Polygonal_Sprite
Gold Member
The game looks great on an OLED. Also runs at 60fps 99% of the time. Phenomenal game 
Digital Foundry: Donkey Kong Bananza - Nintendo Switch 2
yogaflame
Member
Maybe because it is easier to implement. I think Japan developers are not that good in developing there own game engine in this generation.
kevboard
Member
well at first I gave to the benefit of the doubt of just being ignorant when it comes to the underlying tech, so thanks for making clear that it's not ignorance
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John putting his switch into Japanese language so the game was in Japanese... just comes off as a dick nerd and not the cool otaku he thinks he is, sigh, in fact comments in my household were very negative as they thought that was the default for the game while I was watching his video and had to assure my other half it would be in English and that John was just a dick
iHaunter
Member
It's obviously not DLSS capable then is it?
Being the lucky owner of a 5090 who loves the most detailed environments and highest frame rates. I can't wait to pick this up tomorrow. Nintendo games are the best even at sub 30 frames and 900p like Zelda TOK and BOW before it. If you bought a S2 expecting to be blown away from a technical perspective, you can still resell it on ebay and make a profit.
Vaquilla
Member
Yeah freaking out about upscaling methods and such in a DK game is peak forum bubble thinking, 99% of people don't care about this stuff and just want to have fun.
I'm about an hour into the game so far and I'm having a blast, couldn't care less if it's using FSR or if its not a perfect 60fps.
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GigaBowser
Banned
now nintendos garphics are good enuff annnnnd gameplay game over
Dacvak
No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
I'm about a half hour in, and I wanna say a few things. First off, the image quality is fine. It's a little FSR1-ey, but it seems like the base resolution is high enough that it still looks great.
BUT THE FRAMETIME SPIKES ARE ANOTHER STORY.
Let me preface this by saying I'm very sensitive to frametime spikes, so your mileage may (and probably will) vary. But I've played about a half hour of the game so far, and I've already seen close to a dozen frametime spikes. And because of the double-buffer vsync, the drop to 33.3ms frametimes is severely noticeable to me.
They've only lasted one or two frames, so I seriously doubt most people will notice or even care. But for someone like me, it's borderline-egregious.
It's nothing like Echoes of Wisdom, where you're getting a constant 30fps. Every instance I encountered was just for a frame or two. But, again, that's something that I (sadly) notice, and it does make the game feel just a bit worse than it ought.
I don't want the Switch 2 hate-fuckers to use this as blanket ammunition, but I want to be clear that if you're the type of person who is bothered by frametime spikes, this game will bother you. I did not expect it to judder almost a dozen times within the first half hour of the game; Mario Odyssey did not do that.
The crazy part is, it never happens during the action. It doesn't happen when you're destroying a bunch of stuff. It happens during cutscenes, or when you interact with items, or when something unique happens on screen. But it DOES happen, and it happens more than I expected, and way more than I'd want.
Don't get me wrong. This isn't at all a dealbreaker for me. The game is already pretty fuckin awesome. But I'm not a shill, and I want to call Nintendo out any time it's deserved.
I understand I'm almost certainly in the minority of players who will be bothered by this, but pretending it's not a problem for the few of us who care will not fix it. The game dips, and if it weren't for the double-buffer vsync, it wouldn't even be part of the conversation. But those drops to 33.3ms suck monkey nuts for me.
Too bad the Switch 2 doesn't have docked VRR.
BUT THE FRAMETIME SPIKES ARE ANOTHER STORY.
Let me preface this by saying I'm very sensitive to frametime spikes, so your mileage may (and probably will) vary. But I've played about a half hour of the game so far, and I've already seen close to a dozen frametime spikes. And because of the double-buffer vsync, the drop to 33.3ms frametimes is severely noticeable to me.
They've only lasted one or two frames, so I seriously doubt most people will notice or even care. But for someone like me, it's borderline-egregious.
It's nothing like Echoes of Wisdom, where you're getting a constant 30fps. Every instance I encountered was just for a frame or two. But, again, that's something that I (sadly) notice, and it does make the game feel just a bit worse than it ought.
