Kaku: Ancient Seal is one of the newest games to enter the Steam Early Access program. Developed and published by Chinese independent studio – Bingobell, and released on May 4th, 2023, it’s an open-world action-RPG title in which you play as the titular Kaku as the boy travels four regions to bring balance to his land. Bingobell has done an amazing job at making the game, as the overall gameplay experience seems fun and interesting. Right now, Kaku: Ancient Seal is only available on PC through Steam. However, the devs do have plans for an eventual console release. But before that, they need to iron out the game and fix all the major bugs. Many in the community are already experiencing issues like freezing, fps drops, and stuttering during their playthrough.
One thing you can expect from games in early access is bugs. But that’s a given since all games in the early stages of development have issues. Expecting an early access game to run without any issues or errors is wishful thinking. Devs use this early access to fix their games, add more content, and take in meaningful criticism and feedback. Bingobell is doing the same too with Kaku: Ancient Seal. However, the freezing, fps drops, and stuttering issues are hindering the experience of players trying to play the game. If you are facing the same issues, we have some workarounds you can try.
Kaku: Ancient Seal Freezing, FPS Drops, & Stuttering Issues: How to fix
We would like to let you know that the devs are already aware of this issue. Furthermore, the team is already planning to optimize these problems, so expect an update related to such issues in the future. Bingobell has also shared some fixes, so you can try them too. They also clarified that the low frame rate in the game is mostly due to the wrong use of graphics cards.
Change your graphics card settings to use a dedicated GPU –
The game freezing, FPS Drops, & Stuttering might be the result of your system using the Integrated GPU to run, instead of the Dedicated one. So, you need to make sure that the game is run using the dedicated GPU. Here’s how to do so:
AMD/ATI Radeon Cards –
To start, open the AMD Catalyst Control Center first. Next, go to Graphics > PowerPlay. For the plugged-in option choose Maximum/Maximize Performance. Click on Apply and you are done with this part. Next, go back to Graphics and head for 3D. You will see the “3D Application Settings” title and under it a slider that can be adjusted from Performance to Quality. All you need to do is move the slider all the way to the left or where Performance is. This option might not be available on ATI models since they are quite old compared to AMD.
Under the Power settings in Catalyst Control Center, you will also find “Switchable Graphics Application Settings”. Here, click on Browse, head to the installation directory of Kaku Ancient Seal, select the game’s .exe file, and under Graphics Setting set it to High Performance.
Nvidia Cards –
Open the Nvidia Control Panel > Adjust Image Settings with Preview and select Use my preference while choosing Performance. Click on Apply to finish this part. Next, go to “Manage 3D Settings” and select Global Settings to open the drop-down menu. Opt for the High-performance NVIDIA processor as the preferred graphics processor. Click on Apply to finish.
Besides the Global Settings, you will also find Program Settings. Now, you will need to select the game’s .exe file by opening the drop-down menu and selecting the “Add” option. Double-click to select, open the drop-down menu, and choose High-Performance Nvidia processor. Now, click Apply.
Lastly, go to “Set PhysX Configuration” > Open the drop-down menu and select your Nvidia GPU. Click on Apply. Don’t forget to restart your PC and then launch the game.
Download and install the latest graphics driver –
One thing we always recommend is to keep your graphics drivers updated. This is done so that your GPU can run optimally without any major problems. You can download the latest graphics drivers by going to the official website of the GPU manufacturer. Once installed, open the game and check if the issue still persists.
Reduce Max FPS
In the game’s Graphics settings section, you will find the Max FPS option. All you need to do is lower it to 60/120/144 or match it with the refresh rate of your monitor. After this, you should notice less stuttering and FPS drops. Also, consider lowering the Shadows setting to Low or Medium.
Run the game on Windowed Mode –
You can also try running the game in Windowed mode. Typically, games are best suited for fullscreen, but devs include windowed mode as an option for PCs with fewer hardware capabilities. Bingobell has done the same too. To enable Windowed mode, head to the in-game Settings menu, and select Graphics. There, under the Resolution option, you will see Windowed Mode. Turn it on. Now, try playing the game.
Check the minimum requirements –
Kaku: Ancient Seal can be a pretty demanding game to run. If you happen to have an underpowered PC, it will not run well and you will face all those aforementioned issues. Ensure that your system meets the game’s minimum requirements:
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Win10 64-bits
- Processor: Intel i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen5 1500X or faster processor
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GTX1050Ti 4GB or AMD RX580 4GB or Higher
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 20 GB available space
Switch to High Performance in Power Options –
Before you go on with this method, we would like to let you know that it will increase your power consumption. So, if you are cool with that, then proceed. Type in “Control Panel” in the Start Menu and click on it. After the Control Panel opens, select Power Options which will take you to a new window. Under “Choose or customize a power plan” select High Performance.
Enable Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling –
So, what is it? Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling is a feature that, when enabled, lets your CPU pass on tasks that it usually manages to your dedicated GPU. In simple terms, the CPU offloads some highly intensive data to the GPU. This means a boost in gaming power and video performance. Now that you know what it is, let’s see how you can enable this feature:
Open Windows Settings > System > Display. Scroll down and click on the Graphics Settings option. In the next window, you will see “Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling”. Simply toggle it on to enable it.
This brings us to the end of this guide. For more such guides and information on newly released games, make sure to visit DigiStatement.
Also, read: Kaku: Ancient Seal Multiplayer/Co-Op Mode Release Date: When Is It Coming Out
