One of the big missing pieces from the original Nintendo Switch was FromSoftware. We got a port of the original Dark Souls early on and then nothing more. Not even a port of The Adventures of Cookie & Cream! It’s hard to say what the future will hold for the Nintendo Switch 2, but between the upcoming Duskbloods and this port of the megahit Elden Ring, we’re already eating better than we did last generation. Elden Ring Tarnished Edition brings the original game and the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion to Nintendo’s garden with a few extra sprinkles on top, giving players a whole new way to experience the mysterious and dangerous Lands Between.
I can’t imagine too many people need to know the basics here, but bear with me just in case. Imagine Dark Souls, but with a big open world similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Throw in some world-building assistance from George R.R. Martin of A Song of Fire & Ice fame, and that more or less gets you where you need to be for this game in terms of concept. Of course, that’s just the basic idea. Enough to whet the appetite, but the real reason Elden Ring is so beloved comes in the finer details. The way your choice of class affects how you play the game. The near-immaculate construction of the world with absolute bucketloads of cool things to find and incredible environmental storytelling. Wild boss and mini-boss battles ready to kill you over and over again.
It’s a game that many people have spent a hundred hours or more on, and that’s without even touching the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. That adds another map with new challenges and some new mechanics to grapple with. Basically, if you like open-world action-adventure games and don’t mind running into the occasional merciless challenge, you’re probably going to like what you get here. The Tarnished Edition bit in the title brings some new things of its own. There are two new classes to use, some new armor sets to collect, and some new skins for your trusty steed Torrent. Not exactly Erdtree-sized, but the new classes in particular might entice people to play through the game again if they need a reason.
With all that said, you probably don’t need another review of the game itself. Elden Ring is well-tested by this point, and you can’t swing a dead Tarnished around without hitting at least a few reviews loudly singing its praises. That whole game is here without any sacrifices whatsoever in terms of content. The Switch 2 Elden Ring Tarnished Edition’s main draw is being the first native portable release of the game. You could run the computer version on handheld PCs, but this version is designed around taking it on the go when desired. This can go either way as we’ve seen since the Switch 2 launched, but in this case it has turned out to be a fine enough way to experience FromSoftware’s massive open-world adventure on the go.
A lot of the visual inconsistencies that you might spot while playing docked are less of a problem on the handheld screen, though it does feel a bit too safe given what we’ve seen the Switch 2 is capable of in other games. This certainly isn’t a bad way to play Elden Ring portably, but those with access to a high-end portable PC might find it better over there. In a lot of ways the Switch 2 version calls the PlayStation 4 version of the game to mind, but the faster load times across the board here make it a bit easier to recommend. If you haven’t played Elden Ring before anywhere, most of the little sacrifices here and there will likely go unnoticed. It’s a perfectly agreeable way to experience the game.
Keeping all that in mind, this is still a FromSoftware game. Don’t expect a solid framerate. It’s aiming for 30 frames per second, but it ends up being quite unstable. It has similar issues to other FromSoftware games that aim for 30 frames per second, with some noticeable judder while moving. From my time with this version of the game, I will say that it generally holds up performance-wise like the PlayStation 4 version of the game did. It’s unfortunate that this isn’t the current-generation Elden Ring experience some might have hoped for, but perhaps that’s to be expected. They’re not called miracle ports because they happen every time. Nevertheless, there is a certain magic to having this game in a form that you can take with you everywhere you go.
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition does a pretty solid job of converting FromSoftware’s lauded epic to the Nintendo Switch 2, even if it ends up being more similar in terms of technical performance to the original release than more modern ones. I doubt many will mind those sacrifices in order to have the game portable-ready wherever it’s needed. Those who already exhausted the game on other platforms won’t find much new here beyond that portable aspect and a few extra goodies, but that might be enough given just how well-crafted Elden Ring is. As for newcomers, I would say that if you enjoyed Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom and are looking for something that scratches a similar itch but with a lot more spice, this might just be your next favorite game.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review Copy Provided by Bandai Namco Entertainment
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