| Warframe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Overview
What is Warframe?
Warframe is a free-to-play third-person MMO shooter developed and published by Digital Extremes, originally released on March 25, 2013, and continuously expanded as a live-service title. Available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, iOS, and Android, the game places players in the role of the Tenno—ancient warriors awakened from centuries of cryosleep who wield powerful biomechanical suits known as Warframes.
Set across a fractured solar system, players are drawn into an ongoing conflict between rival factions as they undertake missions to secure resources, dismantle enemy forces, and uncover the hidden truths about the Tenno and their origins. Warframe blends fast-paced gunplay with fluid parkour, stealth mechanics, and deep progression systems, allowing players to customize Warframes, weapons, and builds as they progress through an evolving sci-fi narrative.
Warframe features:
⚫︎ Ninjas in Space
⚫︎ Third Person Action Looter Shooter
⚫︎ Microtransactions
⚫︎ MMO Elements
⚫︎ 13 Years Worth of Content
⚫︎ Build Crafting and Customization
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Warframe’s gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
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 Steam |
 PS |
 Xbox |
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 Switch |
 Switch 2 |
 Epic Games |
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 Google Play |
 App Store |
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| Free-to-Play | |||||
Warframe Review [Switch 2]: Old Space Ninjas Can Learn New Tricks
13 Years of Looting, Shooting, and Bullet Jumping
I don’t know about you guys, but I remember back when Warframe was released in 2013. No dojos, no stories, Loki was still a starter Warframe (one of my favorite Warframes to this day), and no tutorials on mods and builds to teach what you’re supposed to build toward. I thought that this was just a fun game to pass the time. It was ninjas with guns in space, what more could you ask for?
13 years later, and I’m still coming back to it. Like a good friend that’s out of the country and coming back to visit with new stories to tell. It’s one of those games that I found myself coming back for, similar to my other MMO addictions. But Warframe is so unique in the sense that you’ll never find anything like it.
All these years, though, I’ve only played on PC. But now that I own some new consoles, maybe it’s time to try jumping around through space in the new Switch 2. To be perfectly frank, I wasn’t expecting it to be an amazing port, as the game already ran pretty well on the Switch. But, man, I still found myself awestruck and surprised by how great the port makes use of the Switch 2 hardware.
A Free MMO Looter Shooter That Gets Better With Age
Before I talk about the specifics of the Switch 2, I wanted to check out the game’s improved tutorials. So before checking out my cross-save, I logged in with a new user to see how different it has been all these years. I’ve forgotten how long it took for the game to onboard you with its mechanics and even its sci-fi setting. And, honestly, it’s a lot better than I remembered.
For context, the original tutorial way back merely taught you the controls. Now, they’re actually teaching you how to mod, how to upgrade gear, and even how to craft and work with blueprints in a step-by-step process. I would honestly consider it as one of the better tutorials I’ve seen for any game, and definitely one of the best for a live-service game, especially since long-running MMOs can have convoluted systems that only the veterans understand.
It’s even more involved with the story, as the game now has quests to follow as you learn through its systems and eventually experience everything the game has to offer. I won’t get too much into detail with the narrative, since that’s more than a decade's worth of expansions and content to explain, but know that it’s one of the more underrated experiences that Digital Extremes nails.
As time goes by, Warframe has just gotten better. Of course, it still has microtransactions that give you new weapons immediately, and cosmetics to show off an even longer cape with new energy emissions, but there’s a reason why it has survived and thrived for as long as it has. It’s an MMO time-sink that respects your time and actually gives you options to work with, even if you’re not spending money on it.
Switch 2 Port is a Noticeable Upgrade
With all that out of the way, let’s now talk about the Switch 2 port itself. In simple terms, it’s very impressive. Not only does it look as good as, or even better than, the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One version, but it also runs pretty well and loads quickly.
It’s clear that Digital Extremes wanted to take advantage of the Switch 2’s hardware, as the promised targets of 1080p resolution and 60 FPS framerates are on the mark. It comes with DLSS support, higher shader quality, volumetric lighting, and higher resolution textures, and all of them are very noticeable as soon as you start the game.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the game also has better shadows, enhanced decals, and even better shader quality in docked mode. But that isn’t to say the undocked mode doesn’t look great; it runs and looks almost as good on handheld.
Switch 2 Mouse Mode Needs Some Tweaking
Coming from the PC version, it’s natural to test Joy-Con 2's mouse support, and I gotta say it leaves a little more to be desired. While it’s perfectly functional and does help with popping Grineer and Corpus heads, you do need to tweak the controls and sensitivity a bit to make it more comfortable to use.
In my case, I found the default sensitivity a little too high. Added with the weird form factor of using the “left-click” and “right-click” with the triggers, along with the melee button on the same Joy-Con, everything felt a little too awkward to use. After some time, I did grow accustomed to it, but it felt like I could’ve done more missions instead if I played on the controller.
Impressive Performance For the Most Part
I’ve said earlier that the Switch 2 performance has been good, but there are times when it has noticeable dips. These are very noticeable on missions with high-density enemies, which is especially common when farming for endgame resources. Additionally, it does happen when there are a lot of effects on screen, especially on the flying loading screen before every mission, but it’s not as often as you might expect.
In essence, the performance is great, with the only exception of running endgame-level missions. Everything else you can do runs perfectly fine and hits the 60 FPS target at 1080p about 90-95% of the time.
Bugs and Issues Are Being Worked On
That said, the port has certain bugs concerning audio and visuals at the moment. The audio bugs, in particular, concern voice lines being muted and certain sound effects (mostly from guns) being amplified. While these audio issues aren’t huge, they still affect the overall experience.
On the other hand, the visual bug of not being able to see certain skills is a pretty big problem, especially when it comes to certain Warframes relying on rotating their cooldowns and visual cues to keep their rotations up. As of writing, Digital Extremes has already been reviewing community feedback and is aware of these bugs, so rest assured, they will be addressed in a hotfix sooner rather than later.
Is Warframe [Switch 2] Worth It?
It’s Free and Well Worth the Time (and Money)!
Warframe is one of the few games that lived long enough to be one of the biggest success stories for games as a service. For 13 years, it’s been continually developing and improving on all facets, and has a dedicated community that will continue to love the game for years to come. Its engaging gameplay, cool sci-fi aesthetic, and better systems onboarding have made it practically immortal at this point.
As for the Switch 2 port, it enhances the game’s graphics to the point where it’s almost as good, if not better, than previous-generation consoles. Add the fact that the portability of the recent console also makes it one of the better choices for games you want to keep playing.
I would easily recommend playing Warframe on the Switch 2, or on any platform really, as the game will continue to get better over time, and its mechanics and gameplay loop are things you won’t find anywhere else. Also, it’s free! So you really lose nothing but time by trying it out. Just don’t go spending a fortune on cosmetics as I did.
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