Eurogamer conducted extensive testing on the upgraded versions of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom for the Switch 2, identifying them as technically exceptional and essential upgrades despite some remaining rough spots.
These Switch 2 Editions offer a suite of enhancements, including boosted resolutions, a push to 60 frames per second (fps), improved visual settings, snappier loading times, High Dynamic Range (HDR) support, and integration with a new Zelda Notes mobile application. The most significant improvement is noted in Tears of the Kingdom, where the Switch 2 addresses the sub-30fps drops experienced on the original Switch hardware, now largely maintaining a consistent 60fps.
Unlike some other Switch 1 titles that receive automatic resolution and performance boosts when played on Switch 2 hardware (e.g., Super Mario Odyssey), both Zelda games require users to purchase a specific Switch 2 Edition or upgrade their existing Switch version for a fee of $10/£8 via the eShop. This cost is deemed justifiable, particularly for Tears of the Kingdom.
Resolution improvements are substantial. While the original Switch versions targeted 1600×900 in docked mode (dropping to 1280×720 under stress), the Switch 2 versions achieve a peak resolution of 2560×1440 when docked. Resolution can still drop to 1440×810 in extreme scenarios, such as using Ultrahand in busy forested areas, though such lows are rarer in Breath of the Wild, which typically remains closer to 1440p. A noted quirk in Tears of the Kingdom is brief resolution drops to 810p during cutscenes, which quickly revert to 1440p. For handheld mode, the resolution range on Switch 2 extends from 1152×648 to 1920×1080, compared to the original Switch’s 1024×576 to 1280×720. The lowest handheld resolution of 648p is observed when using Ultrahand in complex environments, but the game frequently hits native 1080p in less demanding areas.
Despite these resolution boosts, anti-aliasing remains an issue, with pixel crawl often visible. The games appear to utilize AMD’s FSR1 upscaling technology in Tears of the Kingdom (with no mention of an upscaler for Breath of the Wild), and notably, there is no implementation of Nvidia’s DLSS or other advanced upscaling techniques, which is considered a missed opportunity given the hardware capabilities.
Graphical enhancements extend beyond resolution. Textures across the environment have been replaced with higher-resolution assets, leading to increased install sizes: Breath of the Wild expands from 14GB to 24GB, and Tears of the Kingdom from 16GB to 20GB. This texture overhaul improves the appearance of grass, brickwork, cloth, and weapon designs, benefiting from the Switch 2’s larger 9GB of usable RAM. However, texture filtering remains limited, resulting in blurring of distant ground textures. Shadow quality has been boosted, with nearby shadows appearing cleaner and sharper, although flickering and a visible filtering cascade line persist, making shadows “the roughest and most distracting part of the visual package.” Ambient occlusion has also been enhanced, creating thicker and fuller shading in interior spaces.
Draw distances for elements like trees and geometry largely remain consistent with the original Switch versions, with only minor improvements in grass drawing further or geometry loading faster in some instances.
Performance is a key area of improvement. Tears of the Kingdom, which heavily taxed the original Switch’s CPU and suffered from significant frame drops (often to 20fps in physics-intensive scenarios or battles), now largely maintains a consistent 60fps on Switch 2. Initial testing over five to six hours, including the demanding Sky Island tutorial, showed only brief blips below 60fps. Similarly, Breath of the Wild, while better optimized on the original Switch post-launch, still had scenarios causing sub-30fps drops. On Switch 2, Breath of the Wild achieves a flat 60fps in all tested key areas, with a reduced likelihood of significant drops due to fewer physics-based variables. Performance parity is also noted in portable mode for both games.
Loading times are significantly reduced on Switch 2. For Breath of the Wild, the initial load to the Great Plateau Tower takes 11 seconds on Switch 2 compared to 23 seconds on the original Switch. Fast travel to the Shrine of Resurrection takes 11 seconds on Switch 2 versus 19 seconds on the original. The improvement is even more pronounced for Tears of the Kingdom; the initial load to the Lookout Landing Skyview Tower takes 8 seconds on Switch 2, a third of the 26 seconds required on the original Switch. This speed is attributed to the Switch 2’s improved internal storage bandwidth, even while loading higher-quality textures.
In conclusion, the upgraded Switch 2 Editions of both Zelda titles are deemed to justify their cost, offering a significantly enhanced experience, particularly for new players. The consistent 60fps, especially in Tears of the Kingdom, is highlighted as a transformative leap. However, persistent issues such as aliasing (due to rudimentary upscaling) and shadow flickering remain, indicating areas where Nintendo could have pushed for further refinement.
