Divinity: Original Sin II - A Look at the Nintendo Switch Version
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Earlier this month, Larian Studios brought their turn-based CRPG Divinity: Original Sin II to Nintendo Switch. Making the game run on Nintendo's portable console wasn't an easy task, and if you're curious about Original Sin II's Switch performance, you should check out this Eurogamer article that covers exactly that. An excerpt:
Divinity 2 on Switch runs with a dynamic resolution setup and so that means while docked you're hitting 1280x720 at best, albeit with a 900p UI redesigned especially for this version. Pushing the engine hard while docked, resolution can drop down to 1088x612 in heavier scenes. The presentation is supported by a pass of FXAA anti-aliasing, which does a reasonable job of keeping most jagged edges at bay. The setting is a decent match for the PC version but in common with many of Switch's most challenging ports, the result is simply a lot blurrier.
In terms of the pure, mechanical side of the game, the Switch version is still intact despite this, largely thanks to the UI being so clear. The team has gone to great lengths to make the user interface look the part on console. Even on Switch's smaller screen it looks clean and easy to follow, scaled properly for readability. Swapping into portable mode, the native resolution is altered in step, owing to its reduced GPU clocks. The visuals are rendered at 1152x648 in this case, as the top number. The lowest I've caught so far in the most taxing scenes is 880x495. Expectedly the results are hardly pin-sharp - and it's likely the first thing you'll notice when moving from any other version.
And then, you might also be interested in this PCGamesN article that provides some gameplay impressions as well as a number of quotes from Larian's director of publishing Michael Douse that focus on the game's unique cross-saving feature. Have a look:
I asked Michael Douse, director of publishing at Larian, how the Switch cross-saves came to be. He revealed that, while it was a tricky feat in a technical sense, Valve and Nintendo jumped on board, helping to make it the best it could be. “Literally everyone was excited about the idea. Everyone at Nintendo was super into it, and everyone at Valve was into it,” Douse says. “The fact that Valve had an engineer who worked with us on this, and Nintendo were talking to Valve, and everyone was talking to us was actually quite soul-affirming.
“Despite being massive enterprises, the whole thing – in how open and willing it was – felt quite indie. You could tell that everyone really cared.”
You can tell this in the finished product too. DOS 2’s cross-save works by linking your Steam account on your Switch (you’ll get prompted) – just follow a few simple steps, and you’re up and running. And it just works. In less than a couple of minutes I was haring around Rivellon, backchatting Magisters with my thumbs, having done so with my mouse mere moments before.
