze from the visual presentation and its operation on the upgraded hardware.

While the game's limited detail has opened debates about the developer's skills, there's no denying that the latest installment is far from the technical failure of its earlier title, Pokémon Legends: Arceus. It operates at a consistent 60 fps on Switch 2, but the Switch version tops out at thirty frames. Pop-in is still present, and you may notice various fuzzy textures if you zoom in, but you won't encounter anything similar to the situation in Arceus where you begin airborne travel and observe the whole terrain beneath transform into a uneven, basic graphics. It's enough to give the system a satisfactory rating, though with reservations given that Game Freak has independent issues that exacerbate limited hardware.

The New Zelda Game serving as a More Demanding Performance Examination

We now have a more demanding performance examination, yet, because of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, out Nov. 6. The new Zelda spin-off tests the new console due to its Musou formula, which has gamers battling a huge number of enemies constantly. The series' previous game, Age of Calamity, struggled on the original Switch as the console couldn't keep up with its fast-paced action and numerous on-screen elements. It regularly decreased below its target 30fps and produced the feeling that you were overwhelming the system when being too aggressive.

Thankfully is that it too succeeds the hardware challenge. Having tested the release thoroughly over the last few weeks, experiencing every level available. In that time, it's clear that it manages to provide a smoother performance versus its previous game, actually hitting its sixty frames goal with greater stability. It sometimes drops in the most intense combat, but I haven't experienced any moment where the game turns into a stuttering mess as the framerate chugs. A portion of this may result from the situation where its compact stages are careful not to put too many enemies on the display simultaneously.

Significant Limitations and Overall Assessment

There are still expected limitations. Especially, shared-screen play sees performance taking a significant drop around 30 frames. It's also the premier exclusive release where it's apparent a significant contrast between previous OLED screens and the new LCD display, with notably in story sequences having a washed out quality.

Overall though, the new game is a dramatic improvement over its previous installment, similar to Pokémon Legends: Z-A is to Pokémon Legends: Arceus. If you need evidence that the Switch 2 is fulfilling its tech promises, despite some limitations remaining, these titles show clearly of how Nintendo's latest is substantially boosting series that struggled on old hardware.