Nintendo Switch Reviews: 12 Critical Reactions You Need To Know

10. Handheld Mode Is Awesome

"For Breath of the Wild, the Switch renders in 720p in handheld mode instead of TV mode’s 900p, so framerates were more consistent...The compressed textures and lack of anti-aliasing were also far less impactful on the smaller screen, and combined with the lack of Joy-Con syncing problems, this made handheld mode my go-to when I wanted the best possible overall experience." - IGN

"If I pop the console out of the dock and start playing in tablet mode, everything immediately runs more smoothly. The frame rate is solid in the same places (with a few exceptions), and the overall image is crisper. The disparity is likely because the Switch runs at 720p resolution in handheld mode and bumps up to a more demanding higher resolution (1080p in general, 900p in the case of Zelda) when plugged into the TV." - Kotaku

Despite the fairly mixed reception to the Switch overall, there was near-universal praise for playing the game in handheld tablet mode, where many of the unit's core issues aren't at all apparent.

Performance-wise, games look fantastic on the small screen, and critics also commended the screen's brightness settings, which will allow for easy playing outside in the sun over the coming months.

The handheld mode being called "the best possible experience" despite touting a lower resolution has to be a bit embarrassing for Nintendo, though.