Persona 3 Reload review for Nintendo Switch 2

Persona 3 Reload was an incredible remake of a beloved classic in the Persona series, and even being Steam Deck compatible was one avenue for people to play it on the go. After all, you may remember reviews of the original release, ours included, and it was a very excellent RPG. Of course, this left fans (myself included) curious on whether or not we’d see it ported to the Switch for portability sake. Fast forward to late July when Nintendo showed an announcement trailer for Persona 3 Reload’s Nintendo Switch 2 port, released in late October, 2025.

I’d like to preface everything by saying that Reload does look good on the Switch 2. Throughout my playthrough I had a very difficult time finding anything that looked downgraded for the sake of portability. The game looks just as good as other platforms, so you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing your Persona 3 Reload experience is just as pretty as everywhere else. That said, it left me wondering if it wouldn’t have been better to downgrade it at least a little for the sake of performance.

Persona 3 Reload is a great game that looks great but seems to seriously struggle on the Switch. This was clear from even the demo released a little bit ago, and fans made it clear online. Unfortunately, it’s not just a demo-exclusive problem. The full release is stuttery and often struggles to maintain its 30 frames per second cap. When I first started the game and was given the freedom to explore the school, I thought maybe it was just the school or something at the start of the game, but unfortunately the issues persisted throughout the rest of the game. It is really great to be able to play Persona 3 Reload on the go without something like a Steam Deck, especially with the install base of the Nintendo Switch 2, but the performance is such a big dampener.

To keep it simple, if you don’t mind a subpar performance, then definitely check out Persona 3 Reload if you haven’t already. If you’re a new player and looking to experience it for the first time, being able to take it anywhere is a great opportunity to play it. If you’re an existing fan looking for a portable option for replays, it’s a hard recommendation. On one hand, yeah, it’s still the same game with the same visuals and everything, but on the other it just objectively isn’t a great port. Granted, it’s no Scarlet and Violet on Switch 1, it does run better than that, but man it’s disappointing. The developers have stated there’s performance patches planned, but that isn’t the version of the game I played, so I can’t judge it accordingly. It’s strange because SEGA has done ports of their franchises before, such as Yakuza Kiwami’s incredible Switch 1 port. From what I understand, Persona 5 Royal on the base Switch model ran smooth and stable as well.

While I’m definitely looking forward to updates to the Switch 2 port of Reload, but it’s rather rough on the technical side right now. I would summarize it as a great game that looks great, sounds great, and plays great, but is unfortunately a victim of poor performance.

Note: SEGA provided us with a Persona 3 Reload Switch 2 code for review purposes.