Motion Twin Apologises For Frame Rate Drops In Switch Version Of Dead Cells

I pre-ordered the physical. Times like these I wish any patch would get added to the card before release. Man, buying games these days is such bull.

At least they're working on it, some developers don't bother unfortunately

It's just a shame there is often some issues affecting so many multiplatform Switch games...

I remember when people used to complain vehemently about the numerous delays Nintendo would do with their games in past times, heh. I don't "like" delays, but "faster release" in order to hurry to market has almost never translated to a "completed" game release. Even games these days supposedly "released on time" are rampantly becoming release-vanilla-then-patch releases. It's sad really, and while I'm not admonishing the dev per se, it should've been delayed to be polished. People usually get over it-- Gamers who are really interested in a game rarely abandon it, delayed or not.

Hey at least they are going to patch it. So many devs leave the bugs in like its a feature...

I'm glad I held off on a purchase. Currently juggling Overcooked 2, Crossing Souls, Iconoclasts and Sonic Mania Plus. I can wait until it's fixed.

The occasional frame drops are very much noticeable, but, I gotta say, I ‘d rather have the game (which is totally playable) than wait a couple of months for a perfect performance. Just my 2 cents.

I could think of worse performance issues than 45-50fps. I am glad they are working on it and may pick this up soon. I have heard it's good.

This game is a blast.

The only relevant (and annoying) performance issue I've noticed is in the second level, the moment those bat-like monsters appear. The frame rate goes down to 30 fps I'd say.
Apart from this and some other minor hiccups the game is perfectly enjoyable

Yes it's a good game, but for a pixelated 2d game to run below 60 fps is unacceptable. Games like Bayonetta 2 or SMO can run at full 60 fps, there's no way any 2d games can't do 60.

Boo hoo, I'm not getting 60fps, this water isn't Fiji, these $100 bills won't fit in my wallet :'O

From the sounds of it, this certain player is very nitpicky, and I don’t personally see a big deal in a small frame drop. Even during the rare occasion when it would go down a lot I don’t know if it is really worth losing your mind over due to the lag being very brief.

They come out an apologize AFTER they released it and it sold... Easy Pass... These type of scumbag devs cannot keep getting supported.

@big_bad_bob Yep, this has very much been my experience. Maybe once every twenty minutes it slows down for about three seconds. Easily worth it to be able to play on handheld.

First I've heard about this. Not one review I watched or read say anything of the sort.

So I guess NL didn't see any of this when they reviewed it... I saw it mentioned in the comments section at the time 🤔

I'm glad I'm not sensitive to frame rate drops. I can barely tell the difference between 60 and 30, let alone 60 and 45-50, so stuff like this wouldn't be a problem to me.

PC only for games like this, mega man, 20XX, hollow knight. I don't want to even think about losing a run due to shoddy performance. Games are cheaper on PC too.

This game is incredible, and the frame rate drops aren't negatively impacting my experience. That they're gonna focus on it and get it fixed is great news, but I'm totally happy with the value I'm getting for the game's price.

Frame rate... drops? I really haven't had any and I've been playing nonstop.

To be as transparent as possible, a warning before purchase would have done the trick. Not telling potential buyers is not being transperent at all.

Did everybody forget that far worse performance issues were NORMAL in the 80's and 90's? I really don't get the fuss over something this small...but good on the devs working to fix it I guess.

@Yrreiht Developers have “admitted” the framerate drops. Or maybe you play the game on a Nintendo Switch Pro.

@Zuljaras Fair enough. I've never had a pc that could run games flawlessly and grew up on games playing at 30 fps, so framerates never really bothered me.

@Axlroselm Darn, you found my secret! But in all seriousness, I hope they can fix the problems for those that are more affected by it.

I hope they get it sorted out soon, but I'll probably buy it physical regardless since I've heard so many good things about it. I'm not one of the people who get really bothered by frame rate dips. I will probably notice it, but as long as the game is playable it's not a dealbreaker for me.

I f love this game so much, yes there are frame drops and it's a bit annoying, but nothing thay significantly hinders my experience. They say they're fixing it and focusing all resources into it, I can wait happily with that acknowledgement.

@GrailUK I have plenty of games from the 8 and 16-bit era that have frame rate drops and other issues which could have probably been sorted with a post-release patch or two. The big difference with this era is that the patches are possible. Back then what you got was what you were stuck with forever. Don't get me wrong, games being released in a complete state (NBA 2K18 on Switch) is an issue but games needing tweaks, like Breath of the Wild for instance, is more often some extra polish we would have missed back in the day.

All that said, I want this on physical and it's a shame the card won't hold the perfect version.

