Okay, so, I’ve been messing around with this game called “Animal Well” on my Switch lately, and I gotta say, it’s been a bit of a ride performance-wise.
When I first booted it up, I was pretty stoked. The art style is super cool, and I heard the puzzles were pretty neat. I mean, I played for like 4 hours just to see the ending. The puzzles are not that hard.
I started playing, and for the most part, it was smooth sailing. I was exploring, solving puzzles, and just vibing with the whole atmosphere. The game looks awesome, especially the lighting effects. I’ve been playing on my Switch OLED, and man, those dark areas look slick.
But then, things started to get a little dicey. I noticed some frame drops here and there, especially in areas with a lot of stuff going on. It wasn’t a constant thing, but it was enough to take me out of the experience a bit.
I kept playing, trying to ignore the performance hiccups. I mean, the game is great when it runs well. The controls feel tight, and I was really getting into the whole exploration aspect. It’s like a Metroidvania, but with a lot more weirdness.
However, as I got further into the game, the performance issues became more frequent. There were times when the game would just freeze for a second or two, which was super frustrating, especially when I was in the middle of a tricky puzzle or trying to dodge some weird creature.
I started to wonder if it was just my Switch acting up, so I did some digging online. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one having these problems. There’s a whole bunch of people talking about the Switch version’s performance issues.
Some folks were saying that the game runs better on other platforms, like the Steam Deck. Apparently, the developers spent a lot of time optimizing it for that handheld, so that makes sense. But I only have a Switch, so that’s not really an option for me.
I mean if you want to 100% of the game, you may spend like 17 hours or more. It’s really time-consuming.
Anyway, I’m still playing “Animal Well,” and I’m still enjoying it for the most part. But those performance issues are definitely a bummer. I’m hoping the developers can patch it up and make it run smoother on the Switch, because it’s a really cool game that deserves to be played without the technical hiccups.
Here is my experience:
- Booted up the game: Excited, art looked great, heard puzzles were good.
- Started exploring: Smooth at first, enjoyed the atmosphere, lighting was cool on OLED.
- Noticed frame drops: Occasional drops in busy areas, a bit distracting.
- Kept playing: Tried to ignore issues, controls felt good, enjoyed exploration.
- Issues got worse: More frequent freezes, frustrating during puzzles and dodging.
- Looked online: Found others with similar problems, apparently runs better on Steam Deck.
- Still playing: Enjoying the game, but performance is a letdown, hope for a patch.
That’s my experience. It is just what I found, a little bit annoying.