The caveat is that this is one reviewer's test, in one scene. The details matter, so here they are.
The test rig and method
DSOGaming reports using a Ryzen 9 7950X3D, 32GB of DDR5-6000 and Windows 10 64-bit. The GPU list covers three AMD cards (RX 6900 XT, RX 7900 XTX, RX 9070 XT) and five NVIDIA cards (RTX 2080 Ti, 3080, 4090, 5080, 5090). Drivers were GeForce 617.14 and Radeon Adrenalin 26.9.2.
The game has no built-in benchmark. The reviewer instead picked a scene from the first hour that he judged among the most demanding early on, and assumed it would be representative of the rest of the game.
That approach is practical, but it has limits:
- It is a single scene, not a full playthrough.
- No frame-time graphs, run counts or per-card tables were published in the text I could inspect.
- Later levels could be heavier or lighter. A separate optimization guide on 2UpSkill makes this point, saying it prefers to tune settings against the heaviest scenes rather than judging from the opening area alone.
Treat the numbers as a strong indicator, not a promise.
What the numbers say
| Resolution (Epic settings) | Reported result |
|---|---|
| 1080p | All tested GPUs reached 60 FPS |
| 1440p | The top five GPUs stayed above 60 FPS at all times |
| Native 4K | Only the RTX 5090 stayed above 60 FPS at all times |
The RTX 4090 at native 4K is the interesting case. It averaged 65 FPS, but its frame rate could drop to 57 FPS. The reviewer suggests a G-Sync display for the smoothest result. A fair reading is that variable refresh rate would hide dips of that size. It doesn't follow that G-Sync is strictly required, and no other VRR technology was tested.
The source doesn't say which five cards were the "top five" at 1440p, so I won't guess.
These figures are native rendering at Epic. The game supports DLSS 4, FSR 3.0 and XeSS 2, but DSOGaming published no upscaler measurements. Upscaling may well add headroom at 4K, but that is an inference rather than a reported result.
Graphics options and upscaling
DSOGaming calls the options menu respectable. It lists view distance, shadows, textures, global illumination and reflections among the adjustable settings.
Independent guides suggest which settings to try first:
- 2UpSkill identifies volumetric fog as a major performance setting. It warns that fog-heavy, atmospheric sections are where a GPU can take a noticeable hit.
- PixelNitro recommends dropping volumetric fog to Medium and using Quality-mode upscaling. These are the guide authors' recommendations, not measurements I verified.
If you are tuning your own system, start there. Fog and lighting effects are classic UE5 cost centers.
Stutter: the asterisk
The reviewer's complaint is a few traversal stutters that he says are milder than in some other UE5 games. He adds that most players will still notice them. No trace or cause was given. It would be speculation to blame shader compilation or asset streaming.
Steam Deck HQ, testing the demo on handheld hardware, also reported stuttering when moving between rooms and through the labyrinth. It suggested the shader cache might be involved, but that is its own guess about a different build and platform. The two reports point the same way, but neither is a diagnosis.
System requirements in context
Steam lists these minimum and recommended specs:
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit, 22H2 or later | Same |
| CPU | Ryzen 5 1500X / Core i5-8400 | Ryzen 5 5600X / Core i5-12400F |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| GPU | RX Vega 64 8GB / GTX 1660 | RX 6600 XT / RTX 3060 |
| Storage | 80 GB (SSD recommended) | 80 GB (SSD recommended) |
Steam lists the game at $39.99 standard and $49.99 Deluxe. It was released on October 8, 2026.
The test results don't tell you how a GTX 1660 or Ryzen 5 1500X will behave, because the reviewer used much faster hardware. The 2080 Ti result is encouraging for older cards, but it is not proof that minimum-spec systems hit 60 FPS. Some third-party guides list different, higher "requirements" than Steam. Treat those with suspicion and use the publisher's figures.
Other reports
PlayDay, which reviewed the game, reported that it ran excellently on an RTX 5080 system, holding over 100 FPS without frame generation at 4K ultra with quality DLSS. That is a different setup and method from DSOGaming's native 4K test, so the numbers shouldn't be compared directly. PlayDay also said colleagues reported rough performance on PS5, so PC players seem to be in better shape than console players.
Practical takeaways
- 1080p and 1440p players with a recent GPU should be able to run Epic settings with headroom, based on this test.
- Native 4K at Epic is demanding. Only the RTX 5090 stayed above 60 FPS throughout, so everyone else should expect dips or plan to use upscaling.
- Use VRR if your monitor supports it. It will smooth out dips like the 4090's 57 FPS floor.
- If frame rate sags in atmospheric areas, lower volumetric fog first. That is a guide-author suggestion, not a tested result.
- Expect occasional traversal hitching. Neither a faster GPU nor a lower preset is shown to cure it.
The bottom line
DSOGaming's verdict is that this is one of 2026's best-optimized PC games. That is a subjective judgment, but the early evidence supports a narrower and still useful conclusion. On a high-end test system, a demanding early scene ran at 60 FPS at 1080p Epic on every card tested, and only native 4K Epic separated the flagship from the rest. The unanswered questions are how it behaves on minimum-spec hardware, how heavy the later levels get, and how much those traversal stutters bother you.