Shroom and Gloom Stuttering Fix: How to Stop Micro-Freezes, Lag, and Lag Spikes on PC
There is a special kind of frustration that comes with performance problems in a roguelike.
You can deal with dying. That’s part of the genre. You can accept a terrible deck, a bad draw, or a run falling apart because you made one greedy decision twenty minutes earlier.
But when the game suddenly freezes for half a second right as the screen fills with cards, effects, enemies, and fungal chaos? That feels different.
Shroom and Gloom is one of those games where smooth performance matters more than the average FPS number might suggest. The first-person roguelike deckbuilding setup can look deceptively lightweight, especially because of its hand-drawn visual style. So when you are sitting at 100 or 120 FPS but the game keeps throwing random micro-stutters at you, it is easy to assume that your PC is the problem.
From my experience with this kind of issue, it usually isn’t that simple.
The biggest culprit is often frametime inconsistency rather than low raw performance. Your PC might render most frames quickly and then suddenly take several times longer to process one frame during a room transition, a large card interaction, or a burst of visual effects. You might still see a high FPS counter. Your eyes, however, absolutely notice that hitch.
After working through the available graphics, Windows, and driver-level options, these are the adjustments I would try first if Shroom and Gloom is stuttering, freezing briefly, or suffering from random lag spikes on PC.
Why Shroom and Gloom Can Stutter Even When Your FPS Looks Fine
This is the part that confuses a lot of players.
You launch the game, check your FPS counter, and see something like 90, 120, or even higher. Everything looks fine. Then you move into another area and the game suddenly hitches.
That is usually a frametime problem.
Instead of focusing only on the average FPS, think about how consistently the PC produces each frame. A stable 60 FPS experience can honestly feel better than an unstable 120 FPS experience if the higher frame rate constantly suffers from spikes.
In Shroom and Gloom, the stuttering can become more noticeable during:
- Room or map transitions
- Deck changes and card-heavy sequences
- Large overlapping visual effects
- Sudden asset loading
- Background Windows activity
- Shader compilation or cache rebuilding
The goal is not simply to push the FPS number as high as possible. I would prioritize consistent frame pacing.
And that changes how you should approach the settings.
Start With Full Screen Mode and a Sensible VSync Lock
Before touching the Registry or changing GPU driver settings, I would start inside the game itself.
Go into the graphics settings and experiment with Exclusive Full Screen rather than standard windowed or borderless presentation.
Borderless mode is convenient. I use it all the time in games where I am constantly switching between Discord, guides, and a browser. But if you are specifically chasing down stubborn micro-stutters, removing unnecessary desktop compositing from the equation can sometimes help.
Next, check the game’s Vertical Sync and frame lock options.
The best choice depends heavily on your monitor and what your PC can sustain.
| Monitor Refresh Rate | Recommended Target | When I Would Use It |
|---|---|---|
| 60Hz | 60 FPS | Stable option for lower-end hardware |
| 120Hz | 120 FPS or 60 FPS | Use 60 if 120 is inconsistent |
| 144Hz | 144 FPS or a lower stable cap | Avoid constantly fluctuating performance |
| 165Hz+ | Stable capped FPS | Consistency matters more than maximum numbers |
If you own a 120Hz display but your system keeps bouncing between 80 and 120 FPS, I would personally try a clean 60 FPS lock before lowering every graphical option.
A stable game feels better than a constantly fluctuating one.
Try the DirectX 12 Launch Option
Another setting worth testing is forcing the game to launch with DirectX 12.
If you are playing through Steam, open:
Steam Library → Right-click Shroom and Gloom → Properties → Launch Options
Then add:
-force-d3d12
After that, close the settings window and launch the game normally.
Now, I wouldn’t treat this as a guaranteed miracle fix.
Launch commands can behave differently depending on the engine and how the game handles rendering APIs. But if your stuttering appears connected to asset loading, transitions, or sudden rendering hitches, it is an easy option to test.
The important part is to compare the result.
Play for a few minutes with the default configuration, then test the DirectX 12 launch option under the same conditions. Don’t judge performance based on the first ten seconds after launching the game.
Use Your GPU Driver to Improve Frame Pacing
If the in-game frame limiter is not producing smooth results, your graphics driver can give you more control.
For NVIDIA GPUs, open the NVIDIA Control Panel and go to:
Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings
Create or select a profile for Shroom and Gloom.
The settings I would test are:
- Vertical Sync: On
- Max Frame Rate: Match a stable target
- Low Latency Mode: Test On or Ultra
- Shader Cache: Enabled with a generous cache size
For example, if your monitor runs at 144Hz but the game frequently drops below that level, I would avoid blindly forcing 144 FPS. Try 120 FPS, 90 FPS, or even 60 FPS and see which option produces the cleanest frametime behavior.
For AMD Radeon users, open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition and configure a profile specifically for the game.
