The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Skyrim landed as a surprise upgrade for Anniversary Edition owners. While the visuals have taken a welcome leap forward, the focus keyword Skyrim is now at the center of another performance controversy this time with the Switch 2.
Skyrim looks sharper, but doesn’t play smoother
This isn’t Skyrim’s first visit to Nintendo hardware. The original Switch version, released in 2016, cut visual fidelity and capped performance at 30 fps. Bethesda’s new Switch 2 Edition promised sharper textures, enhanced lighting, and higher resolution. On paper, it delivers jumping from 900p docked to a DLSS-upscaled 4K, with better draw distances and richer nighttime scenes. Unfortunately, those upgrades are overshadowed by a glaring issue.
Skyrim faces high input latency on Switch 2
Digital Foundry’s breakdown uncovered a major flaw: extreme input lag. Measured with a high-speed camera, the Switch 2 Edition took 220 to 240 milliseconds to register controller inputs almost a quarter second of delay. That’s not just sluggish, it’s disruptive. For reference, Microsoft’s old Kinect hardware had comparable latency, and the older Switch version of Skyrim responded 70 milliseconds faster.
Even games locked at 30 fps typically manage latency under 100 milliseconds. Here, Skyrim falls far behind. Bethesda has acknowledged the issue and stated it’s under investigation, but there’s no patch timeline yet.
The upgrades look great, but only from a distance
Visually, the Switch 2 Edition isn’t without merit. The game sports noticeably better texture detail, broader environmental clarity, and richer lighting effects. When docked, the jump in resolution is immediate and impactful. Even so, some quirks show through the polish:
- Water can momentarily flow in reverse with fast camera pans
- Distant trees and plants may shift color, especially at certain angles
- Some assets still flicker or load in late
Those flaws might be tolerable if the gameplay didn’t feel like it’s wading through molasses.
Bethesda’s Switch 2 debut shows promise, but it’s far from stable
Bethesda clearly wanted to showcase Skyrim as a legacy title that can evolve visually on new hardware. And yes, it looks better. But responsiveness trumps appearance, especially in an open-world game that depends on tight timing during exploration and combat. Right now, the Switch 2 version stumbles where it should shine.
The pixels may be prettier, but if your sword swings a quarter second late, what’s the point?
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