Save Your $30: 'I Hate This Place' Is a Total Disaster on Switch

For any gamer considering a dip into the retro-horror promises of *I Hate This Place* on the Nintendo Switch, our analysis is unequivocal: **do not.** At a steep $30, this title is a masterclass in how not to launch a game on a console, delivering an experience so fundamentally broken and riddled with performance issues that it becomes nearly unplayable. This isn't just a rough port; it's an unmitigated disaster that squanders promising ideas under a mountain of technical debt and glaring QoL omissions.

A Promising Premise Undone

Like many, we had high hopes for *I Hate This Place*. The initial pitch – a base-building, stealth, and action hybrid steeped in retro-horror, drawing comparisons to *Stranger Things* – sounded like a home run for a specific niche. The early comic-style cutscenes and decent writing even offered a glimmer of potential. Yet, as veterans, we've seen this setup before: a strong concept crippled by execution. Despite the genuinely creepy creature designs and atmospheric sound effects that did manage to shine through, the game quickly unravels.

The Switch Debacle: Performance and Playability

The core problem for Switch players is performance. While the concept of delving into occult mysteries with best friends Lou and Elena might entice, the reality is a persistent fight against the game engine itself. The framerates absolutely tank, especially once outside the initial dungeon, transforming exploration into a stuttering slog. It's inexplicable; jogging through a largely empty environment shouldn't bring a system to its knees. This isn't merely an aesthetic issue; it's a game-breaking flaw that compromises every interaction.

Critical Flaws on Nintendo Switch:

• Catastrophic Framerate Drops: Persistent and severe, especially in open areas, leading to a choppy, unplayable experience.
• Game-Breaking Bugs: From characters getting irrevocably stuck without an 'unstuck' option, to bizarre duplicate NPCs blocking progression, stability is non-existent.
• Egregious UI/UX & QoL Failures:
  • Zero Tutorials: Basic controls (move, shoot, heal) are unexplained, forcing players to waste precious resources on trial-and-error.
  • Obscure Save System: Manual saving via an unmarked TV in an obscure room is a bewildering design choice, leading to massive progress loss.
  • Unhelpful Navigation: Hidden progression cues, an uninformative map, and a complete absence of quest markers compound the frustration.
  • Unbalanced Combat: Early enemies appear to have unlimited HP, turning combat encounters into frustrating, unwinnable scenarios.
• Repeated Progress Wipes: The combination of bugs and the obscure save system forces frequent rage-quits and replaying significant chunks of the game.

The reviewer's experience of rage-quitting not once, but twice, losing hours of progress due to these systemic issues, perfectly encapsulates the player's plight. This level of frustration isn't just a minor annoyance; it’s a deal-breaker for any game, let alone one charging a premium price tag.

A Glimmer on Other Platforms, But Not a Full Redemption

To gain perspective, we consulted our colleague Sam Comrie, who experienced *I Hate This Place* on a more capable handheld, the ROG Ally, at Gamescom. His report paints a starkly different picture regarding performance:

While the performance on the ROG Ally is a night-and-day difference, Sam noted a limitation in graphical tweaking options, with many post-processing elements forced active. This suggests that even on more powerful hardware, the game might be a bit rough around the edges for those who like to min-max their visual experience.

Our Verdict: A Disappointing Release

While the Switch's hardware capabilities are often a topic of discussion for demanding ports, our expert opinion is that *I Hate This Place*'s problems run far deeper than just an underpowered console. The fundamental lack of tutorials, the opaque save system, the broken progression markers, and the unchecked bugs point to core design and quality assurance failures from developer Rock Square Thunder. These aren't issues unique to the Switch; they're exacerbated by it. Shipping a game in this state, especially at $30, demonstrates a concerning lack of respect for the player base.

We believe this kind of release actively damages player trust and the reputation of indie titles. Even if the game performs better on a more powerful handheld like the ROG Ally, the underlying QoL nightmares and design choices would still make it a tough sell. Unless a substantial patch addresses not just the performance, but also the glaring user experience shortcomings, we cannot, in good conscience, recommend *I Hate This Place* to any player, particularly those on the Nintendo Switch. It’s a classic case of a promising idea tragically undone by poor execution.