You’ve most likely either played or heard of Remnant: From the Ashes by now if you are a fan of shooters or Soulslike games. Originally released back in 2019 by THQ Nordic and Gunfire Games, Remnant became quite a hit and even has a sequel announced and releasing soon. If you are looking for a reason the jump back into its world or want to try it for the first time it just recently released on the Nintendo Switch. How did the conversion to Nintendo’s hybrid console turn out? Read on for my review.
I originally played Remnant on the PlayStation 4 so I was very interested to see how it would perform on the Switch and whether playing it in handheld mode was a viable option. If you aren’t aware of what Remnant is most people describe it as a Dark Souls game with guns. It’s a third-person shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world that you can play solo or in online co-op with up to two others. The Switch version not only includes the base game but also the two downloadable expansions that were released after launch on the other platforms which means you get a ton of content here.
The game gives you the option to create your character and then to select one of three classes to play as. Hunter is better at long-range combat, Scrapper is best at close-range attacks, and the Ex-Cultist can play support and deal out more mid-range attacks. No matter which class you choose they all can use the same weapons with the differences coming down to the special ability mods like the Cultist being able to heal and the Hunter being able to mark enemies. It’s fun to try them all out yourself plus playing with others and mixing them together can be a blast. The Switch version didn’t seem to have a lot of people playing online when I was searching though so that may end up being a problem for those looking for randoms to hook up with.
Playing through the worlds and maps isn’t easy in this game which is why it is called Dark Souls with guns. Enemies can overwhelm you if you aren’t careful and each play session is dynamically generated so it will be different. Defeating your enemies though will reward you with experience to boost your stats and materials that will let you upgrade your arsenal whether it be your guns or armor. I really enjoyed the gameplay of Remnant when I played it years ago and diving back to shoot hordes of enemies and bosses as still fun even if there were some visual drawbacks.
Speaking of drawbacks, one of the reasons you may be reading this review is to find out how the game performs on the Switch and not what the game is about. I’m happy to say that it ran pretty well. The game’s visuals have been dialed back though so don’t expect things like the character models or texture work to be as nice as they were on other platforms. The lighting also seems to have taken a bit of a hit as well. All of this was likely done to ensure the framerate remains as close to 30fps as it can which it mostly did in my experience playing it. The Switch version also suffers from some long load times which were a bit of a bummer when you want to get back into the action. Overall, the game runs well on the Switch but you’ll have to deal with visuals that look a lot worse when compared to the other platforms.
Remnant: From the Ashes loses some of its visual splendor on the Switch but runs well and can still provide some satisfying shooting action. If you’ve yet to play the game and want to check it out I personally would recommend playing it elsewhere for the best experience but this is a solid port if the Switch is your only option.
*Remnant: From the Ashes is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Nintendo Switch version reviewed. Review copy provided by the publisher for this review.
Remnant: From the Ashes
$39.99
Pros
- Challenging but satisfying gunplay
- Has a ton of content to play through
- Solid framerate on the Switch
Cons
- Load times are too long
- Visuals are downgraded a lot compared to other platforms
