If the simple matter of having Overwatch portable isn’t enough to draw gamers into picking up the Switch edition, here’s a little extra to sweeten the deal: motion controls are going to be included.
Nintendo’s little hybrid handheld certainly has been doing well for itself, hasn’t it? With its solid sales, top-notch exclusives and third-party support that… well, actually exists, it’s almost as though the Wii U’s dismal failure never happened. Yes, there are certain big-name titles that the Switch just couldn’t handle, but major games like Skyrim and Doom have found homes on the system. Sure, you’d be hard-pressed to find a piece of technology that hasn’t had Skyrim ported to it these days, but the release of the RPG phenomenon on Switch was a huge deal for the console.
Big developers and publishers have continued to show faith in system. Microsoft have seen to it that Cuphead and Ori and the Blind Forest have been ported, and - incredibly - we live in a world where The Witcher 3 is about to launch on the Switch. Do you know what else is set to hit the system later this month? That’s right, friends: Overwatch.
Much of the hubbub surrounding this port, of course, centers around two key issues: the excitement of having such a big and beloved game on a handheld system, and doubts about how it’s going to perform. Not simply on a technical level (though that’s always a worry when comparing Switch editions to their rival console/PC equivalents), but whether key features like motion controls will be included.
This may not be a huge concern to some, but for those who loved Resident Evil 4 on the Wii and found the gyro-aiming options absent for the Switch port, it was a huge blow. Worry not, though: as Overwatch Principle Game Producer Wes Yanagi told Vooks, gyro-aiming is being included! Firstly, though, he assured fans that the Switch edition has been optimized to within an inch of its 30fps-locked life:
“A lot of the work went into looking for areas we could optimise performance and finding the right visual settings that looked and felt like Overwatch. While it’s easy to focus on the graphics when thinking about performance, there were a lot of other systems like physics and audio that contribute to the overall frame rate. We spent a lot of effort optimising those systems to make the game feel just right.”
On the subject of the comparison between Joy-Cons/Pro Controller and other systems’ controllers/mouse and keyboard, he stated that the game will control mostly just as it does on other consoles, adding:
“However, one big addition is gyro-aim support. With gyro-aiming, you can tilt the Switch or Pro Controller to give a little nudge to your aim and help line-up shots. Or, you can detach the Joy-Cons and point it at the screen like a laser pointer. One of our designers plays this way and dominates.”
So, there you have it. Joy-Con-pointing Overwatch action is coming to a Switch near you on October 15.