Had you come to us earlier in the year and asked us which game Panic Button should port to Nintendo Switch next, Warframe would not have featured anywhere near the top. Not that the game itself isn’t a worthy candidate - on the contrary, it’s become of the most improved and noticeably enhanced free-to-play games out there in 2018 - but simply because a) it’s an always-online experience and b) it simply looks too good and plays too fast for Switch to handle.
And yet, despite all those seemingly plausible notions, here Warframe is, running on a semi-handheld console in its full form. And with far fewer concessions than you might think. We’re not entirely sure how Panic Button managed to get this third-person shoot-’n’-slash experience working so well - witchcraft of some kind was almost certainly involved at some point - but it’s nothing less than a technical marvel that even one-ups its recent work on Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.
Warframe isn’t a new commodity either. Originally launched in 2013, this free-to-play cooperative shooter has quietly transformed into one of the most rewarding games-as-a-service titles out there thanks to a consistent wave of updates, free content and a progression system that’s doesn’t choke itself with microtransactions. Such purchases are there - it is free to download from the eShop after all - but they won’t impede your ability to play as much as you like.
While it preceded Bungie’s post-Halo franchise, Warframe’s gameplay loop, customisation systems, loot drops and mission design are likely to remind you of the Destiny series. In the body of a titular warframe - a race of hyper-skilled warriors encased in powerful battle armour (read: space ninja) - you’ll travel to different planets, battle various alien races, level up your avatar, take down bosses and collect loot as you go. And, you can do it all alone or with up to three other players. Sound familiar?
And that’s just scratching the surface. Warframe has a vast array of interconnected systems - ranging from mods that upgrade certain aspects of your loadout - and when coupled with an open approach to mission design that purposely leaves your path up to you, this has given the game something of an unfair reputation of impenetrability. It’s true that the game can often feel a little overwhelming in the vastness of its menus and missions, but with a single-player orientated tutorial that gradually introduces you to the core combat mechanics and systems in place, it doesn’t take long to see its openness is an invitation for freedom rather than a wall of obstruction.
It’s still not a perfect formula, and something as simple as departing from a squad you’ve been automatically assigned to can be needlessly obtuse to solve, but Warframe’s overall accessibility is leagues ahead of where it was in 2013 and the Nintendo Switch version launches with years of improvements and refinement already patched in. The Warframe community is also one of the friendliest, with a terrifyingly vast number of resources, guides and Wikis out there to help you make sense of which mods work best.
And there’s just so much content to experience here. You can instantly access the galaxy map and repeatable missions that range from wave-based defences to stealthy infiltrations where you’ll need to bypass security measures to steal data. Questlines are there, usually requiring you to complete certain missions in order to unlock new planets, but even on a single planetary body, you’ll find sandbox areas filled with friendly trading posts (think The Tower in Destiny), bounty hunts and systemic quests that require you to kill AI squads and retrieve supplies.
Combat is fast and frenetic, and can take a little getting used to, especially when switching between melee strikes and ranged weapons. Melee weapons feel vastly different from one another, ranging from the default katana right down to versatile staffs and sword/dagger combos. Rifles and pistols also have plenty of variety, although pistols still remain frustratingly less reliable and lack the heft of Destiny’s far more powerful hand cannons. The ability to take mastery tests (which work like Metal Gear Solid-esque VR missions) once a day to increase your aptitude also adds a nice touch.
Despite the trend of so many other free-to-play titles out there, Warframe never feels like its making you play at a disadvantage. You’re constantly being awarded XP, with your preferred weapons levelling up as you use them. Mods - represented by holographic cards - are doled out pretty regularly and enable you to enhance your warframe and weapons with buffs such as increased damage or faster shield recharges. It helps negate the grind needed to unlock the in-game currency needed to purchase new weapons, but Warframe still suffers from a lack of inventory space. It’s here that you do feel the pinch of the game’s in-game transactions, which gates off greater gear storage behind purchases.
