Finally, the headline grabber: The "Switchblade" Batsuit. A never-before-seen skin, unlocked by completing the new Riddler challenges. It blends the Arkham Asylum armored suit with neon purple accents (a nod to the Switch’s Joy-Con colors). This skin is exclusive to the updated NSP version—not available on cartridges without downloading the patch.
After 20 hours of post-patch gameplay, here is the honest verdict:
The exclusive update transforms Arkham City from a “do not buy” to a “recommended” port. It is not as polished as Arkham Asylum on Switch, but it is now fully playable and enjoyable.
Exclusive to this NSP, the developers removed the "Character Select" forced loading screen that appeared every time you died during a Riddler challenge. batman arkham city switch nsp update exclusive
Disclaimer: This information is for educational and preservation purposes. You should own a legal copy of Batman: Arkham City for Switch before proceeding.
Prerequisites:
Steps:
The "exclusivity" stems from a technical legality. According to dataminers who unpacked the NSP, the update uses NVIDIA’s proprietary OptiX denoiser for the Batman: Arkham City shadows. Nintendo’s official SDK does not license OptiX for retail Switch games. Turn Me Up likely used it as an internal test, realized the licensing conflict, and shelved the patch.
Because this NSP is a leaked internal build, it contains those libraries. If you install this on a banned Switch, you are fine. If you try to go online with it on a clean console, Nintendo’s CDN will flag your console for mismatched signature hashes.
The v1.0.3 update (the one most commonly bundled with the "exclusive NSP") includes the following changes not mentioned in official patch notes, as discovered by data miners: Finally, the headline grabber: The "Switchblade" Batsuit
| Feature | Pre-Patch (1.0.0) | Post-Patch (1.0.3) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Docked Resolution | Dynamic 900p/30fps | Locked 900p with improved anti-aliasing | | Handheld Resolution | Sub-540p during combat | Stable 648p-720p | | Riddler Trophy Load Times | 2-3 second freeze when collecting | Seamless, <0.5s | | Audio Sync | Minor crackling in Batmobile challenge maps | Fully corrected | | Exclusive Suit | N/A | Anime Batman ‘Batman Ninja’ skin (Switch-only) |
That last point is critical: the Batman Ninja skin is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version. You cannot get it on PC or PlayStation. This alone has driven collectors to seek the updated NSP.
The base game suffered from aggressive dynamic resolution, dropping to as low as 480p in handheld mode during Catwoman glide segments. The exclusive update introduces a new scaling algorithm. The exclusive update transforms Arkham City from a