Game Performance Review

Game Performance Review

Purpose

Audit a game's runtime performance against concrete budgets: 16.6ms per frame at 60fps (6.9ms at 144fps), platform draw-call limits, GC-spike frequency, texture-memory footprint, object-pooling correctness, and asset-streaming stalls. Produce findings that name the system, the estimated frame-time cost, the fix, and the profiler metric required to confirm it — separating sub-hour quick wins from multi-day structural changes so the team can act in priority order.

When to use

• The game drops below its target frame rate on any supported platform.
• GC spikes cause hitches (visible as frame-time spikes in the profiler).
• Loading screens are too long or asset streaming stalls mid-gameplay.
• The game fails platform certification on memory limits or thermal throttling.
• A performance baseline is needed before a major feature addition.

When not to use

• The game runs well and the task is a general architecture review — use game-architecture-review.
• The frame drop is caused by a logic bug, not a budget issue — use gameplay-systems-review to find the root cause first.
• The issue is a rendering artifact (wrong color, missing geometry), not a timing problem.

Procedure

1. Establish platform and target. Note platform (PC/console/mobile/WebGL), target frame rate (30/60/120fps), and target hardware. Compute the per-frame budget: 60fps = 16.6ms, with a typical split of ~8ms CPU / ~4ms GPU / ~4ms render thread.
2. Locate profiler data or request it. Ask for a Unity Profiler, Godot profiler, Unreal Insights, or RenderDoc capture. With none available, identify the suspected hotspot from code and note that a profiler capture is required to confirm.
3. Review draw-call count. Identify total draw calls per frame. Mobile budget under ~100; mid-range PC/console under ~300. Check dynamic-batching eligibility (same material, no rigidbody), confirm static batching for non-moving geometry, and flag GPU-instancing candidates (same mesh + material, many instances).
4. Review texture memory. Identify atlases and compression formats. Mobile needs ETC2 (Android) or ASTC; desktop needs DXT/BC. Flag uncompressed textures in production builds, confirm mipmaps for all 3D textures, and flag textures larger than their on-screen coverage warrants.
5. Review object pooling. Identify frequently spawned/destroyed objects (projectiles, particles, enemies). Confirm a pool exists for each, that pools pre-warm during loading (not on first spawn), and that pool size avoids both runtime allocation (too small) and memory waste (too large).
6. Review GC-allocation hotspots. Search for per-frame heap allocations: string concatenation in Update, LINQ in hot paths, GetComponent<T>() without caching, new List<T>() in loops (C#); per-frame Array/Dictionary construction (GDScript). Each is a future GC spike.
7. Review Update-loop cost. Count scripts with Update/_process. State-poll-only scripts ("is the player near?") should use a timed coroutine instead. Flag expensive per-frame ops: FindObjectsByType, GetComponentsInChildren, physics queries with no layer mask.
8. Review asset loading. Confirm large assets load asynchronously (Addressables, ResourceLoader.load_threaded_request) with completion callbacks. Flag Resources.Load in hot paths (synchronous, uncached).
9. Review particles and VFX. Confirm a max particle-count cap, that off-screen systems are stopped (not left playing), and that particles do not use uncompressed textures.
10. Review audio CPU cost. Verify SFX reuse pooled players rather than instantiating per sound, that audio buses handle compression/limiting, and that sample rates are sane (44100Hz music, 22050Hz acceptable mobile SFX).
11. Review overdraw and shadows. Check for stacked full-screen transparent layers (mobile GPU killer) and real-time shadow casting on minor props, both common GPU-bound causes.
12. Summarize findings with estimated frame time saved and implementation effort per fix, noting that any number not from a target-hardware player build is a hypothesis.

Concrete checks

• Frame budget established: target fps and CPU/GPU split defined.
• Draw calls within platform budget; batching and instancing evaluated.
• Texture compression platform-appropriate; mipmaps on; no oversized textures.
• Object pools for projectiles/particles/enemies; pre-warmed; correctly sized.
• No per-frame heap allocations in C# hot paths (strings, LINQ, new collections).
• Update loop free of FindObjects/GetComponentsInChildren per frame; polls use coroutines.
• Asset loading async with callbacks; no Resources.Load in hot paths.
• Particles capped, stopped off-screen, compressed textures.
• Audio uses pooled players, correct sample rates, configured buses.
• Mobile thermal: sustained load does not trigger CPU throttling after ~5 minutes.
• Overdraw is bounded: no stack of full-screen transparent layers redrawing every pixel.
• Physics tick rate matches gameplay need, not an arbitrarily high default.
• Shadow casting is limited to objects that need it, not every prop.
• Assets load per-level and release on unload, not all preloaded at boot.
• All cost numbers come from a development player build on target hardware, not the editor.