I don't want the Switch 2 hate-fuckers to use this as blanket ammunition, but I want to be clear that if you're the type of person who is bothered by frametime spikes, this game will bother you. I did not expect it to judder almost a dozen times within the first half hour of the game; Mario Odyssey did not do that.
The crazy part is, it never happens during the action. It doesn't happen when you're destroying a bunch of stuff. It happens during cutscenes, or when you interact with items, or when something unique happens on screen. But it DOES happen, and it happens more than I expected, and way more than I'd want.
Don't get me wrong. This isn't at all a dealbreaker for me. The game is already pretty fuckin awesome. But I'm not a shill, and I want to call Nintendo out any time it's deserved.
I understand I'm almost certainly in the minority of players who will be bothered by this, but pretending it's not a problem for the few of us who care will not fix it. The game dips, and if it weren't for the double-buffer vsync, it wouldn't even be part of the conversation. But those drops to 33.3ms suck monkey nuts for me.
Too bad the Switch 2 doesn't have docked VRR.
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DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
I think Nintendo does get away with some technical things. But, i feel ots more due to how much they push the hardware in interesting ways and pull some much from a small tablet.
Their art style is always incredible and they push new ideas.
This is for me personally. When I see games like totk and this that put games that are on much more powerful hardware to shame I cant help but have the attitude of. Well they are pushing rhe hardware but also the gameplay and what is possible in gaming.
Everyone else just does prettier graphics and then copies Nintendo.
Not saying ita free pass, because ill still be vocal about it.
Their art style is always incredible and they push new ideas.
This is for me personally. When I see games like totk and this that put games that are on much more powerful hardware to shame I cant help but have the attitude of. Well they are pushing rhe hardware but also the gameplay and what is possible in gaming.
Everyone else just does prettier graphics and then copies Nintendo.
Not saying ita free pass, because ill still be vocal about it.
Quantum253
Gold Member
The destruction alone looks like a blast, scratches that itch very few titles allow, all with that Nintendo polish. It's a shame about the DLSS/Fs1 image quality change.
My guess would be they started development right after Odyssey and didn't have the internal S2 specs yet. They more than likely planed as the last S1 swan song, but changed since there wasn't a major first party platform on launch.
Of course, for those who like conspiracy,
Nintendo intentionally limited the game in order to easily improve image quality/shadows by implementing newer capabilities, so they can upheld resell you on the S2 Oled version
My guess would be they started development right after Odyssey and didn't have the internal S2 specs yet. They more than likely planed as the last S1 swan song, but changed since there wasn't a major first party platform on launch.
Of course, for those who like conspiracy,
Nintendo intentionally limited the game in order to easily improve image quality/shadows by implementing newer capabilities, so they can upheld resell you on the S2 Oled version
Dacvak
No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Super fair. What they're doing with a gimped T239 is still insanely impressive. No one who understands tech will dispute that the Switch 2 is genuinely a great piece of kit.
But, historically, Nintendo works under their technical limitations. DKB must be pushing up against the CPU limits, because otherwise DRS would keep the framerate stable. (And I haven't seen anything under 1080 native, even though I've only done really rough pixel counts.) So I don't really understand what the issue is.
These rare frame spikes would be completely imperceptible if they weren't dropping to 33.3ms with the double-buffer. (I mean, I'm a freak, and I know that most people won't notice or care, so take my opinion with a big ol' grain of salt.)
I think I'm just upset because I feel like there are reasonable options to mitigate these frame drops with the tech that they're using. I obviously don't know what their full stack and limitations entail, but it's hard to believe that they couldn't mitigate the fucking static drops in instances like cutscenes or initial object interactions.
The fuckin weird thing is that is almost like modern PC games, where they stutter with the introduction of newly loaded assets. It makes no sense to me.
Mozza
Member
You are correct not many people buying this game will notice or even care. I hope this gets patched at se point for you.
DenchDeckard
Moderated wildly
Completely agree. I can deal with frame drops but dropping to 30 is unacceptable imo.
Mozza
Member
Saw this in the comment section of the Digital foundry YouTube comments section........ Suns up some of the takes on here perfectly.
