Which is the best version of Disgaea Mayhem? PS5, PS5 Pro, Switch 2, Switch, and PC compared

NIS America will launch Disgaea Mayhem, an action RPG take on the Disgaea series, next week for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam) in the West. Ahead of its release, I've had a chance to play all versions for this comparison feature. If you haven't already done so, read my interview with the Disgaea Mayhem development team here. I was curious to see how Disgaea Mayhem would scale across platforms because NIS has been improving with each release following Disgaea 6 which was a mess on Switch. Disgaea 7 was more polished across the board, and I was hoping to see Disgaea Mayhem run and look good enough on current consoles.

My testing here is based on Disgaea Mayhem's PS5 version (installed on PS5 and PS5 Pro), the Switch 1 version on Switch OLED, the Switch 1 version on Switch 2, the Switch 2 version, and the PC version installed on both Steam Deck and ROG Ally. I will be comparing visuals, performance impressions, and load times with a conclusion on what I think is the best version right now for portable play and for TV play. I've been told there is a day one patch coming to implement some bug fixes, but there is no information on performance or visual fixes. Since Disgaea Mayhem is a delayed Western launch for a game that has been available and patched in Japan, I wouldn't expect any technical improvements.

Disgaea Mayhem graphics compared across PS5, Switch 2, Switch 1 and PC

Before getting to comparisons, Disgaea Mayhem is not a very complex game visually. It has mostly flat levels with foliage and the draw distance is quite bad given the art style and model quality. The Disgaea art style holds up well for models and enemies, but the environments look a bit too simple. When I saw gameplay in the pre-release trailers and more, I expected it to be footage from lower end systems given how it looks, but Disgaea Mayhem basically has the same aesthetic (outside some technical differences) on all platforms barring Switch 1. The Switch 1 version has massive cuts to foliage, draw distance, density, shadows, and it basically looks and feels like a game from a generation ago. You'd think that makes sense given it literally is a generation behind, but Disgaea Mayhem on current platforms already looks very dated.

With that out of the way, the Switch 2 version has noticeable cuts to resolution and foliage across the board compared to the PS5 version. Even the PS5's performance mode looks better than the Switch 2 quality mode while delivering much better performance. All versions appear to be using some reconstruction or upscaling for rendering because some distant objects look distorted or poorly post-processed. I've included two comparisons taken via 4K capture across all consoles in the different modes. 

Disgaea Mayhem PC settings

Disgaea Mayhem on PC lets you adjust window mode, resolution, texture quality, toggle v-sync, use supersampling, toggle dynamic resolution, adjust minimum resolution limit, adjust shadow quality, adjust water reflections, toggle SSAO, toggle anti-aliasing, adjust the frame rate cap (30, 60, monitor, off), select what button prompts display, and adjust mouse-related settings as a part of its PC settings menu. The motion blur setting is in the Performance tab of the settings that has its own graphics and performance priority options in addition to the PC menu making this a confusing set of options. Even when using the maximum possible settings, Disgaea Mayhem on PC doesn't look great. 

Disgaea Mayhem performance on Switch 2, PS5, PS5 Pro, and Switch 1

Disgaea Mayhem is a 30fps target game on Switch 1 with the Switch 2 and PS5 versions offering 60fps targets. The PC version supports frame rates above 60fps. Before covering the PC port, the Switch 2 port of Disgaea Mayhem is the one I was most curious about because I was hoping to use that as my main platform for the game. I enjoy Warriors-style action RPGs on portables with the option to play on TV and I've been replaying some of Koei Tecmo's releases after enjoying Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. Disgaea Mayhem on Switch 2 makes an awful first impression.

It defaults to the quality mode which runs at an uncapped frame rate, has strong motion blur, and does not feel good to play at all docked. It also looks really bad. In this mode when playing docked, Disgaea Mayhem can hit 60fps, but it almost always is in the 40s and is not great. I immediately went into the settings and switched to the performance mode and disabled the motion blur. It looks worse, but I wasn't getting motion sick while playing at least.

Disgaea Mayhem on Switch 1 does not offer any visual mode and simply targets 30fps. If you play on Switch 2, it holds up a lot better than Switch 1, but there are still some frame pacing issues. On Switch 1, Disgaea Mayhem is just about acceptable with major visual cutbacks compared to other platforms. I don't recommend it unless you have no other option and are ok with the demo visuals and performance.

