Assassin’s Creed: Shadows Compared on Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series S — Ubisoft Made the Right Compromises

Digital Foundry used the Microsoft build as its reference point: the Switch 2 port is derived from a “trimmed” Series S version and has been further pared back to fit the constraints of Nintendo’s new console.

Neither build includes detailed hair rendering or ray-traced global illumination, but the Switch 2 lags behind in shadow and lighting quality. Nintendo’s system shows sparser foliage, fewer ambient animations, and less-detailed distant trees. Textures and shadows are rendered at lower resolutions, and staged sequences include extra simplifications—facial shading, for example, appears noticeably less refined.

Digital Foundry also highlights a reduction in visual effects: “fewer advanced reflections, simplified water, and limited cloth behavior. On the Switch 2 waves don’t react to the protagonist’s steps, and garments move with more rigidity.” The reviewers note that Ubisoft struck effective compromises, and the final result on the handheld remains impressive.

Source: iXBT.games