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On the face of it, a Rocket League port shouldn't prove too difficult for the Switch hardware, but it's fair to say that developer Panic Button faced a number of challenges in bringing this title to Nintendo's console hybrid. While not exactly the technological state of the art, it is a game built primarily for current-gen Sony and Microsoft hardware, automatically setting a high bar. Secondly, it's built on Unreal Engine 3 - a technology that Epic Games itself does not support on Switch. And finally, and most importantly, this game is built for 60 frames per second gameplay. Compromising here just isn't an option - it just wouldn't be Rocket League without that silky-smooth response.The good news is that the port is in good hands. Panic Button also handled the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the title, so the studio clearly knows the game [Correction: Panic Button didn't handle the PS4 version, and the Switch port is a collaboration between Panic Button and original developer Psyonix - apologies for the confusion here]. Additionally, the team also have the required knowledge to push the Switch hardware - after all, they are also responsible for Doom 2016's remarkable port to the Nintendo console (and the same team is also confirmed for 2017's Wolfenstein conversion). The question isn't whether a Rocket League port is possible or not, it's more about how intelligently the nips and tucks are executed to get the game running on a chipset primarily designed for mobile applications.
As things stand, the final product straddles a fine line, and sees Panic Button seemingly reversing the priorities it settled on for its Doom port. Principally, the team targets 60 frames per second above all else. Rocket League's gameplay translates across extremely well as a result, and it definitely feels the part, the frame-rate only dipping when big explosions dominate the screen, or when using one of the split-screen modes. Single-player action and online play almost match the PS4 and Xbox One experience, but this does come at a cost: resolution and visual fidelity.
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