Moving over to the PS5 version, Disgaea Mayhem has the same quality and performance mode with the latter delivering a much closer 60fps experience on base PS5. I say much closer because there are minor drops. It isn't a perfect 60fps, but it is massively better than the Switch 2 version's performance mode. So far, the only way to get a locked 60fps is playing the PS5 version on PS5 Pro. Disgaea Mayhem does not have PS5 Pro enhancements so it is brute forcing through any performance issues. Disgaea Mayhem in its quality mode on base PS5 can still hit 60fps, but it drops more often than the performance mode in its current state.

Disgaea Mayhem portable performance across Switch 2, Switch, Steam Deck, and ROG ally

When I tried the Switch 2 version handheld, everything was worse. Disgaea Mayhem for Switch 2 feels like a poorly optimized Switch 1 Warriors game in its quality mode handheld. Performance mode isn't close to a stable and smooth experience, but it is playable at least compared to the quality mode. You are not getting a locked 60fps at all right now across Switch, Switch 2, Steam Deck, or ROG ally. In fact, the only positive for the Switch 1 version here is that when playing handheld, the Switch 1 version on Switch 1 didn't feel as bad as the Switch 2 version in quality mode on Switch 2 handheld. When playing on Switch 1 though, it does not deliver even close to a stable 30fps.

Moving over to the PC handhelds, there is something wrong with the PC release when played via Proton or on Steam Deck in general. It seems to just run with bad frame times regardless of the settings, and it also is heavier to run than most games I've tested. I tested the absolute lowest possible settings which looked really bad (but not as cut back as Switch 1), and it still didn't deliver a stable experience. Even when aiming for 30fps, it can sometimes just hitch. I will recheck this after major updates, but I don't recommend playing Disgaea Mayhem on Steam Deck right now. You can see this for yourself with the PC demo. 

As for ROG Ally, the first time I tried booting up Disgaea Mayhem resulted in my handheld rebooting into the BIOS menu. After that, it launched fine, but I had one crash to the desktop in my testing. When using the absolute lowest settings and with the ROG Ally (but at 1080p) on its 30W turbo mode, I was able to get a 60-100fps experience with some dips below. Out of Switch 1, Switch 2, Steam Deck, and ROG Ally, the only version I'd even consider playing long term is ROG Ally. Even there, Disgaea Mayhem is too heavy to run given how it looks. If you play at 720p or 900p, it is a lot easier to maintain 60fps, but remember that I was also using 

Note that the PC version or even console versions sometimes do not save settings when you load a save file so make sure you check the graphics mode or settings again when you load into a save file and not from the main menu.

Disgaea Mayhem load times compared across PS5, Switch 2, Switch, Steam Deck, and PC

To measure load times, I installed Disgaea Mayhem's PS5 version onto my PS5 Pro and PS5 internal storage, the Switch 1 version on my Switch OLED SD card and Switch 2 internal storage, the Switch 2 version on the Switch 2 internal storage, and the Steam version onto the SSD on Steam Deck and ROG Ally. I measured the time taken to load the main menu from the dashboard when booting up the game and the time taken to load a save file into the hub. The results below are in seconds.

Disgaea Mayhem doesn't take too long to load on any platform barring Switch 1 and the initial load on Steam Deck which happens with many games on Valve's handheld. 

Disgaea Mayhem Steam Deck and Switch 2 issues

In its current state, Disgaea Mayhem has issues with Steam Deck/Proton and I do not recommend playing it there. I appreciate having 800p and 16:10 support, but there are too many performance issues right now. It is heavy to run on Windows in general, but still can deliver a solid experience on ROG Ally. As for Switch 2, it is fine docked with caveats, but I cannot recommend this for handheld play unless you are ok playing at well below 60fps throughout and an unstable experience.

Which is the best version of Disgaea Mayhem?

The question right now is more about which version of Disgaea Mayhem bothers me the least given its issues on all platforms. I would say the only versions I can recommend if you want to play Disgaea Mayhem day one are the PS5 version or PC version played on Windows. As for Nintendo consoles, the only solid way to play this there is performance mode docked on Switch 2. All other modes have too many compromises or issues. If any patch fixes the technical issues or addresses anything else, I will update this. If you aren't sure whether the performance issues will bother you, I recommend downloading the demo and trying out every mode. For portable play, I don't recommend it on Switch 2, Switch 1, or Steam Deck. It is only worth playing on the go if you have a Windows handheld. 

Disgaea Mayhem launches on July 23 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam).