id Software have not been shy with their pre-release praise for DOOM Eternal, talking it up as the best thing they’ve ever done and discussing how good it’s going to look and run on every platform that it’s on. But the game is also primed for a release on the Nintendo Switch some time after its initial launch less than a month from now- so how exactly is the shooter going to fare on the much weaker hardware of Nintendo’s hybrid console?
According to game director Marty Stratton, there’s quite a lot of cause for optimism. id Software have mentioned earlier that the port is coming along really well, thank to the efforts of port devs Panic Button (whom they also worked with on the Switch port of DOOM 2016), and in recent interview with US Gamer, Stratton was full of praise for the port once again, saying that he recently played it and was “stunned” to see the results, and calling Panic Button “masters of the platform” once again.
“We really haven’t talked about dates or anything—I can say that I played it about a week ago, and I am stunned,” said Stratton. “Our partner on that, Panic Button, I’ve referred to them many times as masters of the platform, and they’re proving it again. I really think it’s gonna surprise people[…] I see it all the time in the comments, when we release a video: ‘Can’t wait to play it on Switch, can’t wait to play it on Switch.’ I think people are going to love it.”
“We’re having it come out later because we want to do the right job with it, we want it to be the highest quality version of the game on the Switch,” he added, echoing statements he’s made before as well. “[We] don’t want to be compromising in any way.”
“They have a whole team of UI artists,” Stratton said while explaining some of the work Panic Button are doing on the Switch version of the first person shooter. “It is a small screen, so there are times we pack a lot of information onto the screen, but yes. Menus, UI, the dossier—a lot of adjustments across the board to make sure that, again, it is the best possible version you can get on the Switch.”
Though DOOM Eternal doesn’t yet have a Switch release date, it’s launch on other platforms isn’t too far away. It’ll be out for PS4, Xbox One, Stadia, and PC on March 20.