Apex Legends has seen a big increase in popularity as of late, with many players enjoying the game's fast paced and competitive nature. Now, Apex Legends is expanding to Nintendo Switch, with the version officially releasing yesterday afternoon.
Unfortunately, though more people have access to the game now that the Nintendo Switch version is out, the technical performance of the game is far from impressive. As such, players have taken to social media platforms such as Twitter and Reddit to vent their frustrations on the technical fidelity of Apex Legends' Switch port, though many players expected as much.
For those who haven't seen the newly ported Switch version of Apex Legends in action, it's a rough sight to behold when compared to the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions of the game. Though the technical details of Apex Legends' Switch version were shown off just ahead of the game's release, playing it for oneself showcases just how compromised the performance is.
According to users on a post from the Apex Legends subreddit, a substantial number of players were put off by the Switch version's muddy graphics, poor textures, lower framerates, and limited draw distance. When talking about a highly competitve fast-paced FPS, that kind of performance can inherently put players at a disadvantage.
Considering that high framerate caps are important for Apex players, the Switch version seems like a poor choice for any player who has an alternative option. However, there are many players saying that the Switch port is performing exactly how they expected it would. One user going by the name wyattsup wrote, "Â Being honest, I don't know why anyone expected otherwise. It's another case of a game that doesn't belong on the system because it simply isn't strong enough to handle it." Sadly, it's hard to argue against this viewpoint after seeing the performance of the Switch version even compared with the standard performance on consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One.
Why did they even bother making Apex for the Switch? The port is atrociously bad. from NintendoSwitch
Still, there are other players saying they knew what they were getting before downloading and are satisfied. Responding to the post's rhetorical question asking why Respawn bothered making a port of Apex Legends on Switch, one user going by the name Bakatora34 wrote, "Probably for people like me that can't play it anywhere else, anyway [looks] fine to me, not super amazing just a big fine, got what I expected." While the majority of players are put off by Apex Legends performance on the Switch, there are some players out there who play on Switch for the novelty the console offers.
At the end of the day, while the Switch version of Apex Legends is not the best way to play the game, it is still a viable option for players who only own a Switch. Any way to play the game and introduce new players into the community is a win for Respawn and Apex Legends, despite the lack of technical fidelity. Additionally, Panic Button will likely continue to try and optimize the Switch version's performance, similar to the developer's work on Doom and Doom Eternal for the Switch.
Apex Legends is available now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.