When it comes to story-driven games on the Switch and Switch 2, I’ll admit that about half the time I’ll tend to struggle to be interested in them. Visual novels, in particular, tend to be hard to view through the lens of being games half the time, but just because a title doesn’t go that route doesn’t necessarily improve its chances for being compelling. Lake, especially on the Switch, falls into that trap to some degree, playing out sort of like a dull mail delivery simulator meets Hallmark movie that simply looks awful on the system.

Now, if you are simply looking for a game to slowly enjoy and relax with, then there's at least some glimmer of hope to be found. Stressed out by her big-city life and deadlines for her job, you’ll play the role of Meredith, who has decided to take a break by going back home and taking over her father’s mail route while he’s away. Of course, returning to her old small town after being away means there’ll be some catching up to do, which works out nicely as you deliver packages around town, chatting up familiar faces as well as some new ones. The game’s greatest strength is that you’ll be able to choose which dialogue options to go with, though honestly they can still feel pretty constrained, which will open the door to making friends or possibly even pursuing a little romance.

The obstacles to enjoyment can be a problem though, especially on the Switch. The real shame is that looking at screenshots of the game from other systems it’s capable of being quite pleasantly beautiful. Unfortunately, on the Switch the conversion is a complete mess, and I say that as someone who can typically look past a game’s visuals to simply enjoy the experience. The pop-in and sometimes bizarre way objects like trees and cars can look at a distance in primitive shapes, and then morph into something more recognizable as they get closer, and the smeared low-quality textures of pretty well everything, serve as a near-constant distraction. Even taking into consideration that the Switch is by no means a graphical powerhouse this degree of dialing things back feels excessive. 

Pair that with the time-consuming and generally dull driving around to get to remote corners of town, with little to focus on outside of how awful pretty well everything looks, and the experience that could have been more meditative falls apart. If you hold on until the end you’ll get to make your Hallmark-worthy decision of whether to return to big-city life or give it all up to return to your simpler small-down roots, but I’d at least recommend checking it out elsewhere if you’re inclined to take the plunge.