- Donkey Kong Bananza uses AMD FSR1 upscaling technology, not NVIDIA's DLSS, despite the hardware's capabilities.
- Criticisms highlight performance drops and limited dynamic resolution, especially in dock mode.
- Handheld mode offers better visual quality, although fluidity issues persist.
- The long development time and platform shifts explain the choice of less advanced technologies.
Donkey Kong Bananza has finally reached Nintendo Switch 2, but its long-awaited debut has not been without controversy among users and experts. Although many expected Nintendo's new console to unleash its full potential with this exclusive, the decision not to take advantage of the NVIDIA's DLSS upscaling technology has surprised those who were hoping for a technical leap in line with the new generation.
Technical analysis has focused on a key issue: the choice of an already outdated rescaling technology, AMD FSR1, instead of relying on NVIDIA's intelligent system, which offers superior results in other titles on the Switch 2 itself. This decision has generated numerous comments and has made the game a source of debate both for its graphic quality and its performance in the different modes of use of the console..
Criticism of the technology choice: FSR1 instead of DLSS
The use of AMD FSR1 (FidelityFX Super Resolution 1.0) en Donkey Kong Bananza has been pointed out as one of the most controversial aspects of the launch. According to Digital Foundry and other experts, the Nintendo Switch 2 has the necessary hardware to use DLSS, NVIDIA's AI-powered upscaling, but instead the developer has opted for an older and more limited technique, complemented by SMAA for edge smoothing.
This translates into the fact that game graphics show less definition, especially at the edges and in the finer details. On larger screens, the image is more visible blurred and smoothed than desirable for a star title, which has led many players to wonder why the graphics section has not been updated if the technical option existed.
Resolution and performance: better on laptop, problems in dock mode
During testing, it has been verified that Donkey Kong Bananza presents dynamic resolutions between 1080p and 1200p when playing with the console connected to the TV. However, performance drops at key moments, such as in boss fights or certain animations, where the frame rate drops from 60 FPS to 30 FPS.
It has been detected that in portable mode the experience improves, as the resolution is adjusted to the screen's native 1080p, masking some of the visual defects. Despite this, the framerate is still not perfectly stable, due to a double-buffered V-Sync and a limited VRR implementation, which barely alleviates the fluctuations when the frame rate drops below 40 FPS.
Esta The difference between dock mode and portable mode is strange. for an exclusive release from Nintendo, which is accustomed to prioritizing graphic quality in the desktop experience.
The long development and Nintendo's explanations
The reason for this choice seems to be related to the prolonged development of the game. According to the team of Donkey Kong Bananza, the project was in production for eight years and was originally designed for the first Nintendo Switch, which influenced many of the techniques used.
The last-minute platform change, motivated by the desire to include voxel technology and physical of environmental destruction more advanced, forced to maintain solutions already implemented, such as the use of FSR1, instead of updating the entire graphic system for the Switch 2. This transition partly explains why DLSS was not immediately used., although many consider that the result could be improved.
Critic and community reviews
experts like John Linneman of Digital Foundry have stressed that, although the The artistic design and destructible physics are striking., the balance between visual quality and fluidity could have been better managed if the game had been adapted to the console's new featuresThe analysis suggests that The graphical experience, especially on large screens, does not live up to the theoretical potential of the hardware..
On the other hand, the community highlights that The price of Donkey Kong Bananza remains in line with the usual premium releases., and that some users are already experiencing the game on emulators at higher resolutions and with greater stability, something that puts more pressure on Nintendo for patches or future updates.
This release ends up leaving a bittersweet feeling between fans and the press: The return of one of the biggest names in the catalogue is overshadowed by technical decisions that, although motivated by development reasons, They do not meet the expectations placed on the new consoleIt remains to be seen whether Nintendo responds with short-term improvements and whether upcoming exclusives will better leverage the Switch 2's full potential.
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