I’ve spent around four hours with Lou’s Lagoon, and most of that time has been spent chilling out: harvesting, scavenging, flying between islands, and taking on quests for the people who live there. It’s a simple loop, but I keep coming back to it.

Lou’s Lagoon feels like an underrated gem. I don’t want to pretend it’s flawless, though. On Switch 2, performance has been rough, and I’ve run into bugs that make the edges impossible to ignore. Sometimes I can’t use my tools against enemies. Sometimes I get stuck in the terrain. The pause menu even includes a “Help, I’m stuck!” button, which is funny in a way, but also says everything it needs to about the game’s current state.

That roughness seems to be part of the wider reaction so far. The charm and relaxed gameplay loop are landing for players, while the technical problems are keeping Lou’s Lagoon from being an easy recommendation. Tiny Roar has been making games for a while, and it previously released Into the Emberlands. That context makes me hope the team gets the time and support to smooth out Lou’s Lagoon, but I don’t think the bugs erase the care that clearly went into it.

And yet I can’t stop feeling enamored with its world. Lou’s Lagoon knows what it wants to be. It’s a lighthearted, heartfelt adventure, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything bigger or more complicated than that. I appreciate that. Sometimes I want a game that lets me fly around, pick things up, help some nice weirdos, and not treat every minute like a test of my skill.

So, yes, I absolutely support this game. If you’re interested, I think you should give it a look. My honest recommendation is to wait for a few more patches if you’re buying it specifically on Switch 2, because the current technical problems can get in the way. If you’re willing to put up with some jank, though, there’s a lot of charm here, and I hope more people give Tiny Roar’s little island adventure a chance. You can find Lou’s Lagoon on the Nintendo eShop if you want to check out the Switch version.