Nintendo Switch 2 vs Steam Deck: Layers of Fear

If you haven't yet, follow us on X (Twitter), Mastodon, or Bluesky to know when we post new articles, and join our Reddit or Subscribe to us on YouTube to check out our content and interact with our awesome community. Thank you for supporting us!

Layers of Fear for the Switch 2 was provided by Bloober Team. Thank you!

When it comes to horror games, Bloober Team is one of the top studios making them, and it all started with Layers of Fear. When the original game came out in 2016, I was blown away by the atmospheric, creepy feeling that wouldn't let up. So, when they remastered the game and put it into a package with Layers of Fear 2, all the DLC, and a new chapter, I was stoked. It was so much fun to go back and play through it all, and it's surprisingly a blast on the Steam Deck and can run at high settings.

When it was announced to come to the Switch 2 as well, I was interested. It made me curious to see which version of the game would be better. The Switch 2 is more powerful when docked, but handheld can have some bottlenecks that the Deck doesn't. So, I decided to see for myself which version is better, and which is more worth your time if you have to choose a handheld experience. Ultimately, I found a clear winner, and a lot of the reasons why surprised me.

Price Comparison

Before going into performance, I want to make a note of the price of the game on both the Steam Deck and Switch 2. Over on Steam, we can get the game for $29.99, and if we want to save some money, we can buy a Steam copy of the game from Fanatical for $22.98. On the Switch 2 eShop, we can get Layers of Fear for $39.99.

As far as I can tell, the game only has one edition, so with that in mind, Steam comes out on top as it is up to $17 less (depending on where you get it from).

Switch 2 Handheld Vs. Steam Deck

Layers of Fear is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to comparing the Switch 2 and Steam Deck, but I would have to ultimately give the edge to the Deck. This is due to a couple of factors, and while the Switch 2 has one big edge over the Deck, the quality difference is noticeable more often in the Deck's favor.

For this comparison, I am using the default settings for Layers of Fear on the Steam Deck (as they stick to above 30 FPS). These settings mostly stick to "High" with TSR upscaling on Balanced.

The Switch 2 will always have the resolution edge over the Deck, and because of that, the picture looks sharper with more details being shown (usually). In almost every comparison, the world looks sharper and clearer, and there's really nothing that can be done for the Deck to catch up here. The 1920x1080 resolution of the Switch 2 shines and is blatantly obvious in almost every scenario.

However, there are some issues I also noticed. Some of the details are worse on the Switch 2. Like in The Painter scenario, where the bulbs are missing and a post-it note on the desk is gone, or The Actor scenario, where the shadows are missing on the chandelier above and the books underneath the projector. They are small, but when looking at both pictures side by side without zooming in, the differences are clear and start to make the Steam Deck look much better in comparison. Even some faint glowing around lightbulbs and candles is missing on the Switch 2, making the picture look more realistic on Deck.

The one detail that the Switch 2 looks better with over the Deck is the hand, but it ultimately lacks more details overall.

I also noticed that the upscaling is worse on Switch 2. A lot of objects and shadows have fuzz around them that just isn't there on the Deck. The most obvious change came from looking at the horse statue and book behind it on the desk when the painter is holding up the phone, but we can see instances of this all across the desk and in other image comparisons. This issue is very common, where the fuzz is in plain sight, and it makes the picture look even better on the Deck, despite the resolution being lower. I also noticed far-away text being more readable on the Deck because of the lack of fuzz.

And with both versions of the game running at 30 FPS, I would consider the Steam Deck the winner here. Layers of Fear does look sharper on the Switch 2, but the missing details, worse shadows, and more noticeable upscaling bring down the quality. The Deck can even push past 30 FPS at these settings, though it doesn't go above 40, so I would still play it at 30. Still, the extra details help each scene come alive, which is why I preferred looking at them through the Deck over the Switch 2.

Switch 2 Docked Enhancements

When docked, the Switch 2 brings up the resolution, but it still has very similar issues to handheld mode. Details are still missing, shadows aren't there or still have fuzz, and with the framerate locked to 30 FPS, it feels like the only actual improvement is resolution.

Now, this does make the world look even clearer, and this actually helps eliminate some of the fuzz we see around shadows. I would say it looks worse than the Deck still, but it's much harder to notice when docked at 2560x1440 resolution. This does make it more enjoyable, but the missing details, like lightbulbs or shadows, feel a little weird. It would have been nice to see the quality pushed higher, but that's just not what we have here.

Further Steam Deck Improvements

When I tested the handheld comparison, I used the default settings for the game, which set it to High. It's quite playable like this, which is great for those who want 30 FPS, but we do have a lot of options to further enhance the experience.

For starters, we can bring down the settings and get the game running at 60 FPS. Granted, we will need to drop most settings to low and use FSR 2 upscaling at performance mode, but it still has more details than the Switch 2 version at both docked and handheld. The upscaling being lower does make details, like hands, look worse, but it overall still looks great and now runs significantly smoother, which the Switch 2 can't do. We can also find a balance and set it to 45 FPS with medium quality settings and balanced upscaling, so there are options.

The point is that we can push the Deck in ways that the Switch 2 can't, giving us a better experience in a different way. The fact that we have options further makes getting Layers of Fear on the Steam Deck a more worthwhile purchase, over the Switch 2, which can only play at 30 FPS. We can bring down battery drain a bit, going down to 9W - 10W, which can make the battery life a bit better than the Switch 2 in-game.

So Which Handheld Should You Play On

When it comes down to it, I would consider playing on the Steam Deck to be the better experience overall. At the default settings, it has better visuals than the Nintendo Switch 2 in both handheld and docked, and we have options to bring down the quality settings to push the framerate to 60 FPS. The Switch 2 version of the game has a clearer image due to the higher resolution it can push, but it makes the upscaling more obvious, and it is still missing details like shadows and lightbulbs that the Deck has.

Will this be a bad experience on the Switch 2? I don't think so. For what it is, it's still creepy and atmospheric, but if you have to decide whether to get it on the Steam Deck or the Switch 2, and which will provide the better handheld experience, the Deck will come out on top.

Layers of Fear can be purchased for the Steam Deck for $29.99, or you can get it on Fanatical for $22.98, while over on the Switch 2 eShop, you can get it for $39.99.

The Fanatical links above are using an affiliate link, which gives us a little back from sales at no extra charge to you. All proceeds go back into SDHQ and its development.

If you enjoyed this article, check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that will help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got you covered!