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It's hard to believe, but we're approaching the Nintendo Switch 2's half-year mark. By the time Metroid Prime 4: Beyond debuts on the fourth of December, we'll be able to give the system a comprehensive assessment due to its strong lineup of exclusive early titles. Heavy hitters like the new Donkey Kong game will dominate that review, however it's the company's latest releases, the Pokémon Legends installment and recently Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, that have helped the Switch 2 overcome a crucial test in its initial half-year: the tech exam.

Confronting Performance Worries

Before Nintendo formally revealed the Switch 2, the biggest concern from users regarding the then-theoretical console was about power. In terms of components, Nintendo has lagged behind PlayStation and Xbox for several generations. This situation began to show in the original Switch's later life. The desire was that a successor would introduce more stable framerates, better graphics, and industry-standard features like 4K. That's exactly what we got when the system was released in June. That's what its specs indicated, for the most part. To really determine if the new console is an improvement, it was necessary to observe major titles operating on the system. That has now happened over the last two weeks, and the outlook is positive.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A serving as First Challenge

The system's initial big challenge arrived with October's the new Pokémon game. The Pokémon series had well-known technical problems on the initial console, with titles such as the Scarlet and Violet games debuting in downright disastrous states. The console itself wasn't exactly to blame for those issues; the underlying technology driving the Pokémon titles was old and getting stretched past its limits in the series' gradual open-world pivot. The new game would be more challenging for its studio than anything, but there remained much to analyze from the title's graphics and performance on Switch 2.

Although the title's restricted visual fidelity has sparked discussions about the developer's skills, it's undeniable that this Pokémon game is not at all like the technical failure of its predecessor, Arceus. It runs at a consistent 60 fps on the new console, whereas the original console tops out at 30 frames per second. Pop-in is still present, and you may notice plenty of blurry assets if you zoom in, but you won't hit anything like the moment in Arceus where you first take to the skies and watch the entire ground below become a uneven, basic graphics. That qualifies to grant the new console a satisfactory rating, but with caveats considering that the developer has independent issues that amplify basic technology.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment as the More Demanding Tech Test

We now have a tougher hardware challenge, yet, because of the new Hyrule Warriors, launched earlier this month. The latest Musou title tests the new console thanks to its hack-and-slash gameplay, which has gamers battling a literal army of monsters at all times. The series' previous game, Age of Calamity, struggled on the first Switch as the system couldn't handle with its fast-paced action and density of things happening. It regularly decreased below the desired frame rate and produced the feeling that you were overwhelming the system when going too hard in battle.

The good news is that it too succeeds the tech test. I've been putting the game through its paces in recent weeks, experiencing every level included. In that time, it's clear that it manages to provide a more stable framerate versus its earlier title, reaching its 60 frames target with better regularity. It sometimes drops in the most intense combat, but I've yet to hit any moment where I'm suddenly watching a choppy presentation as the performance struggles. Part of that might be due to the fact that its bite-sized missions are structured to prevent overwhelming hordes on the display simultaneously.

Important Compromises and Final Assessment

Remaining are foreseeable trade-offs. Most notably, splitscreen co-op sees performance taking a significant drop around 30 frames. Moreover the premier exclusive release where it's apparent a major difference between previous OLED screens and the new LCD display, with cutscenes especially having a washed out quality.

However generally, the new game is a complete change over its predecessor, just as the Pokémon game is to the earlier Pokémon title. If you need evidence that the new console is meeting its performance claims, although with certain reservations still in tow, these titles show clearly of the way the new console is significantly improving series that struggled on previous systems.