We've been fans of Two Tribes' swansong release, RIVE, since it arrived on PC and other consoles. The downside is that it's had a long road to Nintendo hardware, with technical challenges and a shrinking market ending the Wii U version, and since that point we've had a wait for the Switch edition.
Earlier this Summer Two Tribes confirmed that the Switch version would have a new feature, Copilot mode, and the developer - working with Engine Software - has been busily optimising the game. Due to the intensity of the game and the developers' own standards, it's been a slow and steady process - the good news is that it now runs at 1080p and 60fps (naturally 720p in portable mode).
It's been the goal from the beginning, and Two Tribes' Collin van Ginkel explained to us how pleasing its been to get to that point and the work that's gone into it.
It's kind of surreal seeing the game run so smoothly on such a humble device. It was never intended as a portable game, but it's a perfect fit for it!
We've spent a few months really digging into what makes the Switch hardware tick and it now runs smoother than the PlayStation 4 version, with less noticeable save points for instance.
It's great to see effort go into making the best version possible on the Switch; though no release date has been confirmed yet, hopefully it won't be too far away.
Comments 51
Nice, wish 60fps was a standard most action games followed.
Looks like I'm getting this instead of Doom.*
*This is sarcasm. I'm getting both day one.
Looks lovely. Can't wait to download and try it out.
Getting this game
I've been waiting for years. This was already a day one purchase for me and this news is simply incredible.
I've been waiting for this game. Day one for me.
There is still a Rive 'coming 2015' video under future releases on the Wii U eShop. It's like a strange museum piece.
Congrats, Two Tribes!
May the other developers follow your steps and commitment to gamers!
I'm definitely buying it!!!
Great game! Old school tough but definitely a lot of fun. Still play it to this day on PS4.
It's a great game on PC--I might even double dip on SW if it's under $15.
This and Steamworld Dig 2 seem like amazing portable experiences. They are definitely on my "wanted" list.
Looking forward to this. One of the top 5 or so indie titles on my radar. Can't wait!
Glad to know the experience on Switch is just as good as on other consoles. You don't get that with many Switch ports.
Looks good.
Doom and Rive are on my wishlist
"Runs smoother than on PS4"
BOOM!
Can't wait for Rive to arrive!
Arcade style shooters and 3rd person perspective shooters are perfect for portable play. The WiiU demo was so good, it sustained my interest this whole time.
@Kalmaro yeah, like DOOM.
@gatorboi352 Were only getting 30fps right?
WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Still very disappointed that they cancelled this on Wii U.
I have it on two platforms already and i will buy it again here, everybody needs to play this game.
@SLIGEACH_EIRE Me too, after waiting for two years i left it and got it on steam, ahve you played it yet?? Its amazing how different it is to that demo we got on the wiiu. This is a truly great game.
To be honest, as a N gamer, I dont care about this 1080 60fps mania. N represnt another philosophy in gaming which prioritize quality to any kind of quantity. With this same philisophy they crushed technologically advanced PSP and Vita with technologically inferior DS and 3DS. In these days when Microsoft Struggles to make "the most powerful console in the world" attractive, they sell Switch like a hot cake: a console that most of the time can't hit 1080 60fps. So let it go.
What this demonstrates is that as time goes by and good developers start to get to know ‘what makes the switch hardware tick’
We will start to see this little machine flex it’s virtual muscles and carry some awesome games that nobody thought would be possible on Switch.
Doom, Wolfstien and Rive are just the start.
Cool
@SLIGEACH_EIRE I LOVE my Wii U but dude even myself who has downloaded 300+ Wii U games along with 122 retail Wii U games purchased, has moved on to Switch. The Wii U of course still has plenty of great games to play but there's just nothing to look forward to down the pike. Jump into Switch land already lol the water is fine. 😜
yup. getting this. seems like such a natural fit for docked and on the go gaming. two tribes and engine put some serious polish on their games. very appreciated
FYI, this is 'pay what you want' on Humble Bundle at the moment.
If Housemarque joined the Switch circus, all these shooting games will become obsolete.
This is yet another testament to how good the Switch is to develop for. This, the fact games like DOOM and Wolfenstein and Skyrim Remastered can run at all- something nobody would have expected.
Interesting.
Glad I held off on the PC version. This game was made for the Switch.
I love Two Tribes. So getting this. I always support them.
'It was never intended as a portable game, but it's a perfect fit for it!'
Aaaaand yet another example of game developers viewing the Switch as a handheld.
@shani I think this trend has deeper connotations than 'the Switch is a handheld'. I think a lot of devs are questioning what a handheld game is these days. Since the Gameboy, handheld gaming has tended to have a different philosophy to home gaming, but that notion is seriously being challenged.
@GrailUK Going by their public statements, I don't see any devs questioning the nature of handheld gaming (quite the contrary, their statements suggest they do just see it as a classic handheld), but you might be on to something.
The Switch would have to become a mainstream thing first (like the Wii) for that to happen - right now it doesn't look that way at all.
If you look outside the Nintendo bubble or even outside of gaming-centric media, nobody knows or cares about the Switch (compared to the impact the Wii had on non-gamers). It's not like everyone on the streets is running around with a Switch in their pockets (compared to how smartphones established themselves).
But it's still possible, I give you that.
@shani "It's not like everyone on the streets is running around with a Switch in their pockets (compared to how smartphones established themselves)."
Do you expect that Nintendo will sell more than 2 billion Switch systems?