You can, if you choose, undertake most missions on your own, but Warframe was designed to be a social experience and it’s consistently better for it when you do embrace its online community. Missions will, by default, automatically squad you up when heading out, and XP earned from every kill and completed objective is shared among your squad. The game also has its own voice chat system, enabling you to chat with players in your squad or interact with those you meet while roaming the game’s manner sandbox locations.
And, to balance out all this PvE action, there are even some PvP modes where you can take teams of other players into everything from team deathmatch to CTF variants. None of the four modes included in PvP are as exciting or as rewarding as Warframe’s cooperative experience, but it’s incredible that a game as vast and comprehensive as this is available for free on Nintendo Switch right now. And while there are still some technical issues at launch - such as player avatars warping around the screen and the occasional instance of slow-down when there’s a lot of enemies on-screen at once - Warframe is still a technical wonder.
You can see where Panic Button has had to downgrade certain visuals, and yet from the glistening armour of your warframe to the particle effects you encounter while exploring its worlds, we can’t quite fathom just how this game is running so well on Switch. It is, as we've mentioned, a purely online experience so this isn't a title you'll be able to fully experience without a decent Wi-Fi signal to hand, but when you do, there's just so much to explore you'll likely never go out again.
Conclusion
While Digital Extremes hasn’t quite perfected the formula it needs to make Warframe completely accessible - the sheer number of interconnected systems and customisable elements suggests it never quite will - it still offers a co-operative third-person shooter with all the MMORPG elements you never thought you’d see running on Nintendo Switch. From the impressive visual fidelity Panic Button has maintained, to the sheer breadth of content you can access for free, Warframe represents another milestone for the console.
Comments 70
Sold. Wait... does that expression even work here?
There is something about this game that piques my interest and I can’t quite put my finger on it. I don’t play MMOs.
Downloaded last night and had a lot of fun. I don’t mind games being always Online is the cost of entry is pretty low (ie free) so that having bought a few items over the years and supported the developers so that when the game gets taken offline I don’t feel like I’ve wasted my money.
I happily spend money on Pokemon Go and Fortnite for example even though I know one day these games will no longer exist and my progress will be gone. I can’t dig out an old copy of Pokemon Red and load the save up and the same applies here.
That said, Destiny has no business charging for the main game when all the good cosmetics and refinements via DLC are all paid-for whilst having that ‘always online’ requirement. Epic’s Battle Pass is a much better solution for such a game. Super Mario Run is the worst offender. Why that doesn’t have offline support is baffling.
But is there an actual ending to achieve unlike many free to play games?
I was just marveling at how they managed to get Wolfenstein 2 on the Switch and running so well, I'm seriously impressed by this little machine. I don't really play this type of game but I'll give it a shot.
Ive played 6 hours over this past weekend already. This game is amazing!
@MagnaRoader There is actually a great story once you get a little farther into the game, so yes there is a set of bosses and levels to beat.
I am utterly convinced panic button have used some kind of alien technology to get this running on the switch. its insane! ive played about 5 hours so far without a hitch - even with some random team last night on a survival mission we took it to wave 12 before we were all killed off. the amount of shizzle that was going on in wave 12 was just utter chaos. powers going off, enemies exploding, bullets flying everywhere and not a stutter of slow down. normally i hate on free to play but this is in a different league. yes there is lots of "stuff" you can buy granted... however you can literally grind for everything anyway and i have read a lot abut the fact there is no paywall after x amount of time. too be honest ill probably drop some money on this anyway to show my support. The switch is turning out to be my best console owned period. (and i am an old gamer lol)
@b0nes Haha, this! As soon as I see Panic Button are involved in a port it pretty much means it's worth checking out, and you can be confident it will be done right. Very impressed with their work for the Switch
I have given it a couple of hours so far and have to say I am just consistently impressed by the work Panic Button do with ports. And this game in particular really looks worthwhile (all credit to original devs of course), if a bit daunting.
If I didn't have my hands full with Pokemon, Dead Souls, and Red Dead I'd be all over this, but I'll for sure be making some progress on it over the next few weeks.
I found it all a little overwhelming on first play. I'll give it another try over the weekend.
