Today, I’m adding more games to the list of games that have seen improvements when played on Nintendo Switch 2. Let’s have a look!

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Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition

Genre: Graphic Adventure / Horror / Third-Person Shooter

Players: 1

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Review:

Unlike the other Resident Evil games I’ve played on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, Resident Evil 4 has two different versions for each platform: the original, and the 2023 remake, with the latter following in the footsteps of remakes for Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 (and for those wondering, no, there’s no upgrade path here on Nintendo platforms). However, I would argue that the remake of Resident Evil 4 is far less transformative than those earlier games, because the game it’s remaking is far more recent and far less in need of revision.

That said, this is very much a remake and not just a remaster, with the game redone from the ground-up with reworked visuals, controls, and script. And while this game still has a fair amount of snark and tongue-in-cheek tone, that snarkiness has been dialed back quite a bit for something a bit more grounded here.

Graphically, Resident Evil 4 looks excellent in this remake, with lots of detail in the environments and characters, with some really nice enemy animations too. I don’t think the visuals are quite as jaw-dropping here as they were in Resident Evil 3 and especially in Resident Evil 2, but they still look great, and significantly better than what we saw in the original version of Resident Evil 4.

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game has numerous downgrades from other current-generation versions of the Resident Evil 4 remake, but most are fairly minor, and in line with what you get in the PlayStation 4 version of the game – The game mostly runs at 60FPS framerates but can dip into the 40s at times when things get busy, lighting and shadows aren’t as detailed, textures aren’t as detailed in some spots, and foliage is a little less dense. However, I don’t think you’ll notice these compromises unless you’re comparing the two versions side-by-side.

What’s far more noticeable are the drop in framerates for distant enemies, and the absolute abundance of texture pop-in you’ll encounter as you play through the game, with entire pathways through narrow gorges filling in with textures as you run through them. It doesn’t affect the gameplay, but it’s a glaring ugly spot in an otherwise great-looking game.

While I have mixed thoughts on the visuals, I think the gameplay here is largely all good news. This version of the game modernizes combat, adds parry and stealth mechanics, removes some of the more egregious “Quick-Time Events” that many players didn’t care for, adds a crafting mechanic, adds additional goals and side-quests throughout the campaign, reworks the way Ashley takes damage to make her a bit less of an annoying escort. All of these changes really help me to appreciate this game in a way I honestly never did before.

This release of the game also contains Mercenaries, a combat-focused score-chasing game mode that’s great for giving players an easy way to blast away some enemies for a short bit without having to wade through the game’s campaign.

I should also note that the Nintendo Switch release of the game works in optional gryoscopic motion controls, though… well, don’t get excited. I found these controls to be… strange – turning motion controls on doesn’t change anything when not aiming down the sights, but once you do, it assigns vertical aiming entirely to motion controls with no ability to fine-tune it with the right analog stick. Meanwhile, you can still aim horizontally with the right analog stick, but you also get a little horizontal movement with gyroscopic aiming… but only a little. It’s this weird combination of settings, and it’s frustrating that Capcom doesn’t provide a way to set up the controls the way you want them.

In addition to everything mentioned above, I should note that the version of the game released on Nintendo Switch 2 is the Gold Edition, containing all of the game’s DLC content. Nintendo Switch 2 owners may be late to the party with this one, but they’re getting the full package.

Overall, I have to give the remake of Resident Evil 4 a lot of credit for making me take a second look at a game I previously didn’t see the appeal of. The updates to the controls, quality-of-life improvements, and additional content help to make this a game that I can now agree with series fans that yes, this is one of the best games in the Resident Evil series. That said, this port to Nintendo Switch 2 does have its share of issues, from the graphical issues I detail above to the odd way it chose to implement motion controls. The result is a good version of a great game, but far from an ideal version. However, if you can tolerate its flaws, this is still a magnificent game, and it’s a huge leap over the original version of Resident Evil 4.

tl;dr – Resident Evil 4 on Nintendo Switch 2 is a so-so port of a fantastic remake of a great game. This is absolutely an improvement over the original version of the game available on Nintendo Switch, in numerous ways, but this port to Nintendo Switch 2 has some graphical issues and poorly-implemented motion control (thankfully optional). This is still a must-have for series fans on Nintendo platforms, but it definitely seems like a compromised version of the game.

