by Developer MachineGames faces a significant hurdle in adapting Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for Switch 2. After all, the game leans on its id-Tech-7-derived Motor Engine to push out some outstanding visuals and expansive environments on current-gen consoles and PC, so how does the Switch 2's Tegra T239 chipset handle things in comparison? And what compromises are necessary to get The Great Circle running on handheld hardware?
The first major change is that the Switch 2 version aims for a 30fps output rather than the 60fps offered by the PS5 and Series X/S releases. It's a wise cutback given the game's heavy CPU demands and allows for a more authentic visual experience in line with other consoles. The resulting performance budget affords the surprising inclusion of some luxury settings too, like strand-based hair tech, screen space reflections and contact shadows.
The most substantial achievement for this port is that it keeps ray-traced global illumination (RTGI) intact. This feature allows for indirect light and colour bounce between surfaces, resulting in more realistic shading. According to MachineGames, the Switch 2's implementation matches and occasionally exceeds the Xbox Series S, as the developers don't scale down the RTGI accuracy when dynamic resolution drops.
To further optimise the game for its 30fps target, the studio implemented variable rate shading and spent considerable time compressing textures, audio assets and save files to fit into the 64GB cartridge. The base game's digital install requires 56GB, meaning collectors don't need an online connection to play the core adventure straight from physical media.
However, a direct consequence of this stringent data limit is a noticeable reduction to texture quality. While these cutbacks are not distracting during typical gameplay, cinematic close-ups reveal lower presets on clothing fabric, statues, and environmental details. Ultimately, the Switch 2's textures match the Xbox Series S running without its optional high-quality texture pack installed.
In terms of image quality, the Switch 2 uniquely relies on DLSS upscaling rather than the more naïve TAA used by rival machines. When docked, the game runs at a dynamic 540p to 1080p resolution that DLSS resolves to a 1080p target. This creates a sharper upscale with better-defined details, standing in contrast to the softer output of the Xbox Series S.
While DLSS provides advantages such as better temporal stability and reduced noise from the game's ray tracing, it also introduces specific visual flaws. Because the native resolution can drop significantly, DLSS occasionally lacks sufficient pixel data to reconstruct thin details, resulting in harsher aliasing than on the Series S. Furthermore, parts of the image may suffer from pixel crawl where the upscaler struggles to treat the scene appropriately.
MachineGames had to make further compromises beyond resolution and texture settings too, including dropping shadow quality to a preset lower than the Series S and implementing more aggressive geometry pop-in. To save CPU resources, distant non-playable characters animate at just 15fps on the Switch 2, compared to 30fps on other consoles. When playing in portable mode, resolution drops to a 360p to 720p range, and elements like shadow quality and levels of detail are reduced even further, though the game remains largely intact.
Frame rates remain absolutely rock solid at 30fps in linear environments like the jungle and college campus, but the performance is less stable elsewhere. Cut-scenes suffer from distracting dropped frames whenever the camera switches shots, whilst bustling, open-ended areas experience drops into the mid-20s during combat and sprinting.
Despite these performance missteps, the Switch 2 version successfully crams a comparable visual experience into a handheld format, resulting in a well engineered and visually faithful adaptation overall.