Video: Alien Isolation Looks Better On Switch Than PS4, Says Digital Foundry

Well I gotta agree.

The pixel-perfect rendering resulting in pixel slurry and shimmering has been a thorn in my side since the first time I saw the 360 running Oblivion on a digital flat-panel.

I can’t wait to get it!! So excited about the horror games on Switch, they just keep coming.

Well isn't that something ?

Maybe this wil shut the naysayers that claim the machine is underpowered up ?

..Who am I kidding ? Course it wont

@KitsuneNight To be fair, the Switch isn't that powerful.

That said, this just shows that devs are either lazy or overexaggerating how much power you need to run thier games.

I don't want to be THAT guy, but can't we chalk that up to optimization? The PS4/Xbox One are much more powerful hardware, so it should have run very smooth and clean on those versions as well.

Shout out to the Switch tho! Loving the attention it gets and deserves.

Well that's it , went and bought it , was 80% certain i would but this seals the deal.

@KitsuneNight lmao erm you do realise compared to all other consoles today it is underpowered?!
I only game on the switch yet even I’m not ignorant to that.

The icing on the cake in all of this, is its not a full priced $60 port, like most other companies go with. Nicely priced at $35 guarantees a day 1 purchase from me.

@Kalmaro I don't know what your standards of powerful are but The Nintendo Switch is actually pretty powerful. Not as powerful as the Xbox one and ps4 but it still gets the job done. All I know its more powerful than my computer (my computer sucks) because it can't even have more than 2 tabs open without crashing the computer(laptop). I'm not trying to say you're wrong in every way, but sometimes the power comes from the game developers to put the game onto the console.

@Audiogore0733 I'm actually on your side here. I don't think the Switch is strong, but I also don't think it HAS to be in order to deliver great looking games. This article just further proves my point.

So, I'm supposed to be impressed that a game that came out in 2014 for both the PS3 and PS4 runs better when released and optimized for the Switch in 2019?

I'm guessing the game was setup to run well on the PS3 hardware, which came out in 2006.

@Deathwalka Compared to other consoles the reason it is underpowered is the portable aspect of it. It would be a lot more powerful if it wasn't a portable console. But today standard if you think about it you can't compare the power to consoles that don't have the ability to become portable. It's actually a really powerful handheld but not a super-powerful home console. So it's powerful in its own way. Sometimes it doesn't matter if it's super powerful just if it releases good games. I mean ya it would be awesome for amazing graphics of 4k but the Nintendo switch does it right in its own way.

@Kalmaro Ya I agree with the article. Even though there are some games that I do want on the Nintendo switch that is on ps4 and Xbox one, it probably will not happen because of the power aspect.

and i bet digital foundry will say it's even better than the pc version next right?

@Deathwalka

Yeah because specs make the console.
Just don't mention that to the Playstation 2.

the PS2 ie the best selling console ever, was the weakest console of its generation

it doesn't matter how "powerfull "a console is.
What matters is what a developer does with it.

It is a shame there is no retail version...

@KitsuneNight Very well said, and 100% FACT. Cheers!

Great work by the devs, it also shows why even games on PS4 Pro are looking to other solutions other than raw pixel count to create great looking games

@KitsuneNight so many here don’t understand this. Sheep mentality. Powerful is good... all we want is power... a lot of lavy devs and publishers have their own agenda and people just buy that the switch “isn’t powerful enough” it’s bobbins... it’s plenty powerful and the awesome games we are seeing proves it... it’s not like many games at all use the full power properly

@KitsuneNight

It's underpowered if you just want to dock it. Get a PS4Pro/XBX if you're just going to console it.

As a portable it isn't half bad and has all the usual compromises that portables have. I still think Apple would've been a better cpu vendor than Nvidia since their ARM chips are the best in the business and Nvidia isn't the most reliable partner (think xbox) but who knows if Apple would've been into it or maybe even turned it down.

If we counting the times a game looks better on a platform - everyone with a Switch would have a PS4 by now.

