Square Enix had a holiday treat in store for us earlier this week, when it dropped the Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade demo on the Switch 2 eShop. Before the full game launches next year, you can now get an idea of what to expect by playing through the iconic opening sequence for free.
But how does it hold up from a technical standpoint? Here to answer that very question are the experts from Digital Foundry, who have been diving into the demo to see what it can muster.
Right from the jump, DF notes that the Switch 2 is running the 'Intergrade' version of the game (as its name suggests), with all the improved bells and whistles that we previously saw on the PS5 re-release. The frame rate is still at 30fps, mind you, but we knew that already.
On a similarly optimistic note, Digital Foundry describes the HDR implementation as "excellent", with popping highlights and dark zones which don't appear washed out.
In terms of image quality, the game isn't fully comparable to any other console version. The image is a little soft, but "still clear enough", with some dithering weirdness when objects are in motion and across select surfaces. DF puts the Switch 2's approximate internal resolution count at 1080p, stating that it's "really, really beautiful in portable mode".
All in all, it sounds like it's holding up really rather well. The DF analysis concludes that the demo is currently "one of the best looking games on Switch 2", though whether that all holds up for the final, much larger version remains to be seen.
That full version will arrive on Switch 2 on 22nd January, and any demo data that you get under your belt until then will carry over to the full release.