by Frame generation has come to Nintendo Switch 2 - and it isn't being used the way its creators recommend, something we discussed in this week's DF Direct Q+A. Two high-profile games use the technique to turn a 30fps base into something that looks like 60fps, despite progenitors Nvidia and AMD usually advising a much higher starting frame-rate. Shift Up's Stellar Blade has a demo out now with the feature, while Capcom has confirmed frame generation for Dragon's Dogma 2. The key difference is choice: in Stellar Blade, frame generation is mandatory, while Dragon's Dogma 2 lets players pick between a native 30fps mode and an interpolated 60fps mode.
As we've seen on other platforms, frame generation suits some games better than others. Slower-paced games, where consecutive frames look similar, and games where latency matters less, such as turn-based RPGs, minimise its potential downsides. The bigger worry is that it becomes an industry-standard solution to achieving higher quality settings while sacrificing crucial playability. Games that could reach 60fps through sensible cutbacks might lean on interpolation instead, and making it compulsory could rub players the wrong way.
The Stellar Blade demo shows the problems clearly. The HUD and on-screen text still update at 30fps and particle effects don't interpolate well, so the game doesn't feel like a native 60fps effort. The interpolated frames are also easier to spot here than on PC. From a 30fps base, each generated frame stays on screen for around 16ms, versus 8ms for a 60fps to 120fps conversion. The "strobing" between standard rendered frames and less precise interpolated ones can be easily noticeable.
Some of Stellar Blade's flaws in presentation are eminently fixable. For example, shadow maps interpolate oddly and appear to update at 30fps, rain seems to crossfade between frames and the protagonist's hair turns into a mess, especially in handheld mode. Some of these artefacts are intrinsic to the technique, while others could probably be improved with content tweaks, or by designing a game around frame generation from the start.
Others are more intrinsic to the technique and harder to polish away, like latency. Frame generation holds back an extra frame, so a game that looks like 60fps responds more slowly than it would at plain 30fps. The mismatch between how smooth it looks and how it feels to play is more obvious to some players than others, but it can be a little unsettling if you're used to a native 60fps. Our capture setups exaggerate the problem too, as we're already playing with extra lag in a preview window - so we may need to turn to external monitors instead to capture games that use the technique.
However, performance is the most obvious challenge in the Stellar Blade implementation. The game unfortunately drops frames often, with cutscenes dipping into the 30s in places, while gameplay also suffers regular dips - even in handheld mode. The unfortunate reality is that frame generation has a processing cost, which is added to an already tight frame budget on limited hardware. When the base frame-rate suffers, frame generation makes drops more obvious. Therefore, delivering a locked 60fps depends on the game holding a solid internal 30fps first; this would go a long way to easing some of our concerns.
So, there are issues here and it seems like developer ShiftUp is listening. After recording the show, we discovered that the frame generation feature is to become a toggle - as it should be.
Still, despite the challenges of implementation, the technique has potential on Switch 2. There seemed to be no realistic way to get Stellar Blade to native 60fps on the hardware, so interpolation is arguably better than a plain 30fps - as long as it's optional. Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave and Cyberpunk 2077 could also be good candidates for an optional frame-generation mode, given their slower gameplay and focus on graphical fidelity respectively. There's also the tantalising prospect of taking Nintendo's 60fps first-party games to 120fps with frame-gen, but the processing cost probably rules it out - as FSR 3 on PS5 and Series X has already shown (in the video embed above).
Some DF supporters asked why developers are using AMD's FSR 3 frame generation rather than a Switch 2-optimised version of Nvidia's own technology. The short answer is that Nvidia doesn't officially support DLSS frame generation on Ampere-class GPUs like the one in Switch 2, although community mods show it can run on RTX 30-series cards - albeit with relatively poor performance. However, a lighter model might be possible, in the same way that DLSS has a lighter mode for Switch 2. FSR 3's frame generation compares reasonably well, and the frame-rate drops matter more than the choice of upscaler, but I'd be surprised if Nvidia wasn't already preparing a solution given how many developers are investigating the tech.
When all is said and done, Stellar Blade is close to a worst case for 30-to-60fps frame generation, so it shouldn't be the final word on whether the technique is viable on Switch 2. Slower, first-person or less chaotic games should hide the artefacts better. Dragon's Dogma 2 may give a fairer picture, but it's worth trying the Stellar Blade demo for yourself in the meantime if you're curious about the technique on Switch 2. The clear conclusion, though, is that frame generation is probably best offered as an option, which looks like exactly what Capcom is doing with Dragon's Dogma 2.