I played all of Resident Evil Requiem on Nintendo Switch 2 and came away pleasantly surprised

Capcom extends its strong support for Nintendo Switch 2 this week with a roster of Resident Evil games, the most notable of which is the newest instalment, Requiem.

Requiem marks the first time since Resident Evil 4, 20 years ago, that a new mainline entry has released for a Nintendo console on day one. Equally nostalgic is the fact that, unlike what we’ve been used to from big multiplatform games on Nintendo platforms for much of the past two decades, the experience here more than holds up.

I played through the entirety of the new Resident Evil on Switch 2, with a mix of handheld and docked play, and very rarely did I glance enviously at the PlayStation 5 Pro in my television stand. That’s not to say the fidelity isn’t better on the more powerful console – of course it is – but that I found myself more than content with the experience I had in front of me.

Visually, Requiem is unquestionably dumbed down compared to PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, but the experience of playing the game doesn’t feel compromised like so many attempts at bringing big, modern games to the last Switch console.

Requiem targets 60fps on all platforms, including Switch 2, and there were few moments during the campaign where it noticeably dipped. While frame counting and pixel analysis isn’t our expertise here at VGC, our friends at Digital Foundry report that the Switch 2 version runs at a true resolution of sub-600p, but crucially with DLSS upscaling doing its magic to ensure that it looks as crisp as can be.

This genre of game is certainly doing some lifting here: the action isn’t blistering, and there are plenty of dark environments with details cast in shadow, which are able to look more flattering on screen.

This is later shown to be true when the darkness gives way to larger outdoor environments that take place in the day and are undoubtedly the most ropey-looking areas of the game, exposing low-res textures and visual dithering. But it’s not much below a PS4-type experience, especially one targeting 60fps.

“Requiem targets 60fps on all platforms, including Switch 2, and there were few moments during the campaign where it noticeably dipped.”

If I were to have one big complaint, it’s Capcom’s new hair strand system. While characters’ lush hairdos look incredible on more powerful versions of the game, here the tech is clearly compromised and simply doesn’t look good, especially in daytime scenes. A better solution could have likely improved the overall look of the characters in the Switch 2 version, which clearly isn’t up to rendering all those individual hair strands.

But overall, I came away from my 15+ hours with Resident Evil Requiem pleasantly surprised at how well it performs on Nintendo Switch 2. But whether or not it’s the right platform choice for you will depend on if you have a PS5 or Xbox Series X (or especially, a PS5 Pro) under your television, or indeed a powerful PC.

It will also depend on how much you’ll likely play the game in handheld mode. For parents like me, the latter proved particularly useful for continuing my mission when the kids were still up, and for those less affable with horror, it’s a slightly less intense experience on handheld, too. Though I’m not convinced how long the battery would last in a train of plane scenario.

What everyone will likely agree on, however, is that Resident Evil Requiem is a promising release for Nintendo Switch 2’s future as a multiplatform alternative and shows that with enough love, the platform can do modern blockbusters justice.