SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
A decent port of the hit multiplayer game, Overwatch ultimately struggles to deliver its signature stylish fun on Switch and fails to capitalise on the console’s best features.
On paper, Overwatch and the Nintendo Switch seems like a match made in heaven. When it was revealed, I was excited that the game was making its way to a console made by Nintendo, whose own commitment to delivering uniquely styled fun was a perfect mirror to Overwatch’s infectious positivity. Having had the chance to play it over the past few days however, I’m less convinced that they belong together like two peas in a pod. If anything, it proves that porting to the Switch is harder than it looks, and while this is a decent port, it struggles when it comes to using this console’s best features to its advantage. It’s playable, but this isn’t necessarily the way it’s meant to be played.
For most gamers, Overwatch needs no introduction. Blizzard’s hit game has been going from strength to strength ever since its explosive initial release. Players are placed into teams of six and choose from the game’s roster of 30 characters before descending onto the game’s maps to battle over objectives and push payloads in return for experience points and loot boxes, which contain cosmetic items for the game’s heroes. Its vibrant, cartoonish art style, accessible heroes, and “one more match” itch has won it much praise. For three years now, players on consoles and PC have experienced a constantly evolving game, packed with entertaining seasonal events and an ever-expanding character roster.
On Nintendo Switch, every silver lining has a corresponding cloud. By and large, the biggest complaint when it comes to Switch ports is a visual downgrade when compared to other consoles, and to be fair to Blizzard, there’s not a great deal they can do here. Whether I played the game handheld or docked, some of the game’s textures were noticeably low-res and the game’s beautifully designed maps sometimes looked bleached, as if some of the game’s original vibrancy had been lost. It’s a problem that affects some maps more than others; Hanamura’s cherry blossoms still pop off the screen, but Busan’s futuristic buildings and Numbani’s narrow streets now look drab. The game’s unique visual style is still there however. Players just have to really strain their eyes to appreciate it. It looks downright blurry while in the dock, and I found myself having to squint during intense firefights while playing it handheld.
In technical terms, the port is also a mixed bag. The frame rate is usually smooth and I didn’t experience any issues with my connection. Still, it wasn’t long before I ran into problems. Blizzard eagerly marketed the port’s gyroscopic controls, which allow a player to shift the console’s gyroscope to aim and even to control character ultimates like Junkrat’s Riptire. You can use a variety of different methods to play the game, whether it’s using the Switch as a handheld, detaching the Joy-Cons, or using a Pro Controller if you have one handy. The gyroscopic controls take some getting used to, and there’s a fairly significant learning curve. I found them occasionally useful in combat after tweaking a setting that let me control the camera by waving my Switch around together with shifting the right stick, but the first few initial games were rough going, since I was fighting for control of the camera. Playing with the Joy-Cons detached was particularly nightmarish.
Luckily, you can switch them off entirely. I eventually did, since Overwatch seems to be one of the few Switch games that’s caused me to experience fatigue in my hands after prolonged play. I found the most comfortable option was playing docked using a Pro Controller, which presents an unfortunate paradox: that’s precisely where the game looks its worst, and it doesn’t utilise one of the Switch’s biggest advantages over other consoles: its portability. It’s still playable and fun while in handheld mode, and having a copy on Switch lets you play the game on the go, as long as you have Wi-Fi.
People who travel frequently with their Switch on-hand will see the benefit. However, people who’ve already played on other consoles will suffer. The game lets you link your Nintendo account with Blizzard’s battle.net, but this offers no benefit. The lack of cross-platform progression meant I had to start my collection of hero cosmetics from scratch. This effectively places a limit on any efforts to create a sense of continuity. I didn’t feel like I was working towards earning new skins on PlayStation, then continuing that fight on my Switch later on from an Internet café for example. Once I tried the game again on my PlayStation 4 Pro, which offered superior framerate and visual quality, it was genuinely difficult to enjoy the Switch port.
Of course, if you’re a dedicated Switch owner without access to another console, then that won’t be a problem you’ll experience. And there’s still definitely something to be said for this port, since you can take Overwatch on the go and still have fun playing it. It just takes a patient player willing to tolerate these flaws in order to enjoy a game that’s still one of the best modern multiplayer experiences out there.
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