Anticipating the release of Nintendo Switch 2, the Metroid Dread speedrun community has begun testing the game, showing both promising results and unfortunate news for some fans.

For players that have the physical copy of Metroid Dread, it seems like there won’t be a significant upgrade when it comes to the loading times of the game. It more or less matches the load times that Switch 1 had.

For players that have the digital copy of Metroid Dread, it appears that the loading speed has gotten a great boost. Early testing indicate that the first loading screen takes around 17 seconds, which is around 8 seconds faster than the average loading time on the original Switch console. Overall, it’s looking like a 40% reduction in loading times for digital copies!

Metroid Dread already has a loading time difference between physical and digital versions, where the game loads the quickest on digital with the game loaded from the system memory. To see this disparity be potentially greater is definitely unfortunate.

Aside from loading times, the game is still running on 60 frames per second, and the game is still rendered at 900p. While the game runs smooth already, some players experienced frame drops in certain rooms, particularly during the Red Chozo Soldier fight in Hanubia.

Tests from speedrunner なまたす (nama tasu) indicate that the frame drops are now gone!

As for Metroid Prime Remastered, the game was already highly optimized, so there are relatively little to report. Based on Draconif’s experience, the biggest thing to note is that the door leading to Artifact Temple now opens up immediately! Loading into files is also slightly faster, and any occasional frame drops, such as explosions from nearby Flying Pirates, are now gone. The game essentially runs perfectly!

Source: Dread Speedrunner Vangi, Dread Speedrunner なまたす, Metroid Prime Speedrunner Draconif