@SuperCharlie78 for me, it's whenever I do a floor smash. The whole thing freezes for about 1.5 secs and skips the actual smashing of the floor animation.

Saying that, I've still sunk about 30 hours into it and loved it all. That's a pretty good testimony to how good the game is if you ask me.

Anyone saying 60fps doesn't matter in a twitch game like this,is clueless. That being said, the game is totally playable and enjoyable, but the framerate rate drops are noticeable and annoying. I think the devs made the right choice to release the game now though, since it is not in a terrible form, as long as they stay committed to fixing it.

@BionicDodo But sometimes, the slow down was unavoidable on the hardware back in the 8 bit / 16bit days. No patch could cover up the flicker when 4 sprites occupy the same row. It was hardware limitations. No patch was going to stop Gradius slowing down on a SNES! Lol, the arcade games did it. But we didn't mind back then because it was pushing the hardware. Don't confuse that with releasing games not optimised. Standards are slipping.

lol sensitive to frame rate

I've played about 5 hours of Dead Cells on the switch. I've noticed maybe 2 or 3 times(?) dropped frame rates, but certainly nothing that hinders my enjoyment. It would be nice to have a patch to fix this and it's worth letting the devs know that this is happening but I feel like some people are a bit over dramatic. It's still an amazing game and I'm having fun.

@ogo79 ah the snowflake gen. Gotta love 'em.

@Remma
"Generation Snowflake, or Snowflake Generation, is a neologistic term used to characterize the young adults of the 2010s as being more prone to taking offence and less resilient than previous generations, or as being too emotionally vulnerable to cope with views that challenge their own."
hahahah i never knew this was a thing....snowflake? hahaha how...delicate and unmanly of them.

Ithink it's an outstanding port, which could use a little tuneup, but is far from unplayable.

@Rohanrocks88 Well, there is that. Back in the day it was more forgivable if a game was pushing boundaries (because there were a lot more boundaries lol) I guess and branded a mess if it wasn't.

Wonder how the Switch version is faring vis-a-vis the other platforms. My guess is that it is faring better than expected, hence the Switch version suddenly takes priority...

Anybody remember the slowdown in the first level of Kirby’s Dream Land...on a gameboy? You know what I’m talking about. Did we get a patch? NOPE. We played the game and forgot about it.
Good on the devs for working on this issue, and communicating it to the consumers. The folks getting the benefit of the patch are lucky such things can be pushed out now, but players in the comments generally seem pretty satisfied with their purchases already.
I can’t even begin to see in my telescope what planet yields these other folks that think that an unacceptable product was released.

@Rika_Yoshitake have you played it? Is it that bad??

I wonder how many of these gamers who complain about frame rate drops in modern games, play retro ones? Because I love how people will complain about an expierence today that out of what, 20 hours, there are maybe 5 minutes of frame issues. So that’s less then 1% of the time you are playing the game.

The only time I notice anything is when I smash through a floor.

@Stuffgamer1 do you really imagine that nowadays we should live with a buggy frame rate? seriously?

Great that they're working to fix this minor issue, but this guy making a... 'public service announcement'?! Get a life.

wave race 64 ran at 20 fps and i still had a blast with it. I can live with some performance drops here and there.

Hey people... Some people are VERY sensitive to certain changes in FPS changes - not in an overly critical way either. It also isn't limitted to video; LEDs are another example. Actually read the article and consider the context before making the choice to look ignorant.

I love this game, and it's all I've been playing for the last few days. It may even overtake Celeste as my GOTY.

The performance really hasn't been a problem for me. People acting like its unplayable, but it's really a minor issue unless you are super sensitive to stuff like this. And if that's the case, it seems like you might be better suited to PC gaming than console gaming.

Framerate sensitivity is the new gluten intolerance 😄

@Majora101 The internet just reinforces bad behavior and makes people feel an exaggerated sense of the factuality of their opinions. That’s just my take one it.

I’m glad the developers took the mindset they did. Frame rate issues aren’t severe enough here for me to want the game to be delayed.

@boop22 I'm suggesting that if it wasn't a big problem then, it shouldn't be one now.

Sorry for the people that have been playing games at a 10-20 FPS and got used to it, but i and many others have not.

What's the point of playing a game when the game runs like dog crap? Or have issues? How are you suppose to fight that? How are you suppose to even play it?

I've been playing the game on and off since it's release and haven't noticed anything major in issues on the switch. I'm glad they didn't delay the game for something the can tweak more and improve later. People would complain for it being delayed so you can't win in this situation either way. I didn't even no there was and issue until reading this article so it's really nothing noticeable to most people.

