Zelda: Breath of the Wild patch offers big framerate improvements

Nintendo's back with a bang, with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild garnering universal praise. We awarded it a coveted "Play it Now" score in our Breath of the Wild review. But it wasn't without its problems.

Breath of the Wild suffers from some serious framerate issues. The first open-world game in the series, it struggles across both the new Nintendo Switch and older Wii U console when it comes to its busier areas. Swaying grass, multiple monsters and chatty townsfolk, all onscreen at once, can cause the game to stutter along.

But a new patch from Nintendo seems to address this, on the newer machine at least, with Nintendo promising a "more pleasant gaming experience."

Switch in performance

It certainly seems to be an improvement for the Switch build of the game – YouTube's ElAnalistaDeBits has made a comparison video between build 1.1.0 and the new 1.1.1, and it's a night and day difference:

However, there's no word yet on if the Wii U version will be getting the same treatment.

We've contacted Nintendo for confirmation on further support for the Wii U version of the game, and will update if we get a response. Here's hoping it does – Breath of the Wild is a great swan-song for Nintendo's much-maligned console, and improvements to its final Zelda game would be suitable thanks for those that have continued to support the troubled machine to its dying days.

Gerald Lynch

Gerald is Editor-in-Chief of iMore.com. Previously he was the Executive Editor for TechRadar, taking care of the site's home cinema, gaming, smart home, entertainment and audio output. He loves gaming, but don't expect him to play with you unless your console is hooked up to a 4K HDR screen and a 7.1 surround system. Before TechRadar, Gerald was Editor of Gizmodo UK. He is also the author of 'Get Technology: Upgrade Your Future', published by Aurum Press.

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