Last year, I made the decision to pursue my master’s degree in England, and leave the comfort of my home and family for the first time in my life. I found a student accommodation close to the city and took as many supplies with me as humanly possible, so I could make my new apartment feel like a second home. For the most part, I’ve adjusted well: I’ve made new friends, found new hobbies, and I’ve found substitutes for all the food I usually ate in the States.
Easily, though, the hardest thing to get used to is the built-in TV in my apartment. While the one I have in my original home is 75 inches and features 4K resolution, the one I have here is barely 50 inches and provides a whopping 1080p. Not the best if you’re trying to play some of the best-looking games of the last few years, like Metal Gear Solid Delta or Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. So, what’s the solution? Do I give up on a hobby that has brought me joy since I was 4 years old, just because of a smaller TV? Absolutely not. Instead, I have once again found solace in the unexpected joys of handheld gaming.
My first console as a kid was a Game Boy Advance, and since then, I spent most of my time at that age into systems like the Nintendo DS Lite, DSi, 3DS, and the PlayStation Portable. The Nintendo Switch changed all the rules of what handheld gaming could be, which of course led to the Nintendo Switch 2 and the Steam Deck. It took me traveling halfway across the world, though, for me to truly appreciate the new normal of handheld consoles.
This became abundantly clear last week, when Resident Evil Requiem released day one on the Nintendo Switch 2. I bought the game day one on the console, rather than my usual approach of buying it on PlayStation 5. I feared that I’d be doing myself a disservice with this approach, and that I wouldn’t be able to truly appreciate the game’s gorgeous visuals. However, I soon realized that my fears were completely unfounded, because Resident Evil Requiem on Nintendo Switch 2 is absolutely amazing.
To start with, it’s worth talking a little bit about Resident Evil Requiem itself. Personally, I adored the game. It does a great job of combining the action-packed sensibilities of Resident Evil 4 with the more traditional survival horror experience of Resident Evil 7. I loved both Leon and Grace, the use of fan service, and the overall narrative. While I had a few issues with the pacing here and there, I still loved it and consider it one of my favorite games in the series.
To be honest, though, I believe that my appreciation of Resident Evil Requiem was further heightened by just how good the Nintendo Switch 2 version is. The game runs extremely well, with a frame rate that usually orbits between 40-50. There were a few moments where it stuttered, particularly in some of the Leon sections, but these issues were few and far between. They were also quite hard to notice because the game looked so smooth for the majority of my experience.
The same goes for the resolution, which looks very good considering the hardware. The amount of compromises to the visuals is shockingly low, and unless you zoom in to some of the characters’ hair, you may not even notice that it’s running on a Switch 2 at all. It’s even more impressive since, due to my annoyingly bad TV, I played the entire game in handheld mode rather than docked mode.
All of these factors combined made Resident Evil Requiem a joy to play on the Switch 2. Playing it in the comfort of my bed towards the end of the night, with my headphones plugged in, and something completely random playing on my TV in the background was an unimaginably cozy experience. Don’t get me wrong, there were still plenty of encounters that made me jump, even in handheld mode. My experience of the game’s horror and action wasn’t diminished by playing handheld; if anything, it only enhanced it.
Resident Evil Requiem is just one example of many third-party games released in the last year that I enjoyed more on the Switch 2 compared to other platforms. During the winter, I played Hitman: World of Assassination on the platform, and I loved the way assassinating targets around the world felt in such a small form factor. It’s not just the Switch 2 either; I recently replayed Baldur’s Gate 3 and Persona 5 on the Steam Deck, and I still enjoyed both just as much as I did when I played them on other systems.
Nowadays, most games are all about looking as good as humanly possible. Ray-tracing, DLSS, 4K resolution, 120 FPS, all of which you’ll need both a high-end PC/console and a powerful TV to appreciate. Sometimes, though, that kind of hardware is simply not possible to attain, especially in this day and age. When I first arrived in my apartment, I wanted to get a second TV alongside the one that was already attached to the wall, but I neither had the space or the money for it. Thankfully, because of the Switch 2 and Steam Deck, I am more than okay to wait a little longer in order to get better hardware.
Now more than ever, the Nintendo Switch 2 in particular has become my new home for third-party games. There are so many games releasing that I want to re-experience on the system, such as the Final Fantasy VII Remake games. I also really hope that some of my other favorite games of the last few years, such as Doom: The Dark Ages and Silent Hill 2, eventually make their way to the platform. Either way, the Nintendo Switch 2 and Steam Deck have reignited my love for not just handheld gaming, but the broader medium. I am looking forward to seeing what other games make their way to the platforms and finding even more enjoyment in some of the best experiences of the last few years.
