You can now play Hogwarts Legacy on Nintendo Switch, but should you?
Fans of Hogwarts Legacy have been waiting patiently for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to make its way to the Nintendo Switch, and it's finally here.
Launching on November 14th, Switch owners are now able to purchase and download Hogwarts Legacy to their devices, living out their fantasies as budding students at the school of witchcraft and wizardry.
However, the question remains as to whether you should be playing Hogwarts Legacy on the Nintendo Switch. Given its drastically lower graphical performance, is the experience diminished? We'll explain how the game fares on the handheld platform below.
Disclaimer: While the creator of the Harry Potter franchise was not directly involved in the creation of Hogwarts Legacy, their comments on social media around transgender people are hurtful and dangerous given the size of their platform.
We’d implore you to read our explainer of the controversy so far, and consider supporting trans rights charities where possible.
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How does Hogwarts Legacy perform on Nintendo Switch?
Despite only having a fraction of the computing horsepower of more modern consoles, Hogwarts Legacy holds up surprisingly well on the Nintendo Switch.
Don't get me wrong - you're definitely looking at a lower-quality image on the Switch compared to the more powerful consoles. However, the graphics are certainly serviceable for a console that can fit in a big pocket.
Textures and shadows are the most noticeable differences that players will notice, as they are a much lower resolution than normal. You'll also likely get a fair bit of pop-in as objects load much closer to the player to save performance.
As for frame rates, the Switch is capable of running this game at a solid 30 fps. There are a few dips when action kicks off, like in big battles with lots of spells going off at once. However, the frame rate remains remarkably stable for the most part.
For a game that is surprisingly tricky to run on even the most powerful of PCs, Hogwarts Legacy runs remarkably well on the Nintendo Switch.
Should you play Hogwarts Legacy on Nintendo Switch?
Click to enlargeThe answer to whether you should play Hogwarts Legacy on Nintendo Switch is subjective, but if you've not yet played the game and don't own another console, then the Switch port is a good option.
However, if you care a great deal about games looking their absolute best and running at the highest frame rates, then we recommend looking to pick up the game on either the Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, or PC. That will ensure you're playing a version of Hogwarts Legacy that looks truly great.
As mentioned at the top of this article, there's also the moral dilemma of whether you should play Hogwarts Legacy to consider. The creator of the Wizarding World didn't have a direct hand in the development of this game, but it's without a doubt that her platform benefits from Hogwarts Legacy.
Once again, GGRecon implores its readers to look over our explainer of the situation and to consider supporting trans rights charities if they possibly can.