I mean literally mention DOOM at the start that looks better just about everywhere else 🙄

Either stick with "graphics do not matter" or not... can't have it both ways.

@KitsuneNight it’s still underpowered. Don’t kid yourself

@Agramonte Nintendo fanboys on here are half pregnant when it comes to the graphics thing. Graphics don’t matter when it suits them best.

@Agramonte Who exactly are you aiming your comment at?

Let’s face it. Sony got gold with PlayStation and have kept to the same formula. Microsoft also.
Now Nintendo have long term success with Switch. Provided they want it!!!
Just keep the Switch getting stronger and it’s success all the way

Let me first state. I like this game and beat it more than once on my PS4 back in 2014-15.

With that said. I have no clue where these high praise reviews keep coming from for this, back when it came out the reviews hammered the game or were vastly average.

I remember atrocious cutscenes with random frame rate drops and some choppy moments of gameplay, like super noticeable in your face. You’d have to be Hellen Keller to miss them.

I’m probably getting it tomorrow, so this post isn’t bashing anything. I just genuinely find it kind of funny that suddenly...5yrs later...being ported to Switch creates high reviews just about everywhere I look online when it was the exact opposite in 2014.

Feral Interactive has been a brilliant company for decades.

This is great news, but generally speaking about consoles and their different versions of a game... back in the day, you had a SNES and you liked what you had. Or a Mega Drive, or whatever your parents bought you. It looked how it looked. I tend to view my switch the same way. It is how it is. We're all spoiled to the point where we compare all different consoles. I won't (ever again) buy multiple consoles just for a bit of a performance gain here or there.

And even IF a game is botched on your console of choice, so what, the next oone is around the corner anyways...

but does it maintain frame rate better than PS4 and Xbox One? probably not

Honestly when it comes to the Switch, I don't view it as a platform for power and visuals. I view it as something you can take on the go and have a fun time with. It's only when the graphics are so ugly to the point it's hard not to notice is where I have an issue with (Agony on Switch, I'm looking at you), or if the game/port is just straight up bad and/or lazy.

Sure, there are games that looks amazing on the system (like Luigi's Mansion 3 and BOTW), but if I want power and visuals, I can play on my PS4 on my TV.

Yeah, the Switch is less powerful than the PS4 and XBONE, but I don't think that's the point of it. I believe it's meant to be a device you can take anywhere and have a good time on, and hook it up to the TV if you want to play it there for a while.

That said however, this port looks fantastic and a huge step up from the PS3 and XB360 versions. Really does show what the Switch can do, and looks like it runs great!

@KBuckley27 Watch the video, because it actually does hold the frame rate the same as the PS4 version. It actually doesn't even have screen tearing, which the PS4 version does have.

Simply put, the Switch version is the better experience overall compared to the PS4 version. That's simply because after 5 years, they've been able to implement better optimization and AA techniques. Obviously if they wanted to, they could release a patch for the PS4 version to bring it up to snuff, but they clearly don't have any interest after 5 years.

@KitsuneNight The Switch is underpowered comapred to the PS4 and Xbone. This is not a bad thing though, as the Switch can be taken anywhere unlike those systems. It is odd that this game in particular looks better on the Switch. I'm guessing the PS4 and Xbone releases were not very well optimized.

@Mgene15 making comments like "Nintendo fanboys on here are half pregnant blah blah blah" just makes you look like you have the mental capacity of an 8 year old. Try offering something actually constructive?

If graphics are important to someone, that's great. If they're not important to someone, that's great too.

As expected, the headline annoyed some people. 😃

It's just cool to see a well optimized port on Switch, and in their case, one that has a better picture quality than the power console twins.

@electrolite77

There points still valid it was the weakest console of that gen, you can easily say a console is the most powerful if no other ones out that gen!

@suikoden Dreamcast

@james_squared.

It's just an article stating the game runs well on the Switch, if you are impressed or not is irrelevant.

