Digital Foundry has released its technical analysis of Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen on Nintendo Switch 2. According to Nintendo Life, the verdict is clear: “The game arrives in surprisingly good shape.” Capcom’s open-world RPG launched on the console last week.
This result is important since Dragon’s Dogma 2 has faced technical issues. The game debuted on March 21, 2024, and players have often complained about its performance, especially on PC. The Switch 2 release stands out as a clean version.
Nintendo Life calls this release “yet another banger” from Capcom on Switch 2. Their summary doesn’t share Digital Foundry’s frame rate or resolution figures, so we won’t list them here. For those interested in the specifics, check Digital Foundry’s analysis for all the numbers.
The release comes after a busy summer for Capcom. The studio brought Dark Arisen to Switch 2 after announcing in June that the expansion would hit PS5 in October. That same month, they removed microtransactions (June 15) and added free infinite fast travel (June 11), a long-requested feature from players.
Switch 2 ports usually get evaluated based on what they can achieve within the system’s limits. TwistedVoxel noted that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on Switch 2 offers a significant upgrade, even if it doesn’t run in native 4K. The same principle applies here: the focus is on whether a demanding open-world game performs well on the hardware, not if it can compete with a high-end PC.
PC remains the platform where the game faces the most criticism. Digital Foundry’s latest coverage indicates this issue isn’t limited to Capcom. Their review of Silent Hill: Townfall highlighted that while the game performs well on PS5 and PS5 Pro, it struggles on PC.
By The Numbers
| Original release date | March 21, 2024 |
| Steam user rating | 67% positive |
| Steam reviews | 61,317 |
| Current Steam players | 34,526 |
| Steam price | $39.99 |
Community Pulse
Steam sentiment still trends negative, largely driven by performance issues. One recent negative review states: “Performance is still terrible, I can barely play it with DLSS on. It really ruins the game for me.” A 67% positive rating from over 61,000 reviews shows that concern remains, even as Capcom has released fixes and quality-of-life improvements.
What To Watch
- Digital Foundry’s full figures: Frame rate stability and resolution targets in handheld and docked modes will reveal how strong “surprisingly good shape” really is.
- PC performance patches: Capcom’s recent updates tackled fast travel and monetization. The big question is whether they will address the performance issues that lead to negative Steam reviews.
- Player count and rating movement: With 34,526 current Steam players, the rollout of the October expansion will be a test for whether the game’s audience grows and if its 67% rating improves.
Sarah Chen
Sarah Chen is the Reviews and Guides Editor at Explosion.com. With a background in game design studies and 6 years of gaming journalism, Sarah brings technical insight to her reviews and creates comprehensive guides that help players get the most out of their games. She has reviewed over 200 titles across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo platforms. Her current obsessions include FromSoftware titles and indie roguelikes.
