FromSoftware is hoping to make a splash on the Switch 2 later this year when it launches The Duskbloods, a gothic competitive multiplayer game that's unlike anything the studio has made before. But before that, Switch 2 owners have a chance to experience the studio's biggest hit for the first time thanks to a port of Elden Ring and its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. For the most part, the new version — called the “Tarnished Edition†— is the same game that captivated players in 2022. But the shift in platform also makes it a particularly compelling way to explore the Lands Between.
Elden Ring differentiated itself from past FromSoft games by introducing a large open world shrouded in mystery and brimming with danger. And as we've learned over the years, open-world games work especially well on Nintendo's hybrid console, letting you play in small bursts while in portable mode before settling in for grander adventures on your television. Nintendo made this point crystal clear launching the original Switch alongside The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the extra horsepower of the Switch 2 has been put to use for ports of gigantic games like Cyberpunk 2077.
In many ways Elden Ring is an ideal test case for the Switch 2. It may be a few years old, but it's a big and demanding game, one where every element matters. Wonky frame rates could mean death in battle, while dark or fuzzy graphics could allow a cave-dwelling creature to get the jump on you. I spent dozens of hours exploring and dying in the PS5 version of the game when it first launched, and I've since spent around 10 hours dabbling with the Switch 2 port. And while the Switch 2 edition isn't the most technically impressive version of the game, it is one that runs just well enough to possibly be my favorite way to play.
Replaying the opening hours of Elden Ring is an interesting experience. It's easy to forget just how unforgiving the game can be early on. You play as a weak little wretch known as a Tarnished, thrust into an expansive fantasy realm full of things that want to kill you. One of the first things you see is a giant gladiator riding a horse, and if you try to attack it you'll die from a single swipe of its sword. It's a powerful learning experience, and much of my time with the Switch 2 version of the game has been spent cowering in bushes and slaying flocks of giant bats in order to slowly level up my fledgling astrologer. I've made some progress — I finally took down Margit, the Fell Omen, the game's first major boss, and I made it to the Roundtable to get a comforting hug from Fia — but mostly I've just been puttering around, cautiously poking at the edges of the world, slowly growing in both strength and confidence.
The most important thing about my experience so far is that the limitations of the hardware never had a negative impact. There are some Switch 2 drawbacks, like less detailed characters and some textures that look muddy or washed out. But these are all superficial things, and I found myself largely forgetting about them the more that I explored. I haven't come across any issues of stuttering or frame rate drops, either in portable or TV mode. Which is all to say that Elden Ring performs well enough on the Switch 2 that, aside from the occasional long load, I haven't spent much time thinking about the game's performance at all.
Instead, I've found myself once again lost in the Lands Between, spending many of my waking moments reliving adventures or dreaming up where I want to go next. As with other big games on the Switch or its successor, the nature of the platform makes it easier to fit an adventure of this scale into my life. Sometimes, I grab the tablet and just spend 20 minutes clearing out a camp full of soldiers or seeking out the next Site of Grace, making incremental progress that will make life easier when I tuck in to explore for hours in TV mode.
This isn't a new revelation about the Switch by any stretch. But with Elden Ring's sprawling landscape and unforgiving combat, it's an ideal example of the type for how well this kind of open world can work on the Switch 2. And with The Duskbloods lurking in the shadows, it's a great way to scratch that FromSoft itch while waiting for the studio's next game.
Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition launches on the Nintendo Switch 2 on August 28th.
