The Nintendo Switch 2 has already demonstrated its powerful capability to run AAA games. Despite some minor hiccups along the way, the console handles many modern blockbuster titles smoothly.
With the release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered this week, the console faces an unprecedented test as it tackles a major title built on Unreal Engine 5. However, initial impressions of the game's performance are not optimistic.
According to a video running an early build of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, the Switch 2 struggles significantly.
When exploring indoor areas rather than the open world, the game performs reasonably well. In these scenes, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered mostly maintains 30 FPS, although noticeable frametime instability persists, reducing visual smoothness.
However, once you enter the open-world areas, the situation deteriorates significantly. The frame rate often drops to just above 20 FPS, accompanied by severe stuttering that disrupts immersion.
Even without numerous elements appearing simultaneously in the open world, the Switch 2 still struggles to handle the performance demands of this game built on Unreal Engine 5.
It is important to note that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered does not fully represent a well-optimized Unreal Engine 5 game, as it suffers from performance issues on other consoles and PC platforms as well.
Nevertheless, this game can still serve as a reference sample, giving players an early glimpse of how future Unreal Engine 5 AAA titles might perform on Nintendo hardware.
The situation is similar in handheld mode. The video shows a severe freeze lasting over two seconds while a player was moving around in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered.
Overall, there is still a long way to go for Unreal Engine 5 to achieve solid performance on hardware with limited capabilities like the Switch 2.