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DigitalFoundry: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Switch: Great When Docked, But Portable...

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
https://youtu.be/MnyKDzX7lqo


Resolution:
Docked:
- 720p throughout the game, with a sophisticated TAA solution that makes it looks cleaner but slightly blurrier;

Undocked:
- Dynamic resolution, very low, down to 368p at its lowest and up to 552p;
- Worst image quality in a Switch game in portable mode;

General points on visuals:
- Still a beautiful game;
- per-object motion blur;
- Great specular highlights;
- Very good cloud simulation, with proper volume;
- Screen space reflections for water reflections, an improvement from XBCX's cube maps;
- Improved lighting from XBCX, with a simulated ambient lighting feature;
- High foliage density;
- Good draw distance, though still visible (much better than XBCX);
- Realistic light diffusion and reflections;
- Good ambient occlusion;
- Shadows are static - they do not change depending on time of day;
- Collision detection is much better than XBCX;
- Side characters can look slightly iffy.

Points on frame rate:
- Performance is generally 30 fps, however;
- Memory issue/bug causes problems for frame rate when leaving a certain location and returning to it;
- It could be a memory streaming limitation, but the speed of the storage medium did not influence the results, so likely a bug;
- Other than that, mostly 30 fps;
- handheld feels similar to docked in terms of frame rate.


Final conclusion:
- A very nice looking game, even with flaws;
- Feels somewhat unrefined from a technical standpoint.
 

RPGCrazied

Member
Seemed fine framerate wise until I got to the first big area with the town in the middle of the zone. FPS is all over the place here.

All zones like this?
 

Imtjnotu

Member
am i the only one who wishes they would let the gpu use a little more power while in portable mode? im ok with battery life taking a slight hit....
 
they go easy on switch games, it looks terrible on a 4k screen tv, it highlights just how terrible the game looks.
It has low resolution, low frame rate, frame dips as well. compared to a ipad or phone it looks great...but compared to almost every rpg on ps4/x1 it looks terrible.
But its a super fun game i will confess.
 

vkbest

Member
Even on dock resolution is dynamic, super low when there are several enemies on screen and you are doing a special art

Great on docked? No way, looks like a ps2 on HD Ready Screen

The game is pretty good, but graphics are awful
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Even on dock resolution is dynamic, super low when there are several enemies on screen and you are doing a special art

Great on docked? No way, looks like a ps2 on HD Ready Screen

The game is pretty good, but graphics are awful
Portable looks like ass.

But
Ps2 ?
Really ? 😐
 

Not Drake

Member
Switch is truly the Vita's successor.

Sounds like the game punches above it's weight in undocked mode. Sadly that's my preferred Switch mode.
 

ajim

Member
Comparing to the other big games on switch, it's definitely the worst looking in portable. Even skyrim looks pretty damn good!

Still great game tho and looks great to me.
 

KemoSabe

Member
And could it be that Xenoblade drains the battery pretty fast?
I wouldn't bet money on it but I think I was able to play Mario and Zelda for a much longer time...
 
ugh..
i have yet to start it.. i hope i'm not too bummed.. franky though...
would it have been too much to have graphics a-la-wiiu (xenoblade chronicles x-level) in portable mode?
I mean.. sub 480p resolution? like.. wow?
 

ShirAhava

Plays with kids toys, in the adult gaming world
Switch is truly the Vita's successor.

Sounds like the game punches above it's weight in undocked mode. Sadly that's my preferred Switch mode.

More like a sidegrade in this case. I hope this wont be a trend. 368p..lol
 

MrKeinov

Member
You know I would be totally okay with native 720p on the go, some people go like "WHAAAT 720P IN 2017 GO AWAY NINTENDO" but its really crisp and clear when its on a 6 inch display with 1to1 pixel match with screen. Playing Zelda back in march had my hopes up for the future of handheld mode but the situation is getting worse and worse over the last months. Mario odyssey and skyrim had the horizontal resolution halved, now xeno 2 is 368p. Its like a joke.

Idk. Maybe this can be good for future proofing the game. How? When you bump this games resolution to 4k on the hypothetical booster dock or a new model, thanks to these more complex rendering techniques mentioned in the video it might look indistinguishable from a good looking PS4 game.
 

zenspider

Member
I think it looks great on the handheld. The resolution is a bit lower, but everything looks sharper and more immediate. I'm hearing there's problem with wide open areas, but I guess I hit those parts in docked mode.
 

zenspider

Member
ugh..
i have yet to start it.. i hope i'm not too bummed.. franky though...
would it have been too much to have graphics a-la-wiiu (xenoblade chronicles x-level) in portable mode?
I mean.. sub 480p resolution? like.. wow?

