Resident Evil 7 Biohazard felt like the start of Capcom’s return to greatness. I feel like I’ve enjoyed almost every game Capcom released since Resident Evil 7 back in 2017, including the likes of Devil May Cry 5 and Monster Hunter World, being incredible alongside the Resident Evil series remakes and amazing Monster Hunter expansions like Sunbreak and Iceborne. Resident Evil 7 Biohazard is an older game, though, with it having debuted back in 2017 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Thanks to that, it scales up a lot better and is generally easier to run on lower-end systems.
I first played Resident Evil 7 Biohazard on PS4 and have since played it on Steam Deck, where it runs perfectly, and even on iPhone 15 Pro, where it is the best-performing Resident Evil game by far of the AAA ports Apple and Capcom released. I hadn’t spent much time with Resident Evil 7 Biohazard on PS5 and Xbox Series with the free next-gen updates, but I decided to revisit it on PS5 to prepare for covering the Nintendo Switch 2 release.
Resident Evil 7 on Switch 2, based on the opening hours, runs a lot more stable than Resident Evil Village. This isn’t surprising, but you are getting a solid performing version of Resident Evil 7 with all DLC here with HDR support and motion controls. I noticed some texture filtering and level of detail issues, but Resident Evil 7 has always had some of this. I think they are more noticeable on Switch 2 docked because it isn’t running as high.
Resident Evil 7 Switch 2 vs PS5 full game impressions
Resident Evil 7 on PS5 shipped with options for 120hz and ray tracing. These options are not present on Switch 2. You basically have fixed graphics docked and handheld, but Resident Evil 7’s heavily post-processed visuals result in an experience that is still very much Resident Evil 7 without major cuts. The overall image is softer than PS5 when I played both side by side on my 1440p monitor, but I didn’t run into noticeable drops in performance like with Resident Evil Village. Given the last-gen roots, I was again hoping to see Capcom do a bit more with the Switch 2 release, but it is a great way to play Resident Evil 7.
Resident Evil 7 Switch 2 vs Steam Deck full game impressions
Resident Evil 7’s PC version was quite bare-bones, but it scales a lot better on Steam Deck compared to Nintendo Switch 2 when it comes to performance. I will say that despite being Steam Deck Verified, Resident Evil 7 does not play perfectly out of the box. Cutscenes display color bar patterns, and the fix for that was using Proton GE. This is something Valve should address. That aside, I think Resident Evil 7 is a great handheld experience, though the level of detail and some image break-up in the distance, even when indoors, are a bit distracting.
Resident Evil 7 Switch 2 vs iPhone full game impressions
Resident Evil 7 on iPhone 15 Pro runs really well, but the Switch 2 version is a lot better across the board. Right now, I’d play Resident Evil 7 on Switch 2 as my handheld version of choice, given how well it plays on the go.
Resident Evil 7 Switch 2, PS5, Steam Deck, and iPhone load times
When comparing load times, I had Resident Evil 7 installed to the internal storage/SSD on every device. I measured the load times from the platform dashboard and loaded an early game save. The PS5 version of Resident Evil 7 is by far the fastest across everything, including PC, but Switch 2 loads faster than both my Steam Decks. In fact, the Steam Deck ended up being the slowest of the lot when it comes to load times, with even the iPhone 15 Pro loading faster. All the load times below are in seconds, and I mashed the confirm button to speed up loading on every platform.
| Platform | Dashboard To Title | Loading A Save |
|---|---|---|
| PS5 | 6 | 1.5 |
| Switch 2 | 11 | 3 |
| Steam Deck | 18-20 | 5 |
| iPhone 15 Pro | 12 | 2.5 |
Resident Evil 7, like Resident Evil Village, lacks mouse controls, but it is a more stable experience than Village. I’m a bit surprised it doesn’t have better image quality, though, but that isn’t to say that this is a bad-looking game or a bad way to experience RE7. Resident Evil 7 on Switch 2 is an easy recommendation for playing on the go, but I just wish Capcom did a bit more for the platform when it comes to its visual features and input options. If you skipped it before, Resident Evil 7 is an absolute essential on Switch 2.
Note: For handheld / portable comparisons, the capture was done via screenshot on Steam Deck and iPhone and the system screenshot functionality on Switch 2. For docked / tv comparison, I used a 4K capture device for PS5 and Switch 2.