" John: "It's a great game with just some isolated performance issues here and there along with some pop-in and a baffling choice not to use DLSS, but overall it's a great platformer with some great visuals and sound"Digital Foundry Commenters: "SO YOU'RE SAYING THIS SLOP IS TRASH!!!" "
" John: "It's a great game with just some isolated performance issues here and there along with some pop-in and a baffling choice not to use DLSS, but overall it's a great platformer with some great visuals and sound"Digital Foundry Commenters: "SO YOU'RE SAYING THIS SLOP IS TRASH!!!" "
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Signalis
Member
The shills have spoken, its amazing, nothing to see here.
Signalis
Member
How do you know someone owns a 5090? They'll tell you.
Dacvak
No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Well, I started playing the game in handheld mode, and it played perfectly. Or at least I never noticed the frame drops.
That means that either VRR is working its magic, or it simply runs better in portable mode.
Either way, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I'm glad I can play it in a way that feels stable. On the other, I'm pissed that docked mode feels worse for whatever reason.
This seems like something that Nintendo should be able to fix. I really hope they do.
Anyway…
Holy shit this game is awesome so far. As pissed as I am about the technical issues, it already is such a fun game to play.
That means that either VRR is working its magic, or it simply runs better in portable mode.
Either way, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I'm glad I can play it in a way that feels stable. On the other, I'm pissed that docked mode feels worse for whatever reason.
This seems like something that Nintendo should be able to fix. I really hope they do.
Anyway…
Holy shit this game is awesome so far. As pissed as I am about the technical issues, it already is such a fun game to play.
Variahunter
Member
Those technical issues are annoying coming from Nintendo, especially with a new hardware.
They need to be called out, as it affects the gameplay.
But are these technical issues enough to not buy the game and enjoy it ? Not for me.
Actually, I'm more annoyed by the art style of the environments… we'll see if this is a dealbreaker in the end.
Can't wait for (finally) a new 3D DK !
They need to be called out, as it affects the gameplay.
But are these technical issues enough to not buy the game and enjoy it ? Not for me.
Actually, I'm more annoyed by the art style of the environments… we'll see if this is a dealbreaker in the end.
Can't wait for (finally) a new 3D DK !
Zathalus
Member
Not true, I have a 5090 and haven't mentioned it once is this thread. So you'll never know I have a 5090 (which I do) because I won't mention it. It is rather annoying that some posters keep mentioning that they have one (like me), but what can you do?
Windom Earle
Member
I am in the same boat. Technically this game does not meet the standard of a 1st party (80€!) Nintendo game. Nintendo, listen to me: If you insist on using outdated shitty upscaling tech, at least give me a rock solid framerate. This is the least we can expect. Am I still going to buy the game? Probably, because it seems to be fun and the deformation tech is nice.
Robb
Gold Member
I assume any dev can choose to use FSR over PSSR on PlayStation as well, that doesn't mean Ps5 Pro isn't 'PSSR capable'.
Nocty
Member
I honestly don't know what you guys are talking about.The game runs buttery smooth for me in docked and portable modes. The visuals are bright and beautifully crisp.
It doesn't look as good as say, Astro Bot or Ratchet and Clank, but expecting that on SW2 hardware is a bit unrealistic.
It doesn't look as good as say, Astro Bot or Ratchet and Clank, but expecting that on SW2 hardware is a bit unrealistic.
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Zathalus
Member
Having played the first two levels the framerate drops in portable mode don't feel bad at all, as VRR is working well. In docked mode it is immediately obvious, especially when opening and rotating the map, or any heavy closeups. Its annoying, but the game is still great. Nintendo really needs to update the dock with VRR.
Lokaum D+
Member
Oh no, its hilarious to read that ppl are not happy with some techinical issues on a tech thread....
Shills gonna shill i guess.
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It does cost $3k. The card comes with a brag certificate as well.
Senua
Member
You don't get this shit with most tech threads, most are disappointed with technical shortcomings and want the games they play to be better. You always get fanboys but jeez half this thread is full defence force
Giallo Corsa
Member
Nocty, sorry to be that guy but this type of posts don't contribute to anything at all...