I don’t like online only games but I must say that Warframe is the exception. I’ve played a few hours and I’m loving it.
This game looks absolutely phenomenal on Nintendo Switch I'm not much of an online gamer but there are a very few exceptions this game being one .
With the amount of 9's you dish out i would've expected this to be a 9 too... But 8 is good too i guess
I think that hell might just be freezing over, this is the first free-to-play game that I am actually enjoying. It's a little overwhelming but I know that's because it's just the beginning... I went through the same thing with Monster Hunter. The story and the gameplay clicks for me. I like it also because it's not whimsical like Fortnite or so me too-ish like some of the other free to play games, except maybe the aforementioned Destiny, but I don't play Destiny. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner and another gameplay time problem for yours truly.
Yeah, this is the first F2P game that is actually fun.
Menus suck, like them all so I guess menus are all the cost.
Co op zombie defense is kinda fun, but it starts to feel very repetitive like a hack and slash.
My son and I are having a lot of fun with this.
Yeap I finally take the offer and bought the 400gb microSD for $80 on Amazon. I'm playing this game one way or another.
Panic button are incredible. Total faith when they are involved
This game is very good and the only f2p game ill support by buying platinum
Yep, great game. Had to delete Fortnite to make space for it but no regrets there. I'll get a lot out of Warframe.I'll likely spend some money on it once I figure out what's what.
This game is crazy awesome.
So addictive! I just played the two first missions, and I love it already.
Give it a try, guys! Seriously. And it looks stunning in haldheld mode, you need to see that.
Played it last night. The setting is well... very Mass Effecty and the combat feels a bit obtuse. The first 3 hours of missions weren’t particularly gripping. At this point I’m not feeling the urge to play much more.
The work that went into this port is great and they've done a fantastic job, but, since I have to be online to play it and I have other consoles I've gone over to PS4 to play it with a bit more polish. But still, well done panic button
@klingki Haha well people do say that time is money, so it definitely still works in that respect!
Why isn't this the reference mark for other 3rd party developers?
I cant believe how well this runs, and how good it looks. Ive been playing off and on, on PC for a few years, and just... wow. For folks having trouble figuring stuff out, i highly suggest googling rock paper shotguns excellent warframe guide.
On the topic of technically impressive ports, I think Panic Button has proven at this point that companies can do more than they are.
I actually expect that companies have grown complacent to some extent, because in most cases on PS4 and PC, they really don't need to extend nearly as much effort as they used to to make a game look good. Thus there are probably a lot of games on those platforms that could look better if the pressure was applied.
With the Switch, we are seeing that pressure applied and Panic Button is showing they can handle those tough jobs.
It does look sharp and play well. I'm surprised at how much I like playing this game. It really is fun! It does run at 30 fps, so that's the biggest compromise, but played on a smart TV with dejudder turned on it looks and feels nice. The main problem I had in the small amount of time I've played it is the chat box. It was full of comments attacking black people and women, and others asking how to turn off the constant barrage of garbage coming on to the screen via the chat box. I've often experienced this, and so avoid playing multiplayer online games where people can go beyond "good game" or "nice shot". I don't like hearing strangers on the internet talk. There's no accountability or responsibility for one's words, so things get nutty really quickly, usually. Warframe is fun though,and I've heard the dedicated community is really friendly in general.
@MagnaRoader As it was answered already: there is story. But no, you can't finish it. The story is released very slowly over the course of many updates. Only recently have we began to see the whole scope of the story and see all the threads that has been woven. And it's been 5 years since the release. So, no, you can't finish it. But you can see plenty of climactic moments and fight an assortment of new and interesting enemies, that you won't see if you progress without those quests. The game is big, like seriously BIG. All of that time, they have been slowly building content. Most of it heavily repeatable. That's kinda the biggest problem with the game: you have too much to do at any point of time. If you are spending obscene amounts of time in the game, there will always be much more content, that you have finished leveling up (even if that's just new guns/mods/warframes).
