- Donkey Kong Bananza doesn’t offer the Nintendo Switch 2’s Nvidia DLSS upscaling technology
- Digital Foundry explains in its tech review that the game only supports AMD’s FSR1 tech with SMAA
- Mario Kart World also doesn’t feature DLSS
One of the Nintendo Switch 2’s most appealing traits is Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), an upscaling technology that wasn’t offered with the original Switch and majorly improves graphics quality and performance. However, just like Mario Kart World, this feature isn’t available for Donkey Kong Bananza.
In Digital Foundry’s tech review of Donkey Kong Bananza, it’s noted that the latest Switch 2 exclusive title doesn’t support DLSS, despite it being one of the console’s major features.
While the game is still commended for its visuals, it’s confirmed that it only utilizes AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution 1 (FSR1) with Subpixel Morphological Antialiasing (SMAA).
“The Switch 2 supports technologies such as DLSS, and we’ve seen them in numerous games,” said Digital Foundry’s John Linneman.
“But Nintendo does not take advantage of it at all. Instead, we simply have this combination of AMD’s FSR1 with SMAA, a post-process anti-aliasing. I’ll admit it, the image quality is decent. But seriously, FSR1 again? Come on, Nintendo, we can do better than this.”
Digital Foundry also notes that finer details are less pronounced in the game’s target resolution of 1080p to 1200p using dynamic resolution, but in handheld mode, the game does seem to “produce a convincingly 1080p presentation on the internal screen”.
It’s unclear why Nintendo has chosen not to utilize the hardware’s powerful upscaling tech for its latest first-party games. Interestingly, DLSS is available for the Switch 2 versions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, as well as several third-party games such as Cyberpunk 2077.
In TechRadar Gaming’s Donkey Kong Bananza review, hardware writer Dash Wood said the game “is the greatest Nintendo Switch 2 title to date, delivering an incredible destruction system that showcases the power of the new system.”
“It’s visually impressive and, while the story isn’t anything to write home about, benefits from charming and expressive voice acting and animations. Throw in a seemingly endless stream of collectibles and secrets, and you have a meaty adventure that’s a delight to explore.”
