We’ve known for some time the Switch 2 is a powerful system but we’ve only had a handful of games to test the theory.

Cyberpunk 2077, while an incredibly impressive launch title, is a few years old now and began home on last generation. Street Fighter VI was also an extremely impressive port, on par with Xbox Series S, as is Tony Hawks’ Pro Skater 3+4, but the latest release is the biggest test yet.

Ubisoft’s first take on the Star Wars franchise is a massive, open world experience that launched just last year on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series. It’s not a last-gen game, it’s fully powered by the Snowdrop Engine, has a huge size with impressive environments, and somehow, someway, it plays seamlessly in handheld form on Switch 2.

Yes, admittedly, this can’t be compared side by side with a high-end PC. You’ll notice right away the drawbacks, limitations and concessions that have had to be made. Anyone who was expecting differently clearly needs to readjust their expectations, and even when you compare the size of the Switch 2 version versus, say, the Xbox Series X, clearly textures have been removed and quality reduced to even make this possible.

But here’s the thing – the right things have been adapted and tweaked rather than making this a half-hearted port. Where Hogwarts Legacy on Switch 2 is a little bit disappointing in the quality of the upgrade, the fact Star Wars Outlaws runs at all, to the standards that it does, so smoothly, and still looks this good, is quite frankly a technical marvel.

Star Wars Outlaws environments look a little blurred, draw distance more limited and characters grainier than on some other platforms, but the animations are smooth, cut-scenes play without drops, the raytracing and lighting still dazzles, and despite there being lots of activity on screen, the game still holds its ground.

I am incredibly impressed. And while playing it in TV mode compared to other platforms exposes some limitations – despite also coming out great – handheld is genuinely incredible and becoming my preferred way to play. From the pulsing beats of the nightclubs reverberating in my hands on the JoyCons, the vibrant lighting, sharpness from the screen and the short, snappy nature of the missions. There’s something about playing Outlaws on Switch 2 that feels right.

Don’t get me wrong, it devours battery – such is a problem for a lot of games on the hardware, it seems – but when you’re looking at Kay and Nix in closeup, blasting at hordes of Stormtroopers and cruising around the open plains under the duvets or huddled up on the sofa, there’s a bit of Star Wars magic in that which maybe the previous releases lacked somewhat.

As we mentioned in our previous review, Outlaws is a really interesting experiment, not following previous Star Wars titles with no lightsabers, instead focusing on stealth, smugglers and gangs. The game is also slower paced, with a lot of the more open-endedness of it coming further along, but the vast side missions and quicker paced missions, definitely lend themselves to pick up and play, following the Ubisoft open world format really well.

We’re spending more time with the game this week and will have more to share on this port, but for now, if you’re looking for a massive action adventure to sink your teeth into and have yet to dive into Star Wars Outlaws, Switch 2 is the ideal home to really showcase the power of the handheld but it also suits the tempo like a glove.