Mina the Hollower is pretty amazing, but before you jump into this pitch-perfect celebration of 40 years of 2D action-adventure history, brave handheld gamers may be struggling to decide between going with the Nintendo Switch 1/2 or Steam Deck versions of the game. I’ve played Mina on both Switch 2 and Valve’s handheld, and these are my thoughts.
Mina the Hollower on Switch 2
While Mina the Hollower on Nintendo Switch 1 is limited to 1080p 60 FPS docked and 720p 60 FPS handheld, the Switch 2 offers two presets:
- 60 FPS (1080p handheld, 4K docked)
- 120 FPS (1080p handheld, 1440p docked)
Considering there’s no drop in resolution and the console’s own VRR screen can mask the few framerate drops in a handful of busier screens, there’s no reason to use the 60 FPS mode while handheld.
When playing docked, VRR isn’t supported, so any drops from 120 FPS can be noticeable on the TV screen. Transitions in such scenarios are the worst offenders, as the “swap” between screens only “scrolls” properly at 60 FPS or 120 FPS. Anything in between might look off. This doesn’t directly affect gameplay, but it might bother some people and feel weird in certain scenes. Since 60 FPS feels perfect already, that’s my recommended option while docked.
When it comes to image quality, the pixel art look means no big differences are noticed going up and down in resolution, but Switch 2 has a key advantage over the PC version of the game at the time of writing: HDR support. Even if the console’s handling of HDR is far from perfect, those colours really pop when compared to the Steam Deck presentation.
Mina the Hollower on Steam Deck
The Steam Deck (PC version running on SteamOS) experience is fairly straightforward: Since the game is currently limited to 60 or 120 FPS gameplay, the Steam Deck OLED’s better 90Hz screen doesn’t offer the traditional advantage over the regular LCD model. In fact, playing Mina at 90Hz with a 120 FPS target will lead to weird screen and menu animations.
Therefore, the Steam Deck experience is limited to 60 FPS without HDR even if the OLED screen adds some pop to the visuals. If you’re on the original LCD model, the colours will be clearly muted versus Switch 2 (as shown in the photo below). There’s also the matter of the screen’s native resolution being 800p, even if it doesn’t matter much with this kind of game.
Is Mina the Hollower better on Switch 2 or Steam Deck?
During my own testing and gameplay experience, Mina the Hollower on Nintendo Switch 2 emerged as the clear winner. Even if patches add HDR and different FPS targets to the PC version of the 2D adventure, the Switch 2 release is excellent out of the box and can easily deal with framerate fluctuations at 120 FPS. On a TV, you’ll also get a fantastic 4K experience at 60 FPS. You can’t go wrong with this one, but make sure to manually download the free upgrade pack from the eShop so you’re not unknowingly stuck playing the Switch 1 version.
As a final side note: Mina the Hollower’s Switch 1 port is perfectly okay too. Lower resolution targets don’t amount to much, and 60 FPS is something the 2017 hardware can handle just fine. You also have the option to easily play on your TV, and saves are compatible with the Switch 2 version if you decide to upgrade after some time. The only clear downside is the lack of HDR.
Related Mina the Hollower Articles:
- Mina the Hollower Crossing the Water in Shanty Swamp
- Mina the Hollower Best Starter Weapon
- Mina the Hollower Review
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