How does Star Wars Outlaws really run on Nintendo Switch 2?

Star Wars Outlaws kinda flopped for Ubisoft when it released a year ago, massively underperforming sales expectations for the company, so much so that it had a knock-on effect of Assassin's Creed Shadows being delayed.

But the publisher has stuck with it, with Star Wars Outlaws being ported for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Switch 2 ports have been proving very hit and miss in terms of how good they are - hits include Cyberpunk 2077 with misses featuring Hitman: World of Assassination.

There have been reports of media not being allowed to record gameplay of Star Wars Outlaws at PAX West, a gaming festival, because of how "poorly" it performed.

But how does it really run on Nintendo Switch 2? I've been hands-on with it and can reveal all.

Star Wars Outlaws is heading to Nintendo Switch 2 - but how does it really look and run? / Ubisoft

To be clear, this is not a full review of Star Wars Outlaws, but focuses purely on how the game looks and performs on Nintendo Switch 2. A code was provided by the publisher.

Ubisoft has acknowledged there are some issues that will be fixed with a hotfix patch closer to launch with other known issues being addressed post launch.

Among the issues mentioned are visual popping which is most noticeable when looking through binoculars, fps (frames per second) drops in built up areas and textures loading slowly when exiting a loading screen or transition.

I turned the motion blur intensity off so we could see what we're really dealing with. There are no fidelity or performance modes here. In both docked and handheld, Star Wars Outlaws on Switch 2 runs at 30fps. It seems to run at 1080p when docked and 720p in handheld.

The first few things I noticed were that the outlines of Kay's hair look blurry and fuzzy and things happening in the distance, such as explosions, look significantly blurry. There appears to be some sort of glow around each character too and definition is lacking in this port.

It pains me to say this but in-game cinematics and character models do not hold up to the current gen standards here. They're not sharp or crisp at all.

Pop ins are a common occurrence in the Switch 2 version of Star Wars Outlaws / Ubisoft

It quickly becomes clear that in-game cutscenes have what looks like a jump cut pretty much every time the scene cuts. This happened throughout my time with it so far and I couldn't stop noticing it. It distracted me a bit from what was actually going on.

Having said that, the pre-rendered cutscenes look fantastic. These are the best looking sections of the game by far and appear to run at a much higher frame rate too. Of course, these scenes are always going to look better than gameplay, but the difference is night and day.

Speaking of gameplay, I found there wasn't always a proper animation before performing certain actions, with petting animals being an early example. Kay floated into position to pet an animal without actually taking steps to get there first.

I didn't notice any frame rate dips - until I got to my first properly dense section after being let loose in the open world. The game ran stable at 30 fps until these sections where it frequently dipped when a lot was going on but Ubisoft has said it's working on that.

Having said that, when flying or navigating across the open world on the Speeder with enemies on my tail, the frame rate did not dip here. Textures do pop in fairly frequently too but again, Ubisoft has said it is working on addressing that issue as best it can.

The lighting in this port is generally quite good and the shadows that Kay and Nix create when navigating the open world are notable - however the shadows of other things like trees blowing in the wind look questionable to say the least.

I'm afraid to say Star Wars Outlaws on Nintendo Switch 2 is not a great port / Jake Brigstock, indy100

Overall, Star Wars Outlaws on Nintendo Switch 2 is not a great port in terms of how it looks and its performance.

It doesn't hold up to the current gen standards visually, what look like jump cuts plague in-game cinematics and there are noticeable frame rate dips in highly dense areas.

Having said that, it's not unplayable in the slightest. If it's the only way you can play it and you want to check it out, you'll likely enjoy it. In terms of the game itself, I do like it and it's always great to have the ability to play it anywhere on the go.

However if you missed it when it released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC last year and want to play it on any of those platforms, I'd recommend doing that instead of playing the Switch 2 version if you can. Unless you want to play it out and about.

Star Wars Outlaws releases on Nintendo Switch 2 on 4 September.

Elsewhere from indy100:

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