After stalling on the start line, it appears that the Switch version Xenon Racer, the futuristic racing game from 3DClouds, may have finally caught up with the pack. Responding to criticism of the game at launch, the studio vowed to address performance issues and had several patches in the works at the time. Version 1.04 is live on Switch and the game now includes a promised Quality/Performance Mode option.
The video below shows by ContraNetwork gives a side-by-side comparison of the two modes with frame rate counters running in the corners:
As the video shows, Performance Mode offers an unlocked frame rate which only occasionally dips below 30fps and appears to go as high as 39 fps in a few spots. Opinion tends to differ as to whether a 'capped' 30 is preferable to an unlocked (and therefore constantly fluctuating) frame rate, but the improvements over Quality Mode and the game in its original form are undeniable.
Perhaps we've simply been staring at monitors for too long today, but to our eyes the visual disparity between the two modes appears minimal while in motion. Performance Mode is a touch softer, but based on this evidence, we can't see any reason why Switch gamers wouldn't turn on Performance Mode and never look back.
3DClouds recently provided details of upcoming free content updates including new tracks, cars and upgrades. Whether these extras and the improved performance will be enough to satisfy Switch owners remains to be seen, but it's nice to see the game moving in the right direction.
How did you find Xenon Racer at launch? Have these patches improved things in the game? Let us know your experiences below.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 28
Honestly I am surprised this game has been focused on so much when there are so many games that have been released in a broken state. Some have actually received high scores around here.
@JayJ I am surprised that this game has been focused when amazing games have been barely touched on (Baba is You).
Wonder if they updated the X version as well. Which performed WELL below expectations on a $500 console. I’ll see when I get home
I guess there are two racing games worth getting on switch...RMX Remix and Mario Kart.
Can’t believe there are people who bought this at full price. The quality of this game is appalling. Even looking at the comparison here, having titles like Horizon Chase Turbo, I wouldn’t touch it with a barge-pole.
I lose respect for devs that release half baked 1.0.0 versions, then need subsequent updates JUST to get it up to "enjoyable" levels. Give me a delayed game any day if its 1.0.0 is up to snuff on release day.
They'll have to improve the loading times above all. Not just the in-race performance..
Sorry but they did this to themselves. The game isn’t going to sell well and deservedly so. I really really hope Grid Autosports is good on the switch.
I can still clearly see the track being drawn in front of the player. If this is what they're passing off as an improvement patch, the developer clearly doesn't give a damn. Shockingly poor. Compare this to Fast RMX - a more visually attractive and obviously better performing game. Switch gamers deserve (and should expect) better than this.
@N8tiveT3ch Horizon Chase Turbo is also quite good.
That is not even "Quality"... what happened to the car reflection in the tunnel?! And they still have the pop-up with even using the ugly blue buildings on both.
If it can barely handle stripped down Boston - Tokyo will be a slide show.
Sell this as a $19.99 "Handheld Version" and put Cross Save with PC.
Haha, this is a $10 mobile game masquerading as a $50 premium title. Hope few fall for it.
Unlocked framerate? Why not just lock it at 30fps as the roof limit?
Can these devs get anything right?
I find it ironic that "quality" mode isn't reflecting the idea we have of quality, and "performance" mode isn't reflecting our idea of what performance should be either.
I don't think it's because the developpers are lazy, but more like inexperienced. Maybe it's because they simply picked the wrong engine to build their game on. And now, there's not much they can do about it. If that's the case, I wonder when exactly in the development process it became evident it would turn into such a low-grade product.
This game looks perfect for me, but with the (still there) performance issues it's still a no-no.
@N8tiveT3ch
That would be either "Fast RMX" or "Fast Remix" 😉
Improvements? Ha! Don't make me laugh...
Something about a polished piece of excrement still being excrement. They should have listened to Miyamoto-san.
No matter how much they try and polish it it is still poop at the end of the day
This always was a cash grab. Dev's probably thought review sites or the internet does not exist and that nobody would notice.
Still looks bad, and a little slow.
Not bad. They can do better, but it'not bad at all. Can I have a demo version?
Hilarious that the 'Performance Mode' still dips below 30FPS. Ridge Racer 7 ran at 1080/60 on the PS3. Heck, even Ridge Racer on the PSP ran at a buttery smooth 60FPS.
If they ever get it fixed then maybe I'll buy the physical version but til then there are others games I can get.
I couldn't get past the horrible music....
So much chatter about frame rate and the like on a game that is otherwise pretty mediocre anyway based on reviews and impressions. Pushsquare gave the game a 4/10 if I recall correctly, the metascore for the PC and PS4 versions is 64 and 63, respectively.
This game is a joke. Why is NL even writing an article about their patch? The game is still a joke after the patch, looks like a PS2 game but perform worse than a PS2 racer.
On sale 1399 now. Finally worth it?
@JRJalapeno now on sale here in Europe.
For only €0,99 so i downloaded it.
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