Black Myth: Wukong is making waves in the gaming community, already setting new records on Steam. This remarkable feat is particularly noteworthy for a title that has spent the last four years primarily showcasing its technological prowess. The game’s ambitious graphics requirements are among the most demanding seen in recent history, yet with careful adjustments to settings, players can enjoy the experience without needing the latest high-end graphics cards.
Graphics Tweaks Are a Must
For those eager to dive into Black Myth: Wukong, a word of caution: simply cranking up the graphics settings to maximum may not yield the best results. Even with an RTX 4090, achieving optimal performance with all settings maxed out is a challenge. The game offers extensive options for optimization, and neglecting these settings could detract from the overall experience. Much like Alan Wake 2, Black Myth: Wukong is visually stunning, even if some settings must be dialed back.
Testing various graphics cards at different resolutions revealed that none could maintain 60 frames per second (fps) at native resolution with the Cinematic or Very High presets. The High preset, while more manageable, still demands significant resources. However, the performance gains are more pronounced when adjusting from High to Medium and Low settings, providing a clearer path to optimizing gameplay without sacrificing too much visual quality.
How I Tweaked Black Myth: Wukong
After conducting extensive benchmarking within Black Myth: Wukong, I compiled two sets of recommended settings tailored for different resolutions: one for 1080p and another for 1440p and 4K. The latter resolutions benefit more from upscaling, while 1080p requires a closer adherence to native resolution for optimal performance.
For 1440p and 4K, the following settings are advisable:
- Super Resolution: 58% to 75% (adjust based on frame rate)
- Super Resolution Sampling: DLSS (FSR when DLSS isn’t available)
- Frame Generation: On (switch off if lower than 45 fps before turning on)
- Full Ray Tracing: Off
- Graphics Preset: Custom
- View Distance Quality: Very High
- Anti-Aliasing Quality: Very High
- Post Effects Quality: High
- Shadow Quality: High
- Texture Quality: Very High
- Visual Effect Quality: High
- Hair Quality: Medium
- Vegetation Quality: Very High
- Global Illumination Quality: High
- Reflection Quality: Very High
These settings leverage frame generation and upscaling, allowing for a balance between performance and visual fidelity. A comparison of these optimized settings against the Low and Cinematic presets reveals that while the latter offers greater depth, the custom settings provide a commendable visual experience.
For 1080p, the approach shifts slightly due to limited performance gains from upscaling. Here are the recommended settings:
- Super Resolution: 80% to 100% (adjust based on frame rate)
- Super Resolution Sampling: DLSS (FSR when DLSS isn’t available)
- Frame Generation: On (switch off if lower than 45 fps before turning on)
- Full Ray Tracing: Off
- Graphics Preset: Custom
- View Distance Quality: High
- Anti-Aliasing Quality: High
- Post Effects Quality: Medium
- Shadow Quality: Medium
- Texture Quality: High
- Visual Effect Quality: