If you own a Nintendo Switch and you love battle royale games, Electronic Arts have some good news: Apex Legends has arrived at Nintendo’s latest and greatest console on March 9, 2021.
Gameplay
The gameplay is the same as the standard Apex Legends for PC and PS. The question is how well it runs on Switch. The Switch port includes smart optimizations’ for the tiny screen. Although a fast-paced game, Apex Legends runs at 720p in docked mode and 576p in handheld mode. Apex Legends runs at 30 FPS on the small screen and sometimes there are frame drops during squad rush and battles.
Port to Nintendo Switch
The Switch has now officially become the smallest screen on which Apex Legends is available to play. The port has been a “Major Achievement” says EA as it is a full-featured port. This means the port supports cross-play as well as feature parity with other game versions. Switch players get access to the latest Apex Legends seasonal content, too. Unfortunately, though, there isn’t cross-progression, so you can’t carry your ranks from the previous play onto the Switch.
Rewards
Players who haven’t yet downloaded Apex Legends on other platforms are granted the first 30 levels of the battle pass due to the late arrival of the port after the new season. Additionally, double XP is being awarded on the platform for the first two weeks. Those who play at launch will receive a Legendary-rarity skin for the Pathfinder character.
Graphics
The graphics are not at par with the PC or console versions. The FPS matters more than the shadow and lighting quality. The developers have done the same to make the switch version of Apex Legends fast-paced. The Graphics are a bit downgrade but comes in handy in the tiny screen where it is difficult to differentiate.
Cross-Play
Apex Legends features optional cross-play which is great considering that the Switch players would be at a disadvantage when competing with players from other platforms. Apex Legends runs at 30 FPS and 720p on Switch which is not at all comparable to the PC version where it could run at 4K and 100+ frames. So the players can choose whether they want to compete with users from other platforms.
Controls
Players can use gyroscopic aiming in mobile mode, and the adjustment in the UI has been done to make it clear up close.
Here, the optional crossplay helps where players from other platforms have the advantage of convenient controls.
Our Verdict
Our final thoughts on the latest port of Apex Legends are quite appreciable. The Devs have managed to bring the popular battle royale into the small screen which makes us wonder about its mobile version. Further, the switch version is not comparable with the graphics and FPS of the PC or PS versions. The advantage is its portability. Players can download the game which is 19GB, from the Nintendo shop with an active Switch subscription and battle out with friends around the globe.
Our Rating for Apex Legends Nintendo Switch edition is 8 out of 10.
