What the game asks of your PC
Stormind's published requirements are not a promise of any particular frame rate. They do tell you which GPU, driver and upscaler class the developer had in mind.
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 11 x64 | Windows 11 x64 |
| CPU | Ryzen 5 3600X or Core i5-11600K | Ryzen 7 5800X or Core i5-12600K |
| RAM | 16 GB | 24 GB |
| GPU | Nvidia 2070 Super or AMD 5700 XT | Nvidia 3080 Ti or AMD RX 6900 XT |
The Steam listing attaches performance targets to the GPU line.
- Minimum: 1920x1080 at 30 fps, DLSS/FSR Balanced, Low preset.
- Recommended: 3840x2160 at 60 fps with DLSS/FSR Performance, High preset and hardware ray tracing off. A second tier targets 30 fps with ray tracing on.
These are developer-stated configurations, not independent benchmarks. Treat them as a rough guide to your hardware tier.
Storage is a small discrepancy. Stormind's FAQ lists 50 GB of available space, and the Steam page matches that. Some other indexed listings differ, so check the figure on your own storefront before you install.
The upscaler targets are the more useful detail. The minimum spec assumes you will use upscaling. The recommended spec assumes you will use it at 4K. If you run native resolution with no upscaling, you are going beyond what the developer published.
Let the shader pass finish
When the game offers a shader-compilation pass at startup, let it complete. Stormind warns that interrupting the pass may cause temporary stuttering during play.
Don't over-read that warning:
- Finishing the pass doesn't guarantee smooth play.
- It isn't a reason to delete shader caches, and not every later hitch is shader-related.
- If stutter persists after a completed pass, diagnose it separately. Check the driver, background load and your settings.
Pick the upscaler your hardware supports
On NVIDIA, Stormind recommends starting with DLSS Super Resolution through the game's native DLSS 4.5 implementation. PCGamingWiki lists the available upscaling options as TSR, DLSS 4.5 and FSR 4. It lists DLSS Frame Generation under frame generation.
AMD support depends on the card generation and the driver. Stormind's guidance, as relayed through its support material, breaks down like this:
| Configuration | Native FSR path |
|---|---|
| Radeon RX 9000 or RX 7000, Adrenalin 26.6.2 or later | FSR 4.1 ML |
| Radeon RX 6000, Adrenalin 26.10.1 or later | FSR 4.1 may be available, but it is untested and not officially supported |
| Other supported AMD cards, or older drivers | Analytical FSR 3.1.5 |
| Supported NVIDIA cards using FSR | Analytical FSR 3.1.5 |
The game's feature list names AMD FSR 4.1.1. The ML implementation is described separately in the compatibility notes as FSR 4.1 ML. Your card and driver decide which one you actually get.
Three boundaries to keep in mind:
- RX 6000 owners: availability is not support. Treat FSR 4.1 on these cards as an experiment, and keep a supported baseline to compare against.
- Overrides: driver overrides, OptiScaler and replacement DLL setups are outside Stormind's official testing and support.
- Intel Arc: it is not officially supported, and performance, stability and XeSS are not fully validated. That does not mean the game can't launch on Arc.
Frame Generation, Reflex and ray tracing
Settle on an upscaling baseline first. Then test the extras one at a time.
- Frame Generation on compatible NVIDIA hardware: Stormind recommends pairing it with NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency. A generated frame count doesn't tell you how responsive the game feels, so judge camera movement and actions as well as the counter.
- Hardware ray tracing: where it is available, Stormind recommends Ray Reconstruction alongside it. That is a recommended companion, not a requirement. Compare visual quality and stability in the same scene.
- Frame Generation and ray tracing are separate from Super Resolution. You don't need either one to use DLSS Super Resolution.
Visibility, subtitles and HDR
Horror games punish a washed-out image, but brightening everything isn't the way to fix unreadable dialogue. Start with the subtitle options in the menu, then check dialogue again. Treat text legibility and room visibility as two separate problems.
The reporting I reviewed says the game includes Protanopia, Deuteranopia and Tritanopia colour-vision modes. I couldn't confirm that list against the game's menu, so check your installed build for the modes it actually offers. Test any mode in gameplay rather than only in the options screen. Keep your resolution and upscaler fixed while you do.
HDR isn't a launch feature. Stormind's news page says HDR support and Nightmare Mode are coming soon. That is a stated plan, not a calibration preset. Check your current build and Stormind's news before assuming HDR has shipped. On a launch-version install, stick with SDR.
A repeatable comparison method
- Pick a short stretch of exploration that you can revisit, ideally a dark one.
- Record your starting graphics options, upscaling mode, GPU and driver version.
- Note whether Frame Generation and hardware ray tracing are on.
- Change one option, or one recommended pairing, at a time.
- Repeat the same route and camera movements.
- Compare image clarity, visible stutter, responsiveness and any performance readings. Check the picture in motion as well as standing still.
- Restore the previous configuration if the change doesn't help your priority.
Keep your display setup and any frame limiter unchanged while you compare upscaling modes. Test a different limit as its own experiment. The guide also says variable refresh rate behaviour depends on your display, GPU and configuration. I couldn't confirm the specific VRR standards it lists against Stormind's own documentation, so rely on your monitor and driver settings for that.
Bottom line
The most reliable parts of this advice come from Stormind: finish shader compilation, use the native upscaler your GPU supports, and treat unofficial paths as unsupported. For the rest, be your own benchmarker with a fixed route and a written record of your settings. If problems persist, report your hardware, driver version, affected settings and reproduction steps to Stormind's support channel.