Although it’s hardly state-of-the-art in terms of its rendering, Nier Automata pushed the last-gen base consoles hard – so we approached a Nintendo Switch port with some trepidation. Has conversion house Virtous managed to deliver another ‘impossible port’ for the Nintendo hybrid? Just how did the developer manage to get the game running on Switch at all? Oliver Mackenzie has answers.

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45 Comments

  1. I'm glad it's actually running on the Switch and isn't cloud like the Kingdom Hearts games…sigh

  2. I'm surprised and happy with how it looks/runs (in Portable Mode on the OLED specifically) I only picked it up as it released at a Budget price as well ($55 here in Australia which is surprisingly low for anything on Switch actually)

    If I'm gonna play it again on the TV I'll boot up the Xbone Version on my Xbox Series X with 60fps and I believe it was 4k as well? Also had it since Launch on PS4 and got the Platinum so might as well get those 1000Gs (plus I have Nier X360 through BackCompat and Nier Reincarnation already Downloaded on the XsX so might do a FULL Series Run soon-ish 👍)

    After a quick Google Apparently it is 4k/60fps on the XsX 🙌 I bet the other 2 are as well so yeah 🤔 (the X360 Nier is 60fps since it has "FPS Boost" turned on by default, haven't checked yet since I still need to buy it… Downloaded it through the Xbox App which is a cool/handy little thing you can do imo)

  3. One of my favorite games period. It's a shame that so many only play 1/4th the game cause they don't realize the 2nd-5th ending completes the story.

  4. nier is not a dempanding game never was they just ported it all wrong even on pc modders had to fix shit if they had given it to a studio that did it right then it would of been good like this as i have always said porting a game is just as important as optimising a game

  5. I've been having an absolute blast with this port. I'm not a big stickler when it comes to graphical fidelity as long as the overall performance and game feel are nice. And even with it being capped at 30fps, I'm finding the experience pretty enjoyable as when I played the PS4 version.

    The only thing I found a little irritating (and it's honestly a really mundane thing) is that whenever you trip around some kind of bush or shrub while running, the sound effect sounds gargled and distorted as if someone ripped a 32kbps audio file off limewire. It kinda disrupts the feeling and atmosphere the music provides in certain areas.

  6. Would you recommend this version on a Switch Lite, or the PC port on a Steam Deck? Asking for myself.

  7. Pretty cool!
    I do hope they'd add a 720p60 option for docked play.
    Like Bayonetta, I really prefer lower-res at 60fps instead of higher res at 30.
    Likewise, I would've liked it for Nintendo to give a 720p60 option for Animal Crossing.

  8. I was about to buy it until he said locked 30 fps lol. I don't care how low they have to put the resolution if they can get it to 60 fps I will buy it wish they could put different graphics modes in the settings.

  9. I played the game on PS5, so I had no performance issues. I didn't realize there were issues on previous gen systems. It's cool to see how well they did for the Switch port.

  10. I think Nier Replicant getting a port is an inevitability now, and I desperately want it to happen because more people need to witness the masterpiece of a game that is Nier Replicant.

  11. Next Nintendo console could have some of the new next-generation technologies, such as upscaling & frame generation, which will make the portable scene much more enjoyable!

  12. Not sure why you would focus so heavily on how it runs on Xbox One S, but the PS4 Pro version is the console version to compare this to since this was initially a PC exclusive that got adjusted to be a PS4 exclusive, then became one of the best titles to utilize the PS4 Pro's rapid packed math. It's even a little smoother in some respects than playing it on a PS5, as the PS5 seems to be running the base PS4 version instead of the PS4 Pro version. PC eventually got a mod to improve the performance issues that plagued this game, but current consoles still haven't (at the time of writing this comment) got a next gen patch. Honestly, it would very likely be perfect on PS5 if they just uncapped the framerate.

  13. I wish DF or someone else would do a comparison of every version of this game, since there’s so many ports + BC. And I think they all have different content too. PS4 is the most popular but might be the WORST performance and content wise, but I’m not sure. I would love to know!

  14. The comparison I really want to see with these switch ports is: how does it compare to steam deck… not even a mention.

  15. Even with the necessary downgrading I think it made sense to port it to the Switch. There are a lot of fans of Platinum Games in the Switch with player getting used to play Astral Chain and the Bayonetta games.

  16. They should've put all these efforts to upgrade the visuals and release a 4K version for current-gen consoles instead of downgrading it in order to run on the Switch.

  17. Just got the Switch version, gonna play it soon. I used to play the PC version, the final battle was absolute slow-mo on my 970 though haha. (Doesn't matter though, I don't have that card anymore) I hear the Steam version is better now but still not perfect. I wonder if this version emulates better than the PC version running natively? That should be fun to figure out.

  18. It is very impressive how a really good developer can make Nier shine on Nintendo old hardware system.
    Bravo 👏 to the developers in bringing this to the switch library of games.
    💯👾

  19. Next: Bringing Morowind and half life the original to the Nintendo switch, I mean if the Nintendo switch can run crisis and Nier, why not Morowind or Half life…..
    🤞💯👾

  20. Look I'll just go ahead and say it.. it looks like s*** on the switch. I don't know why they keep trying to put these games on the switch when the system was never intended for anything remotely close to this.

  21. 0:10 OMG!! Is this game a SHMUP!! 😳It looks amazing. I’ve never played these games before but seeing this part makes me rethink playing it.

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