Digital Foundry analyzes Ys X Nordics on Switch

If you want a technical teardown of a game, there’s no better team out there than Digital Foundry. Their group of experts dig into a game’s inner-workings unlike any other, seeing not just how things were built, but what makes them run as they do. Digital Foundry is constantly putting games through their paces, and today they’re back with yet another in-depth feature on a multiplatform title.

Ys X Nordics is available on Switch, PlayStation 5 and PS4…at least in Japan. The game will eventually get localized, but ahead of that official announcement, Digital Foundry has compared all 3 versions of the game to see how they compare. We know the Switch version will be the most limited overall, but does it get close to the other platforms? Here’s what the gang found out.

• loading screens existing primarily between interiors and exteriors
• maps are more complex and more detailed compared to the last 2 previous installments
• animation is hugely improved across the board
• major cutscenes now receive good quality animation work
• 900p output in docked mode and around 600p in portable
• mix of bloom and volumetrics used on PS5 have been removed on Switch
• expected resolution and performance drops
• nips and tucks to shadows, lighting, textures, water rendering and texture filtering quality
• shadows are much lower resolution with a lot of visual breakup and noise
• texture quality takes a minor hit in spots
• texture filtering also exhibits additional blur at oblique angles
• differences in water rendering between platforms
• pop-in issues on Switch
• mostly stable 30 fps framerate
• certain effects, especially of the alpha variety, can cause framerate dips