Assassin’s Creed Shadows feels like a miracle port for the Nintendo Switch 2. It is a very ambitious current-generation game that has somehow been brought to the Switch 2 while keeping its core visual style intact. Unlike the older Switch ports, this version stays much closer to the console releases. It is not perfect, but I was genuinely impressed with how well it runs, especially after trying the PC version on devices like the Steam Deck, which does not reach the same level of performance as the Switch 2 release.
There is not much new to say about the game itself, since we have already covered it in detail in our review. The short version is that this is the first entry in the series set in feudal Japan. It also uses a dual-protagonist system, letting players switch between two leads. Naoe plays more like a traditional assassin with a focus on stealth encounters, while Yasuke is a straightforward powerhouse who can take on almost any enemy with his strength. He also carries historical relevance as a samurai of color.
I was pleasantly surprised by how Ubisoft handled this port. If you have already played Assassin’s Creed Shadows and your Ubisoft account is linked, you can continue your old save without any extra steps. The process is smooth and automatic as long as you use the same Ubisoft account you played Shadows on before. When I launched the game and saw my old save load right away, it genuinely caught me off guard. Cyberpunk 2077 offers something similar, but this is still a great feature, and more developers should support cross-platform saves.
To appreciate the Switch 2 release, we need to keep the hardware gap between the PS5 and Switch 2 in mind. Assassin’s Creed Shadows was never released on the PS4 or Xbox One, so it has always been a current-generation title. While the game has been brought over to the Switch 2, there are some clear compromises. The biggest visual feature missing is RTGI, the real-time global illumination system that defines the game’s lighting and atmosphere. This is not a major issue, though, since even the console versions disable this feature in performance mode, and it is only available when targeting 30 FPS.
In my view, the main drawback of the Switch 2 port is the lower texture quality. The lighting downgrade is easy to notice in direct comparisons, but when you are actually playing, the game still looks good and holds up well in both portable and docked mode. I was surprised by how clean it looked on a 4K TV thanks to DLSS. This level of upscaling support is something Steam Deck and other PC handhelds struggle to match as smoothly.
Most of the visual shortcomings show up in the textures. The lighting is flatter, yes, but the textures themselves are often low quality, and at times, I noticed them popping in and switching between low and high detail. This texture pop-in is distracting, and the same applies to the aggressive LOD settings. Naturally, ray tracing is gone entirely, but I had hoped Ubisoft would carry over at least a few advanced features, similar to what they did with Star Wars Outlaws.
The benefit of these compromises is that the game now runs at 30 FPS and stays close to that target most of the time. The issue is the clear frame pacing problem in docked mode. This is frustrating because the game supports VRR in portable mode, yet Nintendo has disabled or removed the option in docked mode on the Switch 2. VRR would have made the big screen experience much smoother, but right now, the portable mode performs better simply because it has VRR support.
This makes a difference for a game like Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Even though the gameplay is built around a 30 FPS cap, performance can dip in crowded areas such as towns or villages where many NPCs are on screen. These drops are harder to notice in portable mode thanks to low frame rate compensation, but docked mode does not have that advantage.
The game includes a few Switch 2-specific features, such as touch screen support, but it only applies to menus and the base building mode. One issue I ran into right away was frequent crashes during startup. It seems to happen when the game is trying to connect online, though I cannot say for sure. Load times are also slower than expected and take noticeably longer than on current-generation consoles and PC.
Overall, I would still recommend the Switch 2 version of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. It feels like a release that should not have been possible, yet Ubisoft managed to make it work on this hardware. It is also impressive that all current-generation content, including future DLC, is being brought over without cuts. I only hope Ubisoft can address the performance issues and fix the random crashes.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Game Information
- Price: $59.99
- Publisher: Ubisoft
- Developer: Ubisoft Quebec
- Platform: Switch 2 (Reviewed)
- Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher
