IGN / NXGamer: Hogwarts Legacy Performance Review: Nintendo Switch vs Xbox One

[Gamernyc78]

Hogwarts Legacy arrives on Nintendo Switch for its final 2023 release. The Nintendo Switch version of Hogwarts Legacy comes with high expectations on just how it can be squeezed onto the handheld console. In our IGN Hogwarts Legacy Nintendo Switch performance review, we compare the game to the Xbox One, PS4, and PS5 to see how it performs. How well does it run? What about the graphical sacrifices? Is loading worse than PS4? Is this a magical port to Nintendo's Switch? We cover all this and more.

Chapters
0:00 - Introduction
0:25 - Nintendo Switch Install Size, Options & Performance
3:29 - Nintendo Switch vs Xbox One Visual Comparison & Sacrifices
6:29 - Gameplay & Visual Redesigns
9:31 - Sound Wuality & Compromises
10:44 - Summary

Summary:

- 7.4GB Install (22GB on XBO)
- Better than feared but rougher than expected
- Reduced graphical settings (no motion blur etc) over XBO
- General performance similar or worse than XBO
- 30 FPS target, reaches in non-stress areas but in stress battles can stay at 24~25 FPS
- Prone to 100, 200ms spikes which can cause lurches to low teen FPS
- Can take seconds for objects, world etc to load in

- Load times are slightly faster than XBO. Around 1 minute.
- Docked: 720p DRS, low seen 576p
- Handheld. 540p with possible DRS
- Texture quality, texture filtering, lighting, shadow maps notably reduced over XBO
- "Xbox 360 / PS3 generational like look"
- Some minor improvements have been made in patch 1.1 on things like hair.

- Areas have been cut/changed to reduce CPU usage
- character animation also reduced in cut-scenes / talking scenes
- All visual changes 'add up to a stark difference' in side by side with XBO

- Motion blur, SSO etc also removed.
- Distant characters animation, NPC count, animation quality all reduced as well
- Additional 1 minute load added to Hogmead and all stores in it, which were all seamless on all other platforms.

- Audio quality compressed, missing sound effects but not as bad as feared.

- Everything takes a hit but generally still playable.

 

[Gamernyc78]

Nah this a diff game whether visually or in parts and I wouldn't buy it but I'm sure some will enjoy it.

 

[Darth Vader]

- Areas have been cut/changed to reduce CPU usage
- character animation also reduced in cut-scenes / talking scenes
- All visual changes 'add up to a stark difference' in side by side with XBO

I don't believe this. I was always told by a certain veteran that games can be scaled down as much as people want with no consequence to their design.

Obviously fake news.

 

[Johnic]

I don't believe this. I was always told by a certain veteran that games can be scaled down as much as people want with no consequence to their design.

Obviously fake news.

As simple as

 

[Gamernyc78]

I don't believe this. I was always told by a certain veteran that games can be scaled down as much as people want with no consequence to their design.

Obviously fake news.

Shit Lords of the Fallen should have been cut down bcus on consoles it crashes, hitches and lags in certain areas, it's frustrating.

We now know that just scaling down a game isn't enough.

 

[Darth Vader]

Shit Lords of the Fallen should have been cut down bcus on consoles it crashes, hitches and lags in certain areas, it's frustrating.

We now know that just scaling down a game isn't enough.

We've known that for decades. There's a reason why sonic for the master system is not the same as sonic for the genesis, or why the PS3 and XB60 version of Shadow of Mordor didn't have the nemesis system.

 

[KiryuRealty]

We've known that for decades. There's a reason why sonic for the master system is not the same as sonic for the genesis, or why the PS3 and XB60 version of Shadow of Mordor didn't have the nemesis system.

And yet many Xbots, Nintendolts and press shills insisted that porting to the Series S or Switch was just a matter of lowering resolutions and turning off fancy effects.

 

[Darth Vader]

And yet many Xbots, Nintendolts and press shills insisted that porting to the Series S or Switch was just a matter of lowering resolutions and turning off fancy effects.

Yeah, you press the "low settings" button on the game engine and presto.

 

[Systemshock2023]

Series S won't struggle unless a game designed for PS5/Series X runs at 1080p 30 FPS maxing out the CPU and GPU.

Since most games are designed to run at 60 FPS (or more) and resolutions around 1440p in average, the series S can still get away with sub 1080p versions of games at 30 fps.

 

[KiryuRealty]

Series S won't struggle unless a game designed for PS5/Series X runs at 1080p 30 FPS maxing out the CPU and GPU.

Since most games are designed to run at 60 FPS (or more) and resolutions around 1440p in average, the series S can still get away with sub 1080p versions of games at 30 fps.

Reality says otherwise.

But I applaud a new angle for PC Hamster Race asshattery! Claiming the Series S differs only in resolution was exactly what I was talking about. It’s a different enough architecture and memory system to make it essentially a totally different system, and a hassle to wring any sort of competent performance out of.

 

[Systemshock2023]

Reality says otherwise.

But I applaud a new angle for PC Hamster Race asshattery! Claiming the Series S differs only in resolution was exactly what I was talking about. It’s a different enough architecture and memory system to make it essentially a totally different system, and a hassle to wring any sort of competent performance out of.

You can't be comparing tweaks made to a game required to run on a series S vs the black magic they have to do to run AAA games on a switch mate. You are delusional...

And so far, reducing resolution,framerates and at times settings made every game to be playable on the series S. Even Baldurs gate devs whined for a while but then kept optimizing the game sothat it runs properly on series S, those optimizations will carry over to all other platforms.

The series S will still be more capable than a switch 2,so devs will have to work with switch 2 constraints in mind first and foremost.