Black Myth: Wukong is not your average game. It has already broken records on Steam, a remarkable feat for a game that was once considered a tech demo. Despite its demanding requirements, you can still enjoy playing it without the need for the top-of-the-line graphics card.
In my exploration of Black Myth: Wukong over the past week, I’ve delved deep into the PC version to uncover its capabilities and performance optimizations. This game pushes the boundaries of visual fidelity while maintaining solid gameplay.
Optimizing Graphics for Performance
Don’t expect to jump into Black Myth: Wukong, max out all the settings, and have a smooth experience. It’s essential to tweak the graphics settings for better performance, even if it means sacrificing some visual quality. The presets scale differently based on graphics cards and resolutions, so adjusting them according to your setup is key.
The real performance gains come from optimizing settings between High, Medium, and Low presets. While the Cinematic and Very High presets may look stunning, they can be too demanding without upscaling. By finding the right balance, you can achieve excellent performance with a visually pleasing experience.
My Recommended Graphics Settings
After extensive benchmarking, I’ve outlined recommended settings for 1440p and 4K resolutions to optimize performance:
- Super Resolution: 58% to 75% (adjust based on frame rate)
- Super Resolution Sampling: DLSS (FSR when DLSS isn’t available)
- …
These settings, paired with upscaling, can significantly improve performance and maintain visual quality across different resolutions.
The Importance of Upscaling
Upscaling plays a crucial role in enhancing performance in Black Myth: Wukong. Various upscaling technologies like DLSS, FSR, and XeSS can provide significant performance gains without compromising visual quality. Choosing the right upscaler based on your hardware can make a noticeable difference in the game’s performance.
Upscaling can significantly impact performance, especially at higher resolutions like 4K, where the benefits are more pronounced. However, at lower resolutions like 1080p, the performance gains from upscaling are limited due to increased strain on the CPU and upscaling algorithms.
Full Ray Tracing and Path Tracing
Enabling full ray tracing, or path tracing, in Black Myth: Wukong can significantly enhance visual quality but comes with a performance cost. The game’s lighting system leverages ray tracing extensively, providing a more immersive experience. However, players with lower-end hardware may need to disable this feature for smoother gameplay.
Compatibility Issues with Intel CPUs
Intel’s 13th-gen and 14th-gen CPUs may encounter instability issues with Black Myth: Wukong, leading to crashes related to “out of video memory” errors. While a microcode update has been released to address these issues, users may still experience crashes. Refer to the developers’ guidance on Steam to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the crashes.
Verdict on Playing Black Myth: Wukong on PC
Black Myth: Wukong presents a challenging but rewarding experience on PC. By optimizing graphics settings, leveraging upscaling technologies, and understanding hardware limitations, players can enjoy a visually stunning game while maintaining smooth performance. Despite some minor technical issues, the overall gameplay experience is highly immersive and engaging.