@Trajan

How could I forget the dreamcast

To me the Switch is neck to neck as powerful as a base PS4 and is twice more powerful than a PS3. It's just that sometimes lazy developers make the system look bad but when you got devs like WayForward, Panic Button, Platinum Games, Suda51, Acquire, Level-5, Arc System Works, CD Projekt Red Studio, Shin'en, Shiver Games, and Iron Galaxy Studios just to name a few, it does show that high quality triple A games could be possible on Switch if the dev team took the platform seriously.

It originally came out in 2014! I would hope it would be better on newer hardware, which I still have my doubts on watching that DF video. Definitely a good game back in its day, but it really needs to be played 4K 60fps with a good surround sound system with the lights off.

@ObsidianEleven my eight year old son wouldn’t say ridiculous things like that

Bought and preloaded , put me in the mood to watch the movies.

@CTmatic The game wasn't really hammered back when it first released though. It's sitting at a 79 on PS4 Metacritic which is really a solid score. There were one or two very high profile negative reviews, namely IGNs that is basically considered a meme at this point, but for the most part the game was very well regarded on release.

That’s true. I remember reading it to. Ryan McCaffery if I’m not mistaken @ IGN. @Indielink

INB4 fanboys misconstrue this news to mean that Switch is somehow more powerful that PS4 and One.

Alright, THAT is impressive

@james_squared I thinks it’s quite impressive that a mobile chipset can run it as well as it can. Granted though it is old relatively speaking in terms of video games. It makes me wonder what we could be playing portably in 10 years time though (on a successor to Switch maybe)

@Belatarr The Switch will have "Arrived" once you can play GTA/Red Dead/COD...I would imagine sometime early next year with the updated Switch XL and more Cloud support..

Sadly, I’ll be waiting for the eventual physical release of this. I really want to buy this ASAP but I’m going to be so upset if I spend the money on the digital release only to be sidelined by an eventual physical release in a few months.

That's cool, like the Gamecube days.
Switch is both portable and more powerful than PS4

The game was released in 2014 so it may started as a PS3 title that was moved to PS4/XB1

It certainly got some high praise over there, Feral did a great job. Not my cup of tea but it looks like a winner if that’s your thing.

I don't really get what's so complicated to understand. You can ensure a successful line of products keeps on being sold by either:
1. make it become trendy (Nintendo's way)
2. fluffing about higher and cooler specs you absolutely need (not really, but that's the trick) not to be considered a caveman (Sony's way... well, that's also MS's way but I don't wanna get off topic). A more powerful platform will ensure you play your games better and will let (not really) more powerful games run on it too, then the cycle restarts.

What people often seem to forget is that a videogame is just something you have to have fun playing. Period.

Feral Interactive has proven themselves one of the finest developers there is. GRID Autosport and Alien Isolation are two of the best Switch ports to date.

Just downloaded the game, but had to leave for work.

@Gwynbleidd
Glad to hear your immediate reaction to this article served you well!

@ChromaticDracula
Feral Interactive has been straightforward about plans for physical releases.

For GRID Autosport, they told fans that yes, there would likely be a physical release down the road after launch. They said this before the game even released.

For Alien Isolation though, it's been a hard no from the start. Not even a "unlikely" just a "it's not going to happen". Which means their employer who contracted them is not interested.

@TTgowings gamers don't want those garbage tier titles though. Also, there's no upgraded Switch and the cloud functionality looks to be Japan/Capcom-only.

The Switch "arrived" the day it launched and has continued to break hardware AND software records since, most recently with Black Friday and Pokémon. It's outselling the Xbox One, a more powerful console with those garbage tier games you mentioned, and is on track to perform as well as if not better than the PS4. To say it hasn't exceeded expectations already is to show your complete and utter ignorance within the gaming community.

Oh, it's a PS3 game like Skyrim? Those would run on the old Wii U as well, so having a great port on Switch isn't much to rave about.

DOOM, Wolfenstein II, The Witcher III, and The Outer Worlds on the other hand, those are the current gen games that demonstrate the Switchs capabilities.

However, Alien Isolation is a great-looking super-atmospheric game still, and it's neat that new filter techniques have been developed to make the Switch version look even better than PS4.