It finally happened, you can now get Crysis Remastered on the Nintendo Switch, a handheld device. Who would have thought this would be possible? Saber Interactive, the same company that ported games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Vampyr to the Switch, has co-developed Crysis Remastered for the Nintendo Switch. We mention this because the other two games looked fantastic on the Switch and we expected to see the same result for Crysis Remastered.

The first person shooter’s story revolves around the U.S. Delta Force Team who are assigned on a special mission. The team is powered by technologically advanced nanosuits that increases their strength, speed, defense, and gives them invisibility power. You are known as Nomad and you join your team on this mission which takes place on the Lingshan Islands, a chain of islands that are well protected by the North Korean Army.

Your team is sent on a search & rescue mission when the North Korean soldiers capture the IAS Team, an international research team, who are on one of the islands conducting research. What starts as a normal mission takes on a strange twist when you discover dismembered bodies of Korean soldiers. You come to find out that the island is occupied by an extraterrestrial force that has more sinister intentions and you are the only person standing in the way of their global domination plans.

Now that the game is available on the Nintendo Switch eShop, let’s dive into more details. 13 years ago, when Crysis was first released, it set a standard with its visual capabilities and what a game can deliver at the time. To everyone’s surprise, the Nintendo Switch now has the remastered version of a game that was known for melting PCs due to its high demand for GPU & CPU power.

This much anticipated title has been designed to run at 720p in handheld mode and at 900p when docked but we do find the experience to be more smooth and superior in handheld because the visual downgrades and drops in frame rate are less noticeable in handheld mode when compared to docked mode.

Crysis Remastered presents the original game’s single player campaign absent the tenth level of the game called Ascension where you fly a MV-24H Vulture VTOL off the island. This is due to the high graphics demand and intensity of the mission which may cause major frame drops. The Nintendo Switch version can be best compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the original game rather than the PC version, this is due to visual downgrades especially on geometric details.

When playing, the game is stable at a 30fps frame rate for the most part and the experience is smooth overall. However, when there is too much action going on you will notice major frame drops but this can be improved in a future patch.

Visually, it looks beautiful and is less blurry than other games that were ported by Saber Interactive such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Of course, it is expected to see downgrades when high demanding games of this prominence are ported to the Nintendo Switch.

Surprisingly, Crysis Remastered on the Switch does excel in an area that the original PC version doesn’t. With the implementation of SVOGI (Voxel-Based Global Illumination), the game experiences a more realistic and natural light from the sun and moon in the world of Crysis. The technology wasn’t possible for this feature in the original Crysis which is why the remastered version looks better in terms of lighting.

In another area that the Nintendo Switch excels in is vegetation density which you will notice more of in comparison to Crysis that was ported on the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. While the Nintendo Switch may not be the most powerful gaming console out there, it certainly proves to be capable of running Crysis Remastered with its countless special effects.

What is remarkable about the Switch version is that it also features a destructible environment and vegetation bending. You can shoot down trees and tear apart buildings which is always satisfying. This goes both ways, if you are hiding inside a building then be cautious because your enemies can destroy them as well. This renders the experience to feel more authentic and intriguing.

Another interesting improvement in the remastered version is the improved water rendering system powered by the new CryEngine game engine. The water rendering on the Nintendo Switch looks better than its PC counterpart when it comes to the original Crysis version. While this is a big win for the Switch, some underwater areas have been downgraded on the Switch due to the removal of plants and other objects which makes it look boring when diving. Nevertheless, this is understandable for performance purposes.

With the powers you wield in Crysis Remastered, you can be tactical in your approach towards your enemies. For example, you can activate your invisibility cloak and sneak on them from behind to eliminate them. When being shot at, you can activate your suit armor to protect yourself. While you can go in guns blazing, you can also use your fists to kill enemies or grab them by the throat and throw them far away or at one another which can be quite fun. Additionally, you have speed power available which is helpful to escape a large amount of enemy members when falling in a dire situation.

Furthermore, you can use turrets to shoot at a large amount of enemies or drive trucks to make your way around the island. Swimming is also an option but you can always take over a patrol boat and cruise the sea towards your objective. As you can see, gameplay is designed to be as entertaining and creative as possible. We find the Crysis universe to be rich in its content and generous in its methodology.

Controls are well mapped on the Nintendo Switch and controlling your character, Nomad, feels ergonomic. This is further supported with Gyro Aiming which makes the game feel easier to play. Crytek has done well to support motion controls, a feature which is unique to the Nintendo Switch, allowing players to experience Crysis Remastered in a more natural way, especially in handheld mode. While there is sensitivity settings for Controls, we don’t see sensitivity settings specific for Gyro Aiming which would have given players more options to dabble with.

Combine a thrilling alien story with dynamic light settings and destructible environments running smoothly on a handheld device, the result is a paragon of portability. Crysis Remastered is a clear winner on the Nintendo Switch and the minor bugs and visual downgrades become irrelevant when you experience this game because you will discover that there is so much more to appreciate about it.

Finally, you can get the game from the Nintendo eShop for $29.99. With around 10 hours of campaign gameplay, you will unleash your nanosuit powers against the Korean Army and an advanced alien race. The game’s file size is 7.0 GB which is quite good for a game of this magnitude. It is an understatement to say that Crysis is a game that has set the standard for cutting-edge graphics and spectacular visuals. To have Crysis Remastered on the Nintendo Switch is truly beyond belief and is an experience that must be delved into in order to experience mind-blowing action in the gorgeous environments found on the Lingshan Islands. You can watch the launch trailer for the Nintendo Switch version below.