Digital Foundry: Skyrim - Switch 2 Review - PS5-Level Visuals, Terrible Latency

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Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?



Starting with the upsides first, Skyrim on Switch 2 looks superb in purely visual terms with its cranked-up settings and use of Nvidia's DLSS to resolve a 4K image, using a 1440p base. The issues begin once the controller is in hand though, where input latency issues cause controls to lag significantly - much more so than the Switch 1 version. Tom investigates the issue from every angle, alongside a look at loading time improvements.

00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:46 Input Latency Tested
00:05:25 Switch 2 Frame-Rate Test
00:06:40 Switch 1 vs Switch 2 Comparison
00:10:17 PS5 vs Switch 2 Comparison
00:12:00 Verdict
 
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- "Handsome rendition of the classic"
- But has a massive unique issue in terms of adding input latency
- Free upgrade for Switch 1 Anniversary Edition owners

- 293.8ms registered for registering jump input. Leads to controls feeling ridiculously floaty
- Results are worse than most cloud streaming services DF have tested
- For comparison: Switch 1 204.5ms and PS5 is 118.3ms input latency

- Analog movement is 60ms on PS5, 151ms on Switch 1 and 237ms on Switch 2
- The latency issue has been acknowledged and being worked on
- Temporary official workaround is to use the gesture control but that doesn't really do much to remedy this.

- Switch 2 is capped at 30fps, which is disappointing for DF
- At least it's a totally stable 30 with even frame pacing
- PS5 mostly runs at 60 but can see drops to mid 50's in heavy effects, water etc, for comparison
- Priority is clearly on visual upgrades

- 1440p with DLSS provides a convincing 4K like image
- First official support of DLSS for the creation engine (on PC it only runs DLSS with fan mods)
- Grass density, draw distances, improved LoD, shadow distance and resolution, added ambient occlusion over foliage are all big improvements over Switch 1
- Textures like fabrics are still the same quality though
- Switch 1 uses cube maps for reflections, Switch 2 uses SSR
- Switch 2 has some visual issues like bad SSR cut-off and some blue hue over trees in some regions

- Portable is mostly the same as docked but runs at 1080p with DLSS

- Visually, Switch 2 is 'practically identical' to PS5, it's 'seriously impressive stuff'
- Sheer quality of DLSS makes the native 4K pixel count on the PS5 a 'moot point'
- Alternative SSR preset and AO coverage are the main noted visual differences
- Load times are 4 seconds vs 8 seconds between PS5 and Switch 2
- Switch 1 takes around 40 seconds to load the same areas, so it's a massive win over that.

- 53GB install size vs 28GB on Switch 1.
 
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What is the latency on this vs RDR2 on PS4.

Because this sounds exactly like RDR2 on PS4.

Good IQ, 30fps, input latency as a way of life.
RDR2's latency mostly had to do with animation, not actual input delay. Turning the camera felt fine there.
 
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30fps and with insane input lag. Bravo Todd:

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It's not impressive on PS5 either

I mean I guess that's somewhat subjective.

I still like roaming around the world every now and then, it still feels visually charming to me and some of the environments look great even by today's standards.

The non-modded character models tho ..
 
Todd just keeps on delivering....
...but at the same time, people keep paying for this. And, truth be told, I'm not unguilty. I think I've bought four versions of Skyrim thus far. "It just works!" - for Todd, and Bethesda shareholders. But really, we should demand better. And yes, I'm a part of the problem.
 
Just to give u guys idea here quick comparision, i5 2500k and gtx 1050, north of 60fps all the time:


That cpu launched early 2011 with 216$ pricetag 4cores/4threads, gpu is weakest pascal generation (2016, 109 usd msrp, 2gigs of vram, roughly as powerful as gtx 760, 1,8tflops so around base ps4 grade, its nvidia tflops so bit above 1,8tflops amd ps4 had).
 
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This is embarrassingly bad.

I remember getting like 70fps on a super shitty work laptop like ten years ago with Skyrim. And I guarantee 100% this isn't a locked 30fps either. It's 22-30fps, "mostly" stable.
 
Just to give u guys idea here quick comparision, i5 2500k and gtx 1050, north of 60fps all the time:


That cpu launched early 2011 with 216$ pricetag 4cores/4threads, gpu is weakest pascal generation (2016, 109 usd msrp, 2gigs of vram, roughly as powerful as gtx 760, 1,8tflops so around base ps4 grade, its nvidia tflops so bit above 1,8tflops amd ps4 had).

That's not the anniversary version, but the classic one, which is much more similar to the Switch 1 version than the PS5 version in terms of graphics. The PS5 version can't even maintain a stable 60 fps when there are a lot of particle effects on screen, such as dragon flames.
 
What is the latency on this vs RDR2 on PS4.

Because this sounds exactly like RDR2 on PS4.

Good IQ, 30fps, input latency as a way of life.
RDR2 have like 300 to 400ms animation latency in all platforms, not only older gen.

But I bet people who says in this thread this Skyrim is embarrassing, surely are fascinated with RDR2
 
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How is this PS5 level if it runs at 30 fps with the same visuals it has on ps4??

DF has lost it ...was it Oliver? He is terrible....NVM it was Tom ...he's also terrible. So wishy washy they will never take a stand when something is just plain unacceptable such as this games input lag and 30 fps cap!
 
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RDR2 have like 300 to 400ms animation latency in all platforms, not only older gen.

But I bet people who says in this thread this Skyrim is embarrassing, surely are fascinated with RDR2

I am on record saying RDR2 is a terrible game.

and the insane input lag is one of the reasons (it has input lag and over the top animation lag btw., it's an all-around terrible game)

imo. if the end to end latency is higher than 150ms~160ms any action game is unplayable.
anything above 100ms is bad. lower than 70ms is good, lower than 40ms is perfect.
 
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I am on record saying RDR2 is a terrible game.

and the insane input lag is one of the reasons (it has input lag and over the top animation lag btw., it's an all-around terrible game)

imo. if the end to end latency is higher than 150ms~160ms any action game is unplayable.
anything above 100ms is bad. lower than 70ms is good, lower than 40ms is perfect.
This is why it's a shame on Rockstar for not updating RDR2 on console for 60 fps! If for no other reason than to cut down on that lag and make their game more playable for fans.
 
This is why it's a shame on Rockstar for not updating RDR2 on console for 60 fps! If for no other reason than to cut down on that lag and make their game more playable for fans.

I think cutting off a few ms of lag wouldn't make it all that much better.
the game has many control issues, the input lag is just one of them.

the insane animation lag is far worse than the input lag. the extremely bad aiming controls also don't help.
and the animation AI that constantly tries to make your character move "naturally" will always make the game feel more like you are giving commands to a person through a walkie-talkie, and less like you're actually directly controlling the character l.
 
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