@Ryu_Niiyama Skyrim and Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4 anyone? XD

Loving this game - framerate drops and all

I’ve noticed the occasional skips/jumps/framedrops that others have mentioned here, but they’ve been few and far between, and they haven't really hindered my gameplay at all.

And of course, it’s great that the devs have acknowledged this and will work to patch it, but for me, this is not a big enough issue to be all over the devs and reviewers about it.

I have been more thab half way through the game with probably 10+ hours into it & I am not experiencing anything close to 30 fps. I experience a frameshift occasionally while no enemies are on screen, but aside from that it has been smooth 60fps for me (maybe 55-60 w/o a frame counter). I go through the first area every time I die, so I'd think Id eventually have the same problems as this poster if he was being honest. I can't say he's not, but it's weird is all. If the game is a 9 on the other hand, that's another issue.

@Tsurii this. That's what i was trying to explain, but no issues besides that (tho that's not an issue for me, who is wildly compulsive regarding framerate issues in games).

@JediKadabra i am, & it hasn't bothered me in this game at all.

@MsJubilee i haven't & I won't, but how does that apply here? I haven't even read accusations of this game playing at 10 - 20 fps. I think they may have a switch issue & need to send it in, or may have a knock off MicroSD card, because this game has not been close to even 30fps for anyone i know (all say 50 - 60, solely because there's no counter, but we all assume it's 60 because we all play games & know what 60 fs feels like).

I remember playing 3D games on the Amiga that dropped to about 5fps and enjoying them. I sometimes feel that some people overestimate their eyes' ability to really perceive the difference. Movies are only 24fps and they don't look like dodgy stop-motion at that rate.

@Nincompoop really? You realize the difference in the sizes of those respective game types' development teams, right? In a perfect world, yes, but this team was like 10 people, & half of those weren't animation or art directors, i guarantee. I just can't see that comparison being applicable here. I think they should have focused on more quality content than was delivered rather than better framerate in this game, personally.

@Rika_Yoshitake oh please. The game is hardly broken. This is hardly a WWE 2K debacle! ‘Scum bag’ is a little bit harsh a term for a drop in a few FPS don’t you think? The devs have addressed the issue when they could have ignored it and done nothing.

Ive been playing since yesterday and have noticed nothing that affects gameplay.

The game is nothing but an engrossong masterpiece. Simply outstanding and needs to be in everyone’s library now.

I had it on PC already in early access but got the switch version when it launched.. it's fine(performance, the actual game is great) and I haven't been tempted to go back to the PC version for a better frame rate

There are absolutely no performance issues with this game. None. The game spends 40% of the time at 50-60 fps, 50% at 40-50 fps, and 10% at 35-40 fps. You can be sensitive all you want, anything above 30 is great and doesn't affect gameplay whatsoever. Does it look a TEENY TINY bit better? Maybe. But it's a crazily action-filled game in pixel art style. It's not going to be noticeable.

@Rika_Yoshitake Are you actually kidding me?

They're apologizing for a non-issue. You need to research this bull before you actually write these ridiculous comments. The game runs at 35-60 fps in its entirety. Anything above 30 fps is amazing, because it doesn't slow down the game, and it isn't noticeable when playing unless you like standing still and measuring how x pixel gets a tiny bit clearer when you stop moving - "oh how magnificent this little pixel is when I'm standing still instead of playing the game which is close to non-stop action that takes up my full attention"

The game does the following:
50-60 FPS: 40% of the time
40-50 FPS: 50% of the time
35-40 FPS: 10% of the time.

This is beyond acceptable, it is super great. The game doesn't require performance fixes, because it performs extraordinarily well.

@Blizzia I haven’t been able to play Dead Cells on Switch as yet (☹️), but those performance figures you’ve quoted is pretty much exactly what I’ve heard from a number of sources.

Come on @Rika_Yoshitake, branding Motion Twin as 'scumbags' is way strong, dude.

In handheld mode, I don't see a problem. In docked mode, I had some drops that seem more notable than others but overall this game is rock solid IMHO. So.... chill everybody, I guess.

Man, when I was growing up, games never had slowdown or performance issues of any kind. Graphical glitches were unheard of, and nothing shipped until every single bug was removed.

Games today are UNPLAYABLE.

@Rika_Yoshitake I'm with the majority of people commenting here who have actually played it: the game is totally playable with only occasional issues and I'm glad they released it rather than delay it. You want them to apologize for performance dips on release? Encourage people not to buy it on Switch?

