Getting DOOM to run on Nintendo Switch must have been a massive undertaking. We already know the resolution hits the game had to take, as well as the frame rate, which was sadly halved from the silky smooth 60fps of the original to a tamer 30fps.
However, the bigger concessions should end there, at least in regards to the frame rate. Speaking to Glixel, a Bethesda spokesperson confirmed that the game is expected to hold a consistent 30fps on the Switch- so at the very least, you don’t have to worry about slowdown as you play it.
“The game and rendering technology underlying DOOM is extremely scalable. In bringing DOOM to Switch, we targeted outstanding visuals at a solid 30 fps and by maintaining a consistent 30 fps, the experience remains consistently fluid and smooth. We’ve been thrilled with the feedback that DOOM is among the very best looking and performing games on Switch.”
Which sounds good- I do wish they had tried to get it to a 60 frames per second regardless- but at the same time, given the visual hits the game has already taken in running on the Switch just at this level, maybe that would have been entirely unfeasible. It’s sad, but there are limits to what can be achieved on the Switch’s more constrained hardware.
DOOM will launch on the Switch on November 10.