It’s passable, and with better performance it would even be forgivable, but the combination is hard to stomach in a game that was first released in 2016. On top of these performance dips, the developers still had to drop the graphical resolution to get XCOM 2 to function on Nintendo Switch, giving the entire game a hazy, blurry look. But scrolling through the menus and the interface is unpleasant, and it negatively impacts the experience of playing the game.

These issues don’t technically impact gameplay, as the XCOM series doesn’t require quick reaction times. The same goes for selecting and giving orders during a mission. Scrolling through your home base to recruit and upgrade potential units, for instance, often feels sluggish. This happens during busy scenes, as well as during calmer moments, when there shouldn’t be as much of a load on the system’s hardware. The game frequently hitches and slows during play, despite the target frame rate of 30 frames per second. The key drawbacks of the Switch version are performance and resolution, and neither is handled very well.

There are notable differences between this and the previous releases, though. All of the missions, character classes, weapons, and features make the jump to the Switch version, so you’re really not missing out on anything on that front. The core gameplay of XCOM 2 is exactly the same, no matter the platform.

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