Tears of the Kingdom performance issues – how to fix

Our guide on how to fix Tears of the Kingdom performance issues is here, including the latest you need to know about resolution.

Tears of the Kingdom has now released, and despite a handy TotK Day One patch having landed, there’s still minor issues that might be affecting performance. We’ve already had an in-depth look at whether the game is going to be able to reach 60FPS, however at this rate we’re likely not going to see it.

If you’re struggling with any Tears of the Kingdom performance issues or low FPS, let’s go over everything we can do to solve this.

How to fix Tears of the Kingdom performance issues

Here’s how to fix Tears of the Kingdom performance and low FPS issues that have been reported on recently:

• Play in docked mode
• Lower the resolution
• Play in Flight Mode
• Install the game on a high-speed SD card

Playing in docked mode will allow you to access a higher resolution while also running the Switch off of mains electricity rather than battery. This will unlock a higher performance output for the console, and will hopefully reduce lag. You can read about our comparison of Docked vs Handheld modes for Tears of the Kingdom here, which might help you decide.

Lower the resolution on your Switch if you’re playing in docked mode.

• System Settings
• TV Output
• TV Resolution
• Reduce to lower resolution to stabilise frame-rate

Installing the game on a high-speed SD card will increase boot times and performance as less time will be spend transferring data between memory and the system.

Will Tears of the Kingdom’s performance get any better?

As a preface, Tears of the Kingdom’s performance isn’t necessarily broken or bad. In the of PC gaming and ray-tracing, we’re used to smooth frame-rates and crisp textures. Tears of the Kingdom, rightly, doesn’t really care about that. Cel-shaded graphics and charming gameplay are at the heart of Zelda’s recent commercial booming success, and the performance of the game is fit for the Nintendo Switch.

Does performance even need improving in Tears of the Kingdom?

Modders have figured out how to boost (illegal) PC emulation of the game to 60FPS, while others seem to have figured out how to overclock the Switch to stabilise frame-rates on the original version of the game itself. However – while these changes might slightly improve the performance, the game has been receiving blisteringly positive reviews and endless love?

Tears of the Kingdom is evidence that if a game’s gameplay blows you out of the water, you won’t care about a frame-rate flicker or blurry textures here and there.

Tears of the Kingdom performance – can the Switch handle it?

The Switch is a device from 2017. Halfway between a handheld console and home console, its performance is fairly reflective of the hardware. It’s not going to play the latest AAA games, but it’s also the champion of smaller, indie games with a slightly more unique art style.

However, Tears of the Kingdom is a title from Nintendo, so it’s not exactly Indie, though it doesn’t have the same graphical scale you’d expect from a Call of Duty or God of War title. The Zelda Switch games are a perfect example of the graphics the Switch can handle, though does this come at the cost of performance?

Reports from those with hands-on with the game have intimated that frame-rate struggles at times. It’s not a wide-spread issue, but rather a symptom of graphically intensive procedures demanding the most from the hardware. It seems as though the Switch can handle Tears of the Kingdom, while at times it seems to slip away from it. We’re going to be keeping an eye out for how the game performs, so make sure to check back in with us periodically. In the meantime, you might be interested in learning if Tears of the Kingdom will be on Wii-U.

Following on from the release of the latest Tears of the Kingdom reviews, the verdict is in, and one area that the game hasn’t really performed in – is performance.

“The majority of the time Tears runs just fine, but the frame rate will take noticeable dives any time there are too many effects on screen at once,” as IGN revealed, while Nintendo Life stated that “during elaborate Ultrahand builds or busy fights and locations, performance can dip to the low 20s (or even lower) fairly frequently … [however] those performance issues didn’t affect [their] enjoyment at all.”

Tears of the Kingdom resolution

Although as of yet unconfirmed, during their demo with the game, NintendoLife have claimed that the game runs at 1600 x 900 (900p) in Docked Mode, and 720p in Handheld Mode. However, as with the frame-rate, it’s possible that the shift from demo to final product could also see a change in rendering resolution.

Will Tears of the Kingdom have performance issues on Switch?

Many of the folks playing Tears of the Kingdom on PC have reported that there are performance issues with the game. We’re going to be taking a look at whether we think there will be issues with the game on Nintendo Switch, though we’re confident that it might perform pretty well.

If there are performance issues on Switch, it’s best to remember that the console is from 2017, so it’s more than likely that it’s not actually the game.

The following Tears of the Kingdom performance issues Reddit thread outlines the need for a day one patch to upgrade Tears of the Kingdom to 60FPS. However, we’ve already debunked this possibility.

Ultimately, we don’t actually think that Tears of the Kingdom will have typical performance issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Tears of the Kingdom have ray tracing?

Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t have ray tracing, which is generally a graphical procedure reserved for games on higher-end consoles such as the PS5 and PC.

Is Tears of the Kingdom a hard game to run?

Tears of the Kingdom will be a Switch exclusive, meaning it’s not a hard or easy game to run, but the Switch is the only console it will run on.