"Aaaaand yet another example of game developers viewing the Switch as a handheld."
It's a handheld console, and it's a home console. It's a hybrid console.
@NinNin No, of course not - and I was never talking about my expectations, just about how much it would take to have the impact GrailUK described - but at least enough to get out of the Nintendo niche or at the very least to really set a trend in the gaming scene & business.
Since the Wii had such an impact, I'd say it would have to be at least ~100 million sold units, but I think it would take even more.
And if you had read my post closely, you would've realized that I'm very sceptic about this any way. I don't believe the Switch could sell that well and have such a big and enduring impact as the Wii had (PS3, PS4, Kinect, VR, but also non-gaming products).
Rive looks better than Sine Mora EX.
@Axlroselm : I find it hilarious that every time Sony/Microsoft release a new/updated console these days, they announce that it's the "world's most powerful console" (or words to that effect), and Sony's bold claim of PlayStation being "for the players" is so pretentiously cringe-inducing, especially since so many big budget games nowadays are glorified interactive movies that conform to Hollywood sensitivities (which I hate).
Anybody who truly cared about "power" would invest in a gaming PC. Many of them have HDMI out and support controllers as well, so they could very well be used in lieu of a dedicated gaming console. PC/Sony/Nintendo each fill a niche in the market, with Microsoft being arguably superfluous, serving primarily to eat into Sony's marketshare.
I'll probably cop some abuse for this, but for those who prefer versatility and for their games to be, oh, I don't know, fun, there's Nintendo.
@sillygostly I'm with you on basically everything, but you have to admit that buying a console is...'easier' in a way than building/even just straight up purchasing a gaming PC. I think that's how and why the public acts the way they do. I hate the hyperbole/inane slogans and hullabaloo too. That being said, I love Nintendo games for the fun factor, and hope to build a PC soon (a lot for music recording, but want to explore certain games). I got a PS2 to play DVDs a while ago, it's been nice exploring the PS1 stuff I never got to experience...got Castlevania SotN and Final Fantasy Tactics for way too cheap!
@arekdougy : Of course. As I said, PC and Sony both fulfil a niche in the marketplace. Sony offers ease of set-up at the expense of the power that PC provides. Console games also needn't (or at least shouldn't) have to worry about whether or not their games will work with their system, as console games are designed to be playable "out-of-the-box" (or at least should, but developers/publishers have become much too complacent with day one patches and fixing problems after the fact). Sadly, anybody keen on buying PC games at retail are wasting their time as the vast majority of AAA games nowadays need to be downloaded online, as there has been industry-wide reluctance/refusal to adopt the use of Blu-ray drives.
I just find it amusing that people who bang on and on about power, frame rate, resolution etc. would game on a console. Even more amusing is that they seem less concerned about whether a game is fun or not.
Toki Tori 2+ on Wii U is an openworld puzzle adventure masterpiece! So I've been waiting a long time for the next Two Tribes game. The action in RIVE looks amazing and we'll get the best version! Day 1!
PS4 more powerful than Switch:CONFIRMED!
Heh
Ive wait this game for so long. Day one. Very happy of 60fps and 1080p.
Waiting since 2014.
@SanderEvers : You've completely missed the point. If you want to download the game and/or don't have access to a disc drive, then you've got Steam. I don't understand why people speak against having options. What's the point in even releasing a retail copy if the disc contains nothing but a serial code (or only a few gigs of data?). I prefer physical media as I intend to keep my movies/games for prosperity. It defeats the purpose when the game isn't even on the disc and may not be available for purchase/download later down the track.
Not everybody has access to lightning fast and/or unlimited internet either, so downloading 50GB+ or so of data (in addition to a lengthy installation procedure) would be slower for most people than installing a game directly from a Blu-ray disc (which has a faster read speed than older optical disc formats).
@sillygostly I can understand why the PC game industry rejected Blu-ray discs, though- who among them would willingly pay royalties to Sony, when they have no longer have anywhere near as much stake in the PC industry as a whole compared to 10+ years ago? Not to mention, 1TB+ HDD's are very common these days while being far cheaper than a collection of Blu-ray discs, SSD's read/write much faster than Blu-ray drives and are steadily getting cheaper over time, and optical drives in PC's are mostly only used for watching movies or playing music (industries that Sony still very much has a stake in). Granted, I have a BD-RE drive myself, but the only game-related thing I've used it for is copying game files... (I didn't buy it either, got it free from work...)
My LG BH14NS40 drive (a nice one from 2012) has almost 63 MB/s Blu-ray disc read speed; compared with my Samsung 830 SATA3 SSD, which has about 212 MB/s reading random 4KiB single threads (finding info disparately among files in storage medium, important for gaming), and my Samsung 960 EVO NVMe SSD, which has about 356 MB/s of the same metric... Yeah, no contest whatsoever. No one should be playing new games on optical discs anymore.
(Though I'm not sure if the disc read speed is just for sequential read... I won't dig too far into that, though- my NVMe SSD has 2.9 GB/s sequential read versus, for example, the 95 MB/s sequential read that SD cards used on the NS would have, and they each cost a similar price for the same amount of storage space... Let's just say optical disc reading is slow as molasses, and a stack of rewriteable Blu-ray discs along with a corresponding BD-RE drive is slower and no cheaper for general use than a new SSD.)
Well lookit that! Gonna have to give this game a whirl then. Big fan of Toki Tori.
@Jop
Couldn't agree more!
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