Eurogamer/Digital Foundry: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – a brilliant game marred by performance problems
Eurogamer/Digital Foundry: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – a brilliant game marred by performance problems
by Turbostrider27
31 Comments
Trinica93
Wow, this sounds pretty bad. It’s 2024, performance dips like this are just not acceptable any more.
grizzlby
Everyone: Boy, I can’t wait to see how Grezzo learned from Link’s Awakening to really wring out some improvements from the game engine.
Grezzo: *this*
XDvinSL51
Started playing it this morning, and *DAMN* is it rough. Obvious stuttering every time I just move the character around. It’s Pokémon SV level performance issues.
SadKazoo
Is this the first major first party game on the switch that has proper performance issues?
pawlik23
This is ridiculous. The visuals don’t justify the performance drops, so either the devs were lazy or the Switch is horrendously underpowered.
If the next system does not improve the performance and looks of Switch games, I’m going to skip it. This is 2024, Nintendo no longer has any excuse to make their candy-looking games run this bad.
AmirulAshraf
3 hours in, Ive only noticed the stuttering in Hyrule Town at the beginning…no other locations had that.
oodlesOfGatos
This is just crazy for a Zelda game… I mean, it’s crazy that Nintendo turns a blind eye to Pokemon performance too, but I thought Zelda would be held to a higher standard.
skrrt__russell
I held off ordering this and the gold Switch Lite and decided to save my money for the new Switch model. This article makes me feel like I definitely made the right choice, heh.
HotSAuceMagik
All you youngins complaining about whatever “performance issues” there may be should fire up an NES and give ANY game with more than 2 things moving on screen a go! In my day we called it slow motion and some games were impossible without it!
TLDR: ::*Old man shakes fist at cloud::*
kaminari1
I’m willing to bet that their claims are over exaggerated.
thegreatmango
The complaint is that it sometimes dips frame rate, like Link’s Awakening.
This is a non-story. I didn’t notice it at all on Link’s Awakening and the article says I won’t notice here.
They even ask the question in the article, lol.
Curator44
I just don’t understand how releasing a game with this kind of performance issues passes any QA at all.
DubbDuckk
Anyone know if these frame rate issues are more pronounced in docked mode compared to handheld?
aHatFullOfEggs
Just to share my experience, obviously digital foundry are professionals, but I’ve beat the game with just very minor frame drops on the final fight (played docked).
cows1100
The Switch is really starting to shows its age for me this late in its life cycle. I bought Tony Hawk 1+2 the other day, and it’s definitely playable, but the loading screens take forever by modern standards, and it definitely feels muddy. I’m glad the Switch 2 is on the way, and I’ve loved the Switch, but it’s just an old console now.
flabua
The frame rate dips a lot, anyone says they “don’t notice it” or “their game is fine” is just not being genuine. That being said, the game is still very fun.
-NotEnoughMinerals
I really want to get this but I’m scared that before long, I’m going to use the exact same echoes to navigate, the same echoes to fight…I’m just inevitably going to select whatever I have learned to get the job done fastest. A game built around a wide scope of tackling any challenge how you see fit with in actual practice using a small percentage of it.
Just like I did with botw. Just like I did with totk. That’s sort of the problem with these open ended games. A gazillion options and in practice you use a percentage of it. I didn’t care about building some elaborate contraption. I built the most rudimentary thing I could to get the job done and favorited it. I just randomly selected whatever strongest weapon I had. I just randomly ate whatever food gave me the most hearts I randomly put together.
I’m going to randomly stack beds to climb. Going to select whatever echo I have to kill an enemy. And just constantly use whatever ‘works’ the whole game. Furthermore, the more echos I’ll collect, the more I’ll forget I even have or what they even do. Just clutter, at this point.
Of course I really liked links awakening and I have fomo, so I’ll get it. But I already know how this will play out for me.
Voided747
Man I feel bad for all you people that are hyper sensitive to the frame rates… that must suck for a lot of games and I just don’t even notice it.
EdgarLasu
ITT: People either blind or not sensitive to sudden frame rate fluctuations and trying to tell others there’s no issues at all! More news at 11.
ScubaSteveEL
Still bought it, not surprised, but disappointed. Links Awakening was a challenge to fully appreciate because of how sluggish and choppy it could get, especially when traveling into new screens.
I’m not even one that normally cares about framerates and performance but it was that bad. Really hoping for that switch 2 announcement soon.
inkyblinkypinkysue
I really hope the Switch 2 or whatever it’s called is backwards compatible AND can run switch games at 60fps assuming the developers planned for it.
RhythmRobber
I’ll just wait to play it on Switch 2 then
Rare_Hero
I wonder what it is about this game/engine that Switch has issues with. Is it the plastic/toy look & lighting? Is it the logic behind the echoes? How come Splatoon 2/3, Mario Odyssey, Kart, ARMS, and others run at a solid 60fps?
okayfrog
Searched the article and couldn’t tell if the issues are only apparent when docked or if they’re there in handheld mode as well.
FlygonPR
It seems like developers feel like they need their games to look like 2024 games, even when they are using simpler graphics, so they add a lot of lighting effects and complex camera movements. On the other hand, Grezzo and performance was an issue even on the 3DS, where their N64 remakes had beautiful graphics were still 30fps. Its clear they like to squeeze graphical fidelity at the expense of performance.
dudSpudson
Would be the perfect time to announce a Switch 2 and a performance upgrade for this game. Just saying
Yze3
Those performance problems really are only in docked. On handheld, the game is locked at 30 FPS, so you won’t have any dips.
