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Alan Wake is one of those games that’s gained a sort of cult following over the years since its initial release in 2010. So, in response to its status as such, the original team at Remedy partnered with another studio as well as Epic Games Publishing to bring forth a remaster of the game. The team felt a remaster was a better route to take than a remake simply because it fit their goal of “maintaining the core gameplay and narrative elements of the game but improving the visuals for newer game systems with support for 4k resolutions so that the title would appeal to both those that played the original and new players”

Well, now that the game is officially out on all platforms as of today with the Switch release shadow dropping just yesterday on the Nintendo Switch we can finally see if this vision holds true through the game’s remaster.

Now, when it comes to multiplatform releases like this, we’re sure that no one is expecting the Switch to visually look the best of the bunch, but just how far off is the Switch’s release off from its competition? GameXplain’s video above will show just how stark some of the differences can be.

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One of the most apparent things in this comparison is the overall frame rate the Switch version has by comparison to its PS5 and even original Xbox 360 counterparts. On top of what’s already a lesser visual experience, due in part to the Switch’s hardware limitations, it seems as though the game’s Switch release is marred by things like unstable frame rates, blurry textures, and less than ideal character models.

While some of this may not come as a surprise to some, as pointed out in GameXplain’s video, it’s a real shame that even the original Xbox 360 release seems to outperform the Switch remaster in some areas, despite being a less powerful console than the Switch is.

All in all, this is no knock on the game’s quality overall. Alan Wake is still very much the same game that it was 12 years ago, it’s just unfortunate that the game’s Switch release doesn’t seem to hold up as well as some might have hoped.

About alecandstuff

alecandstuff

Nintendo Content Creator, podcast host, and now news writer. You can find Alec's blurbs all over the internet. Dyed his hair blue in the hopes of one day being turned into a Fire Emblem character.

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Comments (4)

conangiga

1+ y ago

This is so frustrating. Shitting out a half-assed port as a digital only to grab some quick bucks. Shame on you!


sligeach_eire

1+ y ago

That GameXplain was the first video I seen saying this Switch port is awful. I've seen numerous other people and sites since say the same. They've some cheek to call it "Remastered" when it looks and runs worse than it originally did on XBOX360. Shadow dropping it out of nowhere hoping to catch people unawares before reviews drop and criti$h1tism hits the fans. No physical version either, total laziness.


captaincolon

1+ y ago

This is why with the next console I really hope Nintendo beefs things up specs-wise, so we don't have to settle for lesser versions just for the sake of being able to play it on the go (which I rarely do these days and I haven't seen a Switch being played in public since pre-pandemic).

Panic Button has proven they can do wonders on Switch, but not everyone is gonna want to pay them (nor should they have to) to port/downscale their game to Switch (and Panic Button wasn't involved in this game which is why I'm saying this).

I like Nintendo's 1st party games, so I buy their consoles. I don't think that should mean I have to settle for the lesser versions of 3rd party games as a trade-off.


riftsilver

1+ y ago

@captaincolon

For real. The reality is that most teams porting aren't Panic Button, and most development teams aren't Monolith Soft.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think port's like this should ever be released, but eith time and budgetary restraints, getting things running on a far less powerful system than the competitors is no doubt difficult.

They probably should have just stuck with porting the original over instead of trying to downgrade the remaster to run on Switch. Ni no Kuni did so, the Switch was the only platform that didn't get the remaster but the original instead.