September’s Nintendo Direct was filled with upcoming titles and announcements for the Switch. On the services front, Nintendo Switch Online is set to receive Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games along with a new subscription model. However, the Nintendo Switch’s cloud streaming service was also a feature at the recent Nintendo Direct, with an exciting announcement for fans of survival horror games.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human was announced to be coming to the Switch on day one through the cloud streaming service. While this was exciting news for fans of the series, the reveal of Dying Light 2 on the Switch was met with skepticism. Whether fans have their reservations about the quality of cloud streaming, or how well Dying Light 2 will play on the Switch, the reveal itself didn’t alleviate any of these concerns.
Nintendo Direct’s Surprise Dying Light 2 Announcement
The recent Nintendo Direct brought a number of exciting reveals, including the announcement of the long-awaited Bayonetta 3. However, one of the more unexpected announcements was Dying Light 2: Stay Human, along with the original Dying Light. The sequel, Dying Light 2 will release on the Switch on February 4, while Dying Light: Platinum Edition will be available next month, on October 19. While it was already confirmed that Dying Light: Platinum Edition would be coming to the Switch by developer Techland, the announcement of Dying Light 2 came out of the blue. The announcement of Dying Light 2 also revealed something about the release that may be a worry for some.
There is a fairly major difference between the two releases, which could be a make or break for gamers. The Nintendo Switch doesn’t exactly have the hardware to compete with high-end PCs, or next-gen consoles, but Dying Light 2’s release will be making use of Nintendo Switch’s cloud streaming technology instead. Other titles such as Resident Evil 7, Hitman 3, and Control are available to stream on the Switch, while a cloud version of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is also set to be released on October 26. Cloud streaming is a good way for the Switch to work around hardware limitations, but gamers have some reservations about it.
How Will Dying Light 2 On Nintendo Switch Run?
Gamers have long been skeptical of game streaming, a skepticism which was heightened by the rocky release of Google Stadia in 2019. For many early adopters of the Stadia, the first day was rough and saw gamers experience major input lag and stuttering despite high internet speeds. However, Stadia has come a long way since then and is now in a much better state than at launch.
As long as gamers have a steady, fast connection, their games should run fine. For example, Stadia was one of the better places to play Cyberpunk 2077 at launch, alongside the PC version of the game. This could also be the case for Dying Light 2 on the Switch. As long as Switch owners have a steady connection, there should be no issues with streaming Dying Light 2 through the Switch.
In fact, the Nintendo Switch may even be the perfect system for video game streaming. Nintendo’s cloud streaming service makes sense as the Switch exemplifies the main point of cloud streaming, the ability to play great games on the go and anywhere. Additionally, unlike with a console or PC, players have free reign to move to wherever their connection may be the strongest. Nintendo’s cloud streaming service could prove to be more popular than any others available.
From what is known about cloud streaming, the cloud version of Dying Light 2 shouldn’t have too many problems for users with a good internet connection. Dying Light 2 fans on the Nintendo Switch need not worry about any potential shortcomings for now, as long as their connection is sufficient.
Dying Light 2: Stay Human is set to release on February 4, 2022, for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.