It looks significantly better than XC1 in handheld mode.
 

RootCause

Member
Yup! Pretty dreadful on handheld, which is the way the large majority of switch owners play. Especially surprising after getting games like bOTW, and MO.

Here's hoping. They can patch it.
 

Ma-Yuan

Member
Yup! Pretty dreadful on handheld, which is the way the large majority of switch owners play. Especially surprising after getting games like bOTW, and MO.

Here's hoping. They can patch it.
Imo there is much more going on then in botw. I would also bet that its the same engine since monolith also worked on botw. So don't ecpect anything.
 

blackjon24

Member
Man that’s awesome awful I thought the SD era of gaming was behind us finally with the switch replacing the 3ds
 

Petrae

Member
It’s a painful-looking game, docked or portable. Some of the textures are jarringly ugly, and others take their time to load in spots. Thankfully, the underlying game has been (so far) fun to play— which lets me overlook the underwhelming visuals.
 
Goddamnit I meant undocked. Sorry. And I meant it's trying to hit it with punches, not necessarily hitting the target. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Docked or undocked, all of Nintendo's other Switch games make this look like a real bad effort. Gotta assume it's gonna be patched, at least for performance. Mario held 60fps at a higher resolution...
 

Velius

Banned
Even on dock resolution is dynamic, super low when there are several enemies on screen and you are doing a special art

Great on docked? No way, looks like a ps2 on HD Ready Screen

The game is pretty good, but graphics are awful

When you jump from exaggeration to outright falsehood people tend to discard your opinion
 

MrKeinov

Member
Docked or undocked, all of Nintendo's other Switch games make this look like a real bad effort. Gotta assume it's gonna be patched, at least for performance. Mario held 60fps at a higher resolution...

I don't think its fair to compare this game to SMO, that looks beautiful and runs at 60fps thanks to the simplistic art style. Though most people can think this game look ugly as an end result, as mentioned in the digital foundry analysis, this game uses astounding amount of different rendering techniques for lighting, cloud generation etc. The cel-shaded art style fools you to think this game is not demanding but this game is actually the most demanding game on switch at the moment. Hence the 368p resolution...

I think monolithsoft is one of Nintendo's most skillful studios, they have actually helped Nintendo EAD on many projects for the last couple of years. The help is generally on the technical side of things, and most people think EAD is the technical wizards that are capable of squeezing out max performance out of any system. I just hope they can patch the fps drop.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I guess I must be blind to think this game is not at all "ugly". sure its no technical marvel but god damn the the world and scale is fantastic.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
I guess I must be blind to think this game is not at all "ugly". sure its no technical marvel but god damn the the world and scale is fantastic.

its the poor resolution on handheld mode.
docked looks amazing def a glimmer on the switch.

but coming from skyrim on handheld mode. This game def look rough i might say the ugliest i have ever seen in AAA titles on my switch
 

lukhart

Neo Member
The game is a truly outstanding feat on a console with the size of a cartridge box.

While the undocked mode could use a patch to improve the resolution dips, it's not nearly as "ugly" as people are claiming to be based only on the DF's analysis. Clearly a rushed release to fit into the 2017 lineup, so hopefully this can be fixed in time by Monolith.

Even so, the game is perfectly playable on portable mode and it's another great JRPG gem from Takahashi.
 

synce

Member
"Mostly" 30fps in a 720p game in 2017, yikes... I can almost feel the lag just thinking about it.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Anyone have img comparisons? I use my switch exclusively in handheld mode so this write up concerns me
It's the worst looking handheld mode game on the switch imo.

I mostly play all my games in handheld.
It looks all blurry and with some very strange sharpening filter over it to make it even uglier.

If anything not enough people are complaining how bad it is.
 
It the worst looking handheld mode game on the switch imo.

I mostly play all my games in handheld.
It looks all blurry and with some very strange sharpening filter over it to make it even uglier.

If anything not enough people are complaining how bad it is.

Great to know thank you - will put game on backburner for now
 

Alric

Member
So does anyone think patching it could greatly improve handheld mode because I've never played docked mode switch games yet.
 

