Two months after its December release, Bethesda has deployed update 1.2 for Skyrim: Anniversary Edition on the Nintendo Switch 2, a much-needed patch to address significant issues with the port’s initial release. The core of patch 1.2 is the introduction of two distinct display options: a 60fps performance mode and a 30fps visuals mode. The patch also includes fixes for several bugs, crashes, and Joy-Con mouse control quirks.
The initial release of the Switch 2 version suffered from two major problems. First, a glaringly high input latency of up to 293ms, which was partially addressed by a quick follow-up Patch 1.1 near Christmas. However, Patch 1.1 created a second issue by removing the 30fps cap, causing performance to fluctuate wildly between 30fps and 60fps, often hovering unsatisfactorily around 35fps. Patch 1.2 is intended to be the proper solution.
Before delving into the frame-rate modes, the patch addresses two notable visual bugs: the jittering screen-space reflections (SSR) on water bodies are now fixed and stable, and the bizarrely blue trees near Riften city have been restored to their proper colour. The general quality level of SSR is unaffected. However, one major critique remains unaddressed: the game still requires a massive 53GB download – larger than on any other platform – partly due what we believe is the default inclusion of all language packs.
The performance mode is generally a success. In docked play, the game now consistently hits 60fps in most dungeons and open-world gaming. For instance, the entire route from Helgen Keep down to Whiterun City runs at a near-faultless 60fps, a massive jump from the 30-35fps range of Patch 1.1, effectively doubling the frame-rate in these areas. However, the 60fps mode is not without its flaws, primarily related to traversal and busy scenes. The game is still prone to occasional lurches and hitches, which are likely tied to world asset streaming on the Creation Engine, causing drops to nearly 30fps with sizeable frame-time spikes.
These hitches are more exposed at 60fps than they were at a capped 30fps. Busy towns and open world battles also push the limit of the Switch 2: the opening sequence, with multiple on-screen NPCs and volumetric fog, constantly wavers from 50-60fps. Later dragon attacks can be erratic, hitting 40-60fps, while dense towns like Riften see the frame-rate tumble into the 50s. Despite these outliers, the mode is a significant improvement but not on par with performance modes seen on other current-gen consoles.
Achieving a more consistent 60fps required the developers to implement visual cutbacks. The 30fps visuals mode maintains a native 1440p resolution – upscaled via DLSS – while docked, which is identical to the launch settings. In contrast, the new 60fps performance mode uses a lower, dynamic resolution ranging from 576p to 1080p, also DLSS upscaled. The lowest 576p is seen under heavy GPU stress, while 1080p is rare. This necessary reduction in rendered pixels results in a softer image and more visible artifacting, shimmer, and flicker, especially across the horizon in the visually dense world of Skyrim.
Settings changes primarily involve dropped foliage LODs (Level of Detail) and decreased shadow draw distance. The landscape appears lighter and more barren from a great height in performance mode, although plants and shadows do render at the same quality as the visuals mode once the player gets close enough. All other settings, such as SSR, ambient occlusion, volumetric fog, and textures remain intact.
Portable play introduces further compromises. The 30fps visuals mode remains at 1080p with DLAA. However, the performance mode sees its resolution drop significantly, from a native 720p at best down to as low as 640×360 during open world battles, resulting in a very soft, sometimes rough image on the 1080p display. The foliage draw setting is even lower in portable performance mode than its docked equivalent, resulting in more barren landscapes to accommodate the lower GPU clock and maintain 60fps away from the mains.
Finally let’s talk input latency. The good news is that it’s greatly improved over the launch state on Switch 2, and Bethesda has addressed a root cause for that input lag. Returning to our jump test (measuring the time between pressing the jump button and the animation kicking off on-screen), it takes 218.5ms to see the first on-screen response after a button press. That’s not ideal, but it’s still a noticeable 75ms reduction in latency over what we had at launch, which gave a 293.8ms reading.
The analogue stick camera test (the time between moving the stick and action occurring on-screen) fares better, with patch 1.2 test responding to a camera stick tilt after 146.4ms – 91ms improvement over the launch build’s 237.7ms. Even so, this 30fps mode doesn’t feel especially snappy, though it’s clear that Bethesda has certainly looked into the cause of the latency here since it debuted on Switch 2.
Out of curiosity I also tested latency in the new performance mode – where we’d logically expect much better figures at 60fps. Using the jump test once again, I get a response after 120.8ms – practically identical to the PS5 version at 118ms with the same input. Put another way, this knocks off a whopping 100ms of delay compared to the 224ms result we had, running unlocked on that patch 1.1 update.
So, all round, this is the absolute best way to enjoy Skyrim on any Switch console today, including the original Switch release. The analogue stick test in performance mode is, once again, even snappier – giving us a 74.2ms return, which in itself is a 69ms improvement on the patch 1.1 reading of 143.6ms. Holistically, while the numbers are not great compared to other games, we are now very close to the other current-gen versions.
In conclusion, while Skyrim on Switch 2 is not a perfect release – suffering from frame-rate drops below 60fps and image quality degradation in portable mode – patch 1.2 places the game in a considerably better state. The dramatically improved latency, coupled with the functional 60fps option, takes the Switch 2 port from a big disappointment to a thoroughly decent way to play the game. And it’s actually great to see a developer take on board constructive criticism, respond to feedback and deliver a much improved product.