Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration is now available on Switch 2. The title is a viscerally intense experience that puts all of Lara’s combat and survival skills to the test, perfect for those who love engaging storytelling, heart-pounding action, customizable loadouts and treacherous environments.
Switch 2 fans have been extremely pleased to see Rise of the Tomb Raider land on the platform, but obviously some are upset the title didn’t also make its way to the original Switch. While most surmised this was due to the lack of horsepower on the original Switch, we now have some detailed insight into just how tough a port would have been.
In a chat with Nintendo Everything, developer Aspyr said that if they wanted to get Rise of the Tomb Raider running on Switch, a wealth of features and aspects would need to be cut. The end result would be so many concessions that the dev team wouldn’t have been happy with the final product.
Simply put, the Switch 2 has a lot more to offer. Bringing the game to the original Switch would’ve meant cutting almost all the visual effects such as graphics, particles, fog, snow, tress effects and environmental assets. To bring it to Switch 1 would mean removing the immersive experience and changing too much of what the original game meant to players, and that’s not a compromise on quality we’re willing to make.
While it’s a bummer original Switch fans have been left out, at least those who own the game on Switch 2 can look forward to another potential update for the game. While nothing is set in stone, Aspyr has said they’ve seen fan requests for gyro controls to be added to the game.
