A programmer who goes by ‘OatmealDome’ on Twitter managed to get Half-Life 2 working on the Nintendo Switch via the Portal: Companion Collection. How so? Since the source code is very similar for both, Half-Life 2 actually runs on top of Portal 1, but this is not a native port, so you’ll experience a few glitches, such as frequent crashes.
Aside from the crashes, there are only a limited number of levels available as well as some occasional stuttering. Most of the work was already done by Valve and NVIDIA, or in other words, most of the Half-Life 2 files were already there. In the end, you end up with a very playable Half-Life 2 running at a somewhat consistent 60 frames per second. We’re just waiting for the Jurassic Life Half-Life 2 mod to hit the Switch.
Nintendo Switch – OLED Model w/ White Joy-Con
- 7-inch OLED screen – Enjoy vivid colors and crisp contrast with a screen that makes colors pop
- Wired LAN port – Use the dock’s LAN port when playing in TV mode for a wired internet connection
- 64 GB internal storage – Save games to your system with 64 GB of internal storage
- Enhanced audio – Enjoy enhanced sound from the system’s onboard speakers when playing in Handheld and Tabletop modes.
- Wide adjustable stand – Freely angle the system’s wide, adjustable stand for comfortable viewing in Tabletop mode. Nintendo Switch – OLED Model supports all Joy-Con controllers and Nintendo Switch software
The main reason why this works so well is that Portal 1 is basically just a glorified mod for Half-Life 2. For example, the player code for Portal is based directly on the player code for Half-Life 2. Nvidia Lightspeed Studios leaving behind a bunch of Half-Life 2 assets helps as well,” said OatmealDome.