Skryim Anniversary Edition (Nintendo Switch 2) First Impressions
At this point is comical the number of times Skyrim has been released on different platforms. You can say that this is just an upgrade patch for those who own the Anniversary edition of Skyrim on the original Nintendo Switch, but by all accounts this is technically another release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, so we must treat it as such. When the game launched on the Nintendo Switch, it was wildly impressive that a game of this scale was so approachable and playable on Nintendo’s old hardware. At the time when we reviewed it, we thought it was a really great port that was brining Skyrim to more players. We expected a lot more from the Switch 2 Anniversary Edition, but feel like we got so much less.
First and foremost, the game looks incredible on Nintendo Switch 2. Whether you are playing in handheld or on a TV, the game looks almost as good as it ever has, and so much better than the way it looked on the original Nintendo Switch. A lot of work went into improving the visuals of the game and bringing it closer to the versions we got on later Xbox and PlayStation hardware. Sure, it’s still not competing with the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, but it’s doing really great for a Nintendo handheld.
The problem is that after visual improvements, it seems like that is where the good stuff stops. Don’t get me wrong, I fully expect Bethesda to update this game in the future to improve some of these issues, but this felt like it was rushed to make as much money possible on the holiday rush. To that end, I’m sure Bethesda is going to be wildly successful. Unless you already own the Anniversary Edition on the original Nintendo Switch, getting this version is going to cost you something, whether a small price to upgrade from the original version to the Anniversary Edition, or the full price to buy the game outright.
Skyrim on Nintendo Switch 2 has issues in two key areas: the game’s input lag is incredibly poor, which is going to cause issues. Surprisingly, my issues were generally not tied to combat – I play on pretty easy difficulty to be fair – but rather when trying to steal goods off unsuspecting passers by. That little bit of input lag is the difference between being hidden or being seen, and I’m getting caught way more often than I remember in the past. I would say this was a user problem, and I just need to get better, but seeing so many other outlets talk about input lag makes me thing that perhaps this one isn’t on me.
The other issue here is the frame rate. I was hoping for something a bit higher than 30 frames per second, and while my experience at 30 frames seems to be pretty consistent, this is the kind of game where more than 30 frames would be nice. I believe the game runs at higher frame rates on other platforms, and the Nintendo Switch 2 has the capability to do it, so I would have expected more.
For now, I think holding off on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition on Nintendo Switch 2 is the right call. Let’s see if Bethesda fixes these issues.
Article By Adam
