Comparing Hogwarts Legacy's Switch Graphics to Mortal…

Summary

Third-party titles like Mortal Kombat 1 and Hogwarts Legacy are making their way to Nintendo Switch, allowing players to enjoy them in handheld mode or on the TV, but the gameplay performance can vary significantly between games.
Some AAA third-party titles like Nier: Automata and Dragon Quest 11 run great on the Switch with little changes from other versions, while games like The Witcher 3 and Persona 5 Royal are serviceable but inferior to versions on other consoles.
Mortal Kombat 1 suffered from a massive graphical downgrade on the Switch, but recent updates improved some issues. The first images of Hogwarts Legacy on the Switch look promising, although not as graphically impressive as on other consoles, suggesting a solid attempt to optimize it for the Switch's hardware. Only time will tell if it can avoid the missteps of Mortal Kombat 1's Switch launch.

It's no secret that the Nintendo Switch isn't the most powerful console on the market, but it's still great to see third-party titles like Mortal Kombat 1 and Hogwarts Legacy make their way to the console. Giving Switch owners access to this popular titles with the ability to play them in either handheld mode or on the TV is a huge feat in and of itself. However, the quality of gameplay performance on the Switch can drastically vary from game to game, as is demonstrated by the difference between Mortal Kombat 1 and Hogwarts Legacy.

Some AAA third-party titles run great on the Switch, such as Nier: Automata and Dragon Quest 11 which are often considered "miracle ports" for how little they change from other versions. Other games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Persona 5 Royal are serviceable on the Switch, but are clearly inferior to versions on other consoles. Unfortunately, there are some games like Mortal Kombat 1 that suffer a massive graphical downgrade when running on the Switch, and the upcoming release of Hogwarts Legacy on the console has some fans worried the game could face the same fate.

Mortal Kombat 1 and Hogwarts Legacy's Switch Gameplay Performance Comparison

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Mortal Kombat 1 received a lot of backlash from Switch owners at launch as the game's performance was in a very disappointing state. Aside from the expected lower frame rate the game runs at on the Switch's hardware, the graphical detail was severely hindered to the point where characters and environments had incredibly low resolution textures and missing or buggy animations. Although a recent update to the Switch version of Mortal Kombat 1 did improve some of these issues, the game is still a far cry from its counterparts on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.

Although Hogwarts Legacy is an action-adventure RPG and Mortal Kombat 1 is a fighting game, both share a similar level of visual detail on other platforms that could cause Hogwarts Legacy to follow a similar route as Mortal Kombat 1 on the Switch. Fortunately, Nintendo has revealed the first images of Hogwarts Legacy captured on the Switch, and it appears as though the game will launch on the Switch in a much better state than Mortal Kombat 1. While the images shown - which can be viewed here - aren't as graphically impressive as on other consoles, they appear to be a solid attempt at getting the game looking as good as can be expected on the Switch's underpowered hardware.

While Switch owners are used to some degree of graphical compromise when it comes to third-party games, the real test for Hogwarts Legacy will be in its frame rate and stability running on the console. Mortal Kombat 1's Switch frame rate could be anywhere from 60 FPS when only two characters are on the screen, to dipping down to 20-30 FPS during cutscenes or when three or more characters are on-screen at a time. Without video gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy running on the Switch it will be hard to tell what the game's frame rate will be, but the quality of the screenshots released should be a good sign for interested fans.

What will likely be the difference-maker between the Switch versions of Mortal Kombat 1 and Hogwarts Legacy will be the extra time the latter game had between its initial launch and Switch port release. Mortal Kombat 1 launched on the Switch day-and-date with all other versions of the game, while Hogwarts Legacy initially launched back in February 2023 with the Switch version being delayed until November. It appears as though this delay has helped ensure the Switch version runs as well as it can on the console, but only time will tell if Hogwarts Legacy will avoid the missteps of Mortal Kombat 1's Switch launch.