Overwatch Nintendo Switch 2 Port Review

Overwatch was my most-played game the year it came out, and I only eventually dropped it for Splatoon 2. I used to play a ton of unranked and basically still look back fondly at the Overwatch years before it became Overwatch 2. I probably played at most a few hours the year that rebrand happened, but I returned to check it out when the Steam release happened. Having full cross progression is a good way to get me to care about your game, and I decided I’d properly give it a go when Blizzard dropped the “2” and went back to Overwatch. I assumed we’d also see a Nintendo Switch 2 port, and here we are.

Overwatch’s Switch 2 debut was pretty awful for about two days because it launched with a 30 frames per second cap despite promising 60 frames per second, had a few drops below even 30 frames per second, and generally felt like I was playing a lesser version than even on PS4. Blizzard has since patched it to enable up to 60 frames per second gameplay, and nearly a year after the Switch 2’s launch, this native version of Overwatch delivers a competent handheld experience, but docked feels lacking. There is good news, though, for those who have been playing the original Switch version because Overwatch on Switch 2 delivers an upgrade across the board and makes me glad I never have to touch that Switch port again. Well… after this port review.

Blizzard’s promise with Overwatch on Switch 2 was (up to 60 frames per second), both docked and handheld. Before getting to how it compares to the PS5 release, the Switch 2 version delivers a more responsive experience across the board compared to the original Switch, with image quality and performance improvements. Overwatch on Switch felt like an acceptable way to play it on the go, but a mediocre docked experience, given that it looked and ran dramatically worse than all other versions. Even the menu animations when loading skins take a lot longer on Switch compared to Switch 2. 

Moving over to the PS5 version, Overwatch has three visual modes. For the purpose of comparing them, I stuck to the quality mode, which delivers a 60 frames per second experience on PS5. Overwatch also has no PS5 Pro support, so this mode felt like the best one to use given the 60 frames per second target on the Switch 2 docked as well. 

When comparing 4K capture across Switch docked, Switch 2 docked, and PS5, I noticed environmental objects, foliage, textures, lighting, post-processing, and more get cut moving across platforms. Even in the practice range, the Switch 2 has less environmental detail compared to the PS5 version, despite the resolution being a lot lower. The Switch sees even more cuts as an example here with a 30 frames per second target.

One more notable cut on Switch and Switch 2 is the depth of field, which is missing when compared to the PS5 version. This is most visible when looking at a character model while going through their skins. 

Hopefully, Blizzard can look into improving image quality when docked, add the FOV slider, and also potentially bring in a performance mode with a 120 frames per second target, alongside supporting Joy-Con 2 controllers with mouse input. Beyond that, I also hope the user interface resolution is increased because it looks notably blurry even when I play on my 1440p monitor. 

Revisiting Overwatch on Switch 2 has reminded me how much I appreciate the gyro support since it now actually feels good to play. I couldn’t stand using gyro controls with the unstable 30 frames per second experience on Switch. In a lot of ways, Overwatch on Switch 2 is a generational upgrade over the original Switch, but it sadly isn’t as close to the current-generation PS5 version in the upgrades and visual features Blizzard added here.

As a port, Overwatch on Nintendo Switch 2 is an easy recommendation for portable play as a companion to playing on another system. It feels quite lacking when played docked, though, with it not including the field of view slider or 120 frames per second options found on the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions, let alone running at a much lower resolution than those consoles. Given it took almost a year following the console’s launch, I expected a bit better, but I’m glad to have it in a much better state for handheld play at least. 

Version tested: Nintendo Switch 2

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