Commands

# Per-frame string allocation (GC spikes) in Update/_process
rg -n "(Update|_process)\(" -A 25 --type-add 'gd:*.gd' -tgd -tcs \
  | rg '"\s*\+|\+\s*"|\$"|str\(|String\.Format'

# LINQ and new-collection allocations in hot paths (C#)
rg -n "(Update|FixedUpdate)\(" -A 25 -tcs | rg "\.Where\(|\.Select\(|\.FirstOrDefault\(|new List<|new Dictionary<"

# Uncached GetComponent / expensive lookups called every frame
rg -n "(Update|FixedUpdate)\(" -A 25 -tcs | rg "GetComponent|FindObjectsByType|GetComponentsInChildren|GameObject\.Find"

# Synchronous resource loads (block the main thread)
rg -n "Resources\.Load|ResourceLoader\.load\(|preload\(|GD\.load\(" --type-add 'gd:*.gd' -tgd -tcs

# Async load WITHOUT a completion-status check (crash / stall risk)
rg -n "load_threaded_request|LoadSceneAsync|InstantiateAsync" -A 8 --type-add 'gd:*.gd' -tgd -tcs \
  | rg -v "load_threaded_get_status|isDone|completed|THREAD_LOAD_LOADED"

# Particle systems and whether a max-count cap exists
rg -n "GPUParticles|CPUParticles|ParticleSystem|amount\s*=|maxParticles" --type-add 'gd:*.gd' -tgd -tcs

# Texture import settings — spot uncompressed / oversized assets
rg -n "compress|Compression|textureFormat|mipmaps|max_size" -i $(find . -name '*.import' -o -name '*.meta') 2>/dev/null | head

# Largest texture/audio assets on disk (over-budget candidates)
find . \( -name '*.png' -o -name '*.tga' -o -name '*.wav' \) -exec du -h {} + | sort -rh | head -15

# Audio import mode: Decompress-on-Load (RAM heavy) vs Streaming for long clips
rg -n "loadType|Decompress|Streaming|StreamingAssets|loadInBackground" -i $(find . -name '*.meta') 2>/dev/null | head

# Scripts with an Update/_process that could be event-driven instead
rg -l "(void Update\(\)|func _process\()" --type-add 'gd:*.gd' -tgd -tcs | wc -l

# Engine profiler / capture entry points (request a capture if missing)
godot --headless --print-fps 2>/dev/null | tail -5      # quick frame-time sample
# Unity: open Window > Analysis > Profiler ; capture a 'Player' build, not the editor
# Unreal: 'stat unit', 'stat gpu', and Unreal Insights trace for frame breakdown

# Overdraw / transparency layers (GPU-bound on mobile)
rg -n "transparent|blend_mode|alpha|CanvasLayer|Overlay|fog" -i --type-add 'gd:*.gd' -tgd -tcs | head

# Shadow casting on minor objects
rg -n "shadow|cast_shadow|ShadowCastingMode|ReceiveShadows" -i --type-add 'gd:*.gd' -tgd -tcs | head

# Physics tick rate vs need
rg -n "physics_ticks_per_second|fixedDeltaTime|Time\.fixedDeltaTime|MaxPhysicsDelta" --type-add 'gd:*.gd' -tgd -tcs project.godot 2>/dev/null

# Preload-everything-at-boot vs per-level load
rg -n "preload\(|Resources\.LoadAll|LoadAll<|AddressableAssets" --type-add 'gd:*.gd' -tgd -tcs | wc -l

Per-frame budget (where the time goes)

Platform budgets (rules of thumb)

Common issues & anti-patterns

• String concatenation in Update. Debug.Log("pos: " + transform.position) every frame allocates a string. Strip it from release with conditional compilation.
• LINQ in hot paths. enemies.Where(e => e.IsAlive).FirstOrDefault() allocates an iterator each call. Replace with a manual foreach and early return.
• No GPU instancing on repeated meshes. A forest of 500 identical trees drawn with 500 calls. Enable instancing on the material to collapse it to a handful.
• GetComponent<T>() per frame. Calling it in Update instead of caching in Awake is invisible at one entity and crushing at a thousand.
• Particle system with no max count. One frame of many simultaneous explosions exhausts the particle budget and spikes 100ms. Cap the count.
• Synchronous scene load on the main thread. SceneManager.LoadScene blocks for the full load. Use LoadSceneAsync behind a loading screen.
• Oversized audio in memory. A 5-minute track set to Decompress-on-Load allocates ~210MB of PCM. Stream music instead.
• Update on distant idle NPCs. 200 NPCs all running Update when 180 are far from the player. Disable Update by distance-based LOD.
• Overdraw from full-screen transparent layers. Stacked alpha-blended UI or fog quads redraw every pixel several times, GPU-bound on mobile. Reduce layers or use opaque where possible.
• Physics tick too high. Running fixed physics at 120Hz for a game that only needs 50Hz doubles CPU physics cost for no gain. Match the tick to the gameplay need.
• Shadow-casting on everything. Every small prop casting real-time shadows multiplies draw calls. Disable shadow casting on minor objects.
• Loading all assets up front. Preloading the whole game into memory at boot blows the mobile memory budget. Load per-level and release on unload.
• Profiling the editor, not a build. Editor overhead inflates every number. Always profile a development player build on target hardware.

Required output

Return a structured report with:

1. Platform, target fps, and the per-frame budget breakdown.
2. Findings table: System | Estimated Cost | Severity | Issue | Fix | Profiler metric to verify.
3. Quick wins (under ~1 hour each) separated from structural changes (over ~1 day each).
4. A profiler-evidence checklist: what to capture to confirm each finding.

Safety

• Do not delete assets, textures, or audio files.
• Do not modify project settings (quality levels, graphics tiers) without listing every change for review.
• Do not trigger builds, profiling sessions, or device deployments.
• Treat any cost estimate without a profiler capture as a hypothesis, not a confirmed number.

Completion criteria

Done means the platform budget is stated, draw calls / textures / pooling / GC / Update / asset-loading / particles / audio are each assessed from evidence, every finding has an estimated cost, a fix, and the profiler metric to confirm it, and quick wins are separated from structural work.