Games
Is Zelda Tears of the Kingdom stuttering on the Switch? The first previews raise concerns
The Tears of the Kingdom gang bravely takes on the Switch hardware.
A little over 24 hours ago, the preview embargo on the potential action adventure highlight The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom fell. We and other trade magazines were able to spend a few hours with the potential spring hit and for the most part were absolutely thrilled.
The huge game world, the clever combat system and then Link’s new abilities clearly surpass the sandbox game principle of the predecessor!
However, the innovations nibble quite a bit on the performance and the switch unfortunately does not keep up.
Things don’t always run smoothly on the ground – primarily thanks to the Ultrahand
Like its direct predecessor Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom aims for a constant frame rate of 30 fps and it seems to be able to keep it to a large extent. However, there are frequent stutters, especially when using the Ultrahand.
In memory of: With the Ultrahand we can grab, pick up and even combine numerous objects in the game world. Among other things, vehicles are built with it, as can also be seen in the latest trailer.
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – It gets epic in the final pre-release trailer – It gets epic in the final pre-release trailer
The resulting physics calculations and transparent overlay effects often seem to overwhelm the switch hardware, as colleague Linda and pretty much all other preview participants found out.
This was not a hindrance to the gameplay. Sticking together rocks, tree trunks and lots of other odds and ends was a lot of fun, but the frame rate drops were still a bit annoying.
You can find out more about the Ultrahand here:
In addition, explosions and fights with multiple enemies result in short-lasting frame rate drops. Here, too, the switch processor is in massive demand, which is pushed to the maximum.
In lofty heights, it jerks less often
It should be well known by now that the technical inner workings of the switch are not very powerful. Zelda: TotK takes a huge gamble by taking Link to Heaven.
This puts a lot of strain on the graphics unit, especially since the upcoming Zelda offshoot has a high level of vision and uses a number of transparent effects that cause a lot of computing workload.
Jerky in the preview video of The Verge, among other things and therefore hooks it strongly when landing on a sky island:
This flight made the framerate melt away. (Image source: The Verge)
In addition, numerous objects pop late into the picture, which is also not too nice to look at, but at least lets the switch breathe.
In other previews, however, Link also glides smoothly onto the floating plateaus, so there is not a consistently coherent picture. Jerks are therefore subject to a certain variance, which cannot yet be clearly quantified.
How meaningful are the previews?
Tears of the Kingdom will be released on May 12th, in just under two weeks. The preview build played is therefore quite up-to-date, but the performance could still be increased with a day-one patch.
That was also the case with Breath of the Wild, where refresh rates in TV mode always lagged a bit behind those in handheld mode. With updates, however, the frame rate drops could be contained somewhat.
Breath of the Wild’s framerate was often more stable in handheld mode than in TV mode. (Image source: Digital Foundry)
Breath of the Wild’s TV mode could provide an indication why the performance in the TotK previews was still causing some problems. They are primarily based on experience with a docked switch in order to be able to capture footage.
So, just like Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom could perform a fair bit better in handheld mode.
If you own the OLED model of the Switch with its strong contrasts and the resulting first-class image quality, that might not be so tragic, especially with the chic desEsports Extrasof the Zelda Special Edition:
Why could TV mode do worse? If the switch is in the docking station, the temperature limit of the handheld hybrid is slightly increased. As a result, there is more leeway for high clock rates and thus, for example, a higher resolution.
For example, on Breath of the Wild, it went from 720p in handheld mode to 900p in TV mode. According to a report from Nintendo World Report TV, the team behind Tears of the Kingdom is following the same strategy, which could mean the title performs better in handheld mode.
Why should the stuttering be accepted in return for the higher resolution? An increase in resolution is necessary for a sharper picture on large TVs, as it would mitigate a bit the permanent edge flickering of the latest The Legend of Zelda offspring.
The release is approaching
Anyway, on May 12th we can dive into Link’s Green Boots ourselves and take on the evil villain Ganondorf. We beat up tons of opponents, cook all kinds of dishes and admire the beautiful landscapes.
We really have to give Tears of the Kingdom one thing – it actually looks really good for a Switch game and is also highly interactive. It would be a shame if stutters spoiled the gaming experience.
What did you prefer to play Breath of the Wild on? On TV or Switch in handheld mode?
