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- This is the Metaphor: ReFantazio demo on Switch 2, captured on Oct 13, 2026 in handheld and docked (4K output). The full game launches on Switch 2 on November 12, 2026.
- Docked, the frame-rate overlay mostly reads in the mid-30s to upper 40s in Grand Trad and in battles, and around 52 in Nord Mines.
- The frame rate isn't locked, so the overlay moves around a lot from scene to scene.
- Handheld: I can't measure resolution or FPS in handheld mode. Digital Foundry puts the internal resolution at about 960x540, with an inconsistent frame rate.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is coming to Switch 2 on November 12, 2026, and Atlus put out a demo ahead of launch. I grabbed it on Oct 13 and captured it both ways: handheld first, then docked with a 4K output and a lossless capture running a frame-rate and frame-time overlay. There's no commentary in this one, just the footage, so this is a quick look at how the demo looks and plays on Switch 2.
What's in the video
- Handheld mode (0:08): filmed off the Switch 2's screen, so there's no overlay. It covers running around the streets of Grand Trad, a cutscene, dungeon exploration and several turn-based battles.
- Docked, 4K output (3:41): lossless 4K capture with an FPS and frame-time overlay. It covers the Grand Trad streets, Nord Mines, the Mausoleum, battles and a couple of cutscenes.
- The demo's campaign, as of Oct 13, 2026.
Handheld
I don't have a way to measure resolution or frame rate in handheld mode, so the handheld part of the video is just the game running on the screen. It plays through the same kind of content as the docked section: exploring the capital, a cutscene, a dungeon and some fights.
For numbers, Digital Foundry's analysis of the demo found that handheld mode renders at about 960x540 internally, down from about 720p docked. It also has shorter draw distances, lower-resolution shadows, simpler models up close and possibly fewer people in crowds. DF says performance is still inconsistent in handheld, with visible judder (via Twisted Voxel's write-up).
Docked (4K output)
All the numbers here are what the on-screen frame-rate overlay read in my docked capture. The frame rate isn't capped, so it bounces around quite a bit depending on where you are.
In the Grand Trad streets, the overlay mostly sits between about 33 and 48 FPS while running around town.
Nord Mines runs a little higher, with the overlay reading around 52 FPS through that stretch.
In the Mausoleum, it reads about 37 to 41 FPS. The battles range the most, from about 30 up to 47 FPS, with most readings in the high 30s to low 40s.
That lines up with what Digital Foundry found docked: an internal resolution of about 1280x720 upscaled to 2560x1440, and an unlocked frame rate anywhere from about 30 to 60 FPS depending on the location, with no 120Hz or VRR support. DF also spotted a strange stepped, jagged look on vertical edges when the game is standing still, which I covered in this news post.
This is the demo, so the November 12 release could change some of this.
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