Notoriously, Cyberpunk 2077 looked so bad on PlayStation when it launched back in 2020 that Sony took the unprecedented step of completely removing it from their store until it was better optimized. That might imply an uphill battle for getting a port to look and play well on Switch 2, but recent footage suggests it could look half-decent after all.
CD Projekt Red recently shared fresh captured footage with several media outlets and it’s been trickling out onto YouTube. The open-world sci-fi RPG appears to run at a mostly consistent 30fps framerate with upscaled textures that don’t look very blurry, and scenes that depict decent lighting and depth of detail.
It won’t be the best way to play Cyberpunk 2077, and we won’t know if it’s even a “good” way to experience the game until the port launches alongside the Switch 2, but it’s arguably looking better than The Witcher 3 did on the original Switch. Nintendo’s new console is expected to get lots of ports of recent and last-gen blockbusters, like Elden Ring, and a big test for the $450 machine is how performance will compare to Valve’s similarly priced Steam Deck.
Another of those ports is Yakuza 0, which Sega recently shared fresh footage for as well. A comparison of the game running on PS5 and Switch 2 (via VGC) similarly shows the handheld hybrid system holding up pretty well. The 2015 action game for PS4 is the oldest of the launch games coming to Switch 2, so that’s not too shocking. Only the Yakuza Kiwami remaster came to the original Switch, so this might be Sega testing the waters to see if it’s worth bringing the rest of the criminal underworld franchise—including the recent Like A Dragon RPGs—to the new platform (a series producer previously suggested the games were too violent for Nintendo’s console).
Fans also got a fresh look at Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on the Switch 2 over the weekend and are cautiously optimistic. The latest entry in the series had a rough launch on Switch in 2023 but is one of the Nintendo-published games getting a free update for Switch 2 at launch. New screenshots reveal much better lighting and extra detail in the world. Without full footage it’s hard to now how much pop-in or choppy framerates might drag that performance down, but in the static images at least the game looks noticeably more vibrant.
This year’s Pokémon game, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, is also getting a Switch 2 version, though that upgrade will cost $10. Fans have already been dragging the spin-off for graphical shortcomings in a recent deep-dive, but whether the next-gen version can offer improvements to warrant the increased price tag remains to be seen.
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