The Last Caretaker
The Last Caretaker is a thoughtful take on the survival-crafting genre, where every decision you make and every action has a consequence. It offers a deep world exploration experience where step-by-step, you uncover the truth behind the reawakening of the last caretaker.
PROTON TIER: GOLD
The Last Caretaker is a survival-crafting game emphasizing exploration and consequence, tasking players with uncovering the mystery surrounding the reawakening of the titular caretaker.
Status Proton (Gold)
TWEAKS & TRICKS
- Memory Starvation on Steam Deck: Occasional crashes result from low memory. Rebooting the system typically resolves this issue.
- AZERTY Keyboard Input Issues: The game defaults to an AZERTY input layout despite using a QWERTY keyboard.
- Solution: Rebind controls in-game.
- Performance Fluctuations & Stuttering: Performance degrades after leaving the starting area, with stuttering observed, especially when Frame Generation is enabled.
- Solution: Initially, lower graphics quality settings to medium.
- Solution: Disable Frame Generation.
- Solution: Reduce graphics quality to low to maintain 30 FPS if frame rates drop below playable levels.
- Frame Generation Stutter: Stuttering is observed with Frame Generation enabled.
- Solution: Disable Frame Generation.
- Performance After Dock Exit: A severe FPS drop (approximately 4 FPS) occurs upon exiting the dock.
- Solution: Reduce graphics quality to low.
- Graphics Artifacts with DLSS: Noticeable artifacts appear when using DLSS, particularly in dark environments (raining, red lights).
- Unstable Performance: Restarting the game or switching Proton versions doesn’t reliably resolve performance issues.
Verdict
The Last Caretaker offers a promising experience for Linux gamers via Proton. Despite some performance quirks and visual artifacts, particularly with DLSS, the Gold rating indicates general playability. Be prepared to adjust graphics settings and disable Frame Generation for optimal results. The game’s current state in Early Access suggests continued improvements are likely.