When Genshin Impact was first released back in 2020, you would be forgiven for thinking that it would be a dead cert that the open-world RPG (*cough* Breath of the Wild clone *cough*) would be making its way to Switch at some point in the future. You would be right, it will come to Switch at some point in the future... probably.
Tired of waiting for updates, one fan on Reddit has taken the porting process into their own hands and has managed to get a version of the game up and just about running on the Nintendo console. In the video (thanks, GameRant) you can see u/wingsofthygiant managing to load up the title on Switch and, after a pretty meaty loading time, even run around a little.
A brief look at the video will tell you all that you need to know about whether this is an official Switch release (it is not). Through the use of an Android emulator, u/wingsofthygiant has managed to bring the mobile version of the game to the Switch, or, more specifically, to the Switch's touchscreen - the controls are not built for Joy-Con use.
Less of an official port and more of a crafty switcheroo (pun very much intended), this version of Genshin Impact is a wash of lengthy loading screens with a stop-motion-like frame rate, so while it is technically playable, we'd say other consoles are still the way to go for the time being.
Of course, an official version of Genshin Impact is still allegedly coming to Switch at some point, with miHoYo claiming that it is 'still in development'. Let's just hope that the fans don't beat them to the port first.
Do you still want to see Genshin Impact come to Switch? Move with a smooth frame rate down to the comments to let us know!
[source gamerant.com]
Comments 23
Still waiting patiently but not hopefully for that Switch port.
Honestly, given the game’s performance on the base PS4 console, which is more powerful than the Switch I’m not sure if a Switch port would worth it. Unless they optimise the hell out of it, I imagine the long load times and low frame rate would make it a chore to play.
I think the switch can run the game just fine, ps4 sucked because they ported it terribly, and I mean terribly, it was bad. They haven’t said it’s been canceled, so I would imagine it isn’t, but man, there taking there time, which I don’t really mind.
Maybe unpopular opinion, its not a botw clone, is it similar? Yes, but anyone who played this game for more then 20 minutes will indeed see the differences, they even said they were inspired by botw.
It doesn't run amazing on PS4, and it has a an update every 5/6 weeks that adds a gigabytes to the file size.
...oh, and it's always online.
I know it runs on mobile, but it's not ideal for the Switch.
C'mon No man's sky has just got a great port (which I'm pretty sure is a heavier and more complex game in general) and Genshin Impact is designed for running in phones. If the PS4 port was bad is because they just didn't want to invest any time, and smells the same for Switch.
Funny as i've been playing it all morning on my PS5, its so good and addictive and the world is beautiful.
@WallyWest I do enjoy the game myself, been saving up for a specific character, the all my playing will be rewarded!
@Olrun Hopefully it’s taking as long as it is because of how much time there putting into it compared to ps4, but goodness, no man sky, that was something!
When it finally releases it will be a FF15 mobile version
I've been really enjoying it! I was holding out for a Switch release, but finally getting my hands on the PS5 made me realize it's much better to play on that system.
I'd rather play the official release, thanks.
They’ve decided to push it back to after Yokai Watch 4 is localised and released in the west
Ppl that are waiting for genshin impact to come to Switch they should try guardián tales right now, is a gatcha game, is just 2gb, is free and is a good game too.
I genuinely wanted to play this back at launch, but I was unwilling to have a game of that size on my phone (too small a screen to play on).
But after being exposed to so much of the game via YouTubers I watch, as well as a toxic friend group that would not shut up about the game, I've decided it's best left unplayed.
Strange though, that the Switch port has taken this long...
Completely forgot this was supposed to come out on Switch. I wonder which news we'll get first, Metroid Prime 4 or Genshin Impact release date.
since wait so long i hope they release a single campaign
I will reiterate once again that if players do not get some sort of progression compensation for being asked to wait this long, and if the game runs poorly despite having years to port this game over, then this may end up being the worst Switch game to this day, not even by quality, but by circumstances.
To those that are still waiting for genshin impact definitely give guardian tales a go. Like genshin it’s based on a Zelda game (link to the past compared to genshin’s BOTW) and it has a charming pixel style and really fun gameplay and it also has a feature where you could either have either the JPN art style which is more anime styled or the GLB style which has a bit more of a western art style and the best part is not only is it free but it’s beyond generous withs it’s premium currency with the game giving gems whenever you get new weapons to the point where I almost have all the heroes in the game at the moment. Combine that with the game giving a LOT of energy every day and you can easily get a lot of fun with the game.
I've got it on my phone (oppo find X5 lite) don't think the switch would run it well at all
@Snatcher runs fine on my ps4 pro & my phone which has double the ram & a better processor can run it on medium settings at 60 fps with occasional frame drops I can't see this ever running half decent on the switch
@Snatcher @WallyWest I have it on my PS4 but been playing on mobile about 90% of the time. I would say its beautiful and smooth (maybe a few dips here and there) in Playstation but the load times are horrible. I probably do some difficult boss fights there for more precision but the daily grind and RPG stuff in general I prefer to do it handheld. Love this game btw and co-op with my 10yo daughter whose in PC for at least an hour every day. A Switch port would be most welcome but not really necessary for me. It would be great for more people to experience the game though.
@Glrd The game plays fine and looks great on probably a few hundred different smartphone models. Even with its age, I'd think the Switch's mobile chipset would make it an easier port than the PS4 given Mihoyo's history. Though I could see them hitting some snags with Nintendo's online infrastructure and policies.
@Octane_st1m On PS5 the load times are super quick, easily one of the better things about the console.
Really want to be able to play genshin impact on the switch. Can only play on my phone as of the time of this message. The game is starting to out grow the memory capacity of most smartphones.
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