Resident Evil 4 Switch 2 Review: A Masterpiece With a Blurry Lens
Capcom's RE4 remake arrives on Switch 2 as the Gold Edition with Separate Ways included. It plays brilliantly and mostly holds 60 fps, but low internal resolution and a shaky village opening remind you what this hardware is juggling. Score: 8/10.
Luka Perić
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
On 16 October Capcom put its three modern Resident Evil remakes on Nintendo Switch 2 as native releases, and Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition is the headline act. It is €49.99 on the eShop and includes the base game plus the Separate Ways expansion and the extra DLC content. Physical copies are only coming on 29 January 2027, so for now this is a download-only purchase.
The game itself
I do not need to sell anyone on the 2023 remake. Leon's trip to a cult-infested Spanish village is still one of the best action horror games of the decade: tense knife parries, a perfectly tuned shotgun, a briefcase you will spend far too long organising, and pacing that rarely lets go. Separate Ways adds Ada Wong's side of the story and is worth playing in its own right. As a package, this is the complete RE4 and easily one of the strongest games you can carry around.
How the port holds up
This is where you need honest expectations. According to Digital Foundry's analysis, the game renders internally at around 520p docked and 360p handheld, and DLSS reconstructs the final image. On a TV it looks surprisingly clean in close-ups, but distant foliage and fine detail turn soft and smeary. Handheld it looks better, simply because the screen is smaller, and that is honestly where I would play it.
The good news is the frame rate. It targets 60 fps and holds it most of the time, comfortably better than the PS4 version. The bad news is where it struggles: the opening village and forest - the very first impression - dips into the 50s and, in dense fights, the 40s. Distant enemies animate at a reduced rate, which looks odd when a crowd shuffles towards you, and there are noticeable hitches when moving between areas. Cutscenes run at a variable frame rate. None of it ruins the game, but it is there.
Who it's for
If Switch 2 is your only modern console, or you want RE4 as a portable game, this is an easy purchase - especially with Separate Ways bundled. If you already own it on PS5, Xbox Series or a decent PC, there is no reason to double dip unless portability is the whole point. And if you can wait for a sale, €49.99 for a 2023 game is on the high side next to what it often costs elsewhere.
Verdict
A great game in a competent, slightly compromised port. Capcom kept the performance where it matters and sacrificed resolution to get there - the right call, but you will see it.
Score: 8/10
Image: Crisco 1492 / CC BY-SA 4.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nintendo_Switch_2_in_Docking_Console.jpg