Radeon Chill can be useful as a frame limiter, especially if you set the minimum and maximum FPS values to the same stable target. You can also test the driver’s vertical refresh settings if you are experiencing uneven frame delivery.
The main rule here is simple:
Do not stack multiple aggressive frame limiters without testing them.
If the game is limiting FPS, your GPU driver is limiting FPS, and another program is also forcing a cap, you may actually create worse frame pacing.
Change one thing at a time.
Disable Ambient Occlusion If Combat Causes Heavy Stutters
This is one of the first visual settings I would sacrifice.
Ambient Occlusion adds subtle depth by creating additional contact shadows between objects and environmental elements. It can look nice, but in a stylized game like Shroom and Gloom, the performance trade-off may not always be worth it.
If your average FPS looks acceptable but your 1% lows feel terrible, turn Ambient Occlusion off and test a busy combat encounter.
Pay attention to the difference when:
multiple card effects trigger at once, the camera moves quickly, or the game loads a new section of the environment.
If the stuttering remains, lower your rendering resolution by one step.
For example:
4K → 1440p
1440p → 1080p
The hand-drawn art direction can still look excellent at a lower resolution, while the reduction in GPU and VRAM pressure may help smooth out sudden spikes.
Clear and Rebuild Your Shader Cache
Shader-related stuttering is something PC players have become painfully familiar with.
If the game is hitching repeatedly when new effects, locations, or visual elements appear, a corrupted or overloaded shader cache can be worth investigating.
For NVIDIA users, make sure shader caching is enabled in the NVIDIA Control Panel. You can also clear the existing DirectX and OpenGL cache files from the appropriate NVIDIA cache folders before launching the game again.
For AMD users, Adrenalin includes a Reset Shader Cache option in its graphics settings.
One important warning, though: the first launch after clearing a shader cache can temporarily feel worse.
That is normal. The system may need time to rebuild cached shaders while you play.
I would clear the cache only if you are troubleshooting persistent problems, not every time the game stutters once.
Reduce Windows Background Interference
Sometimes the game itself is not using all of your hardware. Sometimes Windows is simply doing too much at the same time.
Before launching Shroom and Gloom, I would close anything that is unnecessarily consuming CPU, RAM, disk activity, or GPU resources.
Common offenders include:
- Browser tabs with video playback
- Multiple overlays
- Hardware monitoring software
- Background downloads
- Recording applications
- Cloud synchronization tools
If your game is installed on a mechanical hard drive, moving it to an SSD can also reduce loading-related hitches.
You can experiment with Windows foreground scheduling settings and power behavior as well, but I would treat Registry modifications as a last-stage troubleshooting option, not the first fix.
Changing values such as Win32PrioritySeparation or disabling system power throttling may affect more than one game. Back up your Registry or create a restore point before making system-level changes.
Personally, I would rather solve the problem with a clean frame cap, sensible graphics settings, updated drivers, and background cleanup before changing Windows internals.
Is Shroom and Gloom Coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X? Release Date and Console Speculation
My Recommended Shroom and Gloom Anti-Stutter Setup
If I wanted a simple configuration to start testing immediately, this would be my baseline:
| Setting | Recommended Starting Point |
|---|---|
| Display Mode | Exclusive Full Screen |
| VSync | Match your stable FPS target |
| Frame Rate | Stable cap rather than unlimited |
| DirectX Launch Option | Test -force-d3d12 |
| Ambient Occlusion | Off |
| Shader Cache | Enabled |
| Background Apps | Closed |
| Storage | SSD preferred |
| GPU Driver | Updated stable version |
The biggest mistake I see players make is changing twenty settings at once.
Then the stuttering disappears, or gets worse, and nobody knows why.
Start with the display mode and frame cap. Test the game. Then try the rendering option. Test again. After that, move to shader caches and background processes.
It takes a little longer, but it is the only way to identify what is actually helping.
Shroom and Gloom PC Requirements and Storage Size Guide: Can You Run It?
Final Thoughts: Chase Smooth Frametime, Not the Biggest FPS Number
If Shroom and Gloom keeps stuttering on PC, don’t immediately assume that you need a faster graphics card.
A lot of the most annoying micro-freezes happen because the system is delivering frames inconsistently. You can have a powerful GPU, a triple-digit FPS counter, and still get an experience that feels rough.
My first move would be Exclusive Full Screen, a stable frame cap, properly configured VSync, and Ambient Occlusion disabled. After that, I would test the DirectX 12 launch option and rebuild the shader cache if the stutters continue.
And don’t underestimate the boring fixes. Closing background apps, checking storage performance, and avoiding multiple conflicting FPS limiters can make more difference than another hour spent tweaking obscure settings.
The ideal setup is not the one that gives you the biggest number in the corner of the screen.
It’s the one that lets you explore the fungal chaos without the game freezing for half a second every time things finally start getting interesting.









