DOOM Eternal action in the palm of your hands with Nintendo Switch, is it worth it? The Panic Button team surprises again with a great adaptation to the hybrid console, which sacrifices part of its graphic spectacularity to show fluidly the brutal action of DOOM on a portable console. In this review, we go over the technicalities of DOOM Eternal on Switch.
If at the time the adaptation of DOOM to Nintendo Switch seemed worthy of praise , the Panic Button team has once again demonstrated that few are better than them when it comes to bringing games to the hybrid console than anyone else would say “it is impossible to do “. There are sacrifices , yes, but having the ability to play DOOM Eternal on a portable console and have it work well, and look great, is no small thing. Of course it is not the best version of Id Software’s frenetic shooter, because it is not so spectacular, but it is the best possible on the Nintendo console, and it is something to keep in mind. Lose part of that spectacularity that made you sigh in amazement on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, especially in the larger stages, but once you get into action and you see that the enemies do not stop coming out, that the explosions, the blood and flames Hells don’t stop happening here and there… well, you let yourself be seduced by the brutal action of DOOM Eternal and neither the flat textures, or the low resolution, take you out of that deadly frenzy of shots to the rhythm of heavy metal .
It has been done to pray, but seeing the final result the wait has been worth it . Nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2020 , DOOM Eternal is frenzy at its purest. You barely have a second to breathe. You start the game and you are already slaughtering demons on a planet Earth turned into a real hell. We talked about all this in the original DOOM Eternal analysis , so I will focus on the technical aspects of this Nintendo Switch adaptation that, like its predecessor, bets on a dynamic resolution of 720p and 30 FPSquite solid both in desktop and in portable mode, although at specific moments of the game it can hit slight jerks. How does this affect the action of DOOM Eternal? Obviously if you have played on PC, Xbox or PlayStation it will take you a little to get used to its lower rate of images per second, but after that initial shock, you will immediately be running, jumping and shooting like crazy while enjoying the frenzied spectacle of death and destruction that is the new thing from ID Software. And being able to do it in portable mode, of course, is almost black magic. A miracle that allows us to say goodbye to the year of Nintendo Switch in style with a fantastic first-person action game. Ready to exterminate demons?
Kill demons in portable mode
DOOM Eternal gameplay on Nintendo Switch: this is how the Id Software game works on the hybrid console
Seen in detail, in still images, DOOM Eternal on Nintendo Switch looks poor. The textures have lost definition, the enemies appear more simplistic, less detailed, and I imagine that some of you may already be thinking: “it looks pretty shabby for how well you describe it.” But the images do not do it any justice . Once the action is unleashed, it does not stop and the defects, the sacrifices that have been carried out so that the new Id Software works in the Nintendo hybrid, are not so noticeable. They are there, it is obvious, but what difference does it make that a demon has fewer polygons if in just two seconds it will be a shapeless mass of meat?
Panic Button has intelligently managed the resources of Nintendo Switch so that DOOM Eternal remains DOOM Eternal
Panic Button has intelligently managed the resources of Nintendo Switch so that DOOM Eternal remains DOOM Eternal, with all that that implies: brutal shootouts with devastating final executions, dozens of enemies attacking from all fronts, lots of blood, many explosions and a Wild musical accompaniment to get you right into the action. And it is incredible. It loses some of that spectacularity that made us in awe of its original release, especially on open stages, but it’s still DOOM and having it in the palms of your hands is commendable. The question is … how much are you willing to sacrifice to play it on a laptop?
Getting DOOM Eternal to work on the Nintendo Switch with minimal slowdowns is little short of black magic, but it comes at a cost. There are times when the dynamic resolution drops too low(ranges from 720p to 576p) showing scenes and enemies with very little detail, hardly sharp, and it is something that you notice no matter how fast the action is. When you fight in open stages, with colossal enemies in the background, the same thing happens; with the addition that they are scenes that in the original left you speechless and here it is not bad, but they are not even close to making an impact. Ultimately they are sensations, something as personal as downplaying graphics in favor of the portable experience. What I can tell you is that DOOM Eternal works well on the Nintendo Switch at a solid 30 frames per second, and enjoying its shootouts on the console screen is a joy at times.
In images the video game does not look particularly good, but it does not do it justice: in motion it is another story.
This hybrid console adaptation makes a handful of adjustments to draw distance, visual effects, polygon loading, and texture detail to maintain fluidity at all costs. In still images it looks pretty bad, I said before, but in motion it is something else; even more so if you play on a laptop, which I would say is the best way to enjoy it on Nintendo Switch. In addition, the Panic Button team has not missed the opportunity to add movement controlto help us in targeting, which is appreciated in a game of these characteristics. The combination of the sticks and that little extra boost from the gyros makes pointing fairly accurate once you’ve mastered it, offering an experience close to using a mouse on a PC. What is going to be great for you also in the multiplayer facet of DOOM Eternal, which also fulfills in the hybrid console: it works well, without latency problems, and so far I have not had difficulties when it comes to finding rivals against whom to beat in mourning.
DOOM Eternal is frenzy in its purest form. You barely have a second to breatheI have not talked much about exploration and scenario design because, as I said, I wanted to focus on the technical aspects and operation of DOOM Eternal on Nintendo Switch, but I find it difficult not to dedicate even a few words of praise to the brilliant work done by Id Software, which takes us into a maelstrom of shots, explosions and blood in which the verticality of the scenarios plays an essential role. It’s crazy jumping around slaughtering demons, exploring the map for secrets, while the action doesn’t stop for an instant. For this reason, I insist, having a game like this on a laptop is another example of the talent of Panic Button, who we told you about in our special about how Nintendo Switch ports are created. Too bad the game has hit stores without a physical edition .
“Miraculous”
DOOM Eternal
9.5
Readers
(1)
Playing DOOM Eternal on a laptop seemed like an impossible task, but the Panic Button team has once again proved its worth by adapting the brutal and frenetic game of Id Software to Nintendo Switch. There are graphic sacrifices, yes, but the experience is still very enjoyable if you accept that to play in the palms of your hands the game must be less spectacular, more spartan in visual effects and textures.
5 Things you should know:
- Panic Button is a studio specialized in adapting games to Nintendo Switch
- Dynamic resolution ranging from 720p to 576p, with a fairly solid 30FPS
- Action without a second of respite: once the game starts, you won’t stop fighting
- Brutal executions serve to gain ammunition or health
- The game on Nintendo Switch is left without a physical release
