Metaphor: ReFantazio on Switch 2 is better than expected, but it needs some more optimization

Metaphor: ReFantazio, our RPG of the Year 2024, launches this week on Nintendo Switch 2 following the recent release of the prologue demo. Ahead of its launch, I've been playing Metaphor: ReFantazio on Switch 2 for about a week and revisiting the PS5, PS4, and Steam versions across platforms to see how the final build of the Switch 2 port looks and feels. Note that the demo only featured one graphics mode from the final game: balanced. With that in mind, Metaphor: ReFantazio on Switch 2 is better than I expected, but it needs more work.

I say better because Persona 3 Reload launched in a pretty miserable state all things considered. Persona 3 Reload is also a less demanding game compared to Metaphor: ReFantazio which still has technical issues on consoles to this day. In fact, the only way to get a solid 60fps experience or smooth performance on consoles has been the PS4 version on PS5 or playing on PS5 Pro with VRR. This brings us to Nintendo Switch 2.

Metaphor: ReFantazio on Switch 2 arrives at a lower asking price than other versions, though they will all see price drops alongside the Switch 2 release. In terms of features, it has the same feature set as the console version with the addition of touchscreen support. The dash toggle present on PC that lets you dash by pressing a button instead of holding it is not present here. In that sense, Metaphor: ReFantazio on Switch 2 is closer to the console versions feature wise.

Metaphor: ReFantazio Switch 2 full game vs demo differences

Metaphor: ReFantazio's demo had no graphics options. Atlus says it uses the "balanced" mode. Metaphor: ReFantazio's demo was a confusing release with how it looked good in some ways, but lacking in others. It also had inconsistent performance. The full game offers two additional visual options, but has some of the same issues as the demo. Metaphor: ReFantazio across all three visual modes runs with an uncapped frame rate targeting 60fps. This means you could be using the prioritize "graphics" mode and have a variable experience where it can hit 60fps indoors or while looking at the ground, but it is much lower in other areas. This also applies to the menus in-game which vary in responsiveness thanks to the frame rate.

If you played the demo, which is balanced mode, you likely noticed how it felt like upscaling was only being applied to one axis with the other looking like it uses interlacing or something you'd see back in the PS3 generation. Performance mode on Switch 2 appears to have the issue in both the horizontal axis and vertical axis.

Metaphor: ReFantazio's Switch 2 performance mode runs a lot better than the graphics mode, but it doesn't hit a solid frame rate. It also looks quite awful all things considered. Given the game's aesthetic and issues on other consoles, the best way to play it on Switch 2 is the graphics mode. It has the best and most stable visuals. If this mode gets patched with an optional 30fps cap and some optimization, it will be my preferred way to play Metaphor: ReFantazio on console in general because of the issues other consoles have.

Metaphor: ReFantazio Switch 2 vs PS5 and PS4 visuals for the full game

For some background, Metaphor: ReFantazio on PS5 (and PS5 Pro since it never got Pro enhancements) ran with a 1656p resolution as per Digital Foundry. When I played it on my 1440p display, it looked good, but had a lot of shimmering since there was no anti-aliasing. The PS4 Pro version, which is also how it runs on PS5 via backward compatibility, dropped the resolution to 1080p and had a lot of cuts to shadows, draw distance, and more. The PS4 and PS5 versions have no graphics modes or anything to tweak. The PC version had one ace up its sleeve, and it is a brute force solution. You could downsample from a higher resolution if your hardware was capable enough to get cleaner visuals. 

On Switch 2, we have an experience that sits in between PS4 and PS5, but it has one major advantage: temporal stability. The Switch 2 has less shimmering than all other console versions during movement. The downside is the overall resolution though. Even the UI on Switch 2 renders like the PS4 version's UI. Thankfully, the Switch 2 even in its performance mode (that looks awful) has better draw distance than the PS4 version.

Metaphor: ReFantazio Switch 2 vs PS5, PS4, and Steam Deck performance for the full game

When it comes to performance, the only way to get a stable 60fps on console is playing the PS4 version on PS5. If you play the PS5 version on PS5 Pro, it is a mostly solid 60fps, but not perfect. There are minor drops. This is still a massively better experience than playing the PS5 version on PS5, Xbox Series version on Xbox Series X or the Switch 2 version in any of its three modes. I'm surprised Atlus didn't add a frame rate cap option, but it seems like that ship has sailed for other platforms. Since the Switch 2 port is new, I hope it gets added in updates as a 30 or 40fps (at 120hz) would be amazing on Switch 2 and make it my preferred console version.

Right now it is a bit too unstable for my liking and with how long the load times are. Metaphor on Steam Deck can deliver better visuals since you can downsample, but you aren't getting a locked 60fps experience there with good visuals. Thankfully you can cap it to 30 or 40 and get a solid portable experience. It can go much higher, but the bigger cities and final dungeon run a lot worse if you want to play at 1080p downsampled or 720p with higher settings.

Metaphor: ReFantazio load times across Switch 2, PS5, PS4, and Steam Deck

To test load times, I installed Metaphor: ReFantazio on the Switch 2 internal storage, the PS5 version on PS5 internal storage and PS4 Pro internal storage, the PS4 version on PS5 internal storage, and the Steam version on the Steam Deck OLED internal storage. I measured the time taken to get to the title screen from the dashboard, loading a save, and area transition time. I tested area transition time because it felt too long in the Switch 2 demo. The results below are in seconds and I mashed confirm to speed up the loading and skip any cut-scenes.

As you can see, the Switch 2 has the fastest initial load, but is the slowest when in-game. The PS5 version on PS5 Pro is the bestest in-game followed by the PS5 version. I hope the area transition and other load times when in-game on Switch 2 can be improved in updates. 

Metaphor: ReFantazio Switch 2 issues that need fixing

Aside from no frame rate caps which I hope get added as options, Metaphor: ReFantazio's load times are a bit too long when in-game. Beyond this, I would like to see the UI support higher resolutions and at least have the menus run at 60fps if the gameplay itself is lower. The variable performance affecting menus and responsiveness is annoying. 

In its current state, Metaphor: ReFantazio on Switch 2 is a lot better than I expected, but more work needs to be done. The visual options are good to have, but it looks quite rough in its performance mode. It also doesn't help that despite the downgrades to visuals in that mode, it can't hit a stable frame rate. I recommend playing with the quality mode enabled and tolerating the inconsistent performance for the best possible experience on Switch 2 right now. I do appreciate that the overall image is more temporally stable than other consoles at least. Hopefully Atlus continues to optimize and update this because performance caveats aside, Metaphor: ReFantazio is solid enough all things considered.