Welcome to the NintendoCade channel, I am Danny. NieR Automata is one of my favorite games of all time.
I never thought the game would ever come to the Nintendo Switch. To my surprise,
when they announced NieR Automata The End of YoRHa Edition during a Nintendo Direct,
I was totally surprised. For many, including myself, would be curious about the performance.
Getting down to the core of the game, how does it actually perform? Courtesy of Square Enix,
they provided me the game for this frame rate analysis. Keep in mind that the performance
target for the Nintendo Switch version is 30 fps or frames per second. Starting with the prologue,
the Flight Unit segment is rocking a stable 30 fps. That performance does extend to different
segments as you are in the Flight Unit heading into enemy territory. Arriving to the Abandoned Factory,
this area was also hitting 30 fps target for essentially the majority of the time.
Traversing the area here in full speed was nice and fluid. Facing a big group of Machine Lifeforms
proved to be no problems at all. Overhead combat areas such as this, did show minor dips but gets
right back up there quickly. Up close combat with the Machine Lifeforms was another great showing.
That 30 fps line stayed consistent. The only part I noticed a stint of hiccup was when 2B got hit,
and the damage animation kicked in. But it was nothing to detract your experience.
I did notice that damage animation does feel a little bit longer than other versions of the game.
My theory is the animation is tied to the frame rate. NieR Automata was originally a 60 fps game,
and since the frame rate was reduced by half in this version, it may have resulted in a longer
damage animation. Now onto the battle with Engels. With so many things going on, you would think the
frame rate would give in. To my surprise it was smooth as it can be. Frame rate and frame time
literally stayed consistent throughout the way of this epic battle. It didn’t matter if you were on
the ground dodging and attacking, or in a Flight Unit heads on with Engels. It’s an excellent showing here.
Heading into the City Ruins, this should be one of the most demanding areas in the game.
To my surprise, it was performing very well. With 2B and 9S going through the City Ruins
with its varied terrain, passing through dense foliage posed no issue. Even when running full speed does not
hitch the frame rate. Fighting Machine Lifeforms still rock a stable 30 fps all the way through,
even when the action gets a bit intense. Next, onto the Desert Zone. Traveling through the
initial area posed no issues to highlight. Sand surfing is as enjoyable as I remember
when I first played it. Even fighting a group of Machine Lifeforms here posed no problems.
Going through the Housing Complex area was smooth. I did fight a big group of enemies in the latter part,
and experienced a very minor hitch on the frame rate. The only other thing of significance that I noticed was
when fighting this bigger Machine Lifeform, there was a small performance drop.
Fortunately, it went back up immediately. Entering the boss area here, this is probably one
of the most taxing areas of the game with one of the biggest concentrations of Machine Lifeforms.
For the most part, frame rate held up really well throughout the buildup of enemies coming at you.
It is until the very end of the buildup that frame rate dipped a few frames. The boss battle here,
is a real showcase. With the intense fighting, the game stood strong, no matter how intense the combat was.
I love the action in this segment, it's just a lot of fun. Just simply put,
I am really impressed at what was achieved here. Alright, onto the last part of my analysis, and perhaps
a lot of people’s favorite, the Amusement Park. Fighting the group of Machine Lifeforms here
proved to be a small challenge. There were segments that I encountered a frame rate and
frame time drops here. Although dips did happen, considering the number of enemies on screen,
I think it ran as best it can, and frame rate recovered quickly.
Overall, the action was fluid enough that I did not feel it was a hindrance. Moving through the Amusement Park area
was a breeze for the game. The roller coaster segment is my favorite. It ran beautiful
all the way through including the combat. Alright, onto the boss segment. This is perhaps one of my favorite bosses ever.
The performance was just amazing. With all the things happening on screen and effects,
you would think the Nintendo Switch would falter here. Quite the opposite, it ran like a champ.
The performance was as good as it can be with just minor performance dips on occasions.
Not once did I feel anything was out of place. By now you should have made the conclusion that the game runs well.
It targets 30 frames per second and hits that metric. There will be dips as you play,
but they are minor to a point that I don’t think anyone should feel it would hinder their play experience.
There are of course compromises made to this version of the game. That would include
texture and shadow quality, draw distance, and of course the frame rate targeting at 30.
There may be other limitations as well, but regardless of all that, I think this may be one of the most
interesting ports to come on the Nintendo Switch. Virtuos, the company handling the port made the
impossible certainly possible. They clearly understand the Nintendo Switch, and optimized
the game to run well on this platform. Coming from a person that have played this game on the
PS4, PS5 and PC versions, I can safely say this is a full blown NieR Automata experience.
On top of it all, you can play this game on the go. If this is your first time playing, you are in for a wild, fun,
and an emotional time. I highly recommend this game. It got me to love it to call it one
of my favorite games of all time. Alright, that is all I have for you on this episode. If you found this
analysis informative or helpful, and you like the work I do here, I would appreciate a thumbs up.
Considering subscribing to NintendoCade for more performance evaluations like this on
upcoming games coming to the Nintendo Switch. I am Danny and I will catch you on the next one.