That's not how this works. Read reviews. Find other users' experiences online and use them to decide if it's worth it for you. Don't call a small team of devs "scumbags" because they didn't achieve perfect performance, something even large AAA teams often struggle to do.

It's probably Filip Miucin's fault...

I'm wondering if these percentages aren't a lot higher when playing docked, since people aren't specifiying which way they are playing.

@The_Pixel_King It's pretty much what I experienced too over roughly 30 hours of playtime so far And I've been around the different maps and stuff, used a ton of weapons and having the whole screen full of enemies. It never dips to a level that has any effect on the gameplay.

So I don't even get why this is being blown up so much xD

@aznable
Don't worry pal, I can help with your $100 bill problem. My wallet has plenty of room for it ;p

@Stuffgamer1 thats a textbook definition of backwards thinking there pal

it run 95% of the time OK.
5% stutter a bit.

@boop22 You have a weird textbook. I don't see the reason in propelling your demands so far beyond what is necessary for a fun game when we used to have no problem with far worse. I wouldn't advocate for a damn slideshow of a game, but I don't get how dips into the 40's are a real problem.

Granted, I haven't played Dead Cells yet (physcial copy preordered following rave reviews), so I can't speak from experience on this title. But thus far, this is the ONLY article complaining about it I've seen, and the community is split on the issue. Insisting this is a dealbreaker feels well overblown.

These frame rate sensativity ‘issues’ probably break along the lines of how long you have been playing games....lol. Life is much better now as games do get tuned after release as code can be optimized while back when once it went gold that was usually it.

I love those that bring the righteous indignation. First don’t buy the game, or don”t buy at launch and wait for likely fixes. Second, every console generation I hear oh this is the generation we overcome FPS barrier. Still issues persist and as others have said almost always will with consoles. The PC is the perfect antidote because even if an engine sucks if you throw enough power at it the game runs well FPS wise. The Switch is ike the polar opposite of the PC as its the most constrained hardware that can capably run a game say like Wolf2 or NBA2K. What this does is challenges devs to do their best to produce a viable offering. Devs are already improving as the second gen of games start come in and obviously N can make it sing so the future looks bright.

Whilst it is a gorgeous loking game it is also a 2D pixel based one. I see absolutely no reason why there should be any issues on the Switch.

I noticed frame rate drops in Zelda BotW when it was first released... Did it ruin my enjoyment of the game? No. Did it make the game bad? Definitely not.
People who complain about framerate issues should play the PC version of Batman Arkham Knight. People said that was unplayable. I still got 100% completion on it... haha

It looks like a great game from a small team. I haven't played yet but my 11 year old is totally hooked. Its always going to hard for a small team doing a multi plat game to refine the code to maximise the switch handheld. but mam is the switch the best way to play play these leading indies. I really bought it for Zelda and a better way to get more time to enjoy this kind of game. It has of course taken over 80%+ of my game time and done so much more but as long as we get this games on the platform in good state I'm happy. I do think a lot the small devs may start moving the main code base to the switch as porting from their as the financials seem to support this direction.

I’m probably 6-8 hours in and haven’t noticed anything that’s worried me. Seems like a non issue

I'll pick it up when they've patched it.

As someone who normally doesn't care about frame rate, I must say that the small freezes that occur from time to time have a material impact on gameplay. This particular game has fast and vicious combat, as well as permadeath. That doesn't combine well with the freezes.

That said, I am still loving the game, and would rather have it now than wait another 3 months.

Glad the developers are going to do the right thing.

Them releasing the game was smarter from their perspective because it'll maximize sales. It's borderline unethical because they're knowingly charging full price for what they admitted was a faulty product, but still, patches exist for a reason. Not really saying they were right to release it now, but I can imagine the backlash would've still existed if they delayed the game.

I guess I’m lucky, because I’ve made 26 runs and finally made it to the final boss the other day without any issues with the game. Sadly, the bastard defeated me and it’s back to the drawing board.

If he is so sensitive to frame rate and performance issues, I wonder why he would even consider purchasing any software for a Nintendo console when it may be available on other gaming consoles or a computer. Nintendo isn't exactly known for its high-powered systems.

It's a great game. I don't find these issues negatively affect my enjoyment of the game. Mind you, I've only used Nintendo game consoles over the last decade and my MacBook Air is several years old.

“Hey I know you ordered this burger, but since you’re in a rush to eat, THE BEEF AND CHEESE DROPPED, so here’s a lettuce sandwich.”

Same logic.

Didn’t think I was sensitive to these things but IT IS SO ANNOYING. Even when you’re not doing anything and the camera just pans to The Concierge, it skips a couple of times! So many more graphics heavy games run so smoothly. So IDK.