As the life of the Switch 2 continues, it’s exciting to see developers bring their big budget AAA titles to the hybrid handheld console. With the original Switch it was impossible to imagine playing games like Final Fantasy VII Remake, especially when some pixel art indie games wouldn’t run particularly well. I always prefer playing my video games in a handheld setting, and thanks to the Switch 2 I’m getting to do that with even brand new releases. The next big test of the Switch 2 hardware is Resident Evil Requiem, and it’s once again performing some sort of electrical witchcraft to create a valid way to play a landmark title.
Resident Evil Requiem follows two characters through its story. First is fan favourite Leon Kennedy, now more grizzled and with bigger biceps. There’s also Grace Ashcroft, a nervous FBI agent investigating some mysterious deaths. Survivors of Raccoon City are dying in suspicious circumstances, and you’d better believe that there seems to be a fun Umbrella connection. It’s a wonderful setup for a Resident Evil game, and I appreciated both characters in different ways.
If you’re wanting to hear more about the game itself, our Resident expert and all around hunk Chris has written a full review. He’ll tell you all about what makes Requiem special, how it slots into the rest of the series, and how many times he screamed like a little puny baby. I’m just here to tell you about how the game runs on the Switch 2, especially with it being such a beautiful and l graphically intensive game.
The good news is that you’ve got a perfectly good way to play the newest Resident Evil game right in your hands, as long as your hands are holding a Switch 2 right now. In handheld mode especially the game looks absolutely stunning, and could well be the best looking thing I’ve ever played on a portable console full stop. You can tell the resolution and detail has been downgraded to ensure it runs on Nintendo’s hybrid console, but that has to be expected.
There are some framerate fluctuations too, especially in busier sections of the game. This mainly means that you’ll notice the drops in Leon’s parts, where multiple infected individuals come charging at you at once. When you play as Grace there’s generally more of an enclosed horror setting, and the performance is stable allowing you to get fully engrossed in the fear.
The overall Resident Evil Requiem on Switch 2 package is seriously impressive, but there are few little caveats that come with playing the game there. One of the weirdest of these is how low resolution the items are when you pick them up. You’ll rotate keys and see that they have bizarre jagged edges and little things like that, and it’s not a big deal but certainly noticeable.
Resident Evil Requiem is an entertaining and genuinely scary horror game, and if your preferred way to play spooky games is tucked up in bed then you’re in luck. The Switch 2 is a great place to play this landmark game, and is proof that even new multiplatform releases can launch the handheld with very few issues. As long as you’re willing to manage a few small compromises, Resident Evil Requiem will be just as haunting on the Switch 2 as anywhere else.