My mission the past two days is to play all my Switch games Inc NES. I ended up just playing this, a lot of fun for sure. Yes, the menus are too much but I’m sure it’s a case of playing more.
I also agree with the post above, hearing other players can be annoying. One kid yesterday was playing loud music, awful. Not a deal killer though!
We need some complete Captain Obvious clown to tell us how great it is on the PS4 in comparison...
@RunninBlue Despite being an MMO, in terms of gameplay it's more like a combination of Devil May Cry and a Third Person Shooter. Another similar game would be the new God of War. Maybe it's fast paced gameplay and uniqueness in terms of art style is what makes it stand out. As someone that has been playing since about 2014, I seriously recommend it. It's easily my favourite game this generation and I often choose playing it despite having new games. It's just that good.
For anyone worried about having to spend... progress is quite fast if you know what you are doing, and I have never needed to spend a dollar, I also have pretty much everything I want.
@WiltonRoots You know, it looks and plays better on the PS4
(Honks nose)
It's worth noting that during development of the Switch version, Panic Button's work was so good, they were able to optimise and improve the other platform versions as well. These guys really understand the intricacies of game development, so hats off to them. Third party support in general has been amazing this year for the Switch.
Great game and incredible port.
8/10 ? I would put at least 9,5/10
Clearly, the best F2P ever released on the market, period.
It looks great in handheld mode, blown up on a TV not So much. Do yourself a favour and disable motion blur and depth of field, both are overly aggressive and ruin the image quality
Like many I’m stuck on the Orbiter waiting for the Devs to give me my missing segment. This issue killed my interest in PC, now 3 years later I’m hit with the same bug. I’m not getting my hopes up for a fix like last time. Might as well save myself the 13 gigs and get wolfenstein. I hope you Ninjas are luckier than me!
@Hughesy
I actually really like the motion blur effect. It was one of the first things I noticed about the game and it just felt great turning at fast speed
@JaxonH Fair enough, myself I prefer being able to see what I'm doing. LCD screens already blur in motion, it's one of those settings I turn off in all PC games, so it was nice to have graphics options in a Switch game.
Its a fun game, but not for me
@roy130390 How well do the controls and camera work? Does it play with a single stick or dual sticks? Is there an automatic camera, a manual camera, or some combination of the two? I wish reviewers would include this kind of information more often.
@BulbasaurusRex Sorry, for the moment I still play it on PS4. However, I don't think that controls would be that different so I'll just describe the controls I know. The camera is free to move in any direction and you control it with the right stick. You move your character with the left one. You can also adjust the sticks sensibility at your will.
I thought this looked cool until I realized it looks like aliens... I hate aliens. Now I cannot bring myself to want to try it.
On a separate note I wish Panic Button would work their magic and bring Red Dead Redemption 2 to Switch...
Warframe in general is an exceptionally fun game, single or multiplayer with a rather fair but often grindy price model.
And the switch port is indeed baffling...
It comes with pretty much all visual settings, runs buttery smooth, looks fantastic...i have no clue how Panic Button managed it either.
But seeing this, the sky is the limit i guess.
What M2 is for retro ports, PB is for modern ones.
And they might be the reason some bigger devs are frantically looking for new excuses since "a port would not be possible" seems to be invalid now
@Mamabear Now that's impossible given the scope and detail of that game, plus the dynamic systems at play. I wouldn't mind a port of GTA 4 and 5 though. Or better yet, give us an exclusive Rockstar game!
@roy130390 Hahahaha nice one...I'm going to have to download this game and give it a bash, I have no idea how Panic Button did it but it looks like a great port.
I've only logged an hour or two into Warframe so far, but frankly, unless it loses its luster real fast, I think if anything, I probably like it BETTER than Destiny!
Plus, it's free, alternative, and [comparably] underground. It kinda has the same mystique to me as Linux, like it is "the 'Linux' of Destiny". Okay, that just made me sound like a super duper dork, I'm sure!!
And yes, I thought all things considered, DOOM and Wolfenstein looked not too bad on Switch. But this? This looks a lot better!
