ARK SURVIVAL EVOLVED Is Downscaling To The Record-Shattering 216p On Nintendo Switch

Considering that ARK: Survival Evolved still has huge issues with optimization on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (and it was released in August 2017 on console), it shouldn't be surprising that the recently released Nintendo Switch port of the game doesn’t exactly run well on the platform, as ARK seems to have one of the lowest resolutions of a Switch title, dropping to 360p and 432p in docked mode.

While some studios are aiming to run their games in 4K (3840 × 2160) or even Full HD (1920 × 1080) on the current-gen consoles, Studio Wildcard's Ark: Survival Evolved drops below 216p in the portable mode, taking the player back to the first PlayStation era and its minimal resolution of 256×224p, but we have to give credit where credit is due, as the game aims for 30FPS with dips and inconsistencies.

The latest Digital Foundry analysis of ARK: Survival Evolved's Switch port reveals that "most of the foliage is removed, leaving the forest areas completely devoid of detail. The jungle floor looks borderline unfinished, the lack of foliage exposing textures with a brutally low resolution. Distant LODs can no longer be considered distant with trees and other objects popping into view just before the player. Right up until they fully draw-in, you're left with low resolution billboards. It's almost as if you're stuck walking through the most distant LOD levels at almost all times."

Digital Foundry's John Linneman describes the Switch version as "a poorly compressed JPEG version of an impressionist painting," and it’s hard to not marvel at Studio Wildcard's hard work to launch their hit game on the Switch. Take a look at the ARK Nintendo Switch vivisection below and don't forget two buy at least two copies of the game since the Switch port might be soon out of stock everywhere.

As a man or woman stranded naked, freezing and starving on the shores of a mysterious island called ARK, you must hunt, harvest resources, craft items, grow crops, research technologies, and build shelters to withstand the elements. Use your cunning and resources to kill or tame & breed the leviathan dinosaurs and other primeval creatures roaming the land, and team up with or prey on hundreds of other players to survive, dominate... and escape!