Mortal Shell on Nintendo Switch: an ambitious port with big performance problems

With a surprise late 2022 release on the Nintendo Switch eShop, Mortal Shell: Complete Edition gives Switch users the full package; a complete port of the 2020 Souls-like, with all DLC and content updates included. At first glance Mortal Shell on Switch actually looks like a success. In much the same vein as other Unreal 4 titles like Mortal Kombat 11, the visual make-up - the core details of the action - translate well to Switch, but having spent the last week this portable release I've got to say there are glaring issues. Specifically, hitting such an ambitious bar of quality comes at a cost to its frame-rate and so it follows, also its playability. The impact is so striking that at times, the Switch version is a genuine struggle to control.

To cut to the chase, compared to the PS4 release from 2020, Mortal Shell on Switch is an obvious downgrade in key areas, though it seems that some elements of the lighting may hail from a more modern build of the codebase PS4 was never updated to. Starting at the top though, you'll notice texture assets are dropped in resolution. Notably the floors, or walls of dungeons, often manifest as a blurry smudge if viewed too close. The best theory is Switch's 4GB of RAM is the limiting factor here - though certain points do still get priority for high quality textures. So for example, character texture-work is identical to PS4's. Armour sets - the so-called 'shells' - are crisply defined in close-up, as is the weaponry. Even cloth physics stay enabled on Switch as we walk the world, with cloaks, draping flags and more billowing dynamically. But yes, the environmental detail does take a serious cutback in select spots.

A few other downgrades stick out. Grass foliage density and draw distance on trees is cut back, while water ripple physics are completely gone on Switch, the only thing left behind being the transparency effects for caustics and splashes as we walk through. Added to that, screen-space reflections are dropped in accuracy too, meaning fewer on-screen elements factor into the final mirror image. In fairness though? SSR is definitely engaged, and all things considered it's impressive it makes the cut at all.

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