Why Are The DOOM Eternal Switch Cutscenes So Bad?

DOOM Eternal on the Nintendo Switch is incredible, but there's something up with the cutscenes.

Many users have noticed that the cutscenes in DOOM Eternal are particularly bad on the Nintendo Switch.

Panic Button has revealed that they're actually capped at 20 frames per second, and now we know why.

Performance Caps

Although Panic Button managed to secure a solid 30 frames per second for DOOM Eternal on the switch, it came at a cost.

In a recent interview with Digital Foundry, the developers revealed a few of the reasons that explain why the DOOM Eternal cutscenes are so bad.

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As with any triple-A game on the Nintendo Switch, sacrifices had to be made.

" As is typical of most games, the cutscenes are sometimes the most graphically intensive scenes in the game..."

With this in mind, Panic Button had to make the tough decision to prioritise resolution over performance when it comes to the DOOM Eternal cutscenes.

For Panic Button...

" It’s kind of like a big payoff moment. It’s supposed to look really cool, and we decided it was better to run at a higher resolution in this case because it didn’t affect the gameplay – it doesn’t impact your ability to fluidly move around the game when you’re in the middle of a cutscene."

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Although this leaves a lot to be desired in terms of the cutscenes, they offer a more detailed look at DOOM Slayer and his enemies in and amongst the chaotic, lower-resolution gameplay that makes DOOM Eternal on the Nintendo Switch so much fun.

Panic Button has also confirmed that they will be making improvements to the cutscenes and their performance, however, we wouldn't expect anything too drastic.

The 20 FPS cap on the DOOM Eternal Switch cutscenes has been done in an effort to preserve the high fidelity of the scenes on other platforms.