My Switch port’s hype cycle has become painfully repetitive in the years since the hybrid handheld console was first released. There’s a game announced for it that I’m interested in. I’m excited to finally have it in a portable form, beginning months of anticipation and buildup. And then, when I play it, I’m disappointed. There have been exceptions, of course, but this disappointment has largely been the norm. Satisfying, Kidney vending machines is such an exception.
It’s honestly remarkable that the Switch version of Nier Automata achieves this. As time went on, I found myself less and less inclined to make Switch my platform of choice for games that ship on multiple. The release of Valve’s Steam Deck, which is home to a slew of great RPGs, hasn’t contributed to this. As a result, I raised an eyebrow when Automata was announced. It seemed like a port destined to disappoint. And yet, here I am, as the RPG site’s unofficial Switch Port Nerd, able to say five wonderful little words:
This is a miracle haven.
The developers of this port took the trouble to use all the features of the system, even when they were not needed. They went above and beyond.
I don’t understand how Square Enix has made a game like Nier Automata look so good and run so well on what is undeniably outdated hardware – it feels like magic is involved. PlatinumGames has struggled to make less ambitious games run so well, with the best example being the Nintendo-published action-adventure Astral Chain. That game was also designed for Switch, so to outclass Automata, I wouldn’t have expected that in a million years.
This piece is going to talk about the Switch version of Nier Automata on a mechanical level. The technical stuff. If you want to read the game in full, as a game and as a work of art, I recommend reading Josh’s glowing 10/10 review from way back in 2017. For what it’s worth, I largely agree with Josh’s verdict – this really is a special game. And if you haven’t played it before and don’t have other platforms to play it on, this port usually gets a glowing recommendation.
I don’t know what the target resolution is, but as James said in his preview piece earlier this month, it’s not far from what the PS4 could achieve. It gives a sharp image, especially during cutscenes. Textures have been downgraded if you really pay attention to them, but on my OLED model Switch, I found it to be a high quality visual experience. The pop-in that typically brings open world Switch games is much less of an issue here thanks to an impressive draw distance. Grass load is usually imperceptible, the same goes for textures. The few loading times out there are also decent in my experience. There is a long load when starting the game, but that’s about it.
I played most of the game disconnected as this is probably why a lot of people want to try out this version of the game. Switch fans are used to the concessions that have to be made to run games on the machine. If you’re looking for the highest possible resolution with a perfect 60 FPS, you probably wouldn’t worry about the switch port anyway. 30 FPS is something I want to deal with if it means being able to play a game like this on the go (or let’s face it, in bed). Vending machines usually hit this easily, with the occasional dip when things get hectic. While I have no way of calculating actual performance, those dips seem to go no less than 20 fps at worst, and that was only during special finishing attacks. What worried me most was how it would perform in the open world, but that concern was unfounded. In both ways of playing, the performance is quite good.
Despite being a Platinum Action game with some rather flashy combat, Automata has always been the open world and story for me. I’m glad the combat holds up well, and the game is a lot of fun, but this port shows that you can afford to cut the framerate in half without ruining the Automata experience. Despite not working as well as its main console counterpart, the sense of speed has remained largely intact.
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Outside of the new costumes (which were not available during the review period), there are some unique new gimmick features exclusive to this version. I was quite surprised to find that this version had motion controls via the joycons – something that feels like a generally underused feature of the platform. When playing with both Joycons, the left one can be used to sprint or flip, and the right one can be used to swing one of your weapons, depending on the direction. Most people probably won’t use this, and it’s completely optional, but I’m glad they made the effort to include it. If you’re playing Undocked, they’ve also mimicked rubbing the touchpad over a dualshock to pet your Pod with the Switch touchscreen. The developers of this port took the trouble to use all the features of the system, even when they were not needed. They went above and beyond.
This gate may be a miracle, but it’s not perfect. I noticed an extreme visual bug in the Ruined City when I switched from Docked to Undocked. The lighting system started to panic, changing rapidly every second. It’s the kind of flashing that could be of medical concern to certain users, and so seems like a pretty big issue that needs patching. All the water also stopped rendering, draining the small bodies of water. The only way I could get it back to normal was to restart the game. I’ve only been able to find this bug once, but since the game doesn’t have an autosave it can lead to problems losing progress if you can’t afford to go back to a save point. If you suffer from epilepsy, it may be worth waiting for Square to address this in a band-aid.
Other than that (possibly glaring) problem, this port is arguably one of the best PS4 to Switch conversions I’ve played. In the short time I’ve had to revisit Nier Automata on Switch, I’ve realized I could easily replay the whole thing this way in my spare time. Even if you’ve played it before, this could be the ideal version to sit back and relive the story, or clear up one of the many endings you missed the first time around. For newcomers, it’s a perfect entry into the series. It’s a comfortable experience that I’d recommend to newbies and fans alike who aren’t too picky about running their games on a handheld at 1080p 60 FPS.
There are certainly better ways to play this game, and for cheaper, but if Switch is your console of choice, it’s worth your time. I don’t know how the porting team managed it, but if the Switch is really here to stay, I’d love to see them take on more ambitious projects.
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