"Don't know what you're talking about" and "runs buttery smooth for me" - thing is there's evidence/facts/receipts® for the exact contrary so your anecdotal opinion, again, doesn't contribute to anything exactly, it's the Playstation portal 59.96Hz stutter all over again where it was an actual thing but you had people commenting "lol, sucks for you, mine's fine"/"It's your shitty ancient router"/"lol it's your McDonalds internet that's at fault"...
I'm not trying to single you out man but, this is a tech thread discussing the game's technical side to which there's hard evidence for it having specific issues.
Don't notice it/don't care ? That's perfectly fine but, again, there's evidence about said problems AND there's people that can actually notice such technical deficiencies.
Edit : I agree with you 100% though on your last paragraph regarding the S2 hardware expectations
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Buggy Loop
Gold Member
Nocty, sorry to be that guy but this type of posts don't contribute to anything at all...
"Don't know what you're talking about" and "runs buttery smooth for me" - thing is there's evidence/facts/receipts® for the exact contrary so your anecdotal opinion, again, doesn't contribute to anything exactly, it's the Playstation portal 59.96Hz stutter all over again where it was an actual thing but you had people commenting "lol, sucks for you, mine's fine"/"It's your shitty ancient router"/"lol it's your McDonalds internet that's at fault"...
I'm not trying to single you out man but, this is a tech thread discussing the game's technical side to which there's hard evidence for it having specific issues.
Don't notice it/don't care ? That's perfectly fine but, again, there's evidence about said problems AND there's people that can actually notice such technical deficiencies.
Edit : I agree with you 100% though on your last paragraph regarding the S2 hardware expectations
Edit - never mind, didn't see the guy you quoted for buttery smooth
I'm pretty sure everyone and I mean everyone wants this to be locked 60 fps if given a chance
But no matter how we yell, Nintendo is in a bubble of its own so fat chance they change anything. BOTW 20 fps forest was never improved nor Zelda Link's awakening and so on
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MSduderino
Member
Their next game is new 3D mario coming by EOY 2026
Senua
Member
The guy he quoted
Doctor Hades
Member
I had to complain to Amazon to get them to change my pre-order, which was placed in April 2025, to be delivered today instead of tomorrow. It is now coming sometime this afternoon according to the update email from Amazon, plus I got a £10 gift voucher into the bargain by way of an apology.
What annoyed me was that I could have just ordered it yesterday and had it delivered today according to their product page. So what exactly is the point of pre-ordering with Amazon? My order originally showed delivery for Saturday until it shipped and then it was supposed to be tomorrow. Amazon really do suck these days.
Can't wait to get home and finally try it. I've got the awesome-looking Donkey Kong & Pauline amiibo figure coming from Nintendo as well today.
What annoyed me was that I could have just ordered it yesterday and had it delivered today according to their product page. So what exactly is the point of pre-ordering with Amazon? My order originally showed delivery for Saturday until it shipped and then it was supposed to be tomorrow. Amazon really do suck these days.
Can't wait to get home and finally try it. I've got the awesome-looking Donkey Kong & Pauline amiibo figure coming from Nintendo as well today.
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Buggy Loop
Gold Member
When you have peoples saying they are cancelling their orders while DF themselves are saying it's amazing what the team achieved for this game then you're pointing at fingers at peoples who are saying "eh, seems good enough" over the peoples overreacting? Why would that be I wonder why?
Surely never in history of a DF thread there was ever drama over PS5 vs Xbox series
Meanwhile
Should it be 100%? I would love to.
I've seen way worse day 1 performances, at least during gameplay it looks stable enough, hell at least not stuttering like some PC games eh?
They seem to have that weird camera problem during cutscenes that hitches and its not a first this problem, would it be nice they fix it? Sure. But this ain't 14 hours cutscene Kojima game is it? Priorities and all. Does it make anyone with sensible approach to the situation a defence force?
What are the expectations here? Riot? Mass cancellation of preorders? How's the ideal scenario playing in your head? Do you not buy any PC games with stutter?
