Cyberpunk Is A Great Showcase For The Switch

Few games pack the technical punch of Cyberpunk 2077, making it an interesting proposition for Nintendo's shiny new handheld. While the Switch 2 is a significant upgrade to the original, Cyberpunk 2077 is considered one of the most hardware-intensive games in recent years. Despite this, CD Projekt Red's ambitious Switch 2 port is a commendable one that makes the most of the console's power, but with some noticeable drawbacks.

Cyberpunk 2077 for the Switch 2 offers a performance mode and quality mode for both docked and handheld play, with the key difference between the two play styles being resolution. While docked, Cyberpunk 2077's resolution ranges between 540p and 1080p. In quality mode, it shouldn't fall below 720p. Handheld play, depending on the graphics mode, scales between 360p and 810p. This sounds rough, but given the screen size and DLSS, Cyberpunk 2077 looks pretty palatable on the Nintendo Switch 2. Post-processing effects help offset this low resolution and the Switch 2 screen boasts a clean image, especially at a standstill. The quality can vary depending on what's happening on screen, though. If you're speeding through Night City or in the heat of combat, the resolution may plummet, but most players probably won't be able to tell.

Quality mode targets 30 frames per second and performance mode targets 40. The caveat is that performance mode while docked only works with 120Hz TVs and monitors, meaning that not every display can utilize the frame rate boost. However, in my testing, the frame rate boost seemed pretty negligible when compared to quality mode. This is largely due to the fact that the Nintendo Switch 2 does not support variable refresh rate while docked, meaning the frame rate dips are noticeable. Fortunately, the quality setting appears to be more consistent. The frame rate can fluctuate depending on where you are in the world and what's happening. Thanks to the Switch 2's built-in VRR screen, performance mode feels pretty solid while playing handheld. That said, Dog Town--the new district added in the Phantom Liberty DLC--appears to be particularly taxing on the Switch 2. It's far from unplayable, but it does run slightly worse than other parts of the city. This shouldn't come as a surprise considering Phantom Liberty never made it to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One due to technical limitations. That makes its inclusion on the Switch 2 all the more noteworthy.