Call of Duty makes a solid return to Nintendo platforms
The Switch 2 version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is a bit of a novelty. It’s not going to be the premiere platform for the game, not from a truly competitive standpoint nor one that will be any sort of benchmark. Yet the simple fact that Infinity Ward and Digital Legends were able to actually pack everything into the hybrid console is a marvel. This is Call of Duty, the full, bombastic Call of Duty, and it works admirably well on Nintendo’s newest platform.
I’m always in a bit of awe at the amount of stuff that’s packed into modern Call of Duty, no pun intended. And it’s all right there in this Switch 2 version, somehow. Warzone? Campaign? Zombies? Multiplayer? Not to mention the onset of the seasons and updates. How is this all fitting in just an 88GB space?
The simple answer is that it’s not the best looking game.
This version of CoD is fast, and smooth. When docked it runs really well, at a consistent 30 fps in the campaign and aiming for 60 fps in multiplayer (with 40 fps in DMZ). There’s no choppiness, no noticeable unruly performance bugs. On a TV the game presents plenty of big, blockbuster movie moments to make our eyes water. It’s surprising in how it still looks and feels like Call of Duty, entertainment-wise, on this platform. It’s just muddy, unfortunately due to the Switch 2’s limits that require fewer textures, flatter surfaces, and suboptimal shadows and transparencies. But it still looks fine; I don’t know how long the game has been cooking with Nintendo’s development resources in hand but I can’t exactly say that I’ve been expecting this version to rival what more powerful systems can do from a viz standpoint.
Even though I’m not the biggest fan of not having analog buttons in place (hey Nintendo, please release a performance controller) using the Pro Controller is a rock solid experience. Although, maybe I’ve been away from CoD for too long but it does take a little getting used to things like holding buttons for reload instead of just tapping them. It eventually becomes muscle memory, like it always does, and still feels really good to run through the game’s worlds. The locomotion is slower, sure, but the set pieces and environments are designed for us to tactically explore and set up rather than just run through, like so many other shooters tend to do. There’s a specific fight in a train yard that requires us to move around, duck, hide and plan our attacks at a very specific pace. Being out in the open, running and gunning, would get us slaughtered by the enemy we’re facing, so forcing us to slow down a but is a subtle, but welcome, way to teach us how to be more determined in our positioning. These aren’t hyper-boosted characters in exo suits, so they’re not doing some of the things that are a part of other CoD games, the Modern Warfare games always felt a little more realistic in their approach to things, so MW4 is hanging its hat on that realism, and it works. I know what to expect.
One thing I didn’t realize I needed until now is mouse and keyboard on the Switch 2. It’s… glorious? It works so well that I’m second-guessing myself on its lack of inclusion in other FPS titles for the platform. (I’ve been using my 3D printed mouse enclosures, though I’m tempted to try out one of the handful of supported mice soon.)
So, yeah, the docked Modern Warfare 4 experience is something to behold.
Handheld though? Uh, playing it here it’s more of a convenience. While docked mode’s input lag is there, it’s miniscule. In handheld mode the input lag is a gameplay disadvantage. It’s so much so that I dread cross play. Once again the majority of the fault lies with Nintendo’s hardware, but even so it’s not enough to excuse the eventual reluctance we feel to boot it up unless we’re facing off against Switch 2 specific players. Handheld also suffers far more visually. I’ve noticed a couple of bigger frame skips, even at 30 fps, and there are areas in the game where the characters look kind of horrific. There’s a village sequence, for instance, where all of the characters have bugged out eyes and plastic skin and very visible teeth while in handheld, and that seems to mostly disappear when I drop it into the dock moments later. But thankfully it’s just the visuals themselves that have issues. The game isn’t slow, remaining pretty zippy across different sequences and modes, even in one-on-one gunfights or areas with waves of enemies.
Modern Warfare 4’s campaign is straightforward, and that’s not a bad thing. It controls well, it puts us on a tight plot, and really focuses on the mission and characters. It feels a little more back to basics, but with some pretty incredible moments thrown in. The game doesn’t mince words with its plot. The opening section is a smart, simple tutorial that introduces the controls, essentially getting us to run an errand to introduce the characters, and then learn to shoot & throw grenades, duck, move slowly. There are locations and scenes in this game that border the fast-paced claustrophobic action sequences of new age cinema, and I can appreciate that.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 surprises us in how it handles, how it functions and how it presents a huge gaming inflection point, even when it’s sometimes struggling to make those points shine. But it’s there, all of it, all of the Call of Duty we’ve come to expect and want. We’ll have friends and family over, we’ll point to the screen, we’ll say “look, this is actually on the Switch now.” With the console starting to hit its stride, and with the biggest releases all starting to circle onto it, it may be a great piece to add to the console puzzle.
4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great
This review is based on a Nintendo Switch 2 copy of the game sent to the Editor by the Publisher/PR. Read about how we do our reviews here.
