Dragon slaying on the go

Massive RPG ‘Skyrim’ makes its mark on Nintendo Switch

Nintendo has maintained its Year One strategy for the Switch platform is to leverage its impressive array of intellectual properties while also creating a competitive platform for thirdparty development.

Mission accomplished for objective one. Critical and commercial hits like “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,’’ “Splatoon 2’’ and “Super Mario Odyssey’’ have allowed the Switch to successfully duke it out with the powerful PlayStation 4 in console sales.

While the jury is still out on objective two, steps have been made in the right direction.

The Switch boasts an impressive number of ports of popular indie third-party titles and a couple of current-generation sports games. And now a smattering of aging but popular triple-A titles are being released for Nintendo’s console/portable hybrid system.

Arguably the best known of these titles is “Skyrim,’’ the fifth instalment of Bethesda Softworks’ “Elder Scrolls’’ series of massive role-playing games. Despite being six years old, “Skyrim’’ boasts over 100 hours of content. With a huge, graphically detailed world to explore, it provides a daunting benchmark to see how the Switch can han- dle resource-intensive games.

The results are encouraging. “Skyrim’’ runs smoothly on the Switch in both docked and handheld mode, taking an already engrossing game to a dangerously addictive level through the promise of portability.

“Skyrim’’ takes place in the frigid north of the “Elder Scrolls’’ world of Tamriel, a place heavily inspired by Norse mythology and custom. You are immediately thrown into a plot involving a civil war and the return of dragons to the region.

The greatest strength of “Skyrim’’ is its openness. You can follow along with the main plot but there are hundreds of sidequests to take on.