Outpost Delta, from developer and publisher Hidden Achievement, aims to be the next successful Metroid-style platformer to make some noise on Nintendo’s hybrid console. Clearly inspired by Metroid Fusion, the action-platformer attempts to combine the progression of modern “Metroidvania” gameplay with twin-stick shooting and zero-gravity mechanics. Our early impressions suggest the game has some promise, particularly when the player uses zero-gravity navigation to solve puzzles and discover secrets.
Unfortunately, we only have initial impressions to share. While the game performs smoothly on the Switch for the first one to two hours, the game suddenly becomes unplayable when entering a specific, unavoidable area. The frame rate and input lag drop to remarkably low levels. It is not that performance suffers or the framerate dips; the game is literally unplayable.
Developer Hidden Achievement issued a day-one patch that they indicated might fix the issue, but the problem remains as of this writing. We’re hopeful that additional updates will ultimately address this unfortunate performance concern. For now, $24.99 is a steep price for what is essentially a game demo with no guarantee the full game will ever be available on the Nintendo Switch.
Outpost Delta is also available on Steam, Xbox One, and the PlayStation 4. Our impressions and performance concerns are limited to the Nintendo Switch version of the game.
