Welcome to Re:Viewed, the new name for my Game Changer series where we take a look back at games after they have been patched. Starting off with a bit of a doozy we have Dakka Squadron, a game that crash-landed on the Switch in early March, promising a post-launch patch to fix a lot of the issues experienced in the game. There was a lot of mixed coverage on this one, with some outlets showing post-patched footage and praising the title, while I purchased the retail copy and immediately knew that it was time to scream “mayday” and prepare for disaster. Is Dakka Squadron on Switch Fixed? Download the update, fasten those seatbelts, and pack a parachute as we re-view Dakka Squadron on Nintendo Switch.
Looking back at Dakka Squadron, I’m very disappointed in how the release was handled. It seemed very few previews were given, early review copies weren’t scored, and there was a general lack of information regarding the title on Switch. Sure, there was already a PC version out in the wild which had positive reviews, but trailers and promotional material didn’t really reflect the product that was on sale. I remember getting a copy at $30 AUD on the Eshop and smashing through it for review, only to find the game discounted 3 days later to 50% off, where it has pretty much sat since then. Was it because they wanted to get some full-price retail sales before the wave of negative reviews came out? Or did someone forget to add the discount for those first 3 days? Whatever the issue, it certainly wasn’t worth the asking price discounted or not in its launch state with game-breaking bugs, a weird “lurching” effect when turning, and graphics that matched the N64 or PS1 era.
Here’s what I concluded my review with on launch:
“All of this is a shame since the PC version of Dakka Squadron seems to have an ok rating sitting at a firm 7/10, and is very positive on Steam, but as it stands, the Switch Version is heresy of the highest order. I know I’m not going to make many friends here with publishers or the PR Firms that distribute these games but frankly, Warhammer Dakka Squadron is not only an insult to Switch owners, but this port is an insult to the Warhammer License. It’s a lazy port that shouldn’t have been released in its current state, and I don’t think a “Day 1 or close enough to it” patch will solve many of the issues listed in this review. I’m so annoyed at spending $30 on this title, but hopefully, that means that you don’t have to make the same mistake I did. Dakka Squadron on Switch it seems, should definitely stay grounded.”
So last week the much-touted update arrived that was going to fix the game so I downloaded the game to try it out. Let’s take a look at the side by sides. The patch states it fixes bugs and improves graphics and texture resolutions and the overall general experience. Side by side with pre-patch footage, you can see a distinct improvement in environmental textures when they render, as well as some pixel smoothing on your actual aircraft as well. Looking closer at the player vehicle, it appears that this pixel smoothing creates a little bit more blur around the planes however, so instead of improving the visuals, just moves the slider from pixellated to blurred. I did notice a lot of AI bugs seemed to be fixed, although the menu screen sometimes takes a bit longer to render the plane in despite a barely noticeable increase in fidelity. I also noticed the framerate did seem to suffer in the snow mission compared to pre-patch Dakka Squadron.
There’s still the presence of extremely low poly models and details, it seems this patch has really only improved the environments slightly while adding weird colour overlays on some like the aggressive purple overlay in the snow missions. Models still look terrible and animations are rough and janky. There’s still the awful movement jank, which doesn’t seem as aggressive as before but is still very off-putting, constantly lurching your screen forward as your aircraft janks left or right.
Sound quality has improved slightly which is nice since the voice acting was one of the positive things I could comment on in my initial review, and there is the addition of battle music now which I didn’t even notice while testing out, and only r ealised they added it from the patch notes.
So is Dakka Squadron on Switch fixed? Unfortunately, this update minimally improves upon the experience of the game and doesn’t fix the core gameplay issues, jank, and overall lack of polish on the game. Playing Dakka Squadron is an exercise in frustration with poor controls, terrible graphics and performance, and a general lack of fun due to the tedious gameplay. I still stand by my review score of 30/100 even now the price has halved. I’m not one to do controversial hot takes for views on articles, and dislike writing negative reviews because a lot of people behind the start button worked on these games. But the simple matter is you’re probably watching this wondering if this game is worth your hard-earned coin, and despite a Day 1 patch that somehow arrived 3 months late, the improvement is minimal and I cannot recommend this game, even for the die-hard fans.
There are plenty of great Warhammer games deserving your attention, unfortunately, Dakka Squadron on the Switch is not one of them.
