Hogwarts Legacy is now available on the Nintendo Switch, and if you’re wondering how it stacks up against the PS5 version, read ahead.
In terms of visual fidelity, the PS5 version of Hogwarts takes a significant lead over the Nintendo Switch in all graphical areas, with draw distance and lighting affecting the visual setup the most. The Switch version also removes several assets from the environment, including vases, paintings and other furniture, in order to reduce the graphical load. In general, the visuals on Switch are of a considerably lower quality than PS5’s performance mode. The former also has trouble loading textures or assets on time when transitioning from one area to another.
In terms of image quality, the PS5 version runs at a native resolution of 1800p in Quality, dynamic 1800p in Balanced mode, 1440p in Performance and Ray Tracing mode, and 1080p in High Frame Rate mode. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch runs the game at sub-720p in both docked and handheld modes.
With regards to performance, Hogwarts Legacy targets a frame rate of 30 fps in Quality, Balanced, and Ray Tracing modes on PS5. In Performance mode, the game targets a frame rate of 60 fps. Meanwhile, in High Frame Rate mode, it targets a frame rate of 120 fps, averaging out at around 80 fps. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch targets a frame rate of 30 fps in both docked and handheld modes
In terms of load times, the PS5 takes a notable lead over the Switch, loading many times faster than Nintendo’s hybrid handheld console.
All in all, the PS5 version of Hogwarts Legacy offers a significant yet expected graphical leap over the game running on Nintendo Switch. That said, given their hardware limitations, the handheld version look and runs reasonably well.
Hogwarts Legacy was released on 10 February 2023 for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S, on 5 May 2023 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and on 14 November 2023 for Nintendo Switch.