Grade: A-

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Resident Evil 5

Genre: Third-Person Shooter / Horror

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local Split-Screen, Local Wireless), 2-4 Co-Op / Competitive (Online), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Resident Evil Triple Pack, along with Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 6.)

As of this writing, Resident Evil 5 has received no update for Nintendo Switch 2, but I still wanted to have a look and see if the Nintendo Switch version of this game benefits from playing on the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware. Let’s take a look!

As it happens, there is a noticeable difference when playing this game on Nintendo Switch 2 – the framerates are definitely improved, and much smoother now. The resolution (and aliasing) remain much the same, but the improved framerates definitely improve things here.

There’s also a decent improvement to the loading times – on Nintendo Switch, this game took 21 seconds to load to the title screen, and another 19 seconds to load a game save. On Nintendo Switch 2, these same loading times were reduced to 16 seconds and 7 seconds.

While it may not be a night-and-day change, this definitely makes the Nintendo Switch 2 a better place to play Resident Evil 5 than the Nintendo Switch. If you’re a fan of the series thanks to all the new Nintendo Switch 2 releases, but you haven’t yet tried this underrated installment in the series, I’d definitely recommend giving it a go.

tl;dr – Resident Evil 5 abandons much of the series’ Graphic Adventure and Horror-fueled roots in favor of something that’s much more Action-heavy, and while series purists may find this disappointing, the result is a pretty fun Third-Person Shooter with some great online multiplayer co-op and competitive gameplay.

Grade: B+

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Resident Evil 6

Genre: Third-Person Shooter / Horror

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local Split-Screen), 2-6 Co-Op / Competitive (Local Wireless, Online), Online Leaderboards

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Resident Evil Triple Pack, along with Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5.)

As of this writing, the Nintendo Switch version of Resident Evil 6 has not received any update on Nintendo Switch 2, which is a shame because I felt that version of the game suffered from some nasty framerate issues. Perhaps even without a patch or update, the game might perform better on Nintendo Switch 2? Let’s have a look and see…

And… wow, what a difference. All the framerate issues of the Nintendo Switch version are gone on Nintendo Switch 2, with the game now instead having silky-smooth framerates. The resolution hasn’t improved any and there are still issues with aliasing, but even so this is a huge difference, even with no patch.

The loading times have improved too. On Nintendo Switch, it took me 30 seconds to load to the title screen and 18 seconds to load a game save. On Nintendo Switch 2, those same times have dropped to 22 seconds and 9 seconds.

The change here isn’t quite enough to get me to bump the grade up for Resident Evil 6 on Nintendo Switch 2, but it’s pretty close. This is a much better experience for a great Action game, even if it’s a great Action game that a lot of people really wish was less action-y and more Horror-focused. But whether you appreciate this game for what it is or not, it is absolutely better to play on Nintendo Switch 2 compared to Nintendo Switch.

tl;dr – Resident Evil 6, even more than the series’ fifth game, is an over-the-top action-packed Third-Person Shooter that is as far from “Survival Horror” as the series has ever gotten. However, for those who don’t mind the departure from the series’ roots and who are looking for an Action game with some great online co-op, this is a game well worth playing, although be warned that the Nintendo Switch version suffers from underpopulated online lobbies. That said, the framerate issues of the Nintendo Switch version of the game are gone on Nintendo Switch 2, making for a much better experience.

Grade: B+

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I hope you enjoyed this latest batch of Nintendo Switch 2 Difference Mini-Reviews, and found them to be helpful! Want to see all Nintendo Switch 2 Difference comparisons? Check out this page for links to every article where I’ve included these comparisons!

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