Arkham Trilogy’s Nintendo Switch Port Is Insulting

Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Trilogy coming to Nintendo Switch was always an odd idea. It was announced in the midst of a busy Direct and mostly met with confused indifference. The idea of three classic superhero games coming to a new platform was cool, but how exactly it would handle them became an immediate worry. Especially Arkham Knight, which was built for PS4 and Xbox One instead of older systems that are more befitting of Switch hardware.

Hardly any marketing was rolled out on behalf of the port, and it dropped onto Switch a few days ago, and hopeful players promptly picked it up and were hugely disappointed. Digital Foundry uploaded its analysis recently and is not kind about its technical findings. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City aren’t even based on the Return to Arkham remasters from a few years ago, instead using the original PC version as a base to port from.

You’d expect two games from 2008 and 2011 respectively to hit 30 frames per second on Switch given this was more than possible on PS3 and Xbox 360 over a decade ago Nope, in busy environments the Switch buckles, while visual downgrades are apparent within both games. It speaks to poor optimisation and a lack of effort, a lazy port job for games which deserve better, especially if Switch owners have never experienced these bangers before.

Asylum and City are ropey, but at least they’re largely playable on Switch. Knight, however, is an absolute garbage fire, dipping to less than five frames per second as the batmobile drives through the city in heavy downpours. It is unpleasant to look at, runs terribly, and is a surefire way to give yourself a migraine. I don’t know how this port passed QA, let alone released in this state on a platform capable of much more. While they are far from the ideal way to play, The Witcher 3, Doom Eternal, and The Outer Worlds are all available on Switch, and if you don’t own any other console, it isn’t the end of the world to enjoy them this way. Knight is a smack in the face to those valiant efforts, and makes an otherwise solid superhero title feel unfinished.

Textures have been downgraded to a degree where entire features have been removed and previously gorgeous cityscapes and lighting are now awful gothic smudges, with elements in certain puzzle sequences altered so much that they’re now impossible to solve unless you resort to random guesswork. It shudders to a crawl frequently, with even isolated locations in which you fight hordes of enemies and can’t maintain a consistent performance. I don’t know if the problems found here can be fixed with a patch, or if those behind the port will even bother if so much damage is already done, but it isn’t right for great games like this to be thrown out with such a distinct lack of care.

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