MrGoomba

Member
I've been playing on handheld only since I'm traveling and it's looks great to me. Great art direction. In big areas it looks more blurry but only sometimes. Nothing unplayable and still great for a handheld
 

afr1234

Neo Member
I've been playing on handheld only since I'm traveling and it's looks great to me. Great art direction. In big areas it looks more blurry but only sometimes. Nothing unplayable and still great for a handheld

These are the kind of biased factless opinions that make me hate nintendo fans.

I am playing the game right now and game looks kinda bad Since the market which is moment 1. The problem is that objects on the distance look incredibly blurry, which makes things like buildings or cablesor shadows or anything not background really look like a saw.

I even read a lot of opinions on how awesome the detail is in this game, which is laughable as the low resolution makes it hard to distinguish most stuff in distance range.

It only gets worse as the game becomes more complex.Gormott looks especially horrendous.

Sub hd resolution in 2017 needs to be called out, nintendo gets a lot of free passes on stuff they shouldn't and other companies would be crucified to death for. Also, 720p is especially noticeable on any mid or high range tv. No sorround sound is a big no for modern gaming either.

It has a lot of frame rate Bugs and issues alongside random Bugs and crashes.

Also, facts:
https://imgur.com/a/iPCkV

Direct screenshots from portable mode, Judge yourself. Just because it is playable doesn't mean it doesn't look attrocious
 

vkbest

Member
When you jump from exaggeration to outright falsehood people tend to discard your opinion

I can show you several screen captures on Docked mode, clearly below of 720p. The game is lowering resolution when you are performing arts or combos.

Portable mode looks like a PS2 on a HD ready.

Dock mode, besides have pretty bad framerate in cities.

The game is pretty good, but I'm sure this was rushed to launch this year. Zelda looks better and is performing higher resolution and framerate.
 

MrGoomba

Member
These are the kind of biased factless opinions that make me hate nintendo fans.

I am playing the game right now and game looks kinda bad Since the market which is moment 1. The problem is that objects on the distance look incredibly blurry, which makes things like buildings or cablesor shadows or anything not background really look like a saw.

I even read a lot of opinions on how awesome the detail is in this game, which is laughable as the low resolution makes it hard to distinguish most stuff in distance range.

It only gets worse as the game becomes more complex.Gormott looks especially horrendous.

Sub hd resolution in 2017 needs to be called out, nintendo gets a lot of free passes on stuff they shouldn't and other companies would be crucified to death for. Also, 720p is especially noticeable on any mid or high range tv. No sorround sound is a big no for modern gaming either.

It has a lot of frame rate Bugs and issues alongside random Bugs and crashes.

Also, facts:
https://imgur.com/a/iPCkV

Direct screenshots from portable mode, Judge yourself. Just because it is playable doesn't mean it doesn't look attrocious

Some people care too much for pixel count and fps, some don't. Off course the game could be better optimized and looks crisper if the developer have worked more on it, but it's far from the hell you guys are saying and it is completely playable this way, at least to me. Those pictures are fine to me in a cellphone screen, maybe looks worse in a monitor or tv.

If you care for resolution and fps, don't buy it. Guys at digital foundry are very clear that it won't look good or with saws, muddy blurry.


Better resolution and better fps helps gameplay or make it to look better, but it's disgusting how these people nowadays says "if something is not 60ps 1080p then it's crap"

The game is fine, beautiful and good to me from what I've played with my eyes.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Some people care too much for pixel count and fps, some don't. Off course the game could be better optimized and looks crisper if the developer have worked more on it, but it's far from the hell you guys are saying and it is completely playable this way, at least to me. Those pictures are fine to me in a cellphone screen, maybe looks worse in a monitor or tv.

If you care for resolution and fps, don't buy it. Guys at digital foundry are very clear that it won't look good or with saws, muddy blurry.


Better resolution and better fps helps gameplay or make it to look better, but it's disgusting how these people nowadays says "if something is not 60ps 1080p then it's crap"

The game is fine, beautiful and good to me from what I've played with my eyes.
My thought exactly. Also game having high tech graphics won't grantee you will enjoy the game. I played Horizon and the graphics is vey good but I didn't enjoy the actual game at all. To me graphics should be bonus and never ever should be selling point for the game.

If people that much obsess over graphics then they shouldn't buy Nintendo systems, because most Nintendo games most about actual gameplay and they bring great visuals with great aesthetics rather than high tech graphics.
 
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