Elden Ring remains one of the most important and best RPGs of the decade and it's easy to talk me into replaying it. This made a new journey to the Lands Between on Nintendo Switch 2 enticing before I'd even touched the port. While early reports last year weren't exactly encouraging, I trusted FromSoftware to take its time and eventually deliver a conversion worthy of an Elden Lord.
After a more convincing showing in early 2026, we hoped for the best. Ahead of The Duskbloods' launch on Switch 2, the Hidetaka Miyazaki-led studio needed a major win that makes it clear Nintendo's latest console isn't getting second-grade material. Thankfully, Elden Ring Tarnished Edition makes an excellent first impression and feels perfectly fine to play... As long as you're happy with a conservative framerate lock and no major additions.
Tarnished, this port isn't
Despite its cross-generation nature and more than a few aging elements, Elden Ring wasn't a guaranteed win on Nintendo's second hybrid console. Whether it was the in-house engine's limitations or a lack of optimization, this (otherwise) excellent action RPG wasn't a great performer on PS5 and Xbox Series X. A constant 60 FPS lock isn't possible even on Performance mode, so everyone who played Elden Ring on consoles has gotten used to its unevenness.
This could've spelled doom for the Switch 2's Tarnished Edition. Yet the final result is visually convincing. Smart sacrifices prevent it from presenting a lesser version of the gorgeous world FromSoftware introduced in 2022. None of its visual identity is lost, and even with an obviously lower graphical preset when running it in handheld versus docked mode (compared in the gallery below), the final image output is shockingly sharp.
Though Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Switch 2 lacks visual modes (or framerate targets), playing it handheld automatically cuts distant shadows, fog density, asset level of detail, lighting, and, of course, resolution. The overall visual features survive the transition, but lighting is an obvious change; the Lands Between seem a bit dimmer if you're not playing docked, at least when exploring outside.
The presence of so many visual changes versus a simpler resolution downgrade to hit a 30 FPS target – yes, as far as I can tell, it doesn't go higher than that – may be explained by the fact FromSoftware's engine isn't compatible with DLSS. Frustratingly, the press materials provided by Bandai Namco neither confirm nor deny what's happening under the hood, so I have to assume the lower graphical preset makes up for the lack of that upscaling crutch.
In any case, the resolution looks to be 1080p on both TV and the console's own screen. It's among the sharpest-looking third-party ports I've played so far on Switch 2 even in its more compromised form, that's for sure. In fact, I'd say it looks better than it did on Xbox Series S, which makes me think some sort of upscaling might be involved. As an extra, the HDR support, even on the Switch 2's below-average screen, gives a depth to darker areas and shaded environments that's often quite remarkable.
Delays and further optimizations have paid off
It's among the sharpest-looking third-party ports I've played so far on Switch 2
With a 30 FPS lock in place that generally holds steady, Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Switch 2 actually feels a lot like playing Bloodborne on the PS4.
Well, except for the load times. On both the internal SSD and a microSD Express, the port is blazing fast to load from the main menu, and fast travel never takes longer than a few seconds. That comparison also means there's a hint of input lag to the experience. It's to be expected, but potentially frustrating for more competitive players.
During my time with the pre-release build, I explored three major areas of the map and cleared several bosses, up to the Raya Lucaria Academy area. Though I'd have liked to see an uncapped framerate option, I didn't feel like the 30 FPS lock was getting in the way of my enjoyment at all. This isn't the disaster other journalists experienced last year, that's for sure.
That conservative target is missed at times, though, as Stormveil's crowded courtyards and rooftops can trigger some frame drops. I think the suddenly higher NPC count might be the issue here, and Liurnia of the Lakes' reflective surface is as problematic as it was on other platforms.
Other obvious hits to the framerate come from abundant particle effects in fire attacks or dense smoke and mist. These are less noticeable in most cases, as they generally happen when you're getting toasted and are knocked down, but trained eyes will catch them. Overall, docked play seems sturdier, but when FPS drops happen, the console's own screen fares better once again. VRR and low framerate compensation to the rescue!
What's surprising is that I've also seen no major drops in open world boss encounters, which adds to my suspicion that nearby NPC counts putting extra pressure on Switch 2's so-so CPU are the culprit here. This has been part of a larger problem with Elden Ring that has affected other platforms since launch. Switch 2 just has less headroom to work with. Considering the faraway enemies are often seen with low-framerate animations, there might be something to this theory.
Judge this book by the cover
But the Tarnished Edition is still just Elden Ring on a new platform. There's nothing that makes it special or markedly different from other console versions, aside from a few extra goodies – sold as a minor DLC for other platforms – that feel like little goodbye gifts.
You could argue there's some value to the two new classes, but they're only a way to start with a different stat distribution and new armor pieces that you won't be using for too long. As for Torrent's cosmetics, they feel like a throwback to Oblivion's horse armor DLC moment. This also wouldn't fully be a complete port to a modern Nintendo platform without gimmicks, so it'd feel wrong not to mention that you can perform all of Elden Ring's emotes with motion controls if that's your thing. I don't care, but someone probably will. Real Wii-era vibes.
Still, Elden Ring Tarnished Edition is a huge reminder of how meaty the third-party support for Switch 2 has become in 2026. With Oblivion Remastered bringing another Bethesda heavyweight to the hybrid console and Diablo 4 likely coming sooner rather than later, there's no better piece of hardware to play modern open-world RPGs on-the-go.
It seems that Bandai Namco and FromSoft knew they had to get this one right. Despite some rough edges, this version of the massive action RPG stands tall beside the others – and I plan on replaying Elden Ring all the way through on Switch 2.
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition might just become one of the best Switch 2 games ever, but time and opinions will tell...