Really it’s a wonder why they didn’t lock it at 30 FPS on docked as well, it never stays at the same FPS for more than 5 seconds.
bowzerb
The game does have drops but it hasn’t really bothered me much
Sundance12
Do I wish it ran at a locked 60 fps? Sure. Is it a deal breaker that it doesn’t? No. This and LA remake are totally playable and enjoyable games.
Alternative-Juice-15
Well when switch 2 comes I’m sure it will run fine
brokenmessiah
I didnt even know DF did Nintendo videos. Isnt just assumed the games will run ok at best?
31 Comments
Wow, this sounds pretty bad. It’s 2024, performance dips like this are just not acceptable any more.
Everyone: Boy, I can’t wait to see how Grezzo learned from Link’s Awakening to really wring out some improvements from the game engine.
Grezzo: *this*
Started playing it this morning, and *DAMN* is it rough. Obvious stuttering every time I just move the character around. It’s Pokémon SV level performance issues.
Is this the first major first party game on the switch that has proper performance issues?
This is ridiculous. The visuals don’t justify the performance drops, so either the devs were lazy or the Switch is horrendously underpowered.
If the next system does not improve the performance and looks of Switch games, I’m going to skip it. This is 2024, Nintendo no longer has any excuse to make their candy-looking games run this bad.
3 hours in, Ive only noticed the stuttering in Hyrule Town at the beginning…no other locations had that.
This is just crazy for a Zelda game… I mean, it’s crazy that Nintendo turns a blind eye to Pokemon performance too, but I thought Zelda would be held to a higher standard.
I held off ordering this and the gold Switch Lite and decided to save my money for the new Switch model. This article makes me feel like I definitely made the right choice, heh.
All you youngins complaining about whatever “performance issues” there may be should fire up an NES and give ANY game with more than 2 things moving on screen a go! In my day we called it slow motion and some games were impossible without it!
TLDR: ::*Old man shakes fist at cloud::*
I’m willing to bet that their claims are over exaggerated.
The complaint is that it sometimes dips frame rate, like Link’s Awakening.
This is a non-story. I didn’t notice it at all on Link’s Awakening and the article says I won’t notice here.
They even ask the question in the article, lol.
I just don’t understand how releasing a game with this kind of performance issues passes any QA at all.
Anyone know if these frame rate issues are more pronounced in docked mode compared to handheld?
Just to share my experience, obviously digital foundry are professionals, but I’ve beat the game with just very minor frame drops on the final fight (played docked).
The Switch is really starting to shows its age for me this late in its life cycle. I bought Tony Hawk 1+2 the other day, and it’s definitely playable, but the loading screens take forever by modern standards, and it definitely feels muddy. I’m glad the Switch 2 is on the way, and I’ve loved the Switch, but it’s just an old console now.
The frame rate dips a lot, anyone says they “don’t notice it” or “their game is fine” is just not being genuine. That being said, the game is still very fun.
I really want to get this but I’m scared that before long, I’m going to use the exact same echoes to navigate, the same echoes to fight…I’m just inevitably going to select whatever I have learned to get the job done fastest. A game built around a wide scope of tackling any challenge how you see fit with in actual practice using a small percentage of it.
Just like I did with botw. Just like I did with totk. That’s sort of the problem with these open ended games. A gazillion options and in practice you use a percentage of it. I didn’t care about building some elaborate contraption. I built the most rudimentary thing I could to get the job done and favorited it. I just randomly selected whatever strongest weapon I had. I just randomly ate whatever food gave me the most hearts I randomly put together.
I’m going to randomly stack beds to climb. Going to select whatever echo I have to kill an enemy. And just constantly use whatever ‘works’ the whole game. Furthermore, the more echos I’ll collect, the more I’ll forget I even have or what they even do. Just clutter, at this point.
Of course I really liked links awakening and I have fomo, so I’ll get it. But I already know how this will play out for me.
Man I feel bad for all you people that are hyper sensitive to the frame rates… that must suck for a lot of games and I just don’t even notice it.
ITT: People either blind or not sensitive to sudden frame rate fluctuations and trying to tell others there’s no issues at all! More news at 11.
Still bought it, not surprised, but disappointed. Links Awakening was a challenge to fully appreciate because of how sluggish and choppy it could get, especially when traveling into new screens.
I’m not even one that normally cares about framerates and performance but it was that bad. Really hoping for that switch 2 announcement soon.
I really hope the Switch 2 or whatever it’s called is backwards compatible AND can run switch games at 60fps assuming the developers planned for it.
I’ll just wait to play it on Switch 2 then
I wonder what it is about this game/engine that Switch has issues with. Is it the plastic/toy look & lighting? Is it the logic behind the echoes? How come Splatoon 2/3, Mario Odyssey, Kart, ARMS, and others run at a solid 60fps?
Searched the article and couldn’t tell if the issues are only apparent when docked or if they’re there in handheld mode as well.
It seems like developers feel like they need their games to look like 2024 games, even when they are using simpler graphics, so they add a lot of lighting effects and complex camera movements. On the other hand, Grezzo and performance was an issue even on the 3DS, where their N64 remakes had beautiful graphics were still 30fps. Its clear they like to squeeze graphical fidelity at the expense of performance.
Would be the perfect time to announce a Switch 2 and a performance upgrade for this game. Just saying
Those performance problems really are only in docked. On handheld, the game is locked at 30 FPS, so you won’t have any dips.
Really it’s a wonder why they didn’t lock it at 30 FPS on docked as well, it never stays at the same FPS for more than 5 seconds.
The game does have drops but it hasn’t really bothered me much
Do I wish it ran at a locked 60 fps? Sure. Is it a deal breaker that it doesn’t? No. This and LA remake are totally playable and enjoyable games.
Well when switch 2 comes I’m sure it will run fine
I didnt even know DF did Nintendo videos. Isnt just assumed the games will run ok at best?