Elden Ring Tarnished Edition is shaping up far better than early showings suggested. After a rough first impression at Gamescom, a newer build shown at PAX West 2025 delivered noticeably steadier performance on the upcoming Switch 2 hardware, hinting that FromSoftware’s open-world epic could become a strong technical showcase when it launches.
Attendees were able to capture docked gameplay this time, and the difference was clear. While the demo wasn’t final and still showed occasional dips below 30 fps, traversal through Limgrave appeared much smoother with fewer hitches than the earlier Berlin build. The choppiness that drew criticism at Gamescom has been dialed back, and the overall experience felt more stable.
What’s most encouraging is how much visual fidelity remains intact. Environmental detail is better than expected for a portable platform: tree lines hold reasonable clarity, lighting convincingly washes over foliage, and sudden bursts of fire didn’t seem to tank performance. It looks like the port is preserving the mood and atmosphere that define Elden Ring without leaning too hard on aggressive downgrades.
There’s still work to do. The current demo doesn’t include a performance mode, and many players would gladly trade some texture quality or draw distance for firmer frame pacing. If the release is still months away, the team has time to add options that let you prioritize frame rate or visual quality. Even a well-implemented 30 fps cap with tighter frame-time consistency would go a long way on Switch 2.
The broader lesson here is to be cautious about judging early demos. We’ve seen other ambitious open-world games spark concern in pre-release builds, only to ship in a better technical state after late-cycle optimizations. Techniques like DLSS upscaling and selective ray-tracing features have already proven they can squeeze more out of newer Nintendo hardware when properly tuned.
Publishers often put games in front of fans early to build hype, but optimization can run right up to the wire. PAX West’s improved Elden Ring Tarnished Edition demo is a reminder that performance is a moving target during development—and the target looks closer to being hit now than it did a few weeks ago.
If FromSoftware and Bandai Namco keep refining this port, Elden Ring Tarnished Edition could be one of the most impressive third-party releases on Switch 2 at launch, delivering the lands between with smoother frame rates, strong docked performance, and the kind of atmospheric detail fans are hoping to see.
