Folks, I am not a graphics or frame rate snob. I grew up playing 50hz games and my main system of choice is an eight-year-old tablet. I love style and art over visuals, and sometimes I even tolerate rough framerates. I might be a little more unforgiving in 2025 than I was a few years ago, but look, I want good games, good experiences, not pristine visual experiences.
Playing Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom on Switch 2 might have changed that, though. I might be becoming a frame rate snob. And I honestly can’t believe how much better both games look and run on Switch 2.
I only got to spend about 10 minutes with both games, both handheld and docked, but even with that little time, it told me everything I needed to know. Two games that are technical marvels on older hardware — the earlier of these on Wii U, even! — are still technical marvels on a new console. Just even prettier.
The handheld station took me through the very beginning of both games — leaving the shrine and emerging from the darkness into the light of Hyrule. Immediately, you could tell the difference in frame rate as Link strolled slowly forward towards a chest in Breath of the Wild, kicked it, and proceeded to wince and hop on one foot as he nursed the other.
While that frame rate increase is consistent in both handheld and docked — and I tried, I promise, by stacking up fire fruit and bombs and anything else that might cause a lot of damage — it impressed me most when I was holding the actual console in my hands. No longer do I have to worry about blurring and frame drops as I run through the grass while bokoblins are chasing after me with flaming spears. Now I can cause as much havoc as I want without my Switch fan going nuts.
The biggest “wow” moment came from the beautiful title drop in Tears of the Kingdom. Leaving the shrine is evocative of its predecessor, but the literal gravity of jumping off of a ledge and through the clouds as light beams down onto the earth and Sky Islands brought a tear to my eye for the second time. I’ve already poured 300 hours into this game once – is a single tear going to make me do it again, just because of how good the skydives look?
For both games, it was honestly akin to picking them up for the very first time all over again. HDR makes the ethereal and warm Korok Forest glow in green, and the water sparkles in the sky-high Water Temple. Not even Ultra Hand shenanigans could force much of a blemish out of Tears of the Kingdom.
It’s sometimes so easy to forget just how underpowered the original Switch is, and situations like this highlight just how much work has not only gone into making both BOTW and TOTK run as well as they do on Switch (and they run extremely well given the hardware), but also just how much more work in general has gone into these games. Two franchise-defining, industry-defining titles; without their existence, gaming would be in a very different space.
Gliding down from Sheikah Towers in BOTW, the draw distance and pop-in wasn’t great on Switch — it was okay, but again, limitation, scale, etc. On Switch 2, that’s completely minimised and you can see much further out, and much clearer. The same of course goes for TOTK, but with the extra detail, ruins, and even layers, it all feels that much more impressive.
I realise I’m gushing about these games again, but it’s amazing to see a whole new realised ‘feel’ for these titles. The load times have been completely slashed, and now any kind of warp, in both games, will only take around 7-8 seconds. Just think about that for a second, especially with Tears of the Kingdom. Under 10 seconds to load that map?
Take 2
Like Alana, I found the improvements incredibly noticeable, at first. Within just a couple of minutes, though, after getting involved with the business end of a Guardian’s laser, my perceptions settled to a point where the game just felt like BOTW. I was just there, in the world, pottering around and laughing about being used to having a lot more stamina than the demo save file gave me. I very quickly forgot about the enhancements and it felt like, ‘Yeah, this is what it’s always been like, no!?”Of course, it hasn’t, and firing up the OG version reiterates just what a bump this upgrade is. My point, though, is that the smoother gameplay quickly became my ‘new normal’ and I was just playing one of the best games ever made. Oh-no-what-can-you-do.
I’ll definitely be upgrading my copy of TOTK, which I’m still a long way from 100%-ing (need to get those Koroks!), but I wasn’t moved to the point that I’d replay BOTW just to experience it in this new form. And honestly, having to have my phone around with a separate app running is irritating. Could that not have been an in-game thing? The immersiveness of this world is key with these games – I don’t want to be pulled out by a mobile app and worrying about battery drain! – Gavin
It’s a huge commitment to go through these games again, I know. You can at least transfer your save data over to Switch 2 from Switch — if you choose to upgrade, that is. And the Zelda Notes app will help scoop up those last remaining Koroks.
But the real question lies in the pricing. Is a performance and visual boost really worth the extra $10-$20? I honestly don’t know. And I’ve been showering praise on these upcoming releases. Both these upgrades will be free to NSO Expansion Pack subscribers, but it’s hard to swallow when you can often upgrade games on other consoles, for more significant additions, for lower prices.
However, for the first time since first booting up either BOTW or TOTK, the Switch 2 Editions made me feel like a kid again. These open-world Zelda games are true marvels with a magic about them that nothing else has quite matched yet. They’ve inspired a new generation of game developers, creators, writers, critics, inventors, and more. And all it took was one Link, some simple tools, a whole lot of imagination, and the most beautiful apocalyptic version of Hyrule possible.
Folks, I am not a graphics or frame rate snob. I grew up playing 50hz games and my main system of choice is an eight-year-old tablet. I love style and art over visuals, and sometimes I even tolerate rough framerates. I might be a little more unforgiving in 2025 than I was a few years ago, but look, I want good games, good experiences, not pristine visual experiences.
Playing Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom on Switch 2 might have changed that, though. I might be becoming a frame rate snob. And I honestly can't believe how much better both games look and run on Switch 2.
I only got to spend about 10 minutes with both games, both handheld and docked, but even with that little time, it told me everything I needed to know. Two games that are technical marvels on older hardware — the earlier of these on Wii U, even! — are still technical marvels on a new console. Just even prettier.
The handheld station took me through the very beginning of both games — leaving the shrine and emerging from the darkness into the light of Hyrule. Immediately, you could tell the difference in frame rate as Link strolled slowly forward towards a chest in Breath of the Wild, kicked it, and proceeded to wince and hop on one foot as he nursed the other.
While that frame rate increase is consistent in both handheld and docked — and I tried, I promise, by stacking up fire fruit and bombs and anything else that might cause a lot of damage — it impressed me most when I was holding the actual console in my hands. No longer do I have to worry about blurring and frame drops as I run through the grass while bokoblins are chasing after me with flaming spears. Now I can cause as much havoc as I want without my Switch fan going nuts.
The biggest "wow" moment came from the beautiful title drop in Tears of the Kingdom. Leaving the shrine is evocative of its predecessor, but the literal gravity of jumping off of a ledge and through the clouds as light beams down onto the earth and Sky Islands brought a tear to my eye for the second time. I've already poured 300 hours into this game once - is a single tear going to make me do it again, just because of how good the skydives look?
For both games, it was honestly akin to picking them up for the very first time all over again. HDR makes the ethereal and warm Korok Forest glow in green, and the water sparkles in the sky-high Water Temple. Not even Ultra Hand shenanigans could force much of a blemish out of Tears of the Kingdom.
It's sometimes so easy to forget just how underpowered the original Switch is, and situations like this highlight just how much work has not only gone into making both BOTW and TOTK run as well as they do on Switch (and they run extremely well given the hardware), but also just how much more work in general has gone into these games. Two franchise-defining, industry-defining titles; without their existence, gaming would be in a very different space.
Gliding down from Sheikah Towers in BOTW, the draw distance and pop-in wasn't great on Switch — it was okay, but again, limitation, scale, etc. On Switch 2, that's completely minimised and you can see much further out, and much clearer. The same of course goes for TOTK, but with the extra detail, ruins, and even layers, it all feels that much more impressive.
I realise I'm gushing about these games again, but it's amazing to see a whole new realised 'feel' for these titles. The load times have been completely slashed, and now any kind of warp, in both games, will only take around 7-8 seconds. Just think about that for a second, especially with Tears of the Kingdom. Under 10 seconds to load that map?
Take 2
Like Alana, I found the improvements incredibly noticeable, at first. Within just a couple of minutes, though, after getting involved with the business end of a Guardian's laser, my perceptions settled to a point where the game just felt like BOTW. I was just there, in the world, pottering around and laughing about being used to having a lot more stamina than the demo save file gave me. I very quickly forgot about the enhancements and it felt like, 'Yeah, this is what it's always been like, no!?"Of course, it hasn't, and firing up the OG version reiterates just what a bump this upgrade is. My point, though, is that the smoother gameplay quickly became my 'new normal' and I was just playing one of the best games ever made. Oh-no-what-can-you-do.
I'll definitely be upgrading my copy of TOTK, which I'm still a long way from 100%-ing (need to get those Koroks!), but I wasn't moved to the point that I'd replay BOTW just to experience it in this new form. And honestly, having to have my phone around with a separate app running is irritating. Could that not have been an in-game thing? The immersiveness of this world is key with these games - I don't want to be pulled out by a mobile app and worrying about battery drain! - Gavin
It's a huge commitment to go through these games again, I know. You can at least transfer your save data over to Switch 2 from Switch — if you choose to upgrade, that is. And the Zelda Notes app will help scoop up those last remaining Koroks.
But the real question lies in the pricing. Is a performance and visual boost really worth the extra $10-$20? I honestly don't know. And I've been showering praise on these upcoming releases. Both these upgrades will be free to NSO Expansion Pack subscribers, but it's hard to swallow when you can often upgrade games on other consoles, for more significant additions, for lower prices.
However, for the first time since first booting up either BOTW or TOTK, the Switch 2 Editions made me feel like a kid again. These open-world Zelda games are true marvels with a magic about them that nothing else has quite matched yet. They've inspired a new generation of game developers, creators, writers, critics, inventors, and more. And all it took was one Link, some simple tools, a whole lot of imagination, and the most beautiful apocalyptic version of Hyrule possible.
