Do LEGO Games Run Well On The Nintendo Switch?

Individuals who are in love with both Legos and the creativity that it inspires as well as Nintendo and their knack for crafting unique and innovative consoles will see it as a godsend that multiple Lego video game titles are available on the Nintendo Switch. The question, however, is do the Lego games run well on the Switch or do they have some issues? For the most part, most Lego games run well on the Switch however, sometimes they will glitch out and send you back to the Home Screen. Some of the Lego games will also take a bit longer to load than normal when first starting the game or being in between scenes. Despite taking a bit longer to load or having the occasional glitch, the Lego games on the Nintendo Switch are honestly the absolute best games on there for younger children! Since when you “die” in the game you immediately respawn and there is no loss of progress, this allows younger children to enjoy the games as well. For example, my son’s favorite game on the Switch currently is Lego City Undercover where you are a policeman and go around completing missions. Since my son is only 5, he isn’t very good at completing the missions but he absolutely loves driving the Lego cars around and even wrecking them (since they are Legos they slow break off until there is nothing left). If you have a Switch and you have younger children, then the Lego games for the Switch not only work well but are also great options for them to play. Do the Lego Games Run Well? Whether the Lego games run well on the Switch is a bit of a tough question seeing as the answer will vary depending on what your definition of running “well” is. Gamers who own the Lego games on multiple consoles agree that the difference between the likes of Playstation, Xbox, and the Nintendo Switch is, at times, noticeable, though it does not impact gameplay too much. The Nintendo Switch ports of the Lego games do not run horribly, but they do experience a few problems that can be a turn off for more serious gamers. A bit of consolation may come knowing that it is not entirely the Switch’s fault that the Lego games do not perform incredibly well sometimes , but it is more due to the fact that the games are unoptimized and running on a bad engine. At the end of the day, these issues are actually experienced by most all platforms that the Lego games are available on. Having the portability of the Switch far outweighs the various problems that the console may experience with these games such as slow load times, glitching etc. Lego Games Freezing, Crashing, Lagging, and Slow Load Times While most of the time the Nintendo Switch handles Lego games relatively well, there are other times where it experiences hiccups. Users have reported that with some games in the Lego lineup they experience lag and even frame drops. Frame drops occur when the number of frames per second (FPS) that a game is running at suddenly drops down very low. Satisfactory frames per second is anything above 60 FPS, and when video games dip below that threshold there is noticeable screen tearing (lines appearing across the screen as you move the camera about) and input lag (the time it takes for your character to do something on screen after you press a button on the controller). With most Lego games on the Switch the frame rate sits at only around the high 40’s, and when in handheld mode it is common for this framerate to dip down lower than this. Not to mention when playing in cooperative mode with a buddy or your child the game can dip to 20 frames or lower even when the Switch is docked and you are playing on the TV. Aside from this there are also some issues with the games freezing and even crashing when attempting to do certain things. There have been reports by one user that the Lego Ninjago port for the Switch crashed multiple times when just trying to start the game up. Further complaints pertain to the loading times of the Lego games. While this is an issue inherent to all Lego games across all platforms, it seems to be exacerbated with the Nintendo Switch. Of course, these reports are from a minority of players so you should keep in mind that they can occur, though it should not be enough to ruin the experience as a whole for you or your child. Why Some Lego Games Do Not Run Very Well The main reason that some Lego games do not run well on the Switch is mostly due to the dated engine that the games run off of. This engine has been in use by Traveller’s Tales for quite a long time, and the older Lego games suffered because of it. Lego City Undercover’s long load times on the Switch can be attributed to the fact that the game is essentially just a port of the Wii U version of the game from 2013. Though, as stated earlier, it seems that improvements have been made to recent Lego games to make them run much better than they used to. LEGO Games That Suffer The Most On The Switch There are some games that most users agree suffer from the most issues across all of the Lego titles. While most Lego games run quite well no matter what console they are being played on, there are a few notorious ones that have multiple issues. Games such as the Incredibles 2 and the notoriously long loading times of Lego City Undercover are some of the worst offenders when it comes to lengthy loading times. Most users say that they can wait nearly 5 minutes for these games to load on the Switch, however, in my personal experience with the games the reality for the load times are closer to 1-2 minutes at maximum (we always tend to exaggerate our wait times). Though once loaded in you should not experience issues unless gaming for long periods of time, occasional crashes or freezes may happen, but it is not enough to ruin the game as a whole. Improvements Have Been Made To The Lego Games It seems that with the newer Lego games, such as Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, Traveller’s Tales, the developers of the Lego games, have optimized their games by reducing loading times, lag, and crashes. These newer games perform much better on the Switch and actually provide a consistent gaming experience that anyone can enjoy. Although framerates still do not tend to reach 60 FPS, the game runs much smoother, loads much faster, and does not experience lag or crashes that other games in the series do. Conclusion While there are issues with the Switch versions of the Lego games, they are nothing that should stop you from playing them on this console. Users who have complaints about how the games run and perform also unanimously agree that the games are totally playable and worth enjoying on the Switch. Due to the gameplay, FPS is not extremely important, and the fact that you are able to play the game on the go is a big draw. If you find that FPS, the occasional freeze or stutter, and the rare chance of a crash is not big enough of an issue to turn you away from the Lego Switch games, then you shouldn’t hesitate to pick some up.