Digital Foundry has released its technical analysis of Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition on the Nintendo Switch 2, evaluating both the main story and the Phantom Liberty expansion.
The inclusion of Phantom Liberty on Switch 2 is notable, as CD Projekt Red skipped last-gen consoles such as PS4 and Xbox One for this expansion, focusing on current-gen hardware. Running the expansion on Switch 2 pushes the hardware to its limits.
Visual Modes and Resolution:
- Handheld Performance: 640×360 to 1280×720
- Handheld Quality: 800×450 to 1440×810
- Docked Performance: 960×540 to 1920×1080
- Docked Quality: 1280×720 to 1920×1080
DLSS is employed to enhance image clarity, though fast-paced scenes may suffer from blurriness and temporal noise. Visual quality remains similar between docked and handheld play, aside from resolution differences.
Compared to other consoles, Switch 2 matches PS5 in texture quality, outperforming Xbox Series X and PS4. Many textures remain consistent across platforms, but Switch 2 shines where differences exist, aided by DLSS. However, pedestrian and vehicle density is closer to PS4 levels, resulting in less crowded streets to maintain frame rate stability.
Shadow quality varies, with indoor shadows improving over PS4, while outdoor shadows under sunlight are slightly inferior.
Performance:
- In quality mode, the frame rate holds steady at 30fps during the main story.
- Phantom Liberty’s complex environments cause drops to 20-25fps on Switch 2.
- In 40fps performance mode, indoor areas generally stay near 40fps, but outdoor and combat scenes can drop to 30fps or below.
- Handheld frame rates are estimated to mirror docked play. VRR support helps smooth portable gameplay, though frame drops below 30fps are more noticeable.
Overall, Digital Foundry describes the Switch 2’s performance with Cyberpunk 2077 as impressive given the hardware constraints, particularly for handling the expanded content of Phantom Liberty.