You're waiting for emulation you little
, so why are you even here? Your super duper PC rig will brute force the performance whenever emulation is there… someday, as you said yourself. These frame drop problems are not in the realm of PCMR leaving poor plebs switch 2 owners in the dustI think this thread was doing real fine until peoples with no chance of buying a switch 2 came in with fake concern
Senua
Member
When you have peoples saying they are cancelling their orders while DF themselves are saying it's amazing what the team achieved for this game then you're pointing at fingers at peoples who are saying "eh, seems good enough" over the peoples overreacting? Why would that be I wonder why?
Surely never in history of a DF thread there was ever drama over PS5 vs Xbox series
Meanwhile
Should it be 100%? I would love to.
I've seen way worse day 1 performances, at least during gameplay it looks stable enough, hell at least not stuttering like some PC games eh?
They seem to have that weird camera problem during cutscenes that hitches and its not a first this problem, would it be nice they fix it? Sure. But this ain't 14 hours cutscene Kojima game is it? Priorities and all. Does it make anyone with sensible approach to the situation a defence force?
What are the expectations here? Riot? Mass cancellation of preorders? How's the ideal scenario playing in your head? Do you not buy any PC games with stutter?
You're waiting for emulation you little
I think this thread was doing real fine until peoples with no chance of buying a switch 2 came in with fake concern
Get a fucking grip man
Buggy Loop
Gold Member
You came in here swinging at me that I am fine with double buffer vsync while reply #32 on first page says opposite
You're just here for shit stirring. You have zero interest in ever buying this nor owning a switch 2 little
Senua
Member
You came in here swinging at me that I am fine with double buffer vsync while reply #32 on first page says opposite
You're just here for shit stirring. You have zero interest in ever buying this nor owning a switch 2 little
KuraiShidosha
Member
Imagine buying anything Nintendo in the post GameCube world. Everything from the Wii onward has been absolute dog shit. Fuck this greedy company.
PeteBull
Member
TLDR: Even at that graphical fidelity which is below last gen consoles(aka ps4/xbone from 2013) switch2 in the middle of 2025 cant hold stable framerate in its 2nd month after launch already, game made by nintendo and supposedly took 7years so it wasnt rushed, quality of the dev team was top notch(former mario odyssey team), yet switch2 crazy hardware weakness got exposed so clearly already.
It bodes terribly for whole generation.
Same way it was obvious the matrix demo was too advanced/too heavy for current gen consoles(it diped under 20fps at times), u can tell game looking like that is already too heavy for switch2(likely coz of its terrible cpu, barely stronger from jaguar cpu we had in ps4/xbone).
Even current gen console cpu's arent considered strong now, they are after all downclocked/downvolted zen2 8c/16t cpu's that arent even at 4GHz, but switch2 cpu is a weakling in its own league.
www.techpowerup.com
It bodes terribly for whole generation.
Same way it was obvious the matrix demo was too advanced/too heavy for current gen consoles(it diped under 20fps at times), u can tell game looking like that is already too heavy for switch2(likely coz of its terrible cpu, barely stronger from jaguar cpu we had in ps4/xbone).
Even current gen console cpu's arent considered strong now, they are after all downclocked/downvolted zen2 8c/16t cpu's that arent even at 4GHz, but switch2 cpu is a weakling in its own league.
Final Nintendo Switch 2 Specifications Surface: CPU, GPU, Memory, and System Reservation
With the launch scheduled for June 5, Nintendo has quietly confirmed the final technical details for its next-generation hybrid console, the Switch 2, clarifying the specifications of the "custom NVIDIA processor" at its core and specifying exactly how much horsepower developers can access. The...
Signalis
Member
And a small penis certificate as well, it's like open carrying a gun.
Baemono
Member
Yeah, and then you see stuff like this for very rare framedrops and FSR:
Get a fucking grip man
Baemono
Member
Which is not the case, as per devs interviews.
Senua
Member
Crazies on all sides!
Luipadre
Member
Yeah going from 60 to 30 for even a second is really jarring and happens a lot and as you said not when its heavy action lol. Really strange
Lokaum D+
Member
This game is a U$80 SW1 port running at 1080/1200p@60fps ( not locked ) with pixlated shadow, double buffer and FSR1 on a machine that has the same power of a ps4pro with DLSS capabilities.
Technically is not good, even If the game is fun.
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