Warframe

Genre: Third-Person Action

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Online)

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

WARNING: THIS GAME HEAVILY PUSHES MICROTRANSACTIONS

Warframe is a Free-To-Play Third-Person Action game, and while I include the warning at the start of this article about microtransactions, in this case I credit the game with being pretty reasonable about things – this is a pretty major release to just give away for free, and the microtransactions are largely used for unlocking additional characters beyond the initial one you choose, and those you can get via other means during the course of the game as well. There’s also expanded inventory slots you’ll need to pay for if you want, but again, kinda’ understandable since the base game is free. In short, I’m saying that while this game does use microtransactions, I don’t think it’s being sleazy about it.

In this game, you take the role of the titular Warframe, an autonomous humanoid war machine awoken from slumber during an assault on a facility for nebulous reasons. The game kinda’ throws you right into the thick of things without much explanation about who the characters are or what the story is with the world they inhabit, and you’re expected to more or less pick things up as you go along, which can be a bit disorienting.

Players will get both melee and long-range attacks to use against enemies, as well as the ability to use stealth and character-specific powers. Controls in the game take a little getting used to, in part because your character moves really fast, and zipping around the levels with the camera right behind you can be a bit… again, disorienting.

The game gives players various customization options for their character, allowing you to change out your weapons, or focus on boosting your speed, your melee strength, health, and so on. In addition, the game includes a crafting system, along with various components to collect through the levels you’ll be running through.

I quickly found that it seemed like I did more damage with melee attacks, and took to running from enemy to enemy, slicing them up with my sword. As a result, the gameplay I played through was a bit simplistic, but still fun.

And imagine my surprise when suddenly, without warning, I was joined by another player. By default, the game is set to allow anyone to join, and you have to go in and change settings if you want multiplayer to remain invite-only, or if you want to play solo.

Which… kinda’ brings me to one of this game’s bigger problems. It’s clear that this game was designed with online multiplayer in mind. You and up to three other players head into a level, fight off enemies together, and raid all the loot, that sort of thing. It does this well, but it’s clear that the Nintendo Switch is not the ideal place for this sort of thing – it’s the sort of game where you’d want to communicate with teammates, and while the game does thankfully let you use the headphone jack to use a headset, you’re not going to be doing that in docked mode.

What’s more, this version of the game clearly suffered a graphical downgrade. It still runs at a decent 30fps, but the textures are really muddy and ugly in this version. On top of this, while this is clearly personal preference, I found this just overall to be an ugly game in terms of design.

Still, what we’re talking about here is still a solid online multiplayer game that is free to play and pretty reasonable about its microtransactions. If you want a good action game to raid enemy bases online with friends and don’t have another good game machine to play it on, Warframe is still a solid title on the Switch. If you do have another platform to play it on though, you’ll be better off playing this anywhere else.

tl;dr – Warframe is a Free-To-Play Third-Person Action game that actually does the “Free-To-Play” part right, and provides a good multiplayer online experience for up to four players, albeit one that’s disorienting for newcomers. However, the Switch is not the most ideal place to play this game, and if you can play it on another platform, you’re better off playing it there.

Grade: B

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Warframe (Nintendo Switch 2)

Genre: Third-Person Action

Players: 1-4 Co-Op (Online)

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Review:

WARNING: THIS GAME HEAVILY PUSHES MICROTRANSACTIONS

It has been a very long time since I last looked at Warframe on Nintendo Switch. I know the game has a dedicated fanbase but even so I admit I was surprised to see it get a Nintendo Switch 2 release. So, how does this release compare to the original Warframe?

Well, first, I should note that like many other free-to-play games, this isn’t a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition release, but a separate version of the game made specifically for Nintendo Switch 2. However, being free, this means you won’t be spending extra on this release, and since both versions share the same online account, you can instantly transition freely from one to the other and back on both hybrid consoles if you like.

As for the question of improvements… simply put, the difference between the two versions is immediately noticeable, and significant. The resolution and framerate is greatly improved in this release, and by comparison the Nintendo Switch version looks like you’re playing it with a blur filter and a grain filter. I don’t have numbers to quantify the difference in performance, but just know that both the resolution and the framerate look much better here.

That’s not the only change, either. Buried in the game’s menus you can also find Mouse Mode support, though sadly it doesn’t appear to be dynamic Mouse Mode – either look with a mouse or look with the right analog stick, not both. Still, I appreciate that it’s here.

The loading times also see an improvement here. On Nintendo Switch, it took 48 seconds to load to the main menu, another 10 to load into your game, and another 15 to load a level. On Nintendo Switch 2, those times are now 27 seconds, 1 second, and 6 seconds, a massive improvement.

It’s always nice to see Nintendo Switch games improved on Nintendo Switch 2, but it is a special delight to see games get a massive boost that feels like a night-and-day difference, and Warframe is one of those releases. If you tried this game on Nintendo Switch but felt something was lacking, it’s definitely worth giving it a second shot on Nintendo Switch 2. After all, it won’t cost you a single penny to do so. And if you haven’t played it at all before, this is a great time to give it a try!

tl;dr – Warframe is a Free-To-Play Third-Person Action game that actually does the “Free-To-Play” part right, and provides a good multiplayer online experience for up to four players, albeit one that’s disorienting for newcomers. The Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game is a massive improvement over the release on Nintendo Switch, with improved graphics and performance. This is a great way to play a solid game!

Grade: B+

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