Panic Button are total badasses!!!
Cheers!!
@roy130390 So it is essentially a twin stick shooter, then? Well, that sucks! So much for this game. They should've just made it a single stick shooter with an automatic camera that sticks your viewpoint and aim to whichever way you're facing.
Maybe there's at least a single stick motion-controlled aiming scheme in the Switch version?
EDIT: Looking on YouTube, there is indeed a motion controlled aiming option in the Switch version. Once again, why was this not mentioned in the review?! Well, it looks like I'll be trying out this game eventually, after all.
@BulbasaurusRex It's a normal 3rd person game, I'm not sure what you're asking for, the controls are like any other 3rd person game.
@Hughesy The controls in 3rd person games differ greatly in their camera controls, and any review of such a game needs to provide the available options, whether it's designed around fixed angles, a completely automatic camera, an automatic camera with manual adjustments available, a motion controlled camera, or a completely manual camera.
For a third person shooter like this, a manual camera would also affect your aim, essentially making it nothing more than just another sucky twin stick shooter if that's the only control option.
EDIT: Well, the traditional control scheme appears to have a separate aiming mode that I assume lets you use just the left stick to aim while you're forced to stand still, so that's another tolerable option, but it still sucks to have dual analog controls for moving around with a completely manual camera.
i was there on xbox360 when it was released in 2013, and even in its early state, i realy enjoyed it on my old xbox.
eventualy i left it for what it was and hearing in what great game it evolved do me good:)
what i realy like is its non agressive selling system, its free to play and plays very nice.
im gonna check it out again after 5 years and see how the game has developed, even though i realy dont like mmo games at all.
download started.......
screenshots look realy realy nice, almost unbelievable for switch, also like the destiny style with those planetary systems.
btw people, is it multi platform, can in invite friends from other systems?
if only there were an offline mode. I'd pay for that.
F2P mmo 3rd person parkour space-ninja shooter with fair monotization with frequent updates from the developer.
Sounds too good to be true. Looks too good to be true also. <3
somehow I get a lot of fun in the switch version of this game. I used to play the PC version but not while interested like this xD
@BulbasaurusRex The game is so fast moving it kind of needs to have the manual camera. Motion aiming is in there but it's not great, it just allows you to fine tune your aim. Still it's worth having turned on as it does make aiming a little more easy. Splatoon like motion controls would be great. Other than that the game controls like a dream. Highly recommended!
I played this on the PS4 and these pics look to good to be true. Going to download and check out the Switch version just to check out how good the game looks and plays.
Warframe looks and plays fantastic, especially for an online game. Dropping in and out of online missions with friends and foreigners is super easy and fast! The game is huge and full of content and might be a little too complex for some people, like Xenoblade 2, but with a little help of the internet (or in-game community chat) it's easy to unfold all the mechanics one by one. It manages to have some of the best graphics on the system as well. Warframe looks even better than DOOM and Wolfenstein II, with a better framerate and higher resolution. The (motion) controls are super smooth. And it's all for free.
I hope the in-game shop gets updated, because it doesn't connect to the correct eShop page.
Here’s an excellent beginner’s guide for folks who have questions or want to get a feel for the game.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1424069013
Panic Button has really upped the game for Switch! I have most of the games they have ported. This one is a must considering it's even free.
Switch is a constant overachiever. Can't believe how well this look and runs on Switch. I think I'm done being surprised at this point. Switch is an amazing machine.
Installed because of this review. Uninstalled once I experienced the actual input lag in this game.
Anyone else complete Vor’s Prize but not get the Starter Pack given to them?
I am hooked, Love this game.
@MagnaRoaderWell, there is a story, but it's a work in progress. The New War will be adding the next chapter to the current "arc" we're in some time next year. It's a loot shooter, through & through, though so don't expect to be enthralled by a structured series of story missions. They exist, but they were never the point.
How is this game FREE?
I almost never comment on review scores but....an 8? What??
A free to play game with polished graphics, tight gameplay, deep customization and literally 1000+ hours of replayability?
This is a 9 for sure.
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