https://www.digitalfoundry.net/news/2025/12/skyrim-suffers-from-kinect-level-input-lag-on-switch-2
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| Skyrim doesn't run very well on the Nintendo Switch 2. |
It’s like trying to play after eight pints of beer — that’s how one gamer on ResetEra describes the experience of playing the new Skyrim port on the Nintendo Switch 2, a sentiment echoed by frustrated players across the internet.
The promise of a premium, modernized version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on new hardware should have been a moment of celebration for fans. Instead, Bethesda's surprise release of the Skyrim Anniversary Edition for the Nintendo Switch 2 has become a case study in how a significant visual upgrade can be completely undermined by a fundamental technical flaw.
Technical analysis and player reports confirm that the port suffers from extremely high input latency, making the game feel sluggish and, for many, genuinely unplayable.
The Staggering Input Lag: A Quarter-Second Between Thought and Action
The core issue, as meticulously measured by the experts at Digital Foundry, is input latency. Using a high-speed camera, they determined that the time between pressing a button on the Switch 2 Pro Controller and seeing the corresponding action on screen is between 220 and 240 milliseconds.
To put that into perspective:
- That's nearly a quarter of a second of delay on every input.
- Digital Foundry notes this level of lag is comparable to the notorious latency of Microsoft's Xbox 360 Kinect motion sensor, a peripheral widely criticized for its sluggish response.
- For comparison, running the older Switch 1 version of Skyrim on the same Switch 2 hardware yields a much better latency of 150-170ms. Well-optimized 30fps games often manage to keep latency under 100ms.
This means the new, supposedly optimized port is objectively less responsive than the game's last-generation version running on the same machine.
Community Backlash and a Placebo Fix
The gaming community's reaction has been one of unified disappointment and bewilderment. On forums like ResetEra and Reddit, players have shared videos and testimonials calling the port "literally unplayable" and "the worst way to experience the game on any platform".
One player quipped that the experience was "like playing after 8 pints of beer," while another lamented, "I'd honestly rather play the Switch 1 version".
In response to early reports, Bethesda stated it is "investigating reports that some players are experiencing input lag" and suggested disabling the "gesture attack" setting. However, both Digital Foundry and numerous players have tested this and found it makes little to no difference, with the lag persisting even on the game's title screen.
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| The improved lighting is very noticeable during nighttime. |
What You Actually Get: The Good and The Buggy
The controversy is particularly bitter because the Switch 2 port does deliver on its promise of a substantial visual overhaul. This isn't a simple resolution bump; it's a move to the more advanced Special Edition engine that powers the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
The Key Upgrades Include:
- Resolution: In docked mode, the internal resolution jumps from 900p on Switch 1 to 1440p on Switch 2, which is then upscaled to 4K using NVIDIA's DLSS technology.
- Visual Effects: The port introduces volumetric lighting, improved screen-space reflections (SSR), bloom, depth-of-field, higher-quality textures, and vastly improved draw distances for objects and foliage.
- Load Times: Loading a saved game is dramatically faster, taking roughly 17 seconds on the native Switch 2 version compared to over a minute on the original Switch hardware.
However, these improved graphics come with newly introduced bugs. Digital Foundry noted that turning the camera can cause water surfaces to stutter and shift unnaturally, and distant foliage in areas like The Rift can appear in a harsh, incorrect blue tint before popping into the correct green color as you approach.
A Step Back in Key Areas
Beyond the input lag, the port has drawn criticism for other puzzling omissions and issues:
- Stuck at 30 FPS: Despite the Switch 2's more capable hardware, the game remains locked at 30 frames per second. Many critics and players argue that a 40fps or even 60fps option should have been a priority for a 2011 game on a 2025 console.
- No Creation Club or Mod Support: Unlike the Anniversary Edition on other platforms, the Switch 2 version does not provide access to the broader Creation Club menu or mod support. Players only have access to the bundled Anniversary Edition content.
- A Massive File Size: The upgrade comes with a massive storage cost. The Switch 2 version is a 53GB download, compared to just 12.8GB for the Switch 1 version—an increase of over 40GB for a visually enhanced but less responsive experience.
Should You Buy or Upgrade?
For existing owners of the Skyrim Anniversary Edition on Switch 1, the upgrade to the Switch 2 version is free. It may be worth claiming from the eShop to future-proof your library, but most analysts recommend holding off on actually playing it until a patch is released.
For new buyers or those considering the Anniversary Edition upgrade, the universal advice is to wait. The current state of the port offers a prettier but fundamentally worse gameplay experience than the older, more stable version.
Bethesda has acknowledged it is investigating the input lag issues. The hope within the community is that a fix will be prioritized and released soon. Until then, the Dragonborn's latest adventure on Switch 2 remains stuck in time, waiting for a modern fix